646 NATURAL SCIENCE. ^..„,. 



the expense of the Geological. The pamphlet in which this accusa- 

 tion was made was marked throughout by such bitterness and manifest 

 unfairness, that we should not be disposed to attach mucii weight 

 to that alone ; but we have heard the same view expressed in 

 Europe. So far as Major Powell's writings allow us to judge, he is 

 a daring explorer, and an ardent ethnologist. Both his predecessors, 

 Clarence King and Hayden, made important contributions to 

 geological literature, but the writings of the present Director have 

 not been suflicient to inspire any great faith in his capacity as 

 Director of so difficult an undertaking as the Geological Survey of 

 the United States. There are on the staff men whose names are 

 household words in modern geology, and if, as a result of the forth- 

 coming State enquiry, Major Powell should be retained as head of 

 the departments of Ethnology and Irrigation, and the Geological 

 Survey be separated as a distinct institution, with such a geologist as 

 Dr. G. K. Gilbert at its head, the recent action of the Congress will 

 result in ultimate good to science. 



The Australian Barrier Reef. 



Since the days when Flinders described the great Australian 

 Barrier Reef in the second volume of his " Voyage to Terra Australis," 

 and King prepared his oft-quoted Admiralty Chart, the reef has 

 always occupied a prominent place in the literature of the Coral 

 question. Owing to its vast extent — ranging 1,200 miles in length — 

 it forms by far the most conspicuous of reefs, ancient or modern. 

 The great size of the lagoon channel, which sometimes amounts to 

 70 miles in width and 60 fathoms in depth, further gives it an especial 

 interest in connection with the subsidence theory, by which Darwin 

 explained its method of formation ; the theory being supported not only 

 by the depth of the lagoon, the great height of its steep seaward face, 

 and the fact that the open ocean beyond is interrupted only by a few 

 small atolls. Nevertheless, in spite of the interest of the reef, 

 comparatively little has been done upon it, mainly, no doubt, owing 

 to its vast size. This is especially to be regretted, as a knowledge of 

 the structure of existing barrier reefs is of primary importance to 

 geologists ; for probably most of the fossil reefs, such as those of the 

 Corallian rocks of England, belonged to this class. Moreover, the 

 fascinating problems connected with Darwin's theory have, to a large 

 extent, monopolised the attention of students who have had the 

 opportunity of working on coral reefs, and thus our knowledge of the 

 l)iological questions connected with them has flagged. The pools 

 and lagoons in coral reefs are exceptionally prolific in life, both 

 animal and vegetable, and offer a most tempting field for work ; 

 but, with some few exceptions, such as Dr. Hickson's sojourn on the 

 reefs of Celebes, and W'althor's study of those of the Ivcd Sea, this 

 has been neglected. 



