918 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 363. 



pose of obtaining information as to the 

 method of utilizing water supply for power, 

 irrigation and domestic purposes. In the 

 survey of the forest reserves every factor 

 bearing upon the character and growth 

 of the forest has been studied. The fol- 

 lowing points have been especially em- 

 phasized : The character of the soil ; the 

 forest litter ; the depth of humus ; the char- 

 acter and density of the underbrush and 

 young growth ; the range in size of trees of 

 the principal species ; the total height, 

 clear trunk and apparent age and sound- 

 ness ; the effect of fires on reproduction ; 

 the proportion of dead standing timber ; 

 the character of the cutting ; the means of 

 transportation ; the local demand for lum- 

 ber ; the effect of sheep pasturage ; the use 

 of water for irrigation and milling ; and the 

 extent and distribution of land more valu- 

 able for agriculture than for timber. The 

 Survey is engaged in the preparation of a 

 topographic map of the United States, 

 wliich in addition to being a necessity for 

 all other investigations undertaken in the 

 field, has in itself a great economic value 

 in all works of an engineering character. 

 The statistics of mineral productions are 

 compiled direct from reports made by the 

 producers themselves. 



' The Soil as a Social and Economic Fac- 

 tor': Frank K. Cameron, Ph.D. Soil 

 Chemist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. 



This paper was a presentation in general 

 terms of the work which has been done 

 and is being done upon soils from the point 

 of view of the natural scientist. An out- 

 line of the work of the Bureau of Soils in 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture is 

 given. The point is then made that such 

 work can never, in itself alone, lead to the 

 best development and management of soils, 

 for it is in fact an economic problem, and 

 the work of the physical scientist can only 

 serve as a basis or point of departure 



from which the economist may attack the 

 problem. The causal relations between 

 the character of the soil and the population 

 it supports are brought out and the impor- 

 tance of the soil as a factor in the social 

 and economic status of the community m 

 insisted upon. A plea is made for more 

 attention to the subject from experts in 

 these lines. 



' Woman's Suffrage in Colorado ' : J. E, 

 Lb Eossignol, Professor of Economics, Uni- 

 versity of Denver. 



After the enactment of the Woman's 

 Suffrage Law, in the year 1893, many 

 women devoted themselves with enthusiasm 

 to the theory and practice of politics, espe- 

 cially in the agitations concerning populism 

 and free silver. Afterwards a number of 

 leading women broke away from the regular 

 political factions and formed organizations 

 such as the Civic Federation, which took 

 an active part in the municipal election of 

 1895, and in 1897 they secured the election 

 of an independent ticket. Since then there 

 has been a tendency for women to return to 

 the regular party organizations. It is diffi- 

 cult to give an estimate of the value of 

 woman's suffrage to Colorado, because of 

 diversity of opinion on the subject, and be- 

 cause it is as yet impossible to prove either 

 the success or the failure of the system 

 from the point of view of social expedi- 

 ency. The woman vote is large. Women 

 have not been injured by the franchise. 

 The character of the leading women poli- 

 ticians is high. Women are not, as a rule, 

 clamorous for office. Since 1894, ten women 

 have sat as representatives in the Legisla- 

 tive Assembly, and three women have suc- 

 cessively occupied the position of State Su- 

 perintendent of Education. Women have 

 also served acceptably as members of the 

 various state boards. Women have ex- 

 erted a civilizing influence upon the char- 

 acter of political meetings, and they have 

 at times exerted an influence toward secur- 



