Febkuabt 1, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



115 



Mabie, referring to German scientists, 

 quote some one as having said: In no na- 

 tion have the scientific men dived deeper in 

 the sea of knowledge, nor staid down longer, 

 nor come up muddier. By all means let us 

 dive deep, and explore widely; but for the 

 sake of ourselves, as well as of our science, 

 let us see to it that our advanced and grad- 

 uate courses do not produce men who come 

 up muddy. C. Stuart Gageb 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



MINING IN ALASKA IN 1917 



The annual report on the mineral resources 

 and mineral production of Alaska in 1917 is 

 now in preparation under the direction of G. C. 

 Martin, of the Geological Survey, Department 

 of the Interior. Some of the important fea- 

 tures of this report relating to mining- develop- 

 ment during the year are abstracted in the 

 following statement. Complete statistics of 

 the mineral production of Alaska can not be 

 collected within less than three or foiu: months 

 after the close of the year, but meanwhile 

 it is desirable to publish the preliminary esti- 

 mates here given, which are believed to vary 

 not over 5 per cent, from the actual figures. 



The value of the mineral production of 

 Alaska in 1917 is estimated at $41,760,000, 

 exceeding that of any previous year except 

 1916, which was $48,632,000. The decrease in 

 1917 was therefore about $6,870,000. During 

 33 years of mining Alaska has produced over 

 $391,000,000 worth of gold, silver, copper, and 

 other minerals. 



Alaska mines are believed to have produced 

 gold to the value of about $15,450,000 in 1917, 

 compared with $17,240,000 in 1916. The total 

 value of the gold mined in the Territory is 

 now about $293,500,000, of which $207,000,000 

 has been won from placers. In 1917 about 

 88,200,000 pounds of copper was produced in 

 Alaska, valued at about $24,000,000. The pro- 

 duction in 1916 was 119,600,000 pounds, val- 

 ued at $29,480,000. The total copper produced 

 to date is 427,700,000 pounds, valued at 

 $88,400,000. 



The value of Alaska's lesser mineral prod- 



ucts in 1917 was about as follows: Silver, 

 $1,050,000; coal, $300,000; tin, $160,000; lead, 

 $160,000; antimony, $40,000; tungsten, chro- 

 mium, petroleum, marble, gypsum, graphite, 

 platinum, etc. $600,000. The year 1917 marks 

 the first production of chromivun in Alaska, 

 and about 81 ounces of platinum was saved in 

 placer gold mining at several widely separated 

 localities. 



The data in hand indicate that the value 

 of the placer gold output in 1917 was $9,850,- 

 000; in 1916 it was $11,140,000. The decrease 

 was due chiefly to restriction of operations 

 because of the high cost of supplies and the 

 scarcity of labor. The placer output was in- 

 creased only in the Tolovana, Marshall, and 

 Ruby districts and at the new Tolstoi camp. 



About 33 gold-lode mines were operated in 

 1917, compared with 29 in 1916. The value 

 of this lode-gold mined decreased from $5,- 

 912,000 in 1916 to about $5,250,000 in 1917. 

 The decrease was due chiefly to the disaster 

 at the Treadwell mine. Southeastern Alaska, 

 especially in the Juneau district, is stiU the 

 only center of large quartz-mining develop- 

 ment in the territory. Next in importance is 

 the Willow Creek lode district. Gold-lode 

 mining on Prince "William Sound, Kenai 

 Peninsula, and in the Fairbanks district is 

 at a standstill. 



The copper production of Alaska in 1917 was 

 about 88,200,000 pounds, valued at about $24,- 

 000.000. This is less than the production in 

 1916, which was 119,600,000 pounds, valued at 

 $29,484,000, but is greater than the production 

 of any other year. The reduction in output 

 was due largely to labor troubles at the Kenne- 

 cott-Bonanza mine. During the year 17 cop- 

 per mines were operated, compared with 18 

 in 1916-18 in the Ketchikan district, 6 in 

 the Prince William Sound district, and 3 in 

 the Chitina district. The enormous output of 

 the Kennecott-Bonanza mine, in the Chitina 

 district in 1917 as in previous years, over- 

 shadowed that from all others. 



MILITARY MEDICAL RESEARCH IN FRANCE 

 UNDER THE RED CROSS WAR COUNCIL 



The American Rod Cross reports that the 

 War Coimcil has appropriated $100,000 for 



