JUNJJ26, lyuB.j 



SCIENCE. 



1009 



are abundantly supplied. The city lias a pop- 

 ulation of about 4,000, and has water works, 

 sewer system and electric lights. There are 

 over forty miles of macadamized roads in the 

 best of condition for wheeling. The question 

 of mosquitoes has been raised by one of the 

 people discussing this matter. There are cer- 

 tain places in the state of Florida that are 

 seriously infested, but at the location under 

 discussion there is very little difficulty. The 

 hommocks and mangrove swamps will prove 

 to be thickly infested during the summer 

 months, but in the clearings and on the pine 

 land the mosquitoes are certainly not more 

 annoying than in Iowa or Minnesota. 



In a recent number of Science, one of the 

 correspondents discusses the question of lo- 

 cating the laboratory in Jamaica. The loca- 

 tion may Le an ideal one from several points 

 of view; it is, however, an out-of-the-way 

 place, and one difficult to get to and get away 

 from. There are practically only three lines 

 of steamers which permit one to visit the 

 island comfortably. These sail from Boston, 

 New York and Philadelphia. To reach the 

 island it would be necessary to sail from one 

 of these ports. The average worker would 

 lose nearly a week in getting to the labora- 

 tory. To attempt to make the trip by way 

 of Havana and Santiago requires nearly three 

 weeks, together with a very heavy expense 

 account. The fact of traveling in a foreign 

 country has some fascination about it, but has 

 likewise its disadvantages for scientific re- 

 search. We have on our southern coast a 

 vast unexplored region which has been given 

 only a cursory examination. 



Dry Tortugas has also been under discus- 

 sion. This seems to be an ideal place for soli- 

 tary confinement, as one of our correspondents 

 points out. This is all right for about six 

 or eight hours a day, but during the other 

 sixteen or eighteen hours it is very pleasant 

 to have the companionship of people. Dry 

 Tortugas would have to be reached by way of 

 Key West. It being about sixty miles west 

 of Key West, one would have to charter a 

 sail-boat or a launch and pay for at least two 

 days to make the trip, , a . considerable loss of 

 time. 



The majority of people who work in these 

 research laboratories have only two or three 

 months to put in at one time, and it becomes 

 very important, therefore, that they should not 

 spend twenty-five per cent, or more of this 

 time in going to and returning from the labo- 

 ratory. A laboratory located at a railway 

 station would prove much more convenient, 

 even if located in a field not so rich as one 

 that would be located at a point which re- 

 quires a considerable amount of traveling to 

 be reached. P. H. Rolfs. 



U. S. Defartment of Agkicultuee, 

 Xkopical Labokatory, Miami, Fla. 



To THE Editor of Science : I have read with 

 interest the letters in Science relating to the 

 establishment of a biological station at the 

 Tortugas, also Professor MacBride's sugges- 

 tion favoring the Bahamas and Professor 

 Duerden's favoring Jamaica. 



Will you kindly allow me to make one fur- 

 ther suggestion? I would ask that the Isle 

 of Pines be considered as a location for this 

 station and for these reasons: 



1. As Professor MacBride says. West Indian 

 waters ' surpass in interest and .variety of 

 species the Mediterranean.' The fringing 

 ceyos, bays and rivers of the Isle of Pines give 

 areas of water at varying depths and, it seems 

 to me, conditions unsurpassed for collecting 

 the greatest variety of species. 



2. This island, though in the tropics has, 

 because of sea breezes, a climate agreeable for 

 study the year round. The dry, buoyant air 

 prevents one feeling the languor usually ex- 

 perienced in the tropics. 



3. The fresh water supply at the Isle of 

 Pines is unsurpassed. The fertile gardens can 

 supply food, and lumber and building material 

 are abundant. 



4. The climate is most healthful, there being 

 no epidemic sickness. Yellow fever, typhoid 

 fever and malaria are unknown. Americans 

 can live there for years in excellent health. 



5. This island belongs to the United States, 

 and it is probable that a naval coaling station 

 is to be located there. It is easy of access. 



Students then could, on the Isle of Pines, 

 have a delightful place of residence, with all 



