July 24, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



103 



mena which, although apparently simple, 

 cannot be explained psychologically from a 

 single cause but are due to several factors. 



Franz Boas. 



RECENT HYDEOGRAPHIC EXAMINATIONS IN 

 THE APPALACHIAN AREA* 



The systematic study of the discharges of 

 the streams of the United States has, with 

 one or two exceptions, been undertaken only 

 in recent years. The expense and time re- 

 quired for such investigations prohibits the 

 private engineer from undertaking them, 

 and they can be carried on, therefore, only 

 by large corporations, municipal or State 

 authorities, or by the ll^ational Government. 

 Among the most valuable contributions to 

 this branch of engineering have been inves- 

 tigations ordered by the cities of Boston and 

 New York in connection with the study of 

 their water supply. The Sudbury records 

 for Boston supply data since 1875 and those 

 of the Croton for !N"ew York since 1868. 

 These are on relatively small basins, how- 

 ever, the former having a drainage area of 

 78 square miles and the latter 353 square 

 miles. 



The army engineers in connection with 

 the improvement of the Connecticut river 

 carried on systematic observations of the 

 discharge of that river at Hartford, Conn., 

 from 1871 to 1879, inclusive, and from that 

 period to the present time the Holyoke 

 Water Power Company have continued the 

 observations. The company in charge of 

 the water powers at Lowell and Lawrence, 

 Mass., on the Merrimac river, have carried 

 on measurements of discharges for over fifty 

 years, but their engineers have published 

 little information. The State of New Jer- 

 sey, in the interest of her water powers, and 

 the city of Philadelphia, for the future de- 



*Eead before the National Geographic Society, 

 November 15, 1895, by F. H. Newell, U. S. Geological 

 Survey, "Washington, D. C. 



velopment of her water supply, commenced 

 seven and nine years ago, respectively, the 

 study of certain drainage basins, but they 

 are also relatively small areas. The U. S. 

 Geological Survey, in May, 1891, established 

 a gauging station on the Potomac at Chain 

 Bridge, D. C, for the measurement of the 

 discharge of the river at that place. It was 

 started somewhat as an experimental sta- 

 tion, the time given to it being that which 

 could be spared by hydrographers from of- 

 fice work. Gauge height observations were 

 continued until the end of 1893, when, on 

 account of lack of time and of funds, they 

 were discontined. 



It has for years been the desire of the 

 hydrographers of this survey to make a 

 thorough and detailed study of the drainage 

 system of one large river, to measure its 

 different tributaries, and to study the rela- 

 tion of their discharges to that of the entire 

 system. An opportunity was afforded for 

 the development of this plan in the spring 

 of 1894, and the Potomac basin was chosen 

 as being convenient of access and as typical of 

 large areas along Appalachian range. Gaug- 

 ing stations were established as follows : 

 First, on the North Branch at Cumberland, 

 Md. ; second, on the South Branch three 

 miles above Springfield, "VV. Va. ; third, at 

 Dam No. 6, ten miles above Hancock, Md. ; 

 fourth, one on the Shenandoah at Millville, 

 "VV. Va., five miles above its mouth, and 

 fifth, one on the main river at Point of 

 Eocks, Md. Daily observations of the 

 height of the river at Chain Bridge were 

 also resumed, but measurements of the dis- 

 charge were not made, as it was found that 

 this point was not a favorable location for 

 such measurements. In high water the 

 velocity is too great, owing to the restricted 

 channel, and in low water the daily tides 

 introduce errors that are hard to eliminate. 

 Work was actively prosecuted in this basin 

 during the past spring, and a suflScient 

 number of gaugings were made to construct 



