764 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. No. 542. 



maintained, as is done in the topographical 

 mapping of the United States. In select- 

 ing the scale for any region the uses to 

 which the map is to be put should be well 

 considered and the survey made with an 

 amount of detail adequate to the use in 

 view. A naval station, an army post, or 

 the location of a possible canal should be 

 surveyed in greater detail than would else- 

 where suffice. It seems entirely practicable 

 to foresee the probable development of a 

 system of highways, since these are largely 

 controlled by natural conditions, and there 

 is no reason why the development of means 

 of communication should not be taken into 

 consideration in the original surveys. The 

 mapping of each area should thus be un- 

 dertaken on such a scale as will suffice for 

 the several purposes to Avhich che govern- 

 ment expects to apply the maps. Similar- 

 ly, geological work should be done not 

 merely with a view to elucidating the 

 physical and biological history of the archi- 

 pelago, or even to describing the mineral 

 resources of the islands ; the origin of soils, 

 the occurrence of road metal and the facili- 

 ties for or the obstacles to the cutting of 

 canals, tunnels, or roads should be system- 

 atically reported upon from a geological 

 point of view. Indeed it is manifest that 

 assistance can and should be rendered by 

 each branch of a complete survey to one or 

 more coordinate branches. For this reason 

 a plan of cooperation will be suggested 

 somewhat later. 



4. Scope of Inquiry. — The subjects 

 which it is advisable for the government 

 to investigate in the Philippines may be 

 grouped as follows: 



Coast and geodetic work and marine hydrog- 

 raphy. 



Land topography, including surveys and classi- 

 fication of the public land. 

 Geolopry and mineral resources. 

 Botany. 



Problems of forestry. 



Zoology. 



Anthropology. 



All of these subjects may be embraced 

 under the general term scientific explora- 

 tions, and their study may be carried to 

 a satisfactory degree of completion in a 

 few years. 



Several other lines of inquiry are omit- 

 ted from the enumeration, although they 

 also are of great importance in the eco- 

 nomic development of the islands. They 

 are chiefly of local interest, and are largely 

 administrative, but are permanent in char- 

 acter. They include meteorology, sanita- 

 tion, the study of animal parasites, insect 

 pests and the fungous diseases of plants, as 

 well as sylvicultural and administrative 

 forestry and the establishment of agricul- 

 tural experiment stations and of zoological 

 and botanical gardens. These lines of in- 

 vestigation have already been initiated and 

 more or less fully provided for by the civil 

 government of the Philippine Islands. The 

 scientific surveys would naturally coop- 

 erate as far as possible with the insular 

 scientific bureaus to the great advantage 

 of both. 



These several branches of the inquiry 

 will furnish contributions to human Imowl- 

 edge, the importance of which will prob- 

 ably stand in the following order : Zoology, 

 anthropology, botany, forestry, geology. 



5. Coast and Geodetic TTorfc.— The first 

 step to be taken in the survey of the Phil- 

 ippines is the establishment of geograpliical 

 stations and a primary triangulation. The 

 position of Manila Observatory is of course 

 well known, and many other points have 

 doubtless been well determined, but the 

 accuracy of existing determinations should 

 be checked and the network completed. 

 The land area of the archipelago is not 

 large— only about 120,000 square miles— 

 but because of its distribution in several 

 hundred islands the area to be triangulated 

 is far larger. 



The importance of marine hydrography 

 reqiiires no emphasis further than to recall 



