240 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



half of this region being accurately and minutely mapped, 

 while in the remaining portion the work is something less 

 accurate, but still far surpasses what is ordinarily known as 

 a preliminary reconnoissance. The plan pursued by Profess- 

 or Powell, of retaining the Indian names of mountain chains 

 and peaks, whenever those names have been already adopted 

 by the white settlers in their neighborhood, seems to us emi- 

 nently commendable. PoweWs Report, 18*73. 



GEODESY IX THE FAR WEST. 



The Bureau of Engineers, having in charge the geological 

 and geographical explorations and surveys west of the one 

 hundredth meridian, has recently published its first contribu- 

 tion to our accurate knowledge of geographical positions in 

 Wyoming and Colorado Territories: The report, though only 

 relating to two stations namely, Cheyenne and Colorado 

 Springs is of particular interest at this time, in view of the 

 consideration by Congress of the important question as to 

 who shall make the surveys of the land. Lieutenant Wheeler, 

 the engineer immediately in charge of the survey, has, we 

 think, very wisely followed the precedent established by the 

 superintendent of the Observatory and the Coast Survey, in 

 giving to the civilians under his direction full credit for the 

 valuable scientific labors that they have undertaken. In the 

 report before us we are favored with the details of the work 

 done by Dr. F. Kampf and J. H. Clark, whose names appear 

 on the title-page as civilian astronomical assistants. The lat- 

 ter presents a memoir on the astronomical operations of the 

 field season of 18*72, and the former gives us the results of 

 observations at Colorado Springs in 1873. The general di- 

 rection and plan of the astronomical work at these stations 

 is laid down by Lieutenant Wheeler with great minuteness 

 of detail, so as to insure the most complete uniformity and 

 the greatest accuracy in the work of each assistant ; and at 

 every point we perceive that the assistant in charge of any 

 work is held directly responsible to the public, as well as to 

 his superior officer, for the accuracy of his results. The obser- 

 vations made at the twenty-two remaining primary stations in 

 18*71-73 will appear in the second volume of the reports of the 

 survey, and it would seem that the present publication of the 

 work done at Cheyenne and Colorado Springs is intended to 



