236 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



possible by any other man than the author of the 

 scheme at the time it was broached. Another part 

 of the plan was detailed geologic survey of regions 

 specially rich in mineral resources. This design also 

 has been carried out and has given to the world the 

 most useful and elaborate treatises known to the 

 literature of geology in the form of such reports as 

 those on the quicksilver district and the gold belt of 

 California, the Eureka district of Nevada, the Lead- 

 ville district in Colorado, and the copper and iron- 

 bearing districts in the Lake Superior region. These 

 special reports, made by collaborators who were them- 

 selves geologists of world-wide repute, indicate the 

 catholic policy of Director Powell. Throughout his 

 career he has associated with him the ablest men to 

 be found; in his descent of the Colorado canyon 

 and other exploratory work he sought the strongest 

 and most courageous assistants, regardless of other 

 characteristics ; as a scientific administrator he stands 

 alone in choosing the most distinguished men of sci- 

 ence as his coadjutors and official subordinates, and 

 he has always rejoiced with them over the fruits of 

 their labors, claiming no share for himself. 



The influence of J. W. Powell on the development 

 of western United States cannot easily be overesti- 

 mated. His explorations and surveys began when 

 the region was new and have continued to the pres- 

 ent time; he was the first white man to visit some 

 regions; he was the first botanist to consider the ag- 

 ricultural possibilities of the great West in a broad 

 way; he has been a comprehensive American student 

 of irrigation; he was the first to perceive certain im- 

 portant mineral resources that have since reached 

 magnificent development; and his conclusions, often 

 questioned at first, have nearly always been verified 

 later, and have been published broadcast through 

 personal communication, by innumerable lectures 

 and thousands of letters, by newspaper accounts and 

 interviews, as well as by official reports; and from 

 first to last he has encouraged diffusion of knowledge 

 on the part of his official collaborators to the extent 

 that every division and section of the surveys under 

 his direction have been instrumentalities for the dif- 

 fusion of information relating to science. 



ON WESTERN TOPOGRAPHY. 



The topographic map of the United States now 

 in progress by the U. S. Geological Survey owes its 

 inception and the progress already made to Major 

 Powell. It is strange that while the rest of the civil- 

 ized world centuries before felt the need of maps and 

 had been engaged in making them, this country, in 

 other respects the most progressive of nations, should 

 have taken no steps to supply itself. 



The map of the country which was commenced by 

 Major Powell was started, not because of the existing 



need of topographic maps for general industrial pur- 

 poses, but because of a specific need; that is, the 

 geologists required a topographic base for the con- 

 duct of their work and the presentation of results. 



In the twelve years during which this work has 

 been going on, about 600,000 square miles, or a fifth 

 of the area of the country, excluding Alaska, has been 

 surveyed, at an average cost of about $5 per square 

 mile; that is, at a total expense of about 3,000,000. 

 This surveyed area is represented on 925 atlas sheets, 

 750 of which are engraved and printed. This rapid 

 progress illustrates the vigor and energy which 

 Major Powell has infused into this work by his 

 admirable methods. 



Major Powell's administrative work is strongly 

 characterized by one feature which, probably more 

 than all others, has conduced to its success. It 

 is a very simple feature, and it is surprising that a 

 larger number of administrative officers do not under- 

 stand or appreciate it. It may be pretty well charac- 

 terized by saying that he lets his men alone. His 

 plan is to place duties and responsibilities upon his 

 assistants to the fullest extent to which they are 

 capable of carrying them. He does not meddle with 

 details himself, but requires that they be looked after 

 by persons properly charged with them. Every man 

 has his field, his duties and his responsibilities, and 

 he feels that he will not be interfered with so long as 

 he is carrying on his part measurably well. Under 

 such form of organization the Director's advice is 

 sought instead of orders being received, interest in 

 one's work is maintained at the highest pitch because 

 it is one's own work, and the best quality and the 

 largest quantity of work are assured. 



It is especially with reference to the value of this 

 map to the West, and more particularly to the irriga- 

 tion interests of the West and its agriculture, that we 

 are interested in it. Every irrigation enterprise is 

 concerned with the knowledge of the surface of the 

 ground, the catchment area of streams, the sites for 

 reservoirs and dams, the location of ditches and the 

 location of lands which can be irrigated with the 

 greatest economy and to the greatest advantage. 

 All of these are matters of topography, and upon 

 them a topographic map throws much light. The 

 Hayden Atlas of Colorado, in spite of its small scale 

 and its many imperfections, has been no small factor 

 in the phenomenal development which the Centennial 

 State has enjoyed ; but vastly more valuable are these 

 maps of the Geological Survey, with their larger 

 scale and much greater accuracy of detail. 



In this connection it will be of interest to know 

 what progress has been made in the mapping of the 

 arid states and territories. This is set forth in the 

 following table, which shows the total area of the 



