first be improved to create the desire and ability to use advanced methods and spur production efficiency. But this becomes at vicious circle, for modern methods are necessary to improve health and living conditions.

The engineering field is a new and large one in Latin American agriculture. It includes housing, drainage, irrigation, and rural electrification for light, heat, cooling, and power. It embraces the uses of tractor, horse, and electric and water power on the farm. It calls for knowledge of latest farm machinery design, its operation, care, and repair.

Under an economics and rural welfare program, the Institute is conducting a nutrition study of the Turrialba region, an economic study of coffee production, and a disease-control project for this crop. Institute scientists are also focusing their attention on intercropping rubber with corn or yuca to use all the land and offset the costs of raising rubber.

Cooperation in taking the 1950 agricul

GIANT TROPICAL GRAPES Developed by the Institute through scientific testing, selection, and breeding.

tural census as part of the world census is also contemplated.

Still another facet of the Institute's work is education. From the beginning a graduate school was planned offering fellowships to train future leaders of agriculture. So far the number of students has been limited until enough research projects were operating. This year, however, between thirty and forty-five students are expected. They fall into three groups: 1) free-lance students who want to learn some new technique or do research on a given crop; 2) those registered for advanced degrees elsewhere who come to Turrialba to work out their thesis problem or to be trained as vocational teachers; and 3) advanced students registered for a terminal degree leading to a Master of Agriculture degree which the school will eventually grant.

The policies of the Institute are determined by an Administrative Committee, which meets semi-annually and is responsible to a Board of Directors identical with the Governing Board of the Pan American Union. As Director of the Institute, tall, able Ralph H. Allee heads the staff at Turrialba. The program is financed by the member American republics on the basis of population, with the Pan American Union acting as fiscal agent.

From the start the Institute has been up against terrific odds. For one thing, it was launched during the war, when shortage of materials and other wartime stringencies made it doubly difficult to get things rolling. Building plans, drawn up before the war, had to be almost completely revised to make use of noncritical materials. Again, many of the first plantings refused to grow because of a lack of phosphorus, calcium, and potassium in the soil. Administrative difficulties, natural with a new organization, were another headache.

Then there was the human element.

STUDENTS and teachers from every corner of the United States will be going south this year to attend one of the many institutions in Latin America which will offer summer courses. For the first time since the beginning of the second world war travel by land, sea and air is again unrestricted. Latin American universities have made great efforts to increase their facilities so that they can accommodate the largest study body in their history.

The possibilities for summer study in Latin America during 1947 are varied and attractive. The well-established summer schools for foreign students of the universities of Mexico and Habana are offering their customary variety of stimulating courses. The University School of Fine Arts in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, extends its invitation to the serious art student for two months of intense work. Anyone interested in Central American economics, history, or literature will be especially attracted by the offerings of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. The Inter-American Summer University in San José, Costa Rica is prepared to help the prospective Spanish teacher increase his knowledge of Spanish and Spanish-American literature and to improve his conversational fluency. For those who do not like to venture alone, an all-expense tour to Costa Rica, is being arranged from Dallas, Texas. Students who profess a greater interest in South America may choose between the

University of Colombia or the University of Chile.

There is also a wide choice of North American universities and colleges which will hold a special summer session in Latin America. Florida Southern College has announced two successive terms in Antigua, Guatemala, located about 25 miles from the capital. The Texas State College for Women will again hold a session at Saltillo, Mexico, while the University of Houston will have an international study center in Mexico City and another in Guatemala. Several unusual opportunities are open to those who wish

to

combine study and travel. From Northwestern University a group of students will start out on a 10,000 mile air cruise of Latin America. Spanish instruction will be given on the airliner by Professor José Sánchez, director of the cruise, as soon as it leaves Chicago. Dr. Nora B. Thompson of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, will take a small group through Central America, stopping in Guatemala so that the members may participate in the summer school of the University of San Carlos. Dr. Graydon DeLand of Denison University will conduct a small group of girls on a thirty-seven day trip through Mexico.

Students often ask what benefits can be derived from a summer session in Latin America. Many hesitate at first upon hearing that in some cases they will not be able to transfer credits earned there to their own university. And yet, with the

exception of only short periods of economic or political disturbances, an increasing number of students have gone to South and Central America for the summer.

There are many obvious reasons for the success of the Latin American summer school. Some people have an innate desire to travel and change their surroundings. In addition, the advantages of close association with persons who speak Spanish or Portuguese as their mother tongue are apparent to teachers of those languages. Students of the arts, history and literature will find stimulating contacts and valuable experiences under the guidance of Latin American scholars. But perhaps the most valuable, although the most intangible, benefits to the average student are his personal experiences, and his observations of a culture different from his own. Even in a short period he will gain through day-to-day relationships some understanding of the life patterns and customs of the country. If the student has a sincere desire to accept any variations from his own way of life as expressions of a vital and living culture, a small but important step has been taken in fostering international cooperation and peace.

The institutions which will offer summer schools during 1947 may conveniently be divided into two groups. The first includes only Latin American universities and the second those North American institutions which will hold special summer terms in Latin America.

Latin American universities

Seven institutions of higher learning will have special summer sessions in 1947. Credit transfers depend in each case on the United States university. The National University of Mexico, which as early as 1921 established the first summer school primarily intended for the foreign.

student, will hold its term from July 1 to August 17 this year. Both graduate and undergraduate students are accepted and its credits are recognized throughout the United States. Under the vigorous leadership of Dr. Francisco Villagrán,1 for many years the director of the School, a competent teaching staff of faculty members and guest lecturers has been assembled. Among the courses included in the summer curriculum are elementary, intermediate and advanced Spanish, as well as several in Spanish and Spanish-American literature and history and Mexican art. Students who are making a special study of Mexico may be particularly interested in the courses in history of Mexican culture and those in the Nahua and Maya languages. A survey of the diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States will also be offered. The recent strides of Mexico in its literacy campaign will be stressed in two other classes. For the first time Dr. Theodore Apstein will teach a course on the Latin American Drama with special emphasis on the period from 1900 to the present. Although the teaching language generally is Spanish, a few courses will be given in English. Not more than 1,300 students will be admitted this summer, and it is advisable to register by mail as soon as possible.

For the seventh consecutive year the University of Habana is offering a great variety of courses between July 7 and August 16. Since the establishment of the summer school in 1941, facilities available to foreign students have been rapidly augmented and attendance of both Cubans and foreigners is increasing. The minimum entrance requirements are that the student be at least seventeen years of age and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent. This year the University

1 Dr. Villagrán is now Mexican Consul General in Los Angeles, Calif.