No. 7.] GEOLOGICAL SUllVEY OF CANAKA. 415 



GKOLOCUCAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 

 Report of FrO(jrcsi> fur 1873-4. 



The OaiiLicliau Geological Survey may in one seuse be said to 

 be the most extensive in the world. Its territory ranges from 

 tlie Pacific to the Atlantic and from about the latitude of 45*^ 

 to the North pole. In another sense it is extremely small, nay 

 almost microscopic, for it seems to have only seven or eight 

 explorers to cultivate all this vast field ; and its annual revenue 

 is very small even for this limited corps, especially when we 

 consider the great expense attending expeditions into the more 

 remote parts of the territories of the Dominion. But Canada 

 is beginning to wake up to the importance of science, and the 

 Survey has probably by no means reached its full development. 

 Its resources arc indeed to some extent yet based merely on the 

 calculations required for the limited Canada of bygone years, 

 and our public men are only beginning to realise the demands 

 of their present extended territory. 



The present report of 266 closely filled pages, ranges over the 

 whole vast field of the Survey from west to east. Beginning 

 at the Pacific, Mr. Richardson writes of British Columbia. 

 The Director himself and Prof. Bell report the results of explo- 

 rations pushed across the great plains on the lines of the North 

 and South Saskatchewan. Mr. Ycnnor explored the apatite 

 and plumbago regions of Ontario and Quebec. 3Ir. McOuat, 

 Mr. Barlow, and Mr. Robb report on the coal-fields of Nova 

 Scotia and Cape Breton; and Dr. Harrington contributes a re- 

 port on iron, which is really a detailed and almost exhaustive 

 treatise on our resources in that important metal. Mr. Whit- 

 eaves concludes the volume wi'h notes on the Cretaceous fossils 

 of British Columbia. Some other departments of work which 

 do not appear in the detailed report, are thus noticed in the 

 introductory remarks of the Director : 



•' In the 3Iuseum the re-arranging, rc-labellinii', numbering 

 and cataloguing the collections is making satisfactory progress. 

 AVhcn completed it is proposed to issue a descriptive catalogue 

 which it is thought will tend materially to enhance the value of 

 the collections both for educational purposes and for the general 

 information of the public. Considering the size and population 



