98 re;ports of invh;stigations and projects. 



The usual limitations upon the pioneer settler in new territory of course 

 obtain here. He may not at once begin as he would, but must begin as he 

 can. That is, the questions which must be chosen for initial solution are not 

 always those which the experience of the geologist has pointed out as most 

 important and far-reaching in their geological application, but rather those 

 which can be reached by the methods and apparatus already available, or 

 others suggested by experience. Once a beginning has been made, useful 

 experience accumulates rapidly, and, indeed, in a new field this is perhaps the 

 most valuable product for a time. 



It is obvious that in proportion as the new conditions approach familiar 

 ground there is more variety in the available methods, greater certainty in 

 their application, and greater immediate progress. But a more far-sighted 

 survey of the field plainly reveals the fact that ultimate progress will depend 

 largely upon the extension of the facilities for reproducing the extreme con- 

 ditions under which rock formation proceeded in the great laboratory of 

 nature. 



For this reason it has not been the policy of this Laboratory to multiply 

 indiscriminately such observations and measurements as have already proved 

 practicable and effective, but rather to put forth a consistent effort to extend 

 their scope in directions which have hitherto been regarded as more or less 

 inaccessible. This plan of procedure has also an immediate practical advan- 

 tage in that new methods once established become available to others who 

 may be interested to continue such research. 



It is a matter of common belief which has had considerable foundation 

 in fact that the reason why the search for more exact information about the 

 formation of the earth and its mineral resources was not begun long ago was 

 because a special and uncommonly powerful plant was necessary for the com- 

 petent solution of these problems. This is to a certain extent true, but the 

 situation is by no means as serious as in astronomy, for example, where a 

 particular relation will only yield to the analytical power of a telescope of a 

 certain size and smaller instruments are left helpless. With greater expe- 

 rience in the laboratory study of the minerals, it is becoming more and more 

 evident that the reactions go forward as regularly where small quantities of 

 material are under observation as with larger ones, and that the measure- 

 ments undertaken upon the smaller charges are often more accurate and con- 

 clusive. The study of the relations of many of the rock- forming minerals is 

 therefore already within easy reach of a comparatively modest laboratory 

 equipment. 



As soon as we begin to realize that a number of the important problems of 

 rock formation are really within the facilities regularly offered to students in 

 many educational institutions, an immense impetus will be given to the devel- 

 opment of the subject, as well as to the aggregate output of trustworthy data 



