Edward Cary 



the scientific knowledge of the conti- 

 nent. And this in turn was the basis 

 of the formation of the United States 

 Geological Survey, organized in 1878, 

 of which he was for four years the 

 Chief. In these papers, then, we 

 have the first fruits of King's pecul- 

 iarly rich and variously endowed in- 

 tellect. 



The first paper, The Range, was 

 probably written latest as an intro- 

 duction to the others : at least, the 

 first half of it, which is a succinct 

 statement of the geologic history of 

 the western part of the continent 

 from the base of the Sierra Nevada 

 to the Pacific. We wish it were prac- 

 ticable to quote these dozen pages, 

 they are so satisfactory as the pre- 

 sentation in lucid form and logical 

 order of a mighty chapter in the 

 records of the planet. The reader 

 with the slightest equipment of sci- 

 entific imagination rises from their 

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