October 2, 1919] 



NATURE 



103 



be more readily apprehended than that of maps on a 

 smaller scale. 



It would be of great advantage if there were a 

 uniform usage by which the position in the strati- 

 graphical series of rock outcrops were indicated by 

 colour and their lithological character by stippling 

 (in black or white or colour), following the ordinarily 

 accepted conventions. This course has been pursued 

 b\ Prof. Watts in the geological map prepared by 

 him to illustrate his "Geography of Shropshire." 



Some explanation, apart from the maps them- 

 selves, is, however, needed if they are to be rendered, 

 as they should be, intelligible to the general public. 

 The otticial memoirs which deal with the same areas 

 as the maps do not afford a solution of the difficulty. 

 Excellent as they are from the technical point of view 

 and full of valuable information, they convey little to 

 the man who has not already a considerable acquaint- 

 ance with the subject. What is needed is a short 

 explanatory pamphlet for each map, presuming no 

 previous geological knowledge, describing briefly and 

 in simple popular language the meaning of the 

 boundary lines and symbols employed, and the nature 

 and composition of the different sedimentary or 

 igneous rocks disclosed at the surface or known to 

 exist below it in the area comprised in the map. A 

 brief account of the fossils and minerals visible with- 

 out the aid of a microscope should also be included. 

 The probable mode of formation of the rocks and 

 their relation to one another and the subsequent 

 changes they have undergone should be discussed, and 

 at the same time their influence on the agriculture 

 value of the land and its suitability for building sites, 

 as well as on the distribution and level of under- 

 ground water, pointed out. Some account, too, 

 should be given of the economic mineral products 

 and their applications. These pamphlets should 

 be illustrated by simple geological sections, views of 

 local quarries and cliffs showing the relative positions 

 of the different rocks, figures of the commoner fossils 

 at each horizon, and, where they would be useful, 

 drawings of the forms assumed by the minerals. 

 Ivach pamphlet would be complete in itself. This 

 would involve a considerable amount of repetition, 

 but it must be remembered that different pamphlets 

 would have, as a rule, different readers. 



During the war publications containing desirable 

 information were circulated widely and gratuitously 

 by the authorities to all public bodies concerned, and 

 there seems no reason why the information laboriouslv 

 gathered by the Geological .Survey in th<- national 

 inter<'sts ;ind paid for out of the public funds should 

 not now receive the same treatment. All municipali- 

 ties, district councils, public libraries, colleges and 

 schools, both secondary and elementary, should re- 

 ceive free copies of the Geological Survey publications 

 dealing with the area where they are situated or with 

 those immediatelv adjoining it. 



Every facility should, of course, be afforded to the 

 public to make use of the Survey publications. Thev 

 should not onlv be on sale at the post offices in the 

 areas to which thev relate, but it .should also be 

 possible to borrow folding mounted copies of the 

 maps as well as bound copies of the explanations and 

 memoirs, on making a deposit equal to their value. 

 When they were no longer required, the amount of 

 the deposit, less a small charge for use, would le 

 repaid on their return to the same ^Dr any other post 

 office and the production of the receipt for cancella- 

 tion. It would thus be possible, when traversing any 

 part of the country, to consult in succession all the 

 Geological Sur\ev publications of the districts passed 

 through. This system would also enable the per- 

 manent residents to refer to the more expensive hand- 



NO. 2605, VOL. 104] 



coloured maps, including the 6-in. manuscript maps, 

 at a comparatively small cost. 



The Survey publicitions should be illustrated in 

 every museum and school in the districts with which 

 they deal by small collections showing the characters 

 of the local rocks, and of the minerals and fossils 

 that occur in them, and care should be taken to see 

 that these collections are maintained in good order 

 and properly labelled. 



It would be a good plan for the Survey to appoint 

 a local geologist, an amateur or member of the staff 

 of a university or college, in every area of twenty or 

 thirty square miles to act as their representative 

 and as a centre of local geological interest. He would 

 be expected to given his assistance to other local 

 workers who stood in need of it. He would receive 

 little official remuneration, but inquirers in the neigh- 

 hood would be referred to him, and where commercial 

 interests were involved he would, subject to the sanc- 

 tion of the central office, f)e entitled to charge sub- 

 stantial fees for his advice. He would report to the 

 Survev any event of geological importance in the area 

 of which he was in charge — whether it was the dis- 

 covery of a new fossiliferous locality, the opening of 

 a new quarrv," the sinking of a well, or the com- 

 mencement of boring operations. Many of these 

 matters would be adequately dealt with by local 

 workers, but in other cases it might be desirable for 

 the Survev to send down one of their officers to make 

 a detailed investigation. 



One of the most Important duties of the Survey, or 

 of its local reoresentative, would be to see that the 

 records of well-sinkings and borings are properly kept, 

 and that where cores are obtained the depth from 

 which each was raised is accurately recorded. At the 

 present time the officers of the Survey make every 

 effort to see that this is done, but they have no legal 

 power to compel those engaged in such operations to 

 give the particulars required. Equally important is 

 a faithful record of the geological information ob- 

 tained in prospecting or mining operations. This is 

 especiallv necessarv where a mine is abandoned. If 

 care is not then taken to see that all the information 

 available is accuratelv recorded, it may never be 

 possible later to remedv the failure to do so. 



Probablv these objects would be much facilitated if 

 engineers "in charge of boring or mining operations 

 had sufficient knowledge of geology and interest in its 

 advancement to make them anxious to see that no 

 opportunitv was lost of observing and recording geo- 

 logical data. This would be in most cases ensured 

 if everv mining student were required to carry out 

 geological research as part of his professional training. 

 It is now recognised that no education in science can 

 f>e considered to be up to universitv standard if itis 

 limited to a passive reception of facts and theories 

 without anv attempt to extend, in however humble a 

 wav, the boundaries of knowledge. In the case of 

 geologv such research will naturally in most cases 

 take the form of observations in the field. _ The im- 

 portant point is that the work must be original, on 

 new lines, or in greater detail than before, and not a 

 mere confirmation of published results. It is only 

 bv the consciousness that he is accomplishing some- 

 thing which has not been done before that the student 

 can experience the keen pleasure of the conquest of 

 the unknown and acquire the love of research for its 

 own sake. 



There is one respect in which geological workers 



I! It is very desirable th.at arrangemenM shmlM be made for the co-opera- 

 tion of the Oeoloeical .Snrvev or their local repre>enta'lves with the 

 In'ipectors of Quarries appointed bv the Hon-e Office, and that the annual 

 official list of quarries should describe the rocks which are worked, not only 

 by their ordinary economic designations, but also by their recognised 

 geological descriptions. 



