766 



SCIENCE. 



[X. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. 542. 



comparativeh' easy to extend the surveys 

 into the interior. 



The geological formations of the East 

 Indies, inclnding Malaysia, are as yet im- 

 perfectly correlated with those of Europe. 

 The distance separating these two regions 

 is so great, and the intervening land mass 

 with its peculiar mountain systems is so 

 immense, as easily to account for extreme 

 differences in fossil remains, rendering it 

 difficult to correlate the two systems. On 

 the other hand, in America, where the 

 mountains and coasts have a southerly 

 trend, formations can be followed from the 

 temperate zone into the tropics with no 

 great difficulty, and a definite correlation 

 has thus been obtained. Hence it is ad- 

 visable that the geologists, and especially 

 the paleontologists, who may be sent to 

 the Philippines, should have familiarized 

 themselves with the geology of the marine 

 strata of the West Indies and the Gulf of 

 Mexico. In some respects knowledge of 

 the geology of the tropics is of more im- 

 portance in the elucidation of the earth's 

 history than that of the temperate zone. 

 Climatic conditions along the equator must 

 always have been more equable than in the 

 temperate zone, and the development of 

 life must have been less affected by changes 

 in local conditions. Hence near the equa- 

 tor, if anywhere, will be found evidence of 

 variations in the climate of the earth as a 

 whole in earlier geological times, variations 

 such as may have been due to changes in 

 solar emanation or in the composition of 

 the earth's atmosphere. 



Attention has already been called to the 

 fact that geologists should systematically 

 lend assistance in the study of soils and in 

 the development of a system of highways. 



8. Zoology and Botany.— The Philip- 

 pines have long been an attractive field 

 for the student of natural history, and 

 some of the most important theories re- 

 specting the origin, distribution and color- 



ation of animals and plants have resulted 

 from studies in this region. It was chiefly 

 from observations of the insects of the 

 archipelago that Wallace discovered the 

 law of natural selection independently of 

 Darwin, who had not then jjublished his 

 'Origin of Species.' But the fauna and 

 flora are still very imperfectly known. 

 Field work in ornithology has been more 

 thorough than in the other lines; neverthe- 

 less, several of the larger islands have been 

 only slightly explored, and some of the 

 smaller ones not at all. A small collection 

 of mammals made by a bird collector on 

 Mount Data, in northern Luzon, compris- 

 ing onlj^ such species as were brought to 

 him alive by the natives, contained half a 

 dozen new generic groups. This may be 

 taken as a promise of what will be learned 

 when the numerous lofty mountains of the 

 larger islands are systematically explored. 

 Heretofore most of the natural-history 

 work has been along the coast and larger 

 rivers. In future the most promising and 

 important field, and also the most difficult 

 so far as land species are concerned, is in 

 the highlands of the interior. 



The fauna of the Philippines is com- 

 plex in origin and heterogeneous in char- 

 acter. It consists of types originally de- 

 rived in part from the south (Borneo, 

 Celebes and the Moluccas) and in part 

 from the north (Formosa and southeastern 

 China) ; hence it is not surprising that the 

 animals and plants of certain islands differ 

 widely from those of other islands. It is 

 important that the fauna and flora of each 

 island be studied in detail, and that the 

 zoological work include mammals, birds, 

 reptiles, batrachians, fishes, insects and 

 marine invertebrates ; and that the botan- 

 ical work include, besides systematic bot- 

 any, the study and identification of the 

 food plants, fiber plants and medicinal 

 plants used by the native tribes. 



In each of these departments the work 



