Apeil 10, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



575 



ada, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, England and 

 other foreign countries, as well as in tlie 

 United States, seem destined to prove of 

 great aid to a wide circle of contemporary 

 and future investigators in this iield of 

 history. A guide to materials in Cuban 

 archives, by Mr. Luis M. Perez, has been 

 published during the year; a similar guide 

 to materials in Spanish archives, by Pro- 

 fessor W. R. Shepherd, is now in press; 

 while others are in a forward state of 

 preparation. A revised and much enlarged 

 edition of the "Guide to the Archives of 

 the Government of the United States at 

 Washington" is also now in type, and will 

 soon be issued. 



For an outline of prospective as well as 

 current work under this department, atten- 

 tion may be called to the full report of 

 Director Jameson, to be found on pages 

 97-105. 



HORTICULTURAL WORK OP MR. LUTHER 

 BURBANK 



The experiments and investigations of 

 Mr. Burbank and the woi-k of preparing 

 a scientific account of his methods and 

 achievements are progressing as favor- 

 ably as the available division of time 

 and labor will permit. Being necessarily 

 and properly very busy with his own 

 affairs and overburdened by importunities 

 of the public, the amount of time avail- 

 able for conferences concerning the origin 

 and the history of his productions is lim- 

 ited. 



Dr. Shull, of the staff of the Department 

 of Experimental Evolution, who is collect- 

 ing the data for the account just referred 

 to, has been at Santa Rosa for two series 

 of conferences during the year, and plans 

 to spend a portion of each year there until 

 this work is completed. Dr. Cannon, of the 

 Department of Botanical Research, has also 

 spent a portion of the year at Santa Rosa, 

 studying especially the physiology of some 



of the numerous hybi'ids developed by Mr. 

 Burbank. 



One of the most important results which 

 may be expected to arise from Mr. Bur- 

 bank's work and from the interest in it 

 taken by the institution is a general stim- 

 ulus to scientific horticulture. That con- 

 temporary society is ready to appreciate 

 and utilize such a stimulus is a noteworthy 

 sign of the times. Thus, many individual 

 and governmental enterprises are giving 

 attention to the economic advantages to be 

 gained from rationally conducted experi- 

 ments in this field, while biologists in in- 

 creasing numbers are devoting their studies 

 to the more recondite laws which govern 

 plant, frait and flower developments. 



DEPARTMENT OF MARINE BIOLOGY 



As explained more fully in my preceding 

 report, the unique conditions under which 

 this department must carry on its work 

 have led to a similarly unique development, 

 the more essential features of which are the 

 absence of a permanent scientific staff and 

 the closing of the laboratory at Dry Tor- 

 tugas during the autumnal and winter* 

 seasons of the year. But these features do 

 not diminish the efficiency or limit the ex- 

 tent of the work peculiar to the depart- 

 ment, since the pelagic life of the region 

 can only be investigated advantageously 

 during the spring and summer seasons. 



During the past season, as hitherto, the 

 department has extended its laboratory and 

 collecting facilities to specialists in zoolog- 

 ical research, eleven such guests having 

 availed themselves of the opportunities af- 

 forded at Dry Tortugas and in the adjacent 

 regions accessible by means of the vessels 

 of the department. Signal aid is thus ren- 

 dered to investigators in localities whose 

 exploration is often attended by dangers as 

 well as by difficulties. 



Publication No. 47, on "Rhythmical Pul- 

 sation in SeyphomedusEe, " by Director 



