REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I9II I 5 



plans. In one year alone the geological survey of Prussia was called 

 upon to supply information concerning ten projects relating to canals 

 and streams. 



There are few questions more often referred to the geologist 

 than those concerning zvater supply from underground sources. 

 With the crowding of our population many of the streams formerly 

 serving households or communities have been rendered unfit for 

 potable purposes except when subjected to expensive treatment, and 

 consequently deep wells are' being put down in numbers. The guid- 

 ance to be had from detailed maps when these are available, or from 

 records of previous borings into the same formations, should be of 

 very considerable service, specially if supplemented by careful field 

 observations. The general factors governing subterranean water 

 supply, the real relations of the ground waters to the deep waters, 

 and the courses of subterranean drainage, are still little known and 

 here lies a field of much practical importance awaiting future de- 

 velopment into accurate knowledge. 



A related field of study is afiforded by the mineral springs which 

 are an important element in the natural wealth of the State. The 

 need for conserving these valuable w^aters can scarcely be questioned 

 since it is well known that they are liable to deterioration and exhaus- 

 tion in much the same way as other natural resources; moreover in 

 some places they are the basis of extensive enterprise and lend 

 support to large communities. Governmental ownership or control 

 of mineral springs is a policy that has long been pursued by Euro- 

 pean states, and recently a step in that direction has been taken with 

 regard to those at Saratoga. The investigation of the waters, in 

 particular the probable conditions of their derivation, storage and 

 areal occurrence, is of pertinent interest to the matter of their con- 

 servation. To carry out such investigation is but to follow the pre- 

 cedents established by other countries. 



AREAL GEOLOGY 

 Li my last report I gave a list of all quadrangles on the topo- 

 graphic scale of I mile to i inch which have been issued in the form 

 of detailed and completed geological maps. To this list were added 

 those upon which reports have been rendered, though these are still 

 unpublished, and those on which progress had been made by way of 

 preliminary operations. During the year just closed reports with 

 maps have been issued covering in detail the geology of the xAlex- 

 andria Bay, Cape Vincent, Clayton and Grindstone quadrangles, all 



