Sbptembeb 1, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



235 



building fund. Without their generous help we 

 ■would be still without a library. Furthermore 

 they have come here to-day in spite of this very 

 hot weather, so that we may have an opportunity 

 to thank them publicly, and to show them what 

 we have done with their money. It proves the 

 real interest they take in our institution. I may 

 add that this is also the first time that private 

 generosity has helped a scientific institution be- 

 longing to the government. 



"Thirdly, I must thank my official superiors 

 in the ministry of agriculture and commerce. In 

 spite of the political changes that have taken 

 place, they have always given us their support. 

 They have not only provided us with sufficient 

 funds in the time of great financial stringency, 

 but they have also left to their responsible sub- 

 ordinate a great deal of freedom in administra- 

 tion, and in the appointment of the staff. Thus, 

 with the exception of three men in charge of the 

 business part of the institution, practically all 

 the members are technical men. Again there is 

 not a single extra man appointed beside the regu- 

 lar members, whose number is determined by the 

 rules of the organization. Whatever result we 

 have been able to achieve is entirely due to the 

 confidence and guidance of our superiors. 



"Fourthly, I take this occasion to thank the 

 members of my staff for their loyal cooperation. 

 Because of the smallness of the staff, we are not 

 able to put men solely in charge of the library 

 and the museum. Practically every member has 

 done his part, in order to render this opening 

 possible. During this summer all have worked, 

 through all the day, instead of only half a day, 

 as in most of the government bureaus, and re- 

 cently they have even worked on the national 

 holidays and on Sundays. I therefore tender to 

 both my foreign and Chinese colleagues my per- 

 sonal gratitude, and desire to tell our guests 

 frankly that the results of the survey, such as 

 they are, have been the work, not of one or two 

 men, but of all the members of the organization. 



"For a summary of the history and the func- 

 tions of the Geological Survey I refer you to the 

 printed pamphlets. I wish only to tender to you 

 once more our sincere thanks, before I respect- 

 fully request the President to deliver his ad- 

 dress. ' ' 



Following Dr. Ting's weleaming remarks, 

 H. E. the President of China declared the 

 Geological Survey Library and Museum opened 

 to the public in the following words : 



Geology is by no means a new science in 



China; indeed, it originated here in very ancient 

 times. In the book of Yu, the nature and color 

 of soils were carefully discriminated. In the 

 Chow Dynasty, a mining and geographical staff 

 formed an important branch of the government 

 organization. The book of Kwoitzu touches even 

 on the principles of ore deposition and the man- 

 ner of locating ore deposits. Since the Dynasty 

 of Han and Wei, trained specialists on copper 

 and silver were constantly employed by the 

 government. Though their knowledge was frag- 

 mentary, and their results frequently inconsist- 

 ent with modern ideas, we can not help think- 

 ing that the achievements of those pioneer work- 

 ers entitles them to be considered as forerunners 

 of the great army of investigators in the modern 

 science of geology. It is only because of the lack 

 of system in the methods of study of the ancient 

 Chinese, that we are at present far behind other 

 countries iu this branch of science. As a result 

 of this neglect in the development of this im- 

 portant branch of knowledge, our people remain 

 poor and miserable, because we are not equipped 

 with the necessary knowledge to develop our vast 

 resources, which are at present almost untouched. 



As is well known, geology is most intimately 

 related to mining, while mining is the founda- 

 tion of a nation's prosperity. Important and 

 fundamental though they are, our government 

 has paid no attention to such investigations until 

 very recently. 



The Geological Survey of China was organized 

 in 1913, two years after the revolution. Having 

 spared no efforts to overcome the many and 

 serious obstacles in its path, this survey has now 

 reached its present enviable position. This is 

 due entirely to the efficient administration of its 

 officers, and the ambitious labors of all its mem- 

 bers. Under almost all kinds of difficult con- 

 ditions, the members of the survey have willingly 

 and earnestly enlisted to perform their duty — the 

 work of collecting facts and materials, the map- 

 ping of many districts, and the study of the vari- 

 ous problems connected with the mining industry. 

 Recently the survey has purchased a large number 

 of books in Europe, America and Japan, to serve 

 the needs of its ever groiving activities. In 1920 

 the new museum and library were established, 

 this being made possible by contributions from 

 outside sources. With these facilities, the survey 

 is now able to arrange, in systematic manner, all 

 the minerals, ores, rocks, fossils and books col- 

 lected from time to time. 



To-day is the opening day for the public ex- 

 hibition of the newly established museum and 



