January 13, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



49 



ent, aud Congress oi'dered exploration of 

 several lines across the Eocky Mountain 

 region. At that time, the early 'fifties, the 

 perplexities of American geologists had 

 reached a maximum. Most of the old State 

 surveys had come to a close, rich in eco- 

 nomic results and still richer in problems 

 to be solved only by elaborate investigation, 

 too extended and too costly for those days. 

 The observations made by Wislezenus and 

 army officers in !N"ew Mexico, by Fremont 

 aud Stansbury farther north in the Rocky 

 Mountain and Plateau regions, as well as 

 by Culbertson and Norwood in the Dakota 

 country, had stirred the curiositj' and awak- 

 ened the interest of geologists everywhere. 

 Strong pressure was brought to bear on the 

 Secretary of War for the appointment of 

 geologists to positions on the several parties. 

 The efforts were successful and the appoint- 

 ments were made, though in most instances 

 the geologists were physicians and ap- 

 pointed as acting surgeons in the army. 

 This was an important advance in scien- 

 tific work, for, almost without exception, 

 exploring parties under the "War Depart- 

 ment from that time were accompanied by 

 naturalists. The Civil War brought the 

 Western work to a close, but when peace i"e- 

 turned it was taken up again and geology 

 was recognized as a necessary part of it, 

 until at last the fragmentary works were 

 placed in one organization and the Survey 

 established as it now exists. 



In all of the later geological surveys the 

 element of economics entered more largely 

 into consideration and was emphasized in 

 the legislative enactments. Men recognized 

 that geological investigation had led to the 

 discovery of laws, most important frotn the 

 economic standpoint, and they were anxious 

 to have the knowledge utilized in a broad 

 way. 



Looking over the history of the old sur- 

 veys one sees clearly that their origin was 

 due solely to a desire for solution of prob- 



lems in pure science. The credit for the 

 economic outcome of the scientific work is 

 due to the geologist alone, to whom the ap- 

 propriations were given, practically as a gift. 

 The Legislators soothed their consciences by 

 lofty speeches respecting the duty of the 

 Commonwealth to foster the study of Na- 

 ture, but they generally had an aside to be 

 utilized as a justification before their con- 

 stituents — " especially when there is a very 

 reasonable chance that something of value 

 will be discovered to the advantage of our 

 Commonwealth." 



The New York survey had for its possible 

 outcome the determination of the coal area. 

 The work was completed with great exact- 

 ness, for it proved that the State contains 

 no coal area whatever. Though only nega- 

 tive in results for the State, this survey has 

 proved of incalculable service to the coun- 

 try at large, for it first elaborated the lower 

 aud middle Paleozoic sections; the scientific 

 work, continued along the biological line, 

 defined accurately the vertical limits of fos- 

 sils and provided means for removal of dif- 

 ficulties where the succession is incomplete 

 and for tentative correlatiou iu widely sep- 

 arated localities, an apparatus whose use- 

 fulness cannot be overestimated from an 

 economic standpoint. 



If the man who makes two blades of 

 grass grow where only one grew before be a 

 public benefactor, what shall be said of the 

 geologist who turns a desert into a garden ? 

 This was done by the first survey of New 

 Jersey, which differentiated and mapped the 

 marls of that State, giving a complete dis- 

 cussion of their nature and value. Great 

 areas of the ' whites and barrens ' have been 

 converted not into mere farm lands, but into 

 richly productive garden spots. In later 

 years the second survey, now almost forty 

 years old, did, as it is still doing, admirable 

 work along the same lines ; the study of 

 structural geology gave a clue to the causes 

 of restrained drainage, and in not a few in- 



