58 A CENTURY OF PROGRESS IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES 



skeleton for land-measuring purposes ever since. While the Land Office did 

 extremely valuable work for the future development of the State, unlike the 

 Coast Survey it did not contribute to the advancement of astronomy and scien- 

 tific geodesy. 



Another Federal project consisted of the explorations and surveys to ascer- 

 tain the most practical route for a railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific, 

 undertaken in 1853-1854 under the direction of the United States War Depart- 

 ment. The result of this well-equipped project was published in a Report of 

 thirteen imposing volumes — a great contribution to the geography and cartog- 

 raphy as well as to the natural conditions and resources of the American West. 

 At no less than 174 stations, including many in California, astronomical obser- 

 vations were made and the latitude, longitude, and magnetic declinations of 

 many places were determined. The tables of these observations were published 

 in the second volume of the Report and formed a valuable basis for future sur- 

 veys, especially for the heretofore neglected mountainous and desert regions of 

 the State. 



The government of the State likewise participated in the geodetic delineation 

 of California. The office of Surveyor General of the State of California, founded 

 in 1850, published annual reports. In 1860 the legislature established the State 

 Geological Survey, which carried on its tasks for fourteen years until a new 

 political constellation put a sudden end to its work, so that not even its valuable 

 maps could be completed. The principal work was carried on by four great men 

 in the fields of geodesy, geology, and topography, Josiah D. Whitney, Clarence 

 King, Charles F. Hoffmann, William H. Brewer. 



The work of the Coast Survey continued, and its annual reports bear witness 

 to the excellent achievements of its members. It received a new impetus when 

 in 1868 Davidson was again put in charge of the survey on the Pacific Coast, an 

 assignment which he continued uninterruptedly until 1895. 



During the eight years of absence from San Francisco, Davidson had achieved 

 national recognition. He had participated in the War between the States in 

 various capacities, had been the engineer of a party sent to Panama to examine 

 the possibility of a canal through the isthmus, and had been sent to Alaska by 

 the State Department to make a survey of the territory preliminary to the con- 

 summation of its purchase by the United States. 



With renewed vigor Davidson took up his various tasks. Soon after his return 

 he became intimately connected with two California institutions to which he 

 remained devoted till the end of his life : the University of California and the 

 California Academy of Sciences. In 1870 he was elected Professor of Astronomy 

 and Geodesy, in 1877 he became a Regent of the University, and after his retire- 

 ment from the Coast Survey he was appointed Professor of Geography; a year 

 before his death he received the degree of Doctor of Laws. 



His first contribution to the Proceedings of the California Academy of 

 Sciences was a report on the "Observations of the Meteors of November 14, 1869, 

 at Santa Barbara." In the course of years he contributed about thirty papers 

 on astronomy and geodesy alone to the periodical publications of the Academy. 

 In 1872 he was elected President of the Academy, an office which he held for 

 fifteen years. 



In his capacity as President he visited James Lick to convey the thanks of the 



