26 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY [Bull. 



taking their chances of securing other employment when the work 

 of the Survey is finished. 



The appropriation for the Connecticut Geological and Natural 

 History Survey is one of the smallest of those which are made 

 by the states at present maintaining such surveys. Six states 

 make annual appropriations for geology alone ranging from ten 

 thousand to twenty-eight thousand dollars, exclusive of cost of 

 publication, and five others make annual appropriations ranging 

 from ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars, inclusive of cost of 

 publication. In comparison with an appropriation of ten thousand 

 dollars for geology alone, our appropriation of fifteen hundred 

 dollars for geology, botany, and zoology seems rather small. It is 

 fair, however, to consider that Connecticut is not a large state, 

 and that there is no probability that further geological exploration 

 will develop great mineral wealth or create a great mining 

 industry. While a moderate permanent increase of the appropria- 

 tion would be desirable, the experience of our Survey has shown 

 that creditable and useful work can be done with a small 

 appropriation. The Survey should be recognized as having passed 

 the experimental stage and having vindicated its claim to be a 

 permanent institution. 



Plans for the Next Two Years and Appropriations Desired 



However useful the kinds of work outlined above, in Geology, 

 Botany, and Zoology, may be, it is the judgment of the Commis- 

 sioners that they should be postponed for the present, in order 

 that the investigation of the water resources may be pushed 

 forward as rapidly as possible. It is obvious that the sooner the 

 work of surveying the water resources can be completed the 

 greater will be its utility. The United States Geological Survey 

 is willing to continue the same sort of cooperative agreement 

 which has been in force for the past two years. The amount of 

 money which they are willing to allot to the work in Connecticut 

 will depend upon the amount of the appropriation made by 

 Congress in its present session. It is almost certain, however, 

 that the United States Geological Survey will be able to make at 

 least as large an appropriation for the next two years as for 

 the past two years. Two years ago the officers of the United 

 States Geological Survey would have been willing to make a 

 considerably larger appropriation for work in the state of Con- 

 necticut if we had been able to duplicate it. Whether they will 

 be able, in view of present demands in other parts of the country, 

 to increase the allotment to Connecticut, cannot be known till 

 the appropriations have been made. The Commissioners of the 

 State Survey are of the opinion that we ought to offer for the 

 ensuing biennial term a larger appropriation than the former 



