122 The American Geologist. Augrust, 18991 
all districts, and that each district must be examined by itself. At 
least such has been my experience in the Bermudas, the Bahamas, 
Cuba, Florida, the West Indies, the Sandwich islands, and Australia. 
The results of this trip show plainly that Darwin's theory is not appli- 
cable to the Fiji islands, notwithstanding the borings at Funafuti, and 
that, in all the cases I have examined, the reefs form but a thin crust 
upon the underlying base, the shape and composition of which are not 
in any way due to the growth of corals of the existing period." 
w. u. 
Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Sur- 
vey to the Secretary of the Interior. iSgd-gj. Charles D. Walcott, 
Director. In Five Parts. Washington, 1897-98. 
This report of the work of our national survey during the year 
ending June 30, 1897, is comprised in six large volumes. Part V, 
Mineral Resources of the United States, 1896% was published and dis- 
tributed more than a year ago, as its purpose to promote the develop- 
ment of our mineral wealth required prompt publication; and that part 
was reviewed in the American Geologist for June of last year (vol. xxi, 
rt>- 380-382). The other four volumes were distributed to geologists 
and public libraries about two months ago; but several of the papers 
therein, being earlier issued separately, have likewise been already 
reviewed in this magazine. 
Part I contains the report of the director and an appendix on work 
done in triangulation and spirit leveling. The appropriations for the 
survey during the year amounted to$568,690, of which about a third 
was allotted for topographic work; about a quarter for geologic work, 
with paleontology and chemical and physical research; $50,000 for 
gauging streams, investigations of artesian water supply, etc.; $20,000 
for the collection of statistics of mining production and resources; 
$60,000 for engraving and printing maps; and $37,000 for publication 
of reports. Thirty geologic parties were employed, exploration being 
done to some extent in nearly every state and territory of the Union; 
and the director gives brief outlines of the work of each party. Topo- 
graphic mapping has been extended over an aggregate area of 759-525 
square miles, or a fourth part of the whole country. During this year 
27,446 square miles were surveyed, and from 10,840 miles of leveling 
1,820 permanent bench marks were established. 
Eight papers are included in Part 11, one of which (Recent Earth 
Movement in the Great Lakes Region, by G. K. Gilbert) was reviewed 
in the American Geologist for last February. The scope of the other 
papers is partly indicated by the following notes. 
In the first paper. Prof. Davis presents a very thorough report of 
his work during twenty years on the Triassic red sandstone and asso- 
ciated trap rocks of Connecticut. The field is one of great complexity, 
in the diversity of occurrence of the igneous rocks, as dikes, intrusive 
sills nearly parallel with the stratification, and extrusive flows, the last 
belonging to three successive epochs; in the deformation by warping, 
faulting, tilting, and uplifting; and in denudation, base-leveling to a 
peneplain, reelevation, and sculpture to the present form. 
