170 
on the left the white barked pine 
(Pinus bungeana), of which Mr. Meyer 
sent to America thousands of seeds 
which are now growing in many places 
in this country, and which in the cen- 
turies to come will add to our American 
landscapes one of the most picturesque 
of all evergreen trees. 
AMERICAN GENETIC ASSOCIATION 
SELECTED AS TRUSTEE 
Since there were certain objections to 
the awarding by a government office 
of medals of this character, the asso- 
ciates of Mr. Meyer have selected as 
their representative in the awarding of 
this medal the council of the American 
Genetic Association, an organization 
having in it as large a proportion of 
those interested in plant introduction 
as any organization in America. 
In presenting this medal, therefore, 
I am acting as the representative of the 
American Genetic Association in the 
fulfillment of the trust imposed upon 
it by the associates of Mr. Meyer. 
In this capacity I have the honor to 
announce this afternoon that there will 
be awarded this year three Frank N. 
Meyer medals, the first of which it 
gives me peculiar pleasure to present to 
my old friend, Mr. Barbour Lathrop, 
of San Francisco, who has come to be 
known in the Office of Foreign Seed 
and Plant Introduction as its “‘patron 
saint.’’ I shall have to go back almost 
a quarter of a century in order to give 
you a clear idea of Mr. Lathrop’s 
activities in the field of plant introduc- 
tion which entitle him to receive this 
distinguished service medal. 
BEGINNING OF FOREIGN PLANT 
INTRODUCTION AS A POLICY 
On a small steamer off the coast of 
Malacca, as the ship’s bell struck in 
the new year of 1897, Mr. Lathrop and 
I finished a conversation which started 
us both into the field of plant intro- 
duction. Mr. Lathrop’s many years of 
almost continuous travel in foreign 
countries had impressed upon his mind 
the significant fact that every country 
has its own particular foods and that 
these have their own particular excel- 
The Journal of Heredity 
lence. He saw that a scientific system 
of plant introduction would be of the 
greatest benefit to his country. Sitting 
there in the cabin of the steamer, he 
outlined his plans to me and convinced 
me that instead of continuing the 
researches which through his generosity, 
I was then occupied with on the 
fungus gardens of the termites, I 
should study the food and other useful 
plants of the countries he had planned 
to take me through as his guest. 
Through the following months which 
we spent in Siam, Australia and the 
South Sea Islands, the discussions on 
plant introduction continued, and when 
we reached Hawaii he investigated the 
possibilities of the establishment of a 
garden of plant introduction there but 
found them unsatisfactory. 
Arriving in San Francisco, we parted, 
and I came on to Washington, where, 
with the constructive advice and as- 
sistance of my old friends Messrs. 
Swingle, True and Fernow and the 
willing cooperation of the then Secre- 
tary of Agriculture, Hon. James Wilson, 
whose convictions on the subject were 
as firm as were those of Mr. Lathrop, 
the first item was inserted in the 
appropriation bill which started the 
work of government plant introduc- 
tion as a recognized policy. 
STUDYING PLANTS IN THEIR OWN 
HABITAT NECESSARY 
After a year of organization work, 
into the midst of which had been 
dropped the responsibility for the care 
of the Hansen collections in Russia, 
Mr. Lathrop again appeared upon the 
scene, and with logical arguments. 
spread out over many nights, convinced 
me that I was no more fit to conduct. 
a Section of Seed and Plant Introduc- 
tion than a man who had never seen 
a chicken was fitted to run a chicken 
coop. His argument was that a world 
plant collecting service required in it 
the presence of some one who had seen 
the whole world, and he offered to take 
me over its surface in a rapid trip of 
reconnaissance. While his plan was 
convincing to me, it failed to convince 
Mr. Wilson, and it was with reluctance: 
