INTRODUCTION. y 



rabbits., monkeys, goats, and dogs, are as much a portion of the 

 laboratory reagents as are the culture media in which the bacteria 

 grow or the microscopes through which they are seen. 



Tropical colonies are also of necessity regions the prosperity of 

 which depends upon agriculture, upon an exploitation of the 

 natural products, upon mining interests, and the means for the 

 barter and sale of raw products. They can not under present con- 

 ditions, or presumably even in the remote future, become manufac- 

 turing centers excepting for products closely related to their chief 

 staples. It is a fact that the interior of many of these countries 

 is but little known, that the products are gathered by persons igno- 

 rant of their true uses and values, that in many cases they are 

 allowed to go to waste for want of a proper knowledge, and that 

 in others the exploitation is desultory and imperfect. Some phases 

 of tropical agriculture are fairly well advanced; among these may 

 be mentioned the culture of the cocoanut, of hemp, rice, etc., but 

 when it comes to articles of a different character, which are obtained 

 from the forests or mines, it is found that much uncertainty exists. 

 Gums and resins, which are supposed to be of but little value to 

 the natives and which they may use for fuel or for lighting 

 purposes, may, on distillation, produce substances of far higher 

 commercial value. Medicinal plants may exist in large num- 

 bers with qualities unknown or imperfectly known to the people, 

 but containing alkaloids and other materials which if properly 

 investigated would be readily marketable at high prices. New 

 fields of enterprise, based upon knowledge secured in other coun- 

 tries, may also be introduced. In order to gain advantages not 

 heretofore obtained in the conservation and exploitation of 

 natural products or of those introduced for the purposes of culture, 

 bureaus of forestry, agriculture, and mines and commercial muse- 

 ums have been established, but all of these need the assistance, 

 advice, and research work of laboratories to answer questions as to 

 the nature of soils and minerals, the value of ores, the uses and 

 composition of oils, gums, resins, and medicinal plants, and without 

 such assistance the value of their work would be but a fraction of 

 what it is. 



For the purposes of study of the subjects mentioned above a 

 necessity exists for a laboratory of chemistry and for facilities to 

 pursue and complete accurate researches on the materials which can 

 be obtained. In the Tropics, as well as in other countries, the 



