Beviems—The Geological Survey of Victoria. 217 



E,:B"\7"IE"Vs7-S. 



The Geological Survey of Victoria. 



YiCTOMA, Geologically Coloitrkd. By Alfred R. C. Sblwyn (Government 

 Geologist and Director of Mining and Geological Surveys). 8 sheets: scale 

 8 miles to 1 inch. Melbourne, July 1st, 1863. 



Geological Survey- Map of Victoria : Sheets 1 ; 2, N.W. and S.W. ; 3, N.W. 

 and S.W. ; 4, S.W. ; 5, S.W. and S.E. ; 6 ; 7, N.W., N.E. and &*.E. ; 8, S.W. 

 and S.E. ; 9 ; 10, N.W. and N.E. ; 12, S.E. ; 13, S.W. ; 14, S.E. ; 19, N.E. 

 and S.E. ; 20; 21, N.W. ; 23; 24, N.E. and" S.E. ; 28, N.E. and S.E. ; 29, 

 N.W., N.E. and S.W. — 47 quarter-sheets. Scale 2 inches to 1 mile. With au 

 Index-map, scale 32 miles to 1 inch, showing the progress of the Geological 

 Survey of Victoria up to May 1st, 1864. 



Geologische Karte der Provinz Victoria : nach den oifiziellen Aufnahmen 

 unter der Direction von Alfred R. C. Selwyn. Reduzirt von A. Petermann. 

 Scale 1 : 2,000,000 (about 31| miles to 1 inch). Gotha, Justus Perthes, 1865. 



Report of the Director of the Geological Survey of Victoria for the 

 Period from June 1863 to September 1864, vtith Appendices. Fol. 

 28 pages. Melbourne, 1865. 



THE above list indicates very forcibly tbat in a colony like Vic- 

 toria, which, is rendered attractive to emigrants by the fame of 

 its mineral wealth, the first efforts of a geological survey will neces- 

 sarily be devoted to satisfying the popular demand for maps, more 

 or less reliable, of as large an area as practicable in the shortest 

 possible time. Pure science must therefore be expected to fare 

 rather badly for some years, notwithstanding that so accomplished a 

 naturalist as Professor McCoy is attached to the Geological Survey 

 of Victoria, in the capacity of Palgeontologist, and that Mr. Selwyn, 

 the Director of the Survey, is especially desirous, without always 

 having the opportunity, of doing his work thoroughly and scientifi- 

 cally as he progresses. Be it therefore understood that any adverse 

 criticism would apply to the pressiu'c put by the people and the 

 government upon the sui'veyors and not to the survey itself. We 

 have been led to these remarks by perusing the last Eeport of the 

 Director of the Survey, but we are not likely to find fault with the 

 execution of the maps notwithstanding the serious difficulties with 

 which he had to contend. From Mr. Selwyn's preface to this document 

 we see that he has endeavoured to impress upon the Executive Go- 

 vernment that it is extremely undesirable to detach surveyors from 

 their regular work of making " steady, detailed, and connected ob- 

 servations over economically very important, though perhaps limited, 

 areas," in order to make hasty and imperfect explorations of larger 

 tracts of country. This coivp d'ceil style of surveying appears to have 

 been often tried and foimd wanting, for, as Mr. Selwyn observes, it 

 is practically useless as regards the development of the mineral re- 

 sources of the country, and in some cases appears to have led to 

 directly injurious results, owing to the imperfect and partial infor- 

 mation which hasty exploration enables the geologist to give. 



