Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. 115 



Association on the evening of Friday last ; and that he be requested to 

 furnish a copy of the same for publication. 



Resolved, That Mr. B. Silliman, jr. be a committee to carry the above 

 resolution of publication into effect. 



Prof. Hitchcock called the attention of the meeting to the sub- 

 ject of our transactions, and the importance of providing some 

 proper vehicle for the publication of the valuable papers already 

 accumulated in the archives of the Association. 



The order of business for the day was then taken up by the 

 reading of a description of two new cabinet cases for minerals 

 and geological specimens by Mr. Lyman Wilder, of Hoosick 

 Falls, New York, illustrated by small models. The object of the 

 plan was to bring as many specimens as possible within a given 

 small space, by an ingenious and compact arrangement of sliding 

 compartments, having a perpendicular movement by means of a 

 revolving axis, each compartment coming successively into view. 



A paper was read by Dr. Douglass Houghton, entitled " Re- 

 marks on the importance and practicability of connecting Geolo- 

 gical Surveys with the Linear United States Surveys." 



He commenced this paper with a description of the plan upon which 

 surveys of the public lands are at present made. It was considered 

 P an which, for the obtaining of mere geographical information, and 

 or he purposes for which these surveys were more particularly de- 

 igned, viz. to subdivide tiie public lands to be offered for sale, is all that 

 be required ; but in other respects these surveys are defective, for 

 reason that the government does not appear to have in view the 

 attaining of much beyond that single object. 



e regarded this as an anomaly ; a government carrying forward a 



system of land surveys without obtaining through tlicm that infor- 



a ion which would enable her citizens to understand their own country. 



is mode is entirely different from that pursued by other governments. 



instanced the geological survey connected with the Ordnance survey 



r eat Britain and Ireland, and spoke at some length upon the policy 



pursued by other European governments. 



e saw no good reason why geological and topographical informa- 



Q might not be obtained during the progress of these United States 



surveys, sufficient to furnish us with minute geological maps, and 



without any material additional expense. He felt certain that this 



be done, for he had taken advantage of some of those surveys to 



n P er fccting his geological surveys of Michigan. He had, in fact, 



v ^ to his aid some of the deputy United States surveyors, and had 



. c °nnexion of these geological with the linear surveys, and he 



a y that the plan had proved eminently successful. 



the 



