THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALASKA 43 



practically only the needs of the miner have to be considered. The 

 agricultural and allied interests of the territory are being investigated 

 by other governmental bureaus. 



The attitude of the public towards the science of applied geology 

 has so materially changed during the last decade that its practical value 

 is now generally recognized, though a few still remain skeptical as to 

 the commercial importance of the results. This attitude exists partly 

 because geology (not being an exact science) has often been brought 

 into disrepute by dilettantism, if not downright charlatanism. Among 

 technicians, however, it has become generally accepted that with the 

 increase of geologic knowledge of a given region comes a decrease of 

 the element of chance in the discovery of ore bodies. Intelligent pros- 

 pecting should and can be based upon scientific principles, for a properly 

 executed geologic map will define the areas within which there is a 

 probability of finding a given kind of mineral deposit. The veriest 

 tyro need hardly be told not to seek coal in a granite, nor would he 

 ordinarily prospect for gold in a region of coal-bearing rocks. The 

 geologist carries this classification of the rocks still farther, and may 

 thereby prophesy the occurrence of ore deposits in a region which he 

 has mapped. The actual discovery of ore is no part of the work of the 

 geologist; this demands detailed examinations and often excavation, 

 such as only individual property-owners can make. This point is 

 emphasized because, even among the well-informed, the question is 

 often raised why the geologist does not more often discover mineral 

 deposits. Lack of appreciation of the relation of applied geology to 

 mining is traceable in part to the stories current of the bonanzas dis- 

 covered by an accident to a mule, the luck of a tenderfoot or the appe- 

 tite of birds, which are in the popular mind so interpreted as to throw 

 discredit upon geologic science. 



The intelligent prospector has learned that even at best his chance 

 of success is small ; but is much increased by a knowledge of the geology 

 of a region he intends to explore. With a better understanding of the 

 laws which govern the occurrence, origin and distribution of mineral 

 deposits the old-fashioned, picturesque haphazard prospector, to whom 

 it must be admitted we owe the discovery of most of our mineral wealth, 

 will disappear, and the technician will take his place. This is probably 

 the last field where the specialist will crowd out the man of purely 

 practical training; but it is a substitution bound to take place in time. 



A geologic survey has two objects: first, the increase of scientific 

 knowledge, and, second, the application of this knowledge to the mining 

 industry. The purely scientific investigations include many subdivi- 

 sions and ramifications that can not here be considered, but it will be 

 evident, even to the layman, that, while any part of the earth's surface 



