ADDRESS

BY

GEORGE H. COOK,

VICE PRESIDENT, SECTION E.

ON THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS, AND OUR PART IN IT AS AMERICAN GEOLOGISTS.

WE meet here to-day as members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The wide extent of this field has made it necessary to consider science in separate divisions. Geography and geology have been assigned to us and we are required to do what we can to advance these two branches of the great subject.

What can each one of us do to help on the knowledge of these, our chosen subjects of study? It is hardly in place here to go over the advances which have been made in geography and geology during the last year. They have been many and important, but the public prints are so widely distributed that it would be only a twice-told tale to go over the subjects in detail. There are, however, some particulars to which it may be profitable to call your attention. This association, at the meeting in Buffalo in 1876, "appointed a committee" to consider the propriety of holding an International congress of geologists at Paris during the International exhibition of 1878, for the purpose of getting together comparative collections, maps and sections, and for the settling of obscure points, relating to geological classification and nomenclature.

Through the efforts and influence of this committee a congress was held in Paris in 1878, at which representatives from this country and from almost all the countries of Europe were present and took part in the proceedings, and the business of the congress as

indicated above was fairly begun. A second meeting was held at Bologna, Italy, in 1881, at which some progress was made. A third at Berlin in 1885 and the points of business for the congress were somewhat further defined. A fourth meeting is to be held in London in September of this year and it is to be presumed that still further progress will be made in the two important subjects before it, classification and nomenclature.

But a meeting of the congress must be held in this country and American geology must be fully represented before any conclusions can be reached which will be accepted by the scientific world. At the meeting in London, an effort will be made to have the next meeting, that of 1891, held in this country. There is good reason to ask that a meeting be held here before the discussions on the important topics under consideration are closed. We think our field of observation an important one, better than that of any of the countries of Europe, and perhaps better than all combined. This was the opinion of the older geologists. William Maclure in his "Observations on the Geology of the United States of America," read before the American Philosophical Society in 1809 gives several reasons why geology can be best studied in America. Prof. Amos Eaton in 1828 quotes De Luc as saying that "the general strata must be settled in America where nature seems to have executed her works upon an enlarged scale." Such, too, is the opinion of some of our active geologists of the present day, whom if allowed, I might quote. But no argument on this subject is needed before this audience, nor will any be needed, to bring the International Geological Congress to the same conclusion, and we may look for it here three years from this time.

With this early notice of what is expected of us, it becomes us to make our preparations to show what we have done in geography and geology and to enforce their claims to acceptance, as part of the material to be used in providing for uniform classification and names. As a profitable way of beginning our work, we inquire What are the points in each of these sciences which are settled and what still remain to be worked out?

And first of GEOGRAPHY. This science, which has been the subject of study for all of us in our school-boy days, still needs great improvements. As a matter of civil geography, our country has suffered greatly in finances and we have come to the very verge of war, from an inaccurate knowledge and description of our bounda

ries. The northeastern boundary between the United States and Great Britain, described in the treaty of 1783, was remarkable for its inaccuracies of reference to rivers and highlands. It took twenty years to find out the river meant for the starting point and forty years more to find the highlands mentioned in the treaty, and the matter was finally settled by compromise in the Webster and Ashburton treaty of 1842. The boundary line between the United States and Mexico, as described in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, was equally inaccurate in its reference to places as they were laid down on an existing map which was appended to the treaty. There were errors of two or three degrees in the projection of the map, so that it did not conform to the topography of the country, and the text of the treaty could not be executed, and ten million dollars were paid to the Mexican government for the strip of territory needed to correct the inaccuracy of description.

The territory comprising the present states of New York and New Jersey was granted by Charles II to his brother James, Duke of York, in 1664, and the same year the Duke sold the portion named New Jersey to two English gentlemen. The partition line by which it was cut off, was probably described from a Dutch map of that time and gave the position and latitude of the two ends of the line which was to be a straight one. It was soon found that the latitudes were in error to the amount of almost twenty miles. This was the cause of litigation and strife for more than a hundred years. The line was finally established by a commission made up of the ablest surveyors from all the then colonies. The line was run and marked by monuments at the end of every mile. Now, however, it is found that no three of these are in a straight line, and taken as a whole, the middle of the line is nearly half a mile out from the line as defined.

