12 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
in favor of going on with our preparations. The scheme may be 
said to have been formally inaugurated at a dinner given on 
January 22, 1917, in which most of the persons who eventually 
made up the party participated. 
President Jessup warmly espoused the project and Dean 
Carl E. Seashore of the Graduate College proposed that the 
financing of the Expedition be undertaken by his college, stat- 
ing that such a project was distinctly suitable for graduate work 
and quite the sort of thing for which he personally stood. 
With such excellent backing, public announcement of the 
undertaking was made and applications for membership began 
at once to come in. As in the case of the Bahama Expedition, 
we were at once confronted with the question as to the admis- 
sion of women to our party, and the old argument that this was 
a coéducational institution was forthcoming. Ultimately pre- 
cisely the same number were admitted as in the case of the 
former expedition, namely, seven. Correspondence was entered 
into with Sir Francis Watts and others, and charts were se- 
cured from the United States Hydrographic Office of Barbados, 
the Virgin Islands, and some other of the Lesser Antilles. 
Previous experience having proved the absolute necessity of 
someone’s going to look over the ground, the writer con- 
sented to take a preliminary trip to the region under consider- 
ation in order to spy out the land and report on a definite plan 
for the proposed expedition. Application was made to the 
Quebee Steamship Company for information concerning their 
West Indian cruises. The steamers of this company call at a 
number of the islands and furnish better opportunities for their 
survey than any other line. Their officials are disposed to be 
generous whenever scientific parties desire to avail themselves 
of the facilities offered by the West Indian service. 
Advices from the Imperial Department of Agriculture indi- 
cated the hearty support of its officials and gave much desired 
information regarding Barbados as a suitable base for opera- 
tions. Senator W. S. Kenyon of Iowa was most helpful in se- 
curing credentials from the Department of State and the Brit- 
ish ambassador at Washington. These letters were of very 
great service when it came to dealing with the Colonial authori- 
ties. 
