12 Transactions Texas Academy of Science. 
is andreampt 'by them. Yet, it is true that the chemist is not a mere 
“xule of thnmb^^ experimenter, an analyst who follows blindly the re- 
ceipts of others, but, on the contrary, an investigator; indeed, he may 
be an investigator in the most exalted meaning of that term, ever on 
the lookout for new elements, and, what is of more importance, new 
combinations of elements; and higher still, it may be his privilege to 
assist in unraveling the skein, which, in its tangled meshes, conceals 
some, of the profonndest laws that govern the universe. What of dol- 
lars and cents in this aspect of his work? Is it honor and glory he 
seeks ? 'Such may be his reward, and, if so, he merits, them. Little does 
the public know of the inner life of the investigator, and few recognize 
the severity of his self-imposed task. An eminent factor in the world's 
progress he may be, yet, so modest in demeanor, so unassuming in 
manner, so devoid of self-consciousness, that even his associates may, for 
a time, be unaware of his greatness. 
THE TVORK OF THE GEOLOGIST. 
'The geologist, too, in many communities is misunderstood, and even 
in states where his function ought to be as well known as that of the 
preacher or schoolmaster. To ordinary e^^es he figures as ^^a collector of 
rocks, fossils and minerals." Beyond the building up of a cabinet, pub- 
lic knowledge seldom goes. 'How often we hear it said that ^^Mr. So-and- 
So must be a fine geologist ; he has a beautiful cabinet." How the mak- 
ing of a cabinet may be the work of the merest novice. There are ^Tends" 
in all walks of life; photograph fiends, postage stamp fiends, autograph 
fiends — persons who gloat over a collection of any thing, not that it is 
of any special value or use to them, but theirs, a possession. The geolo- 
gist is not at all of this type. If he 'eollects' rocks, fossils, and minerals, 
rest assured it is for some purpose. Eocks assist him in interpreting the 
earth's history, and, at times, are especially valuable from an economic 
standpoint, for his knowledge of their association and relation may be 
worth thousands of dollars to a community directly, or indirectly in 
preventing useless expenditure in the vain search for something that 
does not exist. The fossil contents of rocks not only enable him to recog- 
nize strata, but they give him an insight into the great problem of the 
earth's population ; the evolution of forms, the migration of faunas, the 
succession of faunas and fioras in time^ — questions of the keenest inter- 
est, questions requiring extended and minute research. That species 
must be named and described is true; but, beyond all this is the great 
philosophic inquiry regarding the origin of life and the development of 
living things. Whatever answer is received must come largely through 
