40 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 80. 



eastwardly adjacent Pikeville quarter- 

 degree, the Eockwood shale, becomes so 

 calcareous toward the west that it can- 

 not be distinguished from the under- 

 lying Chickamauga limestone. The Mc- 

 Minnville quarter-degree is essentially an 

 agricultural region, the Carboniferous lime- 

 stones forming a belt of exceptionally fer- 

 tile soil along the inner portion of the high- 

 land rim. It includes a small area of coal- 

 bearing rocks in its southeastern corner, 

 where the subconglomerate beds, probably 

 corresponding to those at Bon Air, have 

 been opened and worked for local con- 

 sumption. 



WORK OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL 

 SURVEY FOB FISCAL YEAR, 1896-97. 



The Director of the U. S. Geological 

 Survey recently formulated the plan of 

 operations for the bureau under his charge 

 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, 

 and it received the approval of the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior. As soon as the plans 

 were approved the surveying parties were 

 made up and ordered to the field. 



The plan covers all the work of the year, 

 administrative and scientific, and begins 

 with a financial statement. The total ap- 

 propriation for topographic surveys for 

 1896-97 is $184,200, an increase of $25,000 

 over the appropriation for the year just 

 closed. For geologic surveys and re- 

 searches there is $118,700, which includes 

 an item of $5,000, specifically appropriated 

 for an investigation of the gold resources of 

 Alaska, and for paleontologic work there is 

 $14,000. For chemical researches the ap- 

 propriation is the same as that for last year 

 $10,000. For hydrographic work there is 

 an appropriation of $50,000, as against $20- 

 000 for 1895-96. For the preparation of 

 illustrations and of the report on mineral re- 

 sources, the engraving of maps, etc., there 

 is an aggregate appropriation of about 

 $100,000. 



In accordance with the plan 30 parties 

 have taken the field or will soon take the 

 field for geologic work, 5 in the ISTew England 

 region, including New York ; 5 in the Ap- 

 palachian region ; 2 in the Atlantic Coastal 

 Plain region; 5 in the Interior or Missis- 

 sippi region ; 4 in the Eocky Mountain reg- 

 ion, and 8 in the Pacific region. The min- 

 ing districts of the Appalachian and Eocky 

 Mountain regions will receive special at- 

 tention, though areal mapping and other 

 work will go on in all directions, as hereto- 

 fore. 



The paleontologists will engage in the 

 determination of faunas and floras, espe- 

 cially those of the coal regions of the Ap- 

 palachians and Eocky Mountains, and a 

 study will be made of the Cretaceous fauna 

 of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, with 

 reference to areal and vertical distribution, 

 for the purpose of aiding the geologists in 

 the solution of problems in areal geology. 

 For this work several of the paleontologists 

 take the field. 



The appropriation for hydrographic work 

 has been subdivided, so that $25,000 will be 

 devoted to the gauging of streams and the 

 determination of the water supply of all 

 parts of the country, a second sum of $10,- 

 000 to the investigation of the subject of 

 artesian wells and underground currents in 

 arid and semi-arid regions, and the remain- 

 der to the preparation of reports upon the 

 methods of utilizing the water resources. 

 Work will be done in nearly every trans- 

 Mississippi State and Territory, as well as 

 in New England, Pennsylvania and most of 

 the Southern States. 



Topographic work this j^ear will be under 

 the immediate charge of the Director, and 

 will thus be placed on the same fooling in 

 that respect with the geologic work. A 

 highly important change will be in the 

 method of making the topographic surveys, 

 a change which will, it is expected, materi- 

 ally enhance the value and extend the field 



