ACTIVITIES 45 



Every effort is made to cooperate with all drillers who may 

 be boring in the regions which are under examination or 

 which it is thought may contain large saline deposits. Sample 

 bags and specially prepared log books are furnished to them 

 with the request that cuttings be taken from every "screw," 

 at least in the regions of the formations containing or adja- 

 cent to the saline or gypseous deposits. Also samples of 

 brines are solicited. All these samples are tested for potash 

 in the laboratory of the Survey, and the drillers are informed 

 as to whether potash is present in considerable amounts in 

 any of the samples. In the lack of funds sufficient to carry 

 on the exploration more rapidly and especially to conduct 

 boring operations in several areas at once, the effort will be 

 made, whenever possible, to station scientific observers at the 

 sites of new drillings in areas which would appear to be espe- 

 cially promising or in which indications have been reported, 

 in order that the cuttings of the drill may be watched on the 

 ground by a competent observer and tests made of the sam- 

 ples and brines as the work progresses. 



In addition to the explorations above described, the Geo- 

 logical Survey is testing all samples sent to it for examina- 

 tion from reported discoveries of potash salts or nitrates. 

 It has also made field investigations of reported deposits 

 concerning which the tests have been favorable, and the in- 

 formation submitted with the samples has warranted the 

 hope that the deposits might prove to be of value. 



Research in Geologic and Related Theory. In the Sur- 

 vey's researches for mineral deposits, as in all such researches 

 made by trained geologists for private parties, the area of 

 operations is selected and the operations themselves are guided 

 by a hypothesis or theory relative to the occurrence of the 

 mineral sought. It need hardly be added that the Survey, as 

 the largest single organization engaged in such researches and 

 in the collection of geologic data generally, is itself a prime 

 factor in formulating and developing theories of mineral 

 occurrence. 



The Survey has from the first taken the position that a 

 great and peculiar field of usefulness lies before it in this type 

 of research. 



