416 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXin. No. 846 



inaugurated, so that scientific workers may 

 receive proper instructions and advice as to 

 methods and conditions of life and travel. 

 Instead of gathering his own experience in 

 this regard he should be able to rely on that 

 of others, and without waste of time devote 

 himself to his scientific work. Every scien- 

 tific investigator in the tropics knows that the 

 information he received when he prepared for 

 his journey of exploration into the primeval 

 forest was practically valueless, and he had 

 to learn for himself, often at considerable 

 expense, loss of time and not infrequently of 

 health. 



An international, a Pan-American institu- 

 tion for the scientific study of the conditions 

 of tropical America is needed. American sci- 

 entists should take the lead and invite their 

 colleagues of the Latin- American republics to 

 join them in a systematic endeavor to study 

 the tropics of this hemisphere, its natural 

 riches and its diversified conditions. Such a 

 course will be as important for the preserva- 

 tion of peace, for the mutual understanding 

 between the peoples of the Americas, and for 

 the progress of these countries as commercial 

 treaties or diplomatic conventions. 



I do not propose here to enter into details 

 in regard to the organization of a Pan-Amer- 

 ican scientific institution for the systematic 

 study of the American tropics. I do believe 

 that the time is ripe for such an undertaking, 

 and I have reason to think that if a suitable 

 plan is defined and proposed it will meet with 

 the ready response and approval of the public 

 and the governments of all the American 

 republics. Pehr Olsson-Seffer 



Tezonapa Botanicai, Station, 

 Mexico, D. F., 



December 20, 1910 



OCTAVE CBANUTE^ 



Octave Chanute was born in Paris, France, 

 February 18, 1832. He was brought to this 

 country in childhood, was educated chiefly in 

 New York City and began the practise of his 

 profession as civil engineer at an early age. 



^Presented to Section T>, American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science, Minneapolis, De- 

 cember 30, 1910. 



After having done eflicient work in railway 

 construction in New Tork, Indiana and Illi- 

 nois, he became in 1863 chief engineer of 

 maintenance of way and construction of the 

 reorganized Chicago and Alton Eailroad, re- 

 maining upon that line until 1867. 



During this connection, having been in- 

 vited to submit a design for the proposed 

 Union Stock Yards of Chicago, his plan was 

 selected in competition with a number of 

 others and he built these yards as chief engi- 

 neer. He was also awarded a premium for a 

 competitive design for a bridge across the 

 Missouri Eiver at St. Charles, Mo. In 1867 

 Mr. Chanute went to Kansas City, Mo., as 

 chief engineer of the bridge across the Mis- 

 souri Eiver at that point. This was the pio- 

 neer bridge across the Missouri Eiver, and as 

 the river pilots and riparian dwellers had 

 given this stream a bad reputation, the suc- 

 cessful completion of this bridge across it in 

 1868 attracted great attention and interest. 



Later Mr. Chanute successively became 

 chief engineer of the Kansas City, Fort Scott 

 and Gulf, the Kansas City and Santa Fe, the 

 Atchison and Nebraska, and the Leavenworth, 

 Lawrence and Galveston railroads. 



From 1873 to 1883 he was in the service of 

 the Erie Eailway as chief engineer. During 

 this connection he readjusted the motive power 

 of the road and lessened the grades so that the 

 through freight trains, which averaged eight- 

 een cars when he first became connected with 

 the line, had grown to thirty-five cars when he 

 closed his connection with the road in 1883, 

 when he removed from New York to Kansas 

 City, in order to look after his personal in- 

 terests, and to open an office as consulting 

 engineer. 



In this latter capacity he took charge of the 

 construction of the iron bridges during the 

 building of the Chicago, Burlington & North- 

 ern Eailroad between Chicago and St. Paul in 

 1885, and of those of the extension of the 

 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Eailroad, from 

 Kansas City to Chicago, in 1887 and 1888 ; the 

 latter involving, besides a number of minor 

 streams, the Missouri Eiver bridge at Sibley 



