BRINGING TO AMERICA THE BAKER COLLECTION 

 OF MALAYAN INSECTS 



Bv R. A. CUSHMAN, 

 Assistant Custodian of Hymcnoptcrci, U. S. National Museum 



One of the greatest collectors of insects of all time died at Manila, 

 P. I., on July 22, 1927. He was Charles Fuller Baker, dean of the 

 College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines. By his 

 will all of his entomological collections, which he had accumulated 

 during a residence of 15 years in the Oriental Tropics, principally 

 in the Philippines, and the correspondence and other papers relating 

 thereto were left to the U. S. National Museum on condition that 

 the Museum send someone to Los Banos to attend to the packing and 

 shipping. Having heen assigned this duty I left Washington on Octo- 

 ber 3, 1927, armed with pinning forceps and paraffine paper and what 

 I fatuously expected to be an adequate supply of insect pins and 

 fumigating chemicals. At Seattle I purchased five bales (about 800 

 lbs.) of excelsior, which I also fatuously expected to be sufficient. 



On October 11 I sailed from Seattle on the American Mail Liner 

 President Jefiferson. For the first week Neptune was unkind and many 

 of the passengers, including myself, were correspondingly uncom- 

 fortable, but thereafter we enjoyed a very pleasant voyage. Among 

 the passengers was Dr. Joseph F. Rock, the famous botanist-explorer, 

 who, accompanied by two of his " boys," was embarking on another 

 trip into the wild mountainous country of Western China. My 

 acquaintance with him was most pleasant and profitable. We arrived 

 at Yokohama two days late because of the storms encountered, and 

 so had a very limited stay. From here I took the opportunity of 

 visiting Tokio, where I had a delightful two hour stroll about the 

 streets and parks with Dr. S. I. Kuwana, the famous Japanese 

 entomologist. After stops at Kobe, Shanghai (where Dr. Rock left 

 us), and Hong Kong we reached Manila on November 3. 



At the gang plank I was met by Dr. Robert L. Pendleton, adminis- 

 trator of the Baker estate and professor of soils at the College of 

 Agriculture. From that moment until I left Manila for home Dr. 

 Pendleton let no opportunity pass to assist me in my task and its 

 attendant problems or to make my stay in the Islands comfortable, 

 enjoyable, and profitable. After the formalities of the customs, dis- 



91 



