NOTES BY THE EDITOR, 



ON THE 



PROGRESS OF SCIENCE FOR THE YEAR 1869. 



The opening of the Pacific Railway and of the Suez Canal, and 

 the completion of the laying of the French Cable, are tempting 

 subjects to dwell upon. 



It is not fitting to indulge in national boasting, at the comple- 

 tion of our line to the Pacific, before we learn the exact condition 

 of the road, and the thoroughness of the work ; although the ra- 

 pidity of its execution, and its magnitude, might excuse any dis- 

 play of national egotism. The oi^ening, however, of our great 

 territories to the enterprise of both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, 

 and to the cheap labor of Asia, is a result clearly to be seen. 



We shall soon be called upon to chronicle other Pacific Rail- 

 ways; a northern, and possibly a southern one. As in the case 

 of the French Atlantic Cable, the success of later attempts will be 

 received as a matter of course, and the Pacific Railroad, whose 

 completion we note to-day, will lose its prestige among the com- 

 ing number of routes to the Pacific. In the present volume will 

 be found accounts of the coal-fields of the territories. Apprehen- 

 sions of lack of fuel for our great railway, by the discovery of 

 these deposits, are seen to be ill-founded. It is felt that the Pa- 

 cific Railway, with all its great realities and possibilities, is inade- 

 quate as a means of communication between our lines of coast, 

 and attention has been redirected to the Darien Ship Canal. An 

 appropriation has been made by Congress to pay the expenses of 

 a new survey for this work, and an expedition has already sailed. 



The completion of the Suez Canal undoubtedly had its share in 

 directing public attention in the United States to the possibility 

 of this enterprise. This canal has been opened with impressive 

 III 



