September 30, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



445 



complete botanical survey of the island, since 

 tlie fact is fully appreciated that the natural 

 plant covering of a region is closely correlated 

 with its agricultural possibilities. As one of 

 the results of this survey it is planned to pub- 

 lish an illustrated flora of Cuba. Work to- 

 wards that end has already been begun, and it 

 is proposed to prosecute it as rapidly as cir- 

 cumstances will permit. In this connection it 

 will be necessary for the botanist to visit the 

 larger American and European herbaria where 

 types of Cuban plants are likely to be found. 



There are, however, numerous smaller col- 

 lections, both public and private, which con- 

 tain interesting Cuban material. Where it is 

 possible to secure the loan of such material it 

 will be thankfully received and carefully re- 

 turned. A large quantity of duplicate ma- 

 terial is being collected with which to repay 

 such courtesies and to offer in exchange for 

 other tropical American plants. It will not, 

 however, be the policy of this institution to 

 offer sets of such material for sale. 



An available tropical laboratory has long 

 been the dream of American botanists. With- 

 in the last few months this dream has been 

 realized by the arrangement between the 

 Jamaican government and the New York Bo- 

 tanical Garden for the use of the Cinchona 

 plantations. It is now possible to offer the 

 use of a second tropical laboratory. We feel 

 that the occasional residence among us of 

 active botanists from other institutions, bring- 

 ing, as they will, fresh suggestions and inspira- 

 tion, would be of the greatest benefit to us. 

 We, therefore, freely offer the use of our fa- 

 cilities to any properly accredited botanist who 

 cares to make use of them for any line of 

 botanical investigation, stipulating only that 

 arrangements be made long enough in advance 

 to avoid possible conflicts. Persons desiring 

 to do much microscopic work should bring 

 their own instruments with them. Santiago 

 de las Vegas is situated twelve miles south of 

 Havana in a rolling, open country. There are 

 four trains a day to and from Havana over 

 the Western Railroad. The elevation is only 

 about one hundred and fifty feet. The condi- 

 tions are, therefore, absolutely different from 

 those in Cinchona with its rugged mountains 



and five thousand feet of elevation, and a resi- 

 dence at one of them will only sharpen the 

 appetite for experiences at the other. 



F. S. Eaele, 

 Director Cuban Experiment Station. 



THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ARTS 

 AND SCIENCE. 



We hope to print later an account of the 

 work of the International Congress of Arts 

 and Science, held last week at St. Louis, and 

 we have already printed the program and a 

 description of the aims of the congress by 

 Professor Miinsterberg, who was chiefly re- 

 sponsible for its plan. In the last issue will 

 be found the address of the president and in 

 this issue the address before the department 

 of physical science; others of the important 

 addresses will appear subsequently. These 

 articles and addresses give an adequate im- 

 pression of the work of the congress, and only 

 a few words are needed at this time. 



It was the unanimous opinion of nearly all 

 those present that the congress was successful 

 and successful beyond the anticipations that 

 had been formed. There has perhaps never 

 been assembled together a group of scholars 

 so notable, and the addresses were real and in 

 some cases important contributions to science. 

 With the possible exception of the ' Encyclo- 

 paedia Britannica,' the addresses when pub- 

 lished together will give the best review that 

 has ever appeared of contemporary science 

 and scholarship. There were about a hundred 

 foreign delegates, each a leader in his science. 

 A selection of names must be almost at ran- 

 dom, but it may be questioned whether there 

 were ever before gathered together in one 

 room men of science and scholars so eminent 

 as Poincare, Darboux, Picard, Boltzmann, Ost- 

 wald, van't Hoff, Ramsay, Moissan, Backlund, 

 Arrhenius, Murray, Penck, Zirkel, de Vries, 

 Giard, Delage, Hertwig, Waldeyer, Seler, Hoff- 



