REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES, 2I9 



importance of the work in which it is engaged, and which will not 

 suffer by comparison with the laboratories of other institutions of 

 similar aim. The steady expansion of our work in past years has 

 from time to time made imperative the construction of new build- 

 ings ; and that these have fulfilled their purpose is abundantly 

 demonstrated by the work that has been done in them. Owing to 

 financial limitations, however, most of these buildings were of a 

 flimsy and temporary character, sometimes erected in haste to 

 meet an immediate and pressing need; and they are not only in 

 themselves imperfectly adapted to their purpose but have often 

 called forth expressions of astonishment from foreign and other 

 visitors that so much could have been accomplished with accom- 

 modations so primitive. The cramped and often noisy working 

 quarters, the unsteady foundations, imperfect equipment and 

 inflammable nature of these buildings impress every worker and 

 visitor at the laboratory ; and nothing is plainer than the need of a 

 substantial, well equipped, safe and dignified new laboratory to 

 form the principal center of the work at Woods Hole. The 

 acquisition of a suitable site for this purpose is an important 

 forward step, and the generous offer of Mr. Coolidge places the 

 project before us in concrete form. It is the earnest hope of the 

 trustees that the means may soon be found for carrying out the 

 plans that are now being formulated; and it is their belief that 

 when this has been done the laboratory will enter upon a new 

 period of development that contains great possibilities of 

 usefulness. 



