270 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 8, 183T, 



(From l)ie Boston Courier.) 

 GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY OP THE STATE. 



iVe liavc seen, with pleasure, a reijort inado to 

 the House of Representatives, by a coriunittee ap- 

 pointed to roiisider the expedieiicy of a new and 

 thoi-oiifrh Gfological Survey of the Commonwealth. 

 The Report is si-^neil H. \V. Cushman, the Rep- 

 resentative of Bernardstoii, and hears undouhted 

 indications that it is the product of his active and 

 vigorous ndnd. i\!r Cushnian is a farmer — cue 

 of that chiss of individuals, and one of the most 

 enlightened iiidivi(hials of that c'ass, wliic-h im- 

 part dignity and honor to the character of the 

 ComnionwcaUh, and respcctal)i]ity to the hall of 

 legislation. The report before ns, after a brief re- 

 hearsal of the measures heretofore adopted in ref- 

 erence to the Geological Survey hy Prof. Ilitcl - 

 cock, and tlie facts derived from that gentleman's 

 labors, thus proceeds : — 



Your Committee are decidedly of the opinion, 

 that the advantages of a fmther geological survey 

 of the Commonwealth, will be numerous and great 

 to all classes of our citizens ; and further, that a 

 small appropriation in that way, might, and prob- 

 ably would be, acceptable to the great body of the 

 people ; and for the following reasons : 



1st. In an agricultural point of view. Jn the 

 prevtous survey, no att.iition, or but very little, 

 was paid to an examination of the various soils 

 abounding in different parts of the State Now it 

 IS an incontrovertible fact, that without a knowl- 

 edge of the constituent qualities of the soil, the 

 practical farmer has not all the inforiimtion he 

 ou^'ht to possess, in order to render his business 

 most sc'tcessful. Different soils require different 

 nianageme, ''''"."' ''afferent manures. Take, for 

 instance, the .'''"S''^ circmnstance of tb^ use of 

 pi'sum or r.last.''' "'' I'^"'"'*' o" 'and. It is ivell 

 ''"OW, hv practical .X'-iculturists, that on some 

 *°''f ." >iU produce a '"ost astonishing effect, 

 ,.'".:jhr g^anil in some cases' quadrupling the'pro- 

 '^'"'^ ' wliile on other soils, not the least effect is 

 '^'®'" ,overable. Now, had tliut question been set- 

 *^' ad by scientific analysis and experiment, what a 

 Oaving of lime and expenditure would Lave been 

 caused. 



It is said, also, that there are strong indications 

 <n{ marl to be found in the valley of the Connecti- 

 cut, and in other parts of the State ; and it is rhe 

 o])inioi\ of many eminent agriculturistti, that the 

 application of it to certain kinds af land, v/ill pro- 

 duce a most astonishing and powerful result; — 

 80 much so, that it would be profitable to freight 

 it many miles for that purpose. But the fact of 

 its existence, its peculiar location, or its fertilizing 

 powers, will, probably, never be ascertained, un- 

 less by the direction and patronage of the govern- 

 ment. 



In various other ways would that important 

 class of our fellow-citizens, the farmers, receive a 

 great and lasting benefit. Your Committee are, 

 therefore, most decidedly of the opinion, that the 

 benefits which would accrue to agriculture alone, 

 would be sufficient to compensate for a "new and 

 thorough geological survey of the state." 



2d. The discovery of mineral coal in the east- 

 ern part of the state, is an object of great impor- 

 tance to the prosperity of the people of this Com 

 monwealtb. Your committee are informed, that 

 there are strong indications of large quantities of 

 anthracite coal on the Merrimack river, and also 

 on the southern borders of the state adjoining 

 Rhode Island ; and that some veins of bituminous 



coal have been brought to light in other places. 

 Now these indications need further examination 

 and research. The increasing light of science 

 will essentially aid in such investigations. And 

 who would presume to say, that a suflicient quan- 

 tity of coal might not be found in this State, to 

 supply the great and increasing de;nand of our 

 citizeiiW.' 



3d. The progressive advancement of the science 

 of geology, is another reason why further research 

 should be made. Every year brings to light new 

 facts, illustrating the economical and si-lentific 

 geology of the country. As more is learned tVoui 

 time to time, the means and ability to learn, are 

 proporlionably increased. The science of geol- 

 ogy_ partakes of the characteristic " go ahead " 

 spirit of the times. As an instance of this, the 

 discovery, quite recently of the/oo< marks of birds, 

 of different species, imbedded deeply in the rocks, 

 in the valley of the Connecticut, is most remarka- 

 ble. Other classes of geological phenomena have 

 also been brought to notice which urgently re- 

 quire further exairiination. 



