GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEYS. 221 



tions of the Lower Peninsula and their eqtiivalences with recognized groups 

 In the States, was, fur the first time, constructed. The existence of gypsum be- 

 neath a ridge of claj- on the shore of Tawas Bay was insisted on, and the diseov- 

 erj' of that deposit, the commercial value of which is now a matter of notoriety, 

 was made under tlie direction of I'rofessor Wincliell. Projected borings for 

 artesian water, searclies for coal, gypsum, and petroleum have been favored 

 or discouraged, and large outlays of money saved. 



The existence of three salt basins was established, the upper of which supplies 

 Bay City and vicinity (except the deep wells) ; the middle, the Saginaw ; and the 

 lower, the wells at St. Clair. Mount Clemens, and Port Austin. The wells at the 

 three last-named [ilaces weie undertakeu under the advice of the State geologist. 

 purely upon geological calculations according to the n)ethods of vigorous science. 

 In the c.ise of the St. Clair well the commuuicjitious of the geologist with 

 Colonel Whiting as to dei)th, supply, and strength of brine are instructive indi- 

 cations of the value of science in business enterprises. 



The special survey and report upon the geology and climntology of the Grand 

 Traverse region in 1S0G-G7 has Iteen the means (though wholly a private work) 

 of turning tlie attention of the people to that country and has hugely increased 

 its j)oi)ulation, particularly of those interested in fruit culture under the tem- 

 pering intlueuce of the waters of Lake Michigan. 



More might be added, but this ought, in the opinion of your committee, to se- 

 cure a libel al appropriation. 



The bill introduced by the joint committee, after sundry aniend- 

 irients, was passed by both houses and approved by the governor, 

 March 2G, 18G9 (see p. 204). It was entitled " A bill to provide for 

 the further geological survey of the State." It enacted that " a board 

 of geological survey " should be constituted by the go\ ernor, the 

 superintendent of public instruction, and the president of the State 

 board of education; and that "they shall control and supervise the 

 continuance and completion of the geohjgical survey of the State; 

 that they shall appoint and commission a suitable person, possessed 

 of the requisite knowledge of the science of geology, who shall be 

 the director of the geological survey herein instituted."' The boaid 

 were to a])prove the appointment of assistants, to fix all salaries, to 

 regulate all expenses, and to reqtiire such frequent reports as they 

 might think useful. 



The law reqtiircd "a thorough geological and mineralogical survey 

 of the State, embracing a determination of the succession, arrange- 

 ment, thickness, and position of all strata and rocks; their mineral 

 character and contents and their economical uses; an investigation 

 and determination of the organic remains of the State; a general 

 examination of the topography, hydrography, and pliysical geog- 

 raphy of the State; an investigation of the soils and subsoils, and the 

 determination of their character and agricultural adaptations; the 

 mvestigation of all * * * productions of the geological world 

 within the limits of the State capable of being converted to the uses 

 of man." 



