Davis — Framework of the Earth. 239 



of the kind here suggested; and how abundantly suf- 

 ficient would such a fund be, if it were provided in ap- 

 propriate measure by captains of mining industry who 

 have so largely profited from the work of geological 

 experts in the past, and who are learning to depend 

 more and more upon such work in the future ! 



Yet even without such an imagined fund — the realiza- 

 tion of which is, however, by no means only a remote 

 and fanciful dream — the working geologists of the 

 world will, while fortifying the positions already gained, 

 push forward from them and transform new territory 

 from geological barbarism to geological civilization. Just 

 as the last half-century has seen nearly all the blank 

 spaces on the geographical map of the world filled in 

 with outlines of their larger topographic features, so the 

 next half-century will see the blank spaces on the geo- 

 logical map of the world invaded and taken possession 

 of by an international color scheme. But for such a 

 movement a geological commander-in-chief of interna- 

 tional reputation is needed to direct the operations of 

 the new offensive; and this commander must not only 

 be thoroughly informed as to the strength or weakness 

 of the points already held; he must also have a broad 

 view of the terrane over which the advance is to be 

 made, in order to direct the attack where it can be 

 delivered to best advantage. 



It is a great good fortune for geological science that 

 precisely such a commander is now living in the person 

 of Emmanuel de Margerie. He is a man of wide per- 

 sonal acquaintance; a thorough scholar in geology and 

 geography, extraordinarily familiar with all books and 

 maps bearing on earth science, and possessing an intel- 

 lect that represents Gallic agility rather than Teutonic 

 ponderosity. Moreover, he possesses a minute acquaint- 

 ance with all the chapters of the German and the French 

 volumes, through having either worked them over in the 

 translations of others or translated them himself. He 

 can, better than anyone living, point out the districts in 

 which new observations are needed to verify the sup- 

 posed extensions of elements of crustal structure; his 

 advice regarding fields that need special attention will, 

 therefore, be most helpful to exploring geologists. ^ He, 

 more penetratingly than any other geologist, can indicate 

 those parts of Suess's generalizations and theories which 



