SEPTEMBER 27, 3912] 



SCIENCE 



403 



in nowise detracts from their permanent value 

 to the broad science of geology. 



An example of work on a broad problem that 

 concerns a number of states is afforded by the 

 general and detailed study of the Atlantic and 

 Gulf Coastal Plain which for five years has 

 been prosecuted under the direction of T. W. 

 Vaughan with the cooperation of several state 

 and federal geologists. Similarly, the map- 

 ping of the San Juan region by Whitman 

 Cross serves as a notable example of a general 

 investigation of broad scientific interest, cov- 

 ering two decades. A third illustration is to 

 be found in the geologic work of Messrs. 

 Campbell and Alden in the new Glacier Na- 

 tional Park. It is conceivable that the publi- 

 cations resulting from such geologic investiga- 

 tions will stand as large contributions to sci- 

 ence, and when this literature has been il- 

 lumined by the added glamor of the years, the 

 Geological Survey of to-day may be cited as 

 again " the center of the world for the ad- 

 vancement of the science of geology." 



More than this, the application of geology 

 to economic problems has a reflex eflieet upon 

 the science. The association of the scientist 

 with the engineer is beneficial to both. The 

 geology that is applied to big problems, 

 whether of engineering or of governmental 

 policy, must be not only qualitatively true, but 

 also quantitatively exact. So the entrance of 

 the Geological Survey into the administration 

 of the public lands has modified field methods 

 and established standards of accuracy not be- 

 fore demanded. The result is that the geolo- 

 gist who works in terms of forty-acre tracts 

 observes details that were overlooked by his 

 predecessor who looked the country over by 

 the square mile. 



The recognition of the applicability of geol- 

 ogic data collected by government scientists to 

 the administration of the public lands is in 

 itself, I believe, a large contribution to the 

 advancement of science. The field of science is 

 broadened and the standing of science is dig- 

 nified. The remark of the geologist whose 

 experience had been gained largely in the east 

 but who is now working in a western mining 

 camp illustrates this: "It is a satisfaction to 



be looked upon as a worker and not have to 

 make apologetic explanations as to what geol- 

 ogy means." 



Another illustration is afforded in the work 

 of the Geological Survey in connection with 

 the proposed forest reservations in the east. 

 For years the geologists and hydrographers of 

 the Survey had taken interest in the question 

 of the relation of forest cover to stream flow 

 and as opportunity afforded had made observa- 

 tions bearing on the question. The results, 

 however, were at best only qualitative and to 

 some extent confusing. The Weeks Act, how- 

 ever, specifically laid upon the Survey the bur- 

 den of making an affirmative showing of the 

 regulative effect of the forest upon stream 

 fiow, before land could be purchased, and then 

 an investigation was planned with the purpose 

 of obtaining conclusive results. That the 

 Survey withstood popular clamor until its in- 

 vestigation was concluded and reported only 

 on observed facts may of itself have been a 

 possible aid in advancing science. As an in- 

 tensive study, the hydrometric survey of se- 

 lected areas in the White Mountains is be- 

 lieved to be without parallel in the world, and 

 it has yielded quantitative results which, when 

 thoroughly digested and compiled, will be pub- 

 lished as an important contribution to science. 

 This opportunity to apply science to an ad- 

 ministrative problem came to the Geological 

 Survey because its work was believed to be 

 both practical and scientific; and I may add 

 my opinion that whenever this bureau becomes 

 exclusively " practical " or exclusively " scien- 

 tific " it will cease to deserve either recogni- 

 tion or support. This idea has been best ex- 

 pressed by Brooks : " Applied geology can 

 maintain its present high position of useful- 

 ness only by continuing the researches which 

 advance the knowledge of basic principles." 

 Geo. Otis Smith 



school grades to what type of distribu- 

 tion shall they conform? 

 Those administrators who have given the 

 subject of scholarship marks or school grades 

 considerable attention, will appreciate Presi- 

 dent Wm. T. Foster's article, " The Scientific 



