GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEYS. 61 



Under these apparently favorable auspices' a party, consisting of 

 Prof. J. D. Whitney, W. H. Brewer, and William Ashburner, sailed 

 from New York on October 22, 1860, arriving in San Francisco the 

 i4th of November follow^ing. In order that field work might be car- 

 ried on during the winter, the party repaired almost at once to the 

 southern part of the State, where, during the time intervening from 

 December 12 to February 7, a reconnoissance was made of a portion 

 <,)f Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. 



Brief reports were rendered from time to time, from which the 

 following facts are largely gleaned. As announced in a notice of 

 progress up to May, 1803,° the survey was governed by two principal 

 ideas: First, to make as rapidh' as possible a reconnoissance of the 

 State with the view of acquiring a knowledge of its general geologi- 

 cal structure, the age of the various formations which occur in it, 

 :ind as complete a general idea as possible of their range and ex- 

 tent, so that a foundation might be laid for the detailed work which 

 would follow the preliminary examination; second, at the same time 

 that the general examination was going on, to work up in detail 

 certain more important districts, so that the public might have light 

 on questions of economical interest, and at the same time be able to 

 form an idea of what the work might be, if ever carried to comple- 

 tion. Besides this, a natural history survey was to be carried on and 

 material collected to form a State museum. 



The survey authorized under the act of April 21, 1860, expired by 

 constitutional liuiit on the same da\' of the same month of 1861. To 

 enable the continuance of the work the following act was passed: 



An net to crcjMo tlie nfflce of StJito uoolofiist. juid to define (lie duties thereof. 



The people of the S^fate of California, represented in senate and assembly, do 

 itiact as folloics: 



Section 1. .T. D. Whiti^ey is hereby fippointed State geologist. He shall be 

 <ommissionefl by the governor, and it siiall be his duty, with the aid of such 

 assistants as he nuiy appoint, to complete the geological survey of the State, and 

 prepare u report of said survey for publication, and superinteud the publication 

 of tlie same. Such report shall be in (he form of a geological, botanical, and 

 zoological history of the State, and the number of volumes and the number of 

 copies of each volume to be printed, and the style, form, maps, diagrams, or 

 illustrations to be contained therein or to be published separately, shall be 

 detei'mined by the State geologist; and said report, when published, shall be 



• " No State geological survey was ever more auspiciously inaugurated, wisely provided 

 for, or fraught with more interesting scientific and practical problems." American Jour- 

 nal of Science, vol. ,30, ISfiO. p. 157. And again, on p. 424 : " No similar enterprise in 

 the United States lias ever l>c('n set on foot on a more liberal and enlightened basis or 

 opened under more favorable auspices as respects either the Importancfe of the work to l>« 

 done or the ability of those charged with the duty." 



•rroc. California Acad. Sci., vol. 3, 1863. 



136075—20 4 



