APPLIED GEOLOGY BROOKS. 349 



of the engineer, wldle the engineer no longer hesitates to use geology 

 in liis own field. Both professions have been improved by tliis mu- 

 tual help, and tlie geologist has by no means gained the least. The 

 modern mining engineer now recognizes that, even in liis own special 

 field, scientific investigations are essential. Tliis is evidenced by the 

 general hearty support given by engineers to the new Federal Bureau 

 of Mnes. 



It is not necessary to describe in detail the recent progress in apphed 

 geolog}'. While most of tlie countries of the world have taken part, 

 it is a field that tlie American geologist has made pecuharly liis own. 

 Among our im})ortaiit contributions in this field is the geology of 

 mineral oils, presented by Mr. Campbell to this society last year. 

 In this, as in the survey of coal deposits, stratigraphic and structural 

 geology have almost come to be exact sciences. Equally important to 

 to the Nation are the results achieved in imderground w^ater investi- 

 gations. The tectonics of jnineral veins now also approaches an 

 exact science; while many of the conclusions on the genesis of ore 

 bodies, notably that of secondary enrichment, are among the tri- 

 umphs of applied geolog}^ 



Moreover, the field is being extended. In Germany the work of the 

 geologist is regarded almost as essential to railway or canal location 

 as that of the engmeer — a lesson we have only recently learned at 

 Panama. The mvestigations of soils is now a distinct science, based 

 largely on applied geology. Questions of public health, such as purity 

 of water and sanitation problems, also in part fall m the domain of the 

 geologist. 



A significant phase of the new epoch in applied geology is its con- 

 tributions to political economy. A striking example of this is the 

 geologic survey of Korea, executed by the Japanese during their 

 war with Kussia. It need hardly be said that this was not made for 

 the j)urpose of advancing geologic knowledge, but solely to gain a 

 scientific valuation of the land which was costing so much blood and 

 treasure. Though the present status of the science does not permit 

 of a quantitati\e determmation of resources which is more than ap- 

 proximate, yet the fact that geologists are being called upon by politi- 

 cal economists for assistance indicates how fundamentally the science 

 affects the welfare of the Nation. 



This historical survey of applied geology, in which sjiecial emphasis 

 has been laid on its progress in this country, seems to point to sev- 

 eral conclusions. Firet, that much of the modern science of geology 

 originated in the field of applied science. It was the striving of man- 

 kind to solve problems of material welfare that gave the first impulse 

 to geologic thought. Second, that, as a rule, the science has made 

 most rapid strides at those times when its study was inspired by a 

 desire to achieve some })ructical end. Who'iicvor geology has become 



