ment it by equally thorough work in the light of the new facts, 

 on this side of the line. 

 I would also suggest: 



4. That careful laboratory tests, physical and chemical, be 

 made of our coals, rocks clays, etc., to ascertain their pro- 

 perties and adaptability to various uses. The character of the 

 coal from various mines and veins is continually changing; 

 yearly analyses with regard to their fuel value should be made 

 and published. The tests of building-stones should determine 

 their strength and resistance to frost and hea,t; and their re- 

 sistance to ordinary atmospheric agencies should be studied at 

 their natural outcrops and in buildings where they have been 

 used. The immense importation of cement from other States 

 and from Europe, in face of the fact that we undoubtedly pos- 

 sess, within the limits of our own State, excellent raw material, 

 as well as cheap fuel, for its production at home, in unlimited 

 quantities, amply warrants a careful investigation of the pos- 

 sibilities of building up a cement industry in Illinois. 



The State possesses many valuable deposits of fire, potter's 

 and paint clays and of shales, whose properties have never 

 been tested. These should be analyzed and practical tests made 

 to ascertain their usefulness. Such tests of the clays of Ohio 

 and New Jersey may be taken as models. 



In order to increase the usefulness of the work already done 

 by the Survey, and to adapt it to the wants of the people, I 

 beg, finally, to suggest: 



5. That the State should issue, as soon as possible, a sys- 

 tematic palaeontology, which shall contain a brief description 

 and, where possible, an illustration of each species found within 

 her borders, together with its horizon or horizons and a refer- 

 ence to the work in which the original description may be found. 



