372 
Frank Carney 
text book, to be complete, must be encyclopedic in size and would 
be little used except in libraries. 
The last decade has witnessed the appearance of special books, 
each covering a particular field, as the dynamic, structural, tectonic, 
glacial, and paleontologic phases of the subject. Furthermore, 
special parts of these fields are beginning to have their individual 
manuals. This diversity of texts is to be expected as a result of the 
growing number of specialists in geology. 
Periodicals. Twenty-five years ago. The American Geologist 
was the only American periodical in this field of science. In the year 
1890, the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America began 
publication. Three years later the Journal of Geology was founded. 
In 1905, The American Geologist was incorporated with Economic 
Geology which first appeared in that year. The Bulletin of the 
Seismological Society of America dates from 1910. This large gain in 
the list of serials indicates an activity for which ample provision is 
not found in the publications of the federal and state surveys, or of 
learned societies. 
United States Geological Survey. A national survey is a fair index 
of the status of geology in a country. Appropriations and men make 
a survey; an abundance of one can not at once offset a shortage of 
the other, but may tend to create an ample supply. 
From 1890 to 1901 the lowest appropriation allowed the federal 
Survey any year was $494,640; the highest was $1,000,159.25; the 
average for the 12 years was $757,277.90. Since 1901, including 
1916, the average annual appropriation was $1,544,048.33, In 1907 
the irrigation work was withdrawn from the Survey, and in 1911 the 
Bureau of Mines was created relieving the Survey of certain tech- 
nologic duties. 
It is a matter of pride to all Americans that the United States 
Geological Survey now leads the nations in the quality of its topo- 
graphic maps; but it is unfortunate that this work does not proceed 
more rapidly. If the rate of the last twenty-five years continues, 
nearly a century will pass before the map of our national area is 
completed. The general efficiency of its organization is also the 
envy of foreign workers. With us, as a general rule, politics, mili- 
tarism, and geology mutually observe a decorous neutrality. 
Progress in Economic Geology. In the early days of our state and 
federal surveys, the chief reason for their expenditure of public 
money was the securing of returns through the development of our 
