﻿SEPT. 
  19, 
  1922 
  jaggar: 
  geophysical 
  observatories 
  349 
  

  

  ments 
  by 
  a 
  similar 
  mechanism. 
  The 
  determination 
  of 
  these 
  period- 
  

   icities 
  has 
  depended 
  on 
  the 
  founding 
  of 
  an 
  observatory, 
  and 
  only 
  a 
  

   decade 
  of 
  work 
  has 
  already 
  laid 
  the 
  foundations 
  for 
  much 
  useful 
  dis- 
  

   covery. 
  Many 
  phenomena 
  before 
  deemed 
  exceptional 
  are 
  found 
  to 
  

   be 
  commonplaces 
  (Pelee 
  spine). 
  Others 
  neglected 
  before 
  are 
  found 
  

   to 
  be 
  fundamentally 
  important 
  (aa 
  lava). 
  Chemical 
  processes 
  which 
  

   were 
  taken 
  for 
  granted, 
  like 
  oxidation, 
  begin 
  to 
  loom 
  large. 
  Elements 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  detect 
  because 
  of 
  unperceived 
  combustion 
  and 
  rapid 
  diffu- 
  

   sion, 
  like 
  hydrogen 
  and 
  helium, 
  may 
  prove 
  more 
  important 
  in 
  explain- 
  

   ing 
  volcanism 
  than 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  obvious 
  things. 
  Chaotic-looking 
  results 
  

   are 
  achieved 
  by 
  surprisingly 
  gradual 
  processes, 
  even 
  in 
  volcanism, 
  

   and 
  immense 
  bulks 
  are 
  moved 
  rapidly 
  with 
  astonishingly 
  little 
  dis- 
  

   turbance. 
  

  

  A 
  temporary 
  expedition 
  cannot 
  be 
  expected 
  to 
  discover 
  such 
  things. 
  

   An 
  expedition 
  expert 
  is 
  not 
  expert 
  in 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  

   place 
  he 
  is 
  visiting. 
  So-called 
  intensive 
  studies 
  by 
  expeditions 
  cannot 
  

   reckon 
  with 
  past, 
  present, 
  and 
  future 
  critical 
  events. 
  The 
  time 
  element 
  

   in 
  physical 
  control 
  entirely 
  breaks 
  down. 
  Agassiz 
  in 
  Galapagos 
  

   found 
  green 
  slopes 
  ; 
  he 
  was 
  amazed 
  that 
  Darwin 
  had 
  reported 
  barren- 
  

   ness. 
  They 
  were 
  there 
  at 
  different 
  seasons. 
  Often 
  the 
  evidence 
  of 
  

   a 
  local 
  consul 
  or 
  physician 
  is 
  more 
  valuable 
  than 
  the 
  opinion 
  of 
  experts. 
  

   The 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  coral 
  reef 
  problem 
  is 
  a 
  Fiji 
  observatory; 
  the 
  solu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  continental 
  glacier 
  problem 
  is 
  a 
  Greenland 
  observatory; 
  

   the 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  ore-deposit 
  problem 
  is 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  volcano 
  and 
  hot- 
  

   spring 
  observatories; 
  and 
  the 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  erosion 
  problem 
  is 
  a 
  

   Mississippi 
  observatory. 
  Piecemeal 
  notes 
  patched 
  together 
  from 
  

   library 
  reading 
  never 
  yet 
  made 
  a 
  discovery 
  in 
  natural 
  history 
  and 
  

   never 
  will. 
  Human 
  observation 
  is 
  such 
  that 
  often 
  it 
  must 
  dwell 
  

   with 
  an 
  obvious 
  fact 
  which 
  it 
  never 
  sees 
  for 
  many 
  years, 
  until 
  suddenly 
  

   there 
  comes 
  an 
  awakening. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  commonplace 
  of 
  scientific 
  

   progress, 
  as 
  biography 
  shows. 
  The 
  specimen 
  and 
  the 
  descriptive 
  

   note 
  are 
  makeshifts, 
  intolerable 
  in 
  the 
  experimental 
  sciences 
  such 
  as 
  

   physiology, 
  astrophysics, 
  or 
  meteorology' 
  ; 
  how 
  large 
  a 
  part 
  does 
  a 
  

   mummy, 
  a 
  meteorite, 
  or 
  a 
  hailstone 
  play 
  in 
  those 
  sciences? 
  So 
  it 
  

   is 
  with 
  geonomy, 
  the 
  science 
  of 
  Earth 
  law. 
  Men 
  dwell 
  on 
  the 
  Earth 
  

   and 
  live 
  by 
  its 
  forces. 
  No 
  statement 
  can 
  be 
  too 
  strong 
  in 
  enforcing 
  

   the 
  importance 
  of 
  Earth 
  processes 
  for 
  man. 
  

  

  In 
  America 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  Button, 
  Dana, 
  Gilbert, 
  Russell, 
  Becker, 
  

   Powell, 
  McGee, 
  Shaler, 
  and 
  Clarence 
  King 
  recall 
  personalities 
  of 
  

   men 
  who 
  saw 
  erosion, 
  gravity, 
  desiccation, 
  accumulation, 
  uplift. 
  

  

  