WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 57 



sen ted to the Geological Society of America in 1907 was a very valua- 

 ble contribution to geography. It was a philosophic presentation of 

 the role of water in nature, and summarized in compact form a large 

 amount of information. His paper on potable waters of the Eastern 

 United States published in the fourteenth annual report of the Survey 

 was a notably complete and instructive presentation of domestic 

 water problems. This publication was in great demand and un- 

 doubtedly had a wide influence on the development of the water sup- 

 plies and in guarding them from pollution. Throughout his work on 

 United States Geological Survey and later, he gave special attention 

 to relations between geology and soils and especially the waste of 

 soil by erosion. His last large publication was a memoir on soil ero- 

 sion issued by the Department of Agriculture in 1911. It treated 

 not only of the conditions of soil erosion but suggested remedies 

 which may prevent erosion and reclaim farm lands that are being 

 damaged by it. There is now in press in that Department another 

 publication, "Field records relating to Subsoil Waters." [Issued early 

 in 1913. Ed.] 



McGee always had great interest in earth crust movements, and 

 in 1894 he presented to the Geological Society a very suggestive 

 memoir entitled "The Extension of Uniformitarianism to Deforma- 

 tion." In this contribution he reviewed the criteria relating to such 

 movements and discussed the conditions causing deformations of 

 various kinds. 



McGee gave considerable attention to Dutton's law of isostacy and 

 showed that isostatic adjustment, while sufficing to explain minor 

 crustal oscillation, is insufficient to explain the greater movements of 

 the earth's crust. He set forth some criteria for the discrimination of 

 two primary classes of earth movement, antecedent and consequent. 

 In his memoir on the Gulf of Mexico as a measure of isostacy McGee 

 reviewed in 1892 the evidences of subsidence in the gulf region, es- 

 pecially as indicating that the land and sea are in a state of hydro- 

 static equilibrium. Evidence was presented showing that in former 

 times, however, some of the movements were cataclysmic. 



Largely in connection with his work in the Bureau of Ethnology 

 McGee achieved great distinction in anthropology. He made many 

 contributions to that science and devoted much time to its societies 



