80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMHERST MEETING 



Darwin's theories; the mechanics of ore deposition; the evolution of 

 lvarst topography; and the story of artesian water. 



Objections will immediately be offered to such cinematographs : 



(1) It will be said that errors will be perpetuated in this way. But 

 is it not more probable that if the animated diagrams are incorrect some 

 keen geologist will soon discover this? Nothing could be more fatal to 

 faulty reasoning than such a demonstration. 



(2) A second objection will be that no one will undertake the arduous 

 task of making the drawings for such films. The answer to this objec- 

 tion is that, given sufficient remuneration, some one, at some time, will 

 be found, if the results are believed to be worth while. 



(3) Another objection offered will be that such an enterprise can not 

 be financed. Great sums of money are being expended for education, 

 and it is not unreasonable to suppose that some of this economic surplus 

 can be diverted to this useful end. There is also the possibility that a 

 moving-picture company will care to finance films that will appeal to the 

 general public. 



The graduate student who has acquired a fundamental knowledge of 

 the principles of geology and physiography and who has become skillful 

 in drawing block diagrams can with one successful film quickly become 

 well known, not only in the United States and Canada, but in the uni- 

 versities of the world. 



Two attempts at such moving pictures have been brought to the atten- 

 tion of the committee ; one is a film entitled "The story of sulphur." In 

 this there is an animated cartoon showing how sulphur is melted out and 

 lifted to the surface by means of hot water. The other is a petroleum 

 picture, which the Standard Oil Company has had made, in which ani- 

 mated cartoons show the occurrence of oil and the method of drilling 

 through the rocks to reach the petroleum-bearing strata. These pictures, 

 while not of great value from the geological standpoint, serve to indicate 

 that, with proper planning and skill, it ought to be possible to make pic- 

 tures that will be excellent media for conveying instruction. 



MOflNQ PICTURES OF SCENERY 



Iii a recent number of Engineering and Mining Journal 10 is the fol- 

 lowing suggestion, which is well worth serious consideration: 



"Many of the geological processes could be shown on the moving-picture 

 screen so effectively that no student would fail to grasp the idea, nor would 

 lie fail to pass an examination upon it. It would he interesting to see if the 

 cunning devices of the machine could not also be utilized to make ideological 



Engineering and Mining Journal, August 20, 1921, p. 2S.°>. 



