108 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 499. 



letin published by the bureau on the sub- 

 ject of 'India-rubber and Gutta-percha.' 

 At the same time Avork has been steadily 

 carried on in relation to the important 

 cocoanut-oil industry, and results are grad- 

 ually being obtained which in the near 

 future will warrant the publication, from 

 the commercial side, of accurate and com- 

 plete information. 



The field in the islands is very large 

 and many topics remain to be handled. 

 Especially is this true of many of the 

 medicinal plants of the islands, of which 

 very little is known, of the gums and resins, 

 and of essential oils. 



The corps of botanists, now consisting of 

 four men, has, as is necessary in a new 

 country, been devoting its first attention to 

 the preparation of an adequate herbarium, 

 and the collection now contains over ten 

 thousand numbers. Materials have been 

 sent to various countries for identification, 

 but with the laboratory facilities now on 

 hand much of this work is being done here. 

 The time will soon come when this her- 

 barium win have assumed sufficient dimen- 

 sions to warrant individual investigations 

 with it as a basis, and in furtherance of 

 this plan the laboratory, in conjunction 

 with the forestry bureau, will establish a 

 botanical garden at Lamao, across the bay 

 from Manila. When this is accomplished, 

 the field of work will be open for the plant 

 physiologist and mycologist and work can 

 be steadily pushed. The results of the 

 botanical work up to the present have been 

 published in two bulletins, with a third in 

 the press. The entomologists have been 

 more handicapped in their work of identifi- 

 cation than the botanists, as the field in the 

 islands is practically new, and the species 

 and genera obtained are, to a large extent, 

 undescribed. The work of securing an 

 adequate collection has been steadily 

 pushed, however, and at the same time the 



economic side has not been lost sight of. 

 So far the entomologists have published 

 two bulletins, one on 'Insects attacking the 

 Cacao Plant, ' and another on the ' Austral- 

 ian Cattle Tick,' which is present in the 

 islands and capable of transmitting Texas 

 fever. 



The library has steadily expanded, and 

 although difficulty has been encountered in 

 obtaining complete sets of some publica- 

 tions, the chief ones in all scientific branches 

 now represented in the bureau have been 

 purchased and are on the shelves, so that 

 literature for extensive research work is 

 available. 



In all, the progress for the past three 

 years has been most satisfactory, and the 

 wisdom of the government in establishing 

 one central laboratory institution, which 

 could carry on all lines of necessary work, 

 has been justified. In the place of a num- 

 ber of poorly provided laboratories, we 

 have a bureau which is well equipped and 

 prepared for its work. The individual 

 scientific worker need not be isolated at 

 some point where intercourse with his fel- 

 lows is difficult or impossible, but he finds 

 himself in a scientific atmosphere and in 

 contact with students of all branches, giv- 

 ing him a broader and more satisfactory 

 career and bringing to the government 

 better results. In addition to these ad- 

 vantages, a place is provided for visitors of 

 scientific training, where they may learn 

 what has been going on, and may, if they 

 desire, carry on investigations of their own. 



The serial publications of the bureau, so 

 far, comprise twelve numbers with two 

 more in press, and the topics which have 

 been covered demonstrate the value of the 

 work. The list is as follows: 



Biological Laboratory. ' Preliminary Report of 

 the Appearance in the Philippine Islands of a 

 Disease Clinically Resembling Glanders,' by R. 

 P. Strons-, M.D. 



