14 BULLETIN 109, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



• The results of the work accoiiiplislied (liuiii!;- this and the fol- 

 lowing year are given in Owen's First Report of a Geological Eecon- 

 naissance of the Northern Counties of Arkansas, an octavo volume 

 of 256 pages, bearing the date of 1858. 



In his message to the legislature of 1858-59 Governor Conway rec- 

 onimended a more generous support of the survey — a recommendation 

 which, in spite of some vigorous opposition, found expression in the 

 following act, approved February 21, 1859: 



An act to provide for the further prosecution of the geological, mineralogical, and chemi- 

 cal survey of the State of Arkansas, in connection with an agricultural and botanical 

 survey of said State. 



Skctton 1. Be it enacted hii the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, 

 That the State geologist shall, in the further prosecution of the geological 

 survey of tlie State, connect therewith an agricultural and botanical survey of 

 said State, according to the plan hereinafter provided for by this act. 



Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That so soon as the geological recoinioissanco 

 of the State, now commenced, shall be sufficiently advanced to enable the 

 geologist to decide upon which tracts of land demand a thorough detailed 

 survey, there shall be instituted a minute and detailed survey of said tracts, 

 commencing with those which hold out the best prospect of valuable dis- 

 coveries, and said geologist shall employ, for the prosecution of the same, such 

 force as the appropriation hereinafter provided for shall justify. 



Sec. 3. It shall further be the duty of said geologist and his assistants to 

 make collections of all ores, coals, building materials, hydraulic and other 

 limestones, marls, clays, stilts, soils, fossils, and other maierinls of economical 

 value and scientific interest, to form a State collection. 



Sec. 4. It shall further be the duty of said geologist and his assistants to 

 make full and complete examinations, assays, and chemical analyses of all 

 ores, nu"nerals, and other useful materials, in ordei- to determine their eco- 

 nomical vahie, their durability, and their chemical constitution ; and to test 

 the mineral and natural waters of the State, and make analyses of those 

 deemed of sufficient interest, especially those thought to be possessed of 

 medical properties, or supposed to contain deleterious principles. 



Sec. 5. That it shall further be the duty of said geologist and his assistants 

 to make a collection of the* various soils of the State, especially those char- 

 acteristic of the different geological formations of the State; and shall con- 

 stitute a minute analyses of such soils, so as to exhibit the composition and 

 properties of the various soils, and ascertain their applicability to particular 

 crops and their comparative fertility. 



Sec. 6. That it shall be the duty of said geologist and his assistants to give 

 infoi-mation to the citizens in the country through which they may pass In 

 regard to the existence of minera.ls, especially to the owners of land on which 

 valuable minerals may be found. 



Sec 7. Be it further enacted, That the botanical survey shall have special 

 reference to growths peculiar to the various geological formations and the 

 congeniality of these (particularly the useful plants) to the soils derived from 

 the different geological formations. 



Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the said State geologist to prepare a re- 

 port on the progress of said survey, on or before October 10, 1860, to be ad- 

 dressed to the governor of tlie State, and accompany said i-eport with sections, 



