Octobcb 15, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



517 



while he gained the confidence of the Peruvian 

 surgeons and other officials with whom he was 

 brought into contact. Undoubtedly, his pres- 

 ence, his sympathy and his counsel gave aid 

 and inspiration to the native officers who 

 labored for the cause of good health. 



In the spring of 1908, when the government 

 of Ecuador undertook the monumental task of 

 eradicating the bubonic plague and yellow 

 fever from its chief port, the city of Guaya- 

 quil, Dr. Lloyd, then in the quarantine service 

 of our government at that city, was chosen by 

 the Ecuadorian authorities to direct the diffi- 

 cult campaign of sanitation. This led to the 

 removal of Wightman from Callao to Guaya- 

 quil to have charge of the important quaran- 

 tine work at that place. 



In Ecuador, even more than in Peru, 

 Wightman was not content with the mere 

 performance of official duties, but gave him- 

 self to professional service according as the 

 need arose and so far as his limited spare 

 time permitted, contending with the diseases 

 of smallpox, bubonic plague and yellow fever. 

 It was in such professional activity that he 

 contracted the disease which so sadly termi- 

 nated his short career. 



There is no wish to attach an undue glamor 

 of heroism to a simple and conscientious serv- 

 ice. A principal charm and virtue of Wight- 

 man'a was the mobility of his temperament, 

 the ease with which he adapted himself to 

 persons and conditions. While contributing 

 to the health and pleasure of those about him, 

 he found a sincere enjoyment, not only in his 

 professional duties, but in the best society, 

 native and foreign, that his surroundings 

 afforded. There was no discontentment, no 

 evident sacrifice. Only the closest friends 

 could gain an intimation of the real sacrifice 

 entailed by the enforced separation from a 

 loved wife and child, whom he feared to take 

 into an xinhealthful climate, or by the expos- 

 ure of a constitution of whose weakness he 

 was aware to so prolonged a stay in a tropical 

 region. It was these considerations, and 

 chiefly the former, which made his transfer to 

 Guayaquil a reluctant one, though accepted 

 without complaint. The personal exposure to 



infectious diseases was, of course, accepted 

 unreservedly as the lot of his profession. 



The sacrifice involved in such a case is the 

 greater from the fact that our government, 

 strangely, offers no assurance or hope of a just 

 provision for the families of those who may 

 risk and give their lives in such patriotic and 

 humanitarian service. 



A life devoted steadfastly to the country of 

 his adoption, and finally sacrificed all too early 

 by the voluntary extension of this service for 

 the good of fellow men of another nationality 

 — in this is an appeal to the pride of all Amer- 

 icans. A wide and sincere sympathy will be 

 felt for the wife and child that are bereft. 



We pride ourselves that the American flag 

 goes out over the world as the emblem of 

 peace, of health and of prosperity, but the 

 men who most loyally carry it and who, un- 

 knowingly, add to its honor are such as Wil- 

 liam Wightman. 



Robert E. Coker 



TEE HARP8WELL LABORATORY 



The Harpswell Laboratory at South Harps- 

 well, Maine, was opened for the tenth season 

 from June 10 to September 9, 1909, every 

 room being occupied by investigators. No 

 considerable changes have been made in the 

 equipment, but the library has been increased, 

 chiefly by gifts of separata from authors. Of 

 these there are over 500 new titles, while 

 friends kindly gave subscriptions to several 

 American journals. To all these the thanks 

 of the laboratory are due. 



The following persons worked at the labora- 

 tory, most of them for the entire season : 



George A. Bates, professor of histology, Tufts 

 Medical School. Hisrtology of the teeth. 



Frank S. Collins, Maiden, Mass. Studying the 

 marine Algie of Casco Bay. 



Ulric Dahlgren, professor of biology, Princeton 

 University. Comparative histology of various vei- 

 tebrates and invertebrates. 



Charles H. Danforth, instructor in anatomy, 

 Washington University, St. Louis. Structure of 

 tho head in a recently hatched Amiurus. 



Pauline H. Dederer, tutor in zoology, Barnard 

 College. Pressure experiments on developing eggs 

 of Cerebralulus and spermatogenesis in Platy- 

 samia. 



