fuller.] COLLECTION OF WELL RECORDS AND SAMPLES. 39 
the local geologists have furnished clippings, names of drillers, notices 
of wells, and other information or assistance. In Kentucky and 
Maryland, on the other hand, the State geologists act as the Survey's 
representatives, collecting the samples and records at the local offices 
and forwarding them to the Washington office. 
PUBLICATIONS. . 
It is intended to issue annually a report giving the result of the 
year's work. The present paper is the first of the series and repre- 
sents the material received during the first six months of the operation 
of the work. Being the first report, it will differ somewhat from those 
which are expected to follow, in that an account of the organization 
and methods are incorporated in addition to the well data. The gen- 
eral plan is to present each year a list of persons cooperating in fur- 
nishing samples or records, a summary of the wells reported and the 
results, and detailed records of wells. It is believed that the success 
of the work depends largely on making the material immediately 
available to drillers, well owners, and geologists rather than holding 
it for complete reports, which can generally be prepared only after 
many years of work, during which the information would be relatively 
inaccessible to those outside the Survey. Detailed reports, however, 
afford comprehensive views of the fields treated, which are not afforded 
by isolated records, and are to be prepared as opportunity offers. 
