June 30, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



917 



trial processes are by no means solely eon- 

 fined to motor coordination, and I must 

 emphasize that the data of this report may 

 not be uncritically applied to industrial 

 situations. More complex processes, such 

 as typewriting, which seem to apply more 

 directly to industrial environment, are 

 being studied, and their various factors 

 analyzed by my colleague. Dr. Walter R. 

 Miles, experimental psychologist of the Nu- 

 trition Laboratory. It is only upon the 

 basis of such analysis that justifiable con- 

 clusions may be made with regard to the 

 eifeet of alcohol upon the mental and phys- 

 ical demands of industrial environment. 



It may be added that the material already 

 published is being further elaborated, both 

 experimentally and statistically, by Dr. 

 Miles. 



Francis G. Benedict 



Nutrition Laboratobt op the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington, 

 Boston, Mass. 



CINCHONA AS A TROPICAL STATION 

 FOR AMERICAN BOTANISTS 



It is now practically assured that some 

 fourteen American universities, botanical 

 foundations and individual botanists are to 

 cooperate with the Jamaican government in 

 the support of Cinchona as a tropical station. 

 A move to aid in the support of Cinchona, 

 initiated by the Botanical Society of America 

 in 1912, was not consummated, in consequence 

 of the earlier leasing of the station to the Brit- 

 ish Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence. The Jamaican authorities and the Brit- 

 ish Association seem quite willing, under pres- 

 ent conditions, to allow the lease to pass into 

 American hands after October next. 



The attention of American investigators 

 should, therefore, be directed to the facilities 

 for botanical research offered by this oldest and 

 best known botanical laboratory in the west- 

 em tropics. 



A brief description of the location of Cin- 

 chona and of its botanical environment has re- 



cently appeared in The Popular Science 

 Monthly (December, 1914, January, 1915). 

 Among the advantages of this station for 

 American botanists there enumerated are the 

 greatly varied flora and series of types of vege- 

 tation; the proximity of a library and of two 

 other botanical gardens, beside that surround- 

 ing the laboratory. The location of Cinchona 

 is a very fortunate one for American botanists 

 from a practical standpoint. It is in an Eng- 

 lish-speaking country with good roads, a stable 

 government and adequate quarantine service. 

 It is also within easy reach of our eastern sea- 

 ports, from several of which the round trip to 

 Jamaica and Cinchona can be made in summer 

 for $75.00 or less for transportation. 



In order to give a more adequate idea of the 

 advantages of Cinchona for several different 

 types of research I have asked four investiga- 

 tors who have worked there to suggest the op- 

 portunities presented at Cinchona for research 

 in the four or five lines which they have fol- 

 lowed. These outlines are appended under the 

 names of their respective authors. 



It is altogether probable that any American 

 botanist wishing to work at Cinchona during 

 the coming summer will be granted the privi- 

 lege by requesting it of the colonial govern- 

 ment of Jamaica through Superintendent Wil- 

 liam Harris, F.L.S., Hope Gardens, Kingston, 

 Jamaica. The writer and the authors of the 

 appended notes on the botanical opportunities 

 of Cinchona will be glad to give any informa- 

 tion, within their knowledge, of conditions at 

 and about the laboratory. 



Duncan S. Johnson 



Johns Hopkins UNrvERsirr, 

 Baltimore, 

 May 25, 1916 



THE fern-flora OF CINCHONA 



The writer has visited a good many regions 

 rich in ferns, but none equals Jamaica either 

 in number of species or individuals. The ex- 

 traordinarily varied conditions in Jamaica, due 

 largely to its topography, result in a variety of 

 the fern flora which is really amazing. About 

 five hundred species are reported from this 

 small island, of some four thousand square 



