8 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVI. No. 1175 



in our experiment stations over the im- 

 portant applications of chemistry to agri- 

 culture. 



The third and most important function 

 of the laboratory is the contribution which 

 it makes to the grofwth of our science. 

 Here in Oklahoma you have many prob- 

 lems which can be solved with the aid of 

 chemistry. But just as Germany would 

 have failed utterly to reach her highest 

 achievements if her university professors 

 had confined themselves to so-called prac- 

 tical proiblems, so this or any other uni- 

 versity wiU fail if its staff does not devote 

 a eonsideralble part of its energies to the 

 advancement of the science of chemistry 

 quite irrespective of whether industrial ap- 

 plications for the results of their researches 

 are apparent or not. No chemical labora- 

 tory has a right to call itself a university 

 la;boratory if it loses sight of this, the 

 highest of its functions. A high-school 

 may devote itself exclusively to teaching 

 and a college may possibly do the same, 

 though of that there is serious question. 

 For the university there can be no ques- 

 tion. Ours is a vital, growing, rapidly 

 changing science and only those who are 

 intensely interested in its growth can prop- 

 erly teach and inspire those who are to go 

 out into the world and use for the ad- 

 vantage of themselves and of the state the 

 training they gain in university halls. 



William A. Notes 



MILITARY GEOLOGY 



Modern warfare is a science, or rather an 

 application of many sciences, and therefore 

 it can afford to neglect no scientific field the 

 cultivation of which would make for added 

 superiority, in however slight degree. The 

 usefulness of certain sciences to the carrying 

 on of war is obvious or has been made so by 

 the conditions of the European contest: such 

 are surgery and chemistry; the military ap- 

 plication of certain other sciences, however, 



is not so apparent and needs to be pointed 

 out from within the subject itself: thus it 

 is with geology. If the service that this 

 science can render to the country in time of 

 war be clearly established, then it follows 

 that geology will be incorporated in our plan 

 of military development and be called upon 

 to do its proper part in furthering the mili- 

 tary effectiveness of the nation. 



This is a new role for geology, but a role 

 already played and established in the theater 

 of war in Europe. Military geology is a 

 phase of applied science that has served the 

 warring nations abroad; it sees many duties 

 that it may perform for the United States. 



In the first place, geological knowledge may 

 be employed to advantage by an army in the 

 field. "What a Geologist Can Do in War," 

 is the title of a brochure prepared by E. A. 

 F. Penrose, Jr., for the geological committee 

 of the National Research Council and pub- 

 lished in April, 1917. This short essay in 

 scarcely more than a thousand words speci- 

 fies clearly the varied service that a knowl- 

 edge of geology can render, not only to the 

 army in camp, but to the army on the march 

 and in battle. The importance of this ser- 

 vice may be judged by observing some of the 

 problems arising in the course of field opera- 

 tions, which the geologist might appropriately 

 be expected to solve. 



The selection of camp-sites involves prob- 

 lems in drainage and sanitary arrangements, 

 which become more difficult of solution in 

 marshy country; in arid regions the possibil- 

 ity of disastrous cloudbursts destroying 

 camps improperly located demands attention. 

 Trenches and tunnels must be placed, so far 

 as strategic conditions allow, in easily work- 

 able and drainable rock formations; while the 

 stability of slopes depends upon the material 

 in which the excavations are made. Ground 

 for artillery positions should be selected not 

 only from topographic considerations, but 

 also in respect to the firmness and elasticity 

 of the underlying rock, upon which the accur- 

 acy of fire will in part depend. The construc- 

 tion or repair of roads is a frequent military 

 need, the more important because of the nee- 



