156 
more than momentary interest. The book is 
dedicated to Herbert Clark Hoover in the hope 
that it may aid his fellow citizens to support 
him. Harry SNYDER 
THE BOTANY AND PLANT PRODUCTS 
OF NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA 
A COOPERATIVE investigation of the flora of 
northern South America, which, when carried 
out in detail, should be of highly significant 
scientific and economic importance, has re- 
cently been organized by the New York Bo- 
tanical Garden, the United States National 
Museum, and the Gray Herbarium of Har- 
vard University. This investigation is planned 
to include the plants inhabiting the Guianas, 
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and the adja- 
cent Caribbean islands, Trinidad, Tobago, 
Margarita, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. 
The immediate object is to secure and or- 
ganize collections of size and excellence from 
as many different floral areas as may be found 
feasible; to assemble all knowledge obtainable 
relative to the distribution of the species, their 
habitats, and their uses; and thus to acquire 
in North America, materials for critical in- 
vestigations leading to much needed mono- 
graphs of important groups and to detailed 
catalogues of floras as yet very inadequately 
known. 
The region contemplatted has great diversity 
of climate, soil and altitude and a correspond- 
ing wealth of vegetation. Perhaps no area of 
greater botanical promise has thus far received 
less organized floral investigation. Nor have 
the scattered results obtained in the past ever 
been brought together into correlated or ac- 
cessible form, being at present scattered in 
fragmentary publications, foreign journals and 
casual works of travel, with the result that in- 
formation even in regard to many plants of 
considerable economic promise is excessively 
difficult to assemble and surprisingly scanty 
when obtained. 
In this rich and varied flora of northern 
South America is sure to be found a wealth 
of plants capable of yielding commercial tim- 
bers, drugs, vegetable oils, tannin, gums, waxes 
and essences of technical value, dye-stufis, 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIII. No. 1233 
food-materials, fibers and countless substances 
such as rubber, highly significant in manufac- 
tures. Many of these products are reaching 
our markets in mixed or imperfect condition 
owing to inadequate knowledge of the precise 
plants from which they should be obtained. 
In other instances, although the species may 
be known, the range and availability is still too 
obscure to encourage enterprises of exploita- 
tion. 
Recent events have shown how suddenly and 
unexpectedly America may be cut off from 
many European sources of manufacture and 
information. It is increasingly evident that 
all the American countries should gain the 
manufacturing and commercial independence 
which may be derived from a thorough scien- 
tific investigation of their natural resources. 
Among these the tropical American vegetation 
is one of the most significant and merits much 
more earnest investigation than it has thus 
far received. J 
It is confidently believed that the proposed 
studies will do much to extend the knowledge 
of South American products, and thus to in- 
erease trade and conduce to friendly relations 
with the countries concerned. 
In the realm of pure science the results ob- 
tained will also have very important bearings 
on the studies of Central American vegetation 
already prosecuted by the National Museum 
and by the Gray Herbarium, and on those of 
the West Indian flora conducted by the New 
York Botanical Garden. 
The scientists in charge of the botanical col- 
lections of the three cooperating institutions 
and other botanists and economists have long 
known the need for organized information rela- 
tive to the vegetation of northern South 
America; these collections already contain 
specimens derived from various sources in the 
past, representing a considerable proportion of 
the plants inhabiting the region, and of their 
products, but much of this material has not 
been critically studied nor determined botan- 
ically. Old World museums and herbaria 
contain a more complete and better studied 
representation than American institutions 
possess. The extensive literature of the sub- 
oe 
