8 



for the evil, will not be among the least important results of 

 the survey. It will likewise make generally known the ex- 

 istence and localities of occurrence of useful materials, such 

 as stones for useful or ornamental purposes ; of clays, adapt- 

 ed to almost all the various uses of that important material ; 

 of limestones not inferior to those of which the imported 

 lime is made : and it will give reliable information as to the 

 quality and best mode of working these and other useful 

 materials. And among the lesser advantages, it will save 

 thousands of industrious individuals the trouble of looking 

 for things which they cannot expect to find, while informing 

 them as to what they may reasonably look for. 



But it has been suggested more than once, that, granting 

 the intrinsic value and importance of a geological and agrr 

 cultural survey, it- has been satisfactorily shown that the 

 chief resources it is likely to develop in this State, will be 

 of little use to the present generation ; that lands are not 

 yet exhausted, and any one may move to a "fresh place" if 

 he chooses. That as for the lignite, there is plenty of wood 

 to last a lifetime, and more too ; and such being the case? 

 that they had rather not go to the expense of having a sur- 

 vey made yet awhile. 



It is not likely that a policy so short-sighted, narrow-mind- 

 ed and suicidal, should gain ground in an enlightened com- 

 munity, and in the nineteenth century. As for those who 

 hold and profess such views, their departure for a "fresh 

 place" will scarcely be felt as a loss to the community they 

 desert, and to which they refuse to make themselves perm?.- 

 mently useful. Having too common ground whereon to 

 meet such objectors, I shall confine myself to meeting the 

 objections of those who, while willing to do something for 

 the benefit even of posterity, still imagine that there is no 

 need of accellerating the survey ; and would prefer its in- 

 definite prolongation to the exertion of supplying at once 

 means adequate to insure its speedy completion. 



In the first place, it is not a matter of indifference whether 



