14 
Transactions Texas Academy of Science. 
principal line of operation of the engineer’s skill, bnt there are greater 
works in building railroads and kindred structures yet to be done than 
have been even thought of in the past. Bridges of all kinds are to be 
built, the structural engineer has almost a virgin field before him, and 
the same may be said of the mechanical and electrical engineers. San- 
itary engineering and sanitary science scarcely exist at all within the 
State, but the growing necessities of denser population will make this 
branch of the work imperative in the comparatively near future; except 
for small water supply systems, the hydraulic engineer has been almost 
without occupation, but the field before him is of vast extent. There 
are millions of acres of land in the arid and semi-arid regions that are 
open to development if it can be shown that irrigation by s^orm water 
storage can be carried on at a profit, and even in the sub-humid and 
humid areas intensive farming may yet make irrigation there a neces- 
sity; the duty of water in different sections has yet to be determined 
and the character of vegetation adapted to various localities remains to be 
investigated. Within the last two or three years we have seen the coastal 
plain of Texas transformed from a barren clay prairie into splendid rice 
farms, the development of which means far more to the State than do 
the immense riches of oil and mineral deposits so far discovered, great 
as they have been. The work of the geologist should be fostered, not 
only for its importance in connection with coal, oil and metal deposits, 
but for its value for other economic purposes, agricultural, structural, 
and some forms of' manufacturing especially. In at least two widely sep- 
arated localities in the State it has been demonstrated that we can man- 
ufacture Portland cement that will compare favorably with imported 
brands; vitrified clay pipe of good quality is produced at one place, and 
there is no apparent reason why pottery works should not flourish. In 
forrestry there is much to be done if the complete destruction of our East 
Texas timber is to be prevented, to say nothing of forest extension west- 
ward. The botanist has his field to himself, and much good should result 
from a study of the grasses and other flora of the State. Entomology, 
which has received some slight State aid for two specific purposes, has 
an almost untouched field open to the workers in that line. The chemist 
likewise has an untold wealth of study upon economic problems ahead of 
him, and so on through all the lines in which applied science has so far 
demonstrated its value, to say nothing of the new lines which we may 
reasonably expect to see developed. 
Every year we ship immense quantities of raw material from the State 
only to buy a large part of it back again in the form of manufactured 
articles, for which we pay an advanced price in addition to the freight 
charges both ways. We need manufactories for cotton and other staples, 
to preserve to ourselves the profits now expended in transportation 
charges and to furnish employment for those who find it now difficult to 
