CENTURY OF IOWA GEOLOGY 415 



detail. I cannot but express the warmest admiration for his great 

 skill in unravelling difficult problems, his remarkable accuracy of 

 observation, and his invariable sound geological reasoning. In his 

 methods of investigation three unique features are conspicuously 

 presented. His plan of correlating geological outcrops more or 

 less widely separated geographically by means of the combined evi- 

 dences of lithologic resemblance, stratigraphic continuity, and con- 

 tinuity of lithologic sequence, and of plotting sections along exposed 

 lines of streams, preceded by a generation their general adoption by 

 American field geologists. By half a century he anticipated modern 

 geologic requirements, when he defined his terranes by clearly not- 

 ing, as essential elements of exact definition, their topographic ex- 

 pression, their geographic extent, their lithologic character, their 

 ■stratigraphic delimitation, their biotic definition, and their economic 

 content. In soundness of logical deduction his generalizations stand 

 every test. All of these characteristics are repeatedly displayed for 

 the first time in the published results of his investigations in Iowa. 



One of the curious analogies which his keen penetration estab- 

 lished was a remarkable parallelism which he seemed to find exist- 

 ing between the sequence of Carboniferous limestones as displayed 

 in Lowa and the succession worked out by Phillips in England. The 

 :omparison clearly indicates the great influence which his English 

 iraining in geology had upon him. 



GOVERNMENTAL LEASING OF MINERAL LANDS 



A recent proposal, which has been received by the public w^ith 

 Treat acclaim, is for the government to hold the control of mineral 

 ands as public domain and lease claims to miners and operators. 

 ^Vhatever may now be the merits of the plan it is certain that it 

 Dnce had fullest trial in lowa and proved to be a most dismal failure. 

 Lts immediate effects upon the mining industry, which at that time 

 A^as quite flourishing, were the most disastrous ever experienced. 

 Mining in this state never recovered. For long years it was prac- 

 ically ruined. 



It was in 1807, soon after taking possession of the Louisiana 

 Purchase, that the United States government announced a new pol- 

 cy respecting the development of mineral lands. It was a number 

 )f years before the scheme could be put into operation. Such lands 

 vere especially reserved. In Iowa-land nearly 200,000 acres were 

 hus set aside. A system of leases was ordered. By paying the 

 government a royalty of 10 per cent individuals were permitted to 

 extract ore for a period of three or five years. 