In addition to this, the Natural Ilistoiy of jMas- 

 sarhusotts affords a broad, useful, and most inter- 

 esting fiehl lor research, where, as yet, but little 

 has been done. The variety and characters of 

 the various birds and insects ; their habits and 

 /iitmner of life, as affecting the agriculture of the 

 State ; and the deleterious powers of those ani- 

 mals that are poisonous, are all subjects upon 

 whie.b there is yet but little known, iuid which 

 will afford beneficial results to all classes of our 

 citizens'^ 



The report embraces e.xtracts of a letter from 

 Prufesscr Hitchcock to the Committee, and con- 

 clud'es with the following Resolve; 



lit solved, That His Excellency the Governor, 

 with the advice and consent of the Council, is 

 her'i'b;,v aut horized and requested to appoint some 

 suii%1)ie pe rson or persons, to make a further and 

 tlir/*bu.gh g-eo!ogical, mineralogical, botanical and 

 zoological : survey of this Commonwealth, under 

 his dinection,, particularly in reference to the dis- 

 covery of coal, marl and ores, and an analysis of 

 the varvous soils of the State, relative to an agri- 

 cultural bemifit. 



And Jie is hereby authorized to draw his war- 

 rant, from time to time,upon the Treasurer of this 

 Commonwealth, for any sum not exceeding two 

 thousand five hundred dollars, for the foregoing 

 purpose . 



Anne xe<I to the Report is the following Letter, 

 addressed to the Committee: 



Gentlemen, — The subscriber in behalf of a 

 commiltee appointed by the Boston Society of 

 Natural History, would respectfully represent, that 

 having seen an allusion to their body in one of the 

 printed Svate documents, made in sush a manner 

 as to render it pertinent for us to address you, we 

 take the liberty of expressing our views on the 

 subject of that document, — the fintlier geological 

 survey of the State, in connection with its zoolog- 

 ical examination. 



But we would allude moro particularly to the 

 department of natural history. Professor Hitch- 

 cock relates that collections of plants and animals, 

 for the use of the State, and for deposite in some 

 of our principal institutions, may be attended with 

 results very valuable to the state. With that in- 

 timation wo e- tirely concur. It has been the 



main object of this society, to investigate the nat- 

 ural history of our own state ; and we cannot per- 

 mit an opportunity like the present, to pass with- 

 out urging the impnrtance'of this subject. Before 

 the formation of this society, in 1830, great ignor- 

 ance of the natural productions of the slate pre- 

 vailed ; and the little that was known, had been 

 principally determined by foreigners. We may 

 safely say, that eight years ago there was no man, 

 nor body of men, w-ho could give us any tolerable 



list of the animals anil plants of Massachusetts. 



.\nd even now, we believe that our objects of nat- 

 ural history, are better known in Sweden and 

 France, than in Massachusetts. 

 r Much, then, remains to be done. Other slates 

 are securing, in their surveys, a knowledge of the 

 things in the waters, and on the surface of the 



earth, as well as of the things under the earth. 



Are there not reasons, both of expediency and util- 

 ity, ffufficient to induce vs to secure a similar 

 knowledge .' 



That we have, as yet, no list, that is pretended 

 to be any thing like complete, is an iBducement. 

 The list of plants and animals in the second edi- 

 tion of Hitchcock's survey, is surprisingly aug- 

 mented; and even that might now be greatly in- 

 creased. No list m.inifests greater care or reseaich 

 than that of the birds ; and yet one gentleman, 

 constantly engaged in professional pursuits, and 

 within three miles of Boston, has been able to 

 determine, within the last year, that forty-six spe- 

 cies of birds, not named on the list, belong to this 

 State. 



It is very desirable, that every considerable an- 

 imal, and every plant in the state, should be col- 

 lected, determined, described and catalogued. It 

 must and ivill be done ; and if uie neglect \t, stran- 

 gers will bear away the honor. 



It will, of course, be asked, what direct good 

 may be expected from accomplishing such an ob- 

 ject ? Of what consequence is it to the farmer, 

 to know any thing about birds, and lugs, and 

 shells.' A few examples may illustrate the im- 

 portance of a zoological survey. 



Animals are destroyed, whose natural habits 

 render their destruction of doubtful utility, such 

 as crows, blackbirds, and wood-peckers. It is 

 true, that the crow pulls up the blade of corn for 

 the sake of the kernel at its base. But then, he 

 preserves a tenfold greater quantity from the in- 

 roads of the worn.s which he devours. " Why 

 then, should the farmer be so ungrateful," says 

 Mr Audubon, " when he sees such services ren- 

 dered to him by a provident friend, as to perse- 

 cute that friend, even to the death.' When I 

 know, by experience, the generosity of the peo- 

 ple, I cannot but wish that they would reflect a 

 little, and become more indulgent towards our 

 poor, humble, harmless, and even most servicea- 

 ble bird, the crow." 



History tell n.s, "that when \'iiginia, at an 

 enormous expense, had extirpated the little crow, 

 the inhabitants would have willingly bought them 

 back again, at double the price, that they might 

 devour insects." Also, " that when the farmers 

 of New England, by offering a reward of three- 

 pence per head on the crow-blackbird, had neatly 

 exterminated them, insects increased to such a 

 degree as to cause a total loss of the herbage ; 

 and the inhabitants were obliged to obtain their 

 hay from Pennsylvania and other places." No 

 bird is more universally or unjustly persecuted 

 than the wood-pecker, because of his supposed 



