DECEMBER 31, 1897.] 
then there is the Weather Bureau, whichis 
making a daily map of the heavens to ex- 
hibit the temperature and storms of the 
lane in the interest of commerce and agri- 
culture ; then there is a Hydrographic Bu- 
reau preparing charts of all the seas in the 
interests of foreign commerce. In addi- 
tion to these great geographical bureaus 
there are many others that are necessarily 
interested in geography. Thus, the General 
Post Office must prepare maps of postal 
routes. Now the little army of men who 
are engaged in geographical work in Wash- 
ington organized themselves into a body 
known as the National Geographic So- 
ciety. When they were duly organized 
they cast about for some one who could 
manage their affairs as its president and 
who would interest himself in the diffusion 
broadcast among the people of this geo- 
graphical knowledge, which all these bu- 
reaus were acquiring. The man selected 
for this purpose was Gardiner Greene Hub- 
bard, who was elected its first president. 
The function of the National Geographic 
Society is the discussion of the princi- 
ples of geography and the diffusion of geo- 
graphical knowledge among the people. 
To carry out this purpose Mr. Hubbard 
organized a journal called the National Geo- 
graphic Magazine, which has already ac- 
quired a good circulation and become an 
influential publication. Then he organized 
a system of bulletins designed to discuss 
the elements of physiography as a compen- 
dious library for teachers in the public 
schools, and finally he organized in the city 
of Washington a system of public lectures 
on geography, enlisting not only the mem- 
bers of the Society, but many other able 
public men in this enterprise. In all of 
these agencies the working geographers of 
Washington most heartily cooperated, and 
the National Geographic Society has within 
very few years attained an influence and 
efficiency which is unequalled in America 
SCIENCE. 
977 
and perhaps in the world. Thus Mr. Hub- 
bard was the entrepreneur of geographical 
knowledge. 
Inyestigation and discovery lead to use- 
ful, honorable and glorious careers, but 
knowledge must result in invention if it 
becomes useful, and inventions themselves 
must be applied to public affairs if they are 
to be a boon to mankind. 
Mr. Hubbard died at three o’clock on the 
11th of this month, loved by his kindred, 
beloved by his friends and honored by the 
world. : 
ON THE ORIGIN AND AGE OF THE RELIC- 
BEARING SAND AT TRENTON, N. J.* 
Tue locality where human antiquities 
have recently been found near Trenton, 
New Jersey, is situated about two miles 
south of the heart of the city. The points 
where the finds are being made are on a 
somewhat extensive plain, the principal for- 
mation of which is composed of the sand 
and gravel deposited by the glacial drain- 
age which came down the Delaware during 
the last glacial epoch. On the east side of 
the Delaware the plain extends about two 
miles east of the locality where the finds 
are made. It also has a considerable de- 
velopment on the west side of the river, 
and extends many miles up and down the 
Delaware north and south of the locality in 
question. From Trenton it also stretches 
northeast a number of miles along the 
Assanpink creek. In the vicinity of Tren- 
ton this plain has an elevation of 50 to 60 
feet. Through it the Delaware has cut a 
wide valley, the flood-plain of which is now 
less than ten feet above sea-level. The re- 
lation of the flood-plain to the plain above 
shows that, after the latter was made, the 
river excavated a valley in it, cutting it 
down essentially to tide-level. This valley 
has been cut since the last glacial epoch. 
* Paper presented at the summer meeting of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 
ence. 
