VALVE OF CONCERTED EFFORT 413 



example, the precise tint of a stratum or tlie details of media nical con- 

 stitution, he might be able (1) to recognize the stratum wlien other cri- 

 teria are not available; (2) to decipher some part of its history; (3) to 

 discover features of economic value; (4) to record a possibly useful ob- 

 servation in a place where it is available. Under present conditions, 

 when we turn to a note book for data on a certain point we often are 

 convinced either that the notes are inadequate or that they are clogged 

 with observations of little significance. 



It is evident that conditions could be greatly improved and progress 

 rendered more facile by coordination and centralization. So long as each 

 investigator is left to work independently, the advance of the science will, 

 though real, be relatively slow. Some investigators will reason from the 

 established principles of geolog}^, physics, and chemistry, and describe 

 some of the kinds of events and products that we may expect to find, 

 pointing out deposits that may furnish examples and opening up large 

 fields of investigation. Paleontologists will study fossils and, with the 

 help of data concerning character and distribution of certain deposits, 

 will add to our knowledge of paleogeography. Oceanographers, engineers, 

 and others will give us new information about the beds of seas, lakes, and 

 streams. 



But what would be the outcome if all these activities were encouraged 

 and coordinated ? One result would be the study of the extensive collec- 

 tions of sea-bottom materials that have been carefully made by the United 

 States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the United States Bureau of Fish- 

 eries and preserved by the ISTational Museum. Perhaps some man or 

 group would demonstrate w^hat can be done in some particular field, such 

 as classification of rocks, paleogeograph}^, study of deep-well drill cut- 

 tings, and thus stimulate other men and organizations. 



Classes of Investigation 



Since there seems to be general agreement that research in sedimenta- 

 tion should occupy a prominent place on the program of advance in 

 science, the question arises : What shall be the nature of these investiga- 

 tions and, particularly at the present moment, what shall be the nature 

 of the physical investigations? Some of the ends to be sought are men- 

 tioned in preceding paragraphs and in other papers.^ 



» J. A. Udden : Mechanical composition of clastic sediments. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 

 vol. 25, no. 4, December, 1914, pp. 655-744. 



E. W. Shaw : Present tendencies in geolog>- : Sedimentation. Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci., 

 vol. 9, no. 17. Octobpr, 1019, pp. 51.'>-.'')21. The other papers in the present symposium. 



