12 INTRODUCTION. 
found, and how profitably the capitalist may invest his means for their 
development, can only be determined and made known in a manner to 
command the confidence of the public at home and abroad, by a careful 
survey under the direction of the state. 
The importance of these surveys is more highly appreciated on this con- 
tinent than with us. Here the necessity of developing all the resources of 
the country is felt, and attention is given to the subject. It is this develop- 
ment and the wealth which necessarily comes from it, which enables many 
of these countries to maintain their position and influence in the world. 
Money judiciously expended in these investigations yields a sure return. 
In Bavaria, with less territory than the state of Indiana, millions have 
been expended in complete geological and topographical surveys of that 
country, and for a few pennies every farmer or land-owner can obtain a 
copy of the survey of his land, a chemical analysis of its soil, and a knowl- 
edge of the minerals which enrich it. 
In Belgium, they are excavating coal at a depth of 1,500 to 1,800 feet 
below the surface, working veins only 18 inchs thick at an angle of 45 deg., 
and this coal, too, of an inferior quality, such as we would not use, and in 
that country, notwithstanding the amount already expended, preparations 
are being made for a still more thorough survey. Might not much capital 
thus laboriously expended be attracted towards our rich coal fields, were 
their existence and extent known and believed? 
But it is not only in the discovery and locati@n of the mineral resources 
of the state, that such a survey would be advantageous. It would call 
attention to the fact that all these minerals can be worked and made into 
manufactured articles at home, instead of being sent abroad and returned 
to us at an advanced price, as we know is now done, not only with our 
pig iron, zinc and other metals, but even with our walnut and cherry. 
Copper is shipped from Tennessee to England, and returned to us in the 
manufactured state at an advance of more than 200 per cent. I believe 
that zinc is not manufactured in any considerable quantities in the Mis- 
sissippi valley, and yet it is well known among us, that it is found in great 
abundance in the north-west, equal to any in the world. How profitably 
to our people might the money be expended in manufacturing at home 
the zinc used among us for painting, for roofing, telegraphing, and in the 
daily employments of our mechanics. But this will not be until the atten- 
tion of capital is drawn to our resources. 
It may be mentioned as a striking fact, showing the extent to which we 
look across the water for supplies, that in South Wales and Staffordshire, 
England, alone, tin plates are manufactured to the amount of 900,000 