Errors of the same kind are to be found in all the states surveyed before the present system of government land surveys was adopted; and they are still the cause of innumerable quarrels and lawsuits. It is true these are not the points of interest in our association, but they furnish most potent reasons for making accurate maps and they cause the supplies to be granted for making such maps,-maps with latitude and longitude accurately determined, and with topographic features correctly located, such as are essential to good work in geology. The forms of hills and mountains give clews to their origin and structure-the occurrence of

gaps or depressions in ridges suggests searches for faults-breaks in the lines of ridges lead to examinations for offsets,-lines of rivers and of drainage lead to inquiries in almost every line of investigation. With a good topographic map before him a geologist can lay out his plans for attacking the different problems which are to be solved, or he can start his plan of the hypothetical structure of a region, and select the points he needs to study, in order to confirm or confute his hypothesis. Such maps are indispensable in laying down and describing the localities of the outcropping rocks which make up the geological series of the whole country. The work of making such maps, much as they are needed and imperatively as they are called for, is only just begun. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey has long been engaged in determining the geographical positions of prominent points in the country bordering on the shores of the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, and, as far as sustained, it has carried the work inland, and if properly supported it will carry its stations across the continent. Its results are attained with the greatest degree of accuracy and are recognized as authority in all countries where such surveys are made. As a basis for all reliable geographical surveys and descriptions, this work of the Geodetic Survey is needed now in all parts of our country and its prosecution should be urged as rapidly as possible.

Good work in the same line has also been done in the lake surveys by the United States government. Earlier surveys of the same kind were begun by the state of Massachusetts, and more recently New York has begun a state geodetic survey.

The accuracy with which surveys can be made is only beginning to be appreciated. One has only to go into the courts and learn of the disputes and litigation which have attended the older locations of boundaries and grants of land when errors of miles were frequent, while by modern methods positions can be fixed within a few inches, to understand the need there is for good work everywhere. And it is within the province of this association to exert all its influence to this end. In topography the making of surveys is only just begun. Topographic maps of New Hampshire were prepared under the direction of Prof. C. H. Hitchcock in 1874. Maps of Colorado and other western territories prepared under Dr. F. V. Hayden were published in 1877. The topographic map of New Jersey begun under the direction of the state geologist in 1877

and continued since July, 1884, by the aid of the United States Geological Survey, is just completed and published. The topographic survey of Massachusetts begun by the joint action of the state and of the U. S. Geological Survey in 1884 is now approaching completion.

The United States Geological Survey began systematic work looking to a topographic map of the whole United States, several years since, and it is now in progress in different sections of the Union. The maps are being engraved in the best manner and issued as fast as they are completed.

There are other topographic maps of more limited districts, to which reference might be made, but those mentioned are sufficient to indicate the progress made in this direction. We are far behind the countries of Europe in respect to maps of the whole countrybut it is believed that our later maps will not suffer in comparison with the best of those of foreign lands, and from some experience in directing such surveys, I feel warranted in saying that no public expense, incurred in carrying on scientific explorations, meets with such hearty recognition and approval as that for making and publishing such information in regard to the topographic features of the country in which we reside or travel. Such maps are invaluable to the civil engineer, to those watching over the public health, to those projecting works for water supply or for drainage, to those looking to the location of roads and railroads, to those seeking locations for rural homes, to those studying routes of travel on foot, by carriage or by bicycle, and they touch at some point or other the interest of every thoughtful or inquisitive citizen. Public money faithfully and judiciously expended in this direction gives encouragement to those controlling the public purse, to make liberal provision for the continuance of scientific works, and to aid in the investigation of the facts and principles which constitute the bases of all true science.

To us, however, geography is of most interest, because the forms and features of the earth's surface are so connected with the structure and materials which underlie it, that they furnish a guide to direct us in our geological studies, and a means of recording their results with accuracy and clearness. While there is much to be done, there is great encouragement to go on when the subject is progressing so satisfactorily.

GEOLOGY is revealing to us so many of its hitherto hidden treas