302 NATURAL SCIENCE [May 



magnificent collection of very large-sized photographic transparencies 

 of American scenery, all beautifully coloured, and from what we 

 have seen of the few that were already completed, and others in 

 progress, when we were in Washington, we feel safe in saying that 

 they will be amongst the most interesting and striking of the 

 photographic exhibits at the Paris World's Fair." 



" The PhotoctEAm " on the U.S. Geological Survey 



" The Geological Survey, unlike the War Department, is very well 

 housed in a good studio and excellently fitted dark-rooms and work- 

 rooms. Its space is none too large for the number of men who are 

 busy therein, but they have, at any rate, every convenience they can 

 fairly ask. Of course the bulk of their work consists of developing, 

 printing, and generally making useful the exposed plates which are 

 sent to them by workers in the field, and, as there are over one 

 hundred cameras in constant use by members of the Survey, for 

 each field party has at least one camera in its equipment, it can 

 easily be imagined that the work is no sinecure. Perhaps we 

 ought to explain that the Geological Survey in America occupies a 

 much more important position, and has much more extensive duties 

 than its name would seem to indicate, for its work includes that 

 which, in Britain, is undertaken by the Ordnance Survey, in 

 addition to the work of a Geological Survey proper. Even geology 

 is understood in a very wide sense by the American Government, 

 for the most important ' rock ' with which they deal is water, and 

 it is one of the duties of the Survey to give information to people 

 all over the States, who may be contemplating the driving of wells 

 or the planning of irrigation works. This being the case it can 

 easily be understood not only that the hydrographer's department, 

 with F. H. Newell at its head, is an important and busy section, but 

 also that the work generally is much more extensive than the work 

 of a similiar survey in Europe. The printing and publishing depart- 

 ment of the Geological Survey (for it issues all the official maps of 

 the States) is decidedly interesting, though decidedly disappointing 

 from the point of view of the photographic and photo-mechanical 

 enthusiast. Probably there is no Survey in the world in the map- 

 printing establishment of which photography is so little used. This 

 does not, in any sense, arise from any objection to photographic 

 methods, for, as a matter of fact, the head of the printing depart- 

 ment is most anxious to use photography wherever practicable, and 

 has an unusually good knowledge of its possibilities and application. 

 At the same time, the introduction of photography to any great 

 extent would mean a revolution of the whole methods of the 

 Survey, and would have only doubtful advantages, since the present 

 working seems to compare very favourably, in point of both cost and 



