136 ROBERT M. YERKES 



research with the primates should rapidly justify itself, for upon 

 its results must rest the most significant historical or genetic 

 biological descriptions. It is beyond doubt that genetic psy- 

 chology can best be advanced to-day by such work, and what 

 is obviously true of this science is not less true of all the biolo- 

 gical sciences which take account of the developmental or genetic 

 relations of their events. 



In view of the probable values of increasingly complete ac- 

 counts of primate life, it seems far from extravagant to insist 

 that the securing of adequate provision for systematic and long 

 continued research is the most important task for our genera- 

 tion of biologists and the one which we shall be least excusable 

 for neglecting. Indeed, when one stops to reflect concerning 

 the situation, it seems almost incredible that the task has not 

 been accomplished. 



Some ten years ago Professor John B. Watson (1906) entered 

 a plea for the founding of a station for the experimental study 

 of behavior. He made no special mention of work with the 

 monkeys and apes, but it is clear from the problems which 

 he enumerates that he would consider them most important 

 subjects for observation. Professor Watson's plea has appar- 

 ently been forgotten by American biologists, and it seems not 

 inappropriate to revive it at this time. For surely we have 

 advanced sufficiently along material and scientific lines during 

 the last ten years to render possible the realization of his hope. 



To my knowledge, only one definite attempt has thus far 

 been made to gain special provision for the study of the pri- 

 mates. Somewhere about the year 1912 there was established 

 on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, a modest station for 

 the study of the anthropoid apes. I have already referred to 

 it briefly on page 1. The plan and purpose of this station, 

 which is of German origin, have been presented briefly by Roth- 

 mann (1912). From personal communications I know that a 

 single investigator has been in residence at the station since 

 its founding and that psychological and physiological results of 

 value have been obtained, but no published reports have come 

 to my attention. 



When I first heard of the existence of the German anthropoid 

 station I naturally thought of the possibility of cooperative 

 work, but the events of the past two years have rendered the 



