March 31, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



451 



scientific training at Heidelberg, Zuricli and 

 Freiberg, taking for his graduating thesis the 

 candle flame, in which he was the first to de- 

 fine four parts and to give the chemical proc- 

 esses in each. Thus well trained in the nat- 

 ural sciences, especially in physics, chemistry, 

 botany and geology, with a keen mind, quick 

 and accurate in his observations, and with a 

 remarkable memory, he entered upon the work 

 of the survey with enthusiasm, although the 

 field seemed very unpromising from a geolo- 

 gist's standpoint. He traveled over the state 

 with the state geologist, making observations 

 and collecting material for study. The state 

 geologist, however, failed to make a satisfac- 

 tory report to the legislature and the survey 

 was suspended, Hilgard returning to Wash- 

 ington as chemist in the laboratory of the 

 Smithsonian Institution and lecturer on 

 chemistry in the National Medical College. 

 In 1858 he was appointed state geologist of 

 Mississippi and resumed his detailed investi- 

 gations of the geolog-y, botany and agriculture 

 of the state. 



One of the chief characteristics in Professor 

 Hilgard's nature was the extreme care, accu- 

 racy and attention to detail that he gave to 

 everything he undertook. This is strongly 

 shown in the results of the Mississippi survey, 

 which will ever stand as a tribute to his high 

 standing as a geologist. 



Mississippi, because of its large proportion 

 of virgin soils, seems to have been especially 

 well adapted for researches in soil character; 

 and in his geological survey of the state, Hil- 

 gard was quick to note the sharply outlined 

 differences in the native tree and plant growth 

 on the several types of soil, and especially the 

 differences in behavior and durability of soils 

 under continued cultivation. He therefore 

 determined to make these the subject of spe- 

 cial study in order that the farmers them- 

 selves might gain some benefit from the sur- 

 vey. Thus were begun those studies of the 

 chemical, physical and other properties of 

 soils that became his life work, and which, 

 reaching out into other states and other coun- 

 tries, have brought to him honor and renown 

 over the entire civilized world. In 1860 was 



printed his report on the Geology and Agri- 

 culture of Mississippi, a volume of 391 pages 

 in which were given in detail his observations 

 on the geological and agricultural features of 

 the state with chemical analyses of many of 

 the soils. The geological map which accom- 

 panied the report also presented the soil di- 

 visions which closely followed the geologic 

 changes. 



During the civil war Hilgard was placed in 

 charge of the buildings and equipment of the 

 University of Mississippi by the governor, and 

 when its faculty was reorganized at the close 

 of the war he was made professor of chemis- 

 try, which title was in 1871 changed to that of 

 professor of experimental and agricultural 

 chemistry; but though relinquishing the posi- 

 tion of state geologist to others he continued 

 his interest in the further study of the geology 

 of the state, and of the other southern states. 

 In 1867, at the request of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution he made an examination of the Mis- 

 sissippi River delta, the rock salt deposit of 

 Petite Anse Island, and the cause of the for- 

 mation of the mud-lumps in the passes of the 

 river; and later a geological reconnaissance of 

 Louisiana for the JSTew Orleans Academy of 

 Sciences. The results and discussions of these 

 examinations are published in a number of 

 reports and papers. 



Professor E. A. Smith, state geologist of 

 Alabama, says of Professor Hilgard's geolog- 

 ical work in Mississippi and Louisiana: 



When in 1855 Dr. Hilgard accepted the position 

 of assistant geologist of Mississippi there began 

 the career of the most distinguished worker in 

 Gulf Coastal Plain Geology, and the fame which 

 he won for himself in this "uninteresting " field 

 13 known to all geologists. He has laid the foun- 

 dation on which most subsequent work in the 

 ' ' Mississippi Embayment, " as he named it, se- 

 curely rests, and after the lapse of more than fifty 

 years since the publication of his report in 1860 

 his work is appreciated and referred to as authori- 

 tative not only by the farmers and other citizens 

 of that state, but by the geologists who have suc- 

 ceeded him. 



In the excursions down the Mississippi River 

 and through Louisiana the post-Pliocene of the 

 Port Hudson "stump stratum," and by inference 



