The Institute for Re search in Tropical America 
Wilmon Newell, Gainesville 
Some of you may assume, from the 
title of this paper, that the subject is a 
dry one. I can assure you that it is not, 
but, on the contrary, there is before us 
an opportunity to secure for Florida an 
institution which not only promises to 
greatly surpass any existing institution 
in the southern states but one which will 
presently attain a world-wide distinction 
in the field of science, including agricul¬ 
ture and horticulture. I will confess, at 
this time, that I requested your President 
and Secretary to afford me the opportun¬ 
ity of talking to you on this subject, be¬ 
cause I honestly believe that w<e have 
something of vital interest to this Soci¬ 
ety, and that, furthermore, this Society 
is the logical agency to take the initial 
step towards getting this institution lo¬ 
cated in Florida. 
Without further preliminaries, permit 
me to say that within recent months— 
practically since the close of the World 
War—there has developed among scien¬ 
tific investigators, particularly plant 
pathologists, a definite movement for in¬ 
vestigations in the tropics, pertaining not 
only to plant diseases, but to various lines 
of agricultural and horticultural work. 
The beginning of this movement is right 
here in the United States. It is not mere¬ 
ly the expression of a desire on the part 
of scientists to explore the tropics along 
their respective lines of research, but is 
the crystallization of the plans and needs 
of many individuals and large business 
interests whose financial investments in 
tropical countries are such as to make 
certain lines of scientific research a vital 
necessity. There are many business 
firms in this country that have extensive 
holdings in the tropics and the future 
success of many of their ventures is de¬ 
pendent upon the solution of agricultural, 
horticultural or biological problems. It 
is only natural, therefore, that such a 
movement, virtually international in 
scope, should develop at this time. 
There is also great need for a more 
complete knowledge of the trees, plants 
and crops of the tropical regions than is 
now available, to say nothing of the, fact 
that medical men need a knowledge of 
many factors which concern the origin 
and dissemination of tropical diseases. 
There is also a crying need for an insti¬ 
tution in which students may specialize 
in the study of tropical problems, in or¬ 
der to qualify themselves for employment 
by business interests having investments 
in the tropics. And it is equally desira¬ 
ble that there be provided, in cr by the 
United States, in some form, an advanced 
educational institution wherein students 
from the Latin-American countries may 
take advantage of the large amount of bi- 
