Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-11-03
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
DR.. Birge of the State University
Reviews What Has Been
Accomplished.

Legislature, is shown IN the report OF Or.
L. A Birge of the state university, direc-
tor and superintendent of the survey, as
follows:
| submit a statement of the secretary of
state, showing that there was drawn from
the state treasury before October Ii, war
rants aggregatIng $1S29.6O. The eXpendl-
ture Of this sum may be CLASSIFIED as FOL
lows:
Administration expenses ............ $26.9l
Building stone, salary and expenses. 66U. Of
Areal geology, salary and expenses. 800. q
Botany and forestry, expenses. 1898
Lake study, expenses and apparatus. 1895
Physical geography, expenses and APP 90
BESIDES these expenditures there are out
standing warrants, amounting to S2l4.4S.
In addition there will be needed before
December 81, the following sums:
Salaries Of Buckley and Weidman. .$366.63
Balance of Roth's expenses. ......... 2S6.O0
Estimated expenses of biologists
ana incidentals. ...........-.. 10000
$500. IS
It thus appears that the total expenditure
to January l, 1898, will aggregate about
$3.50, leaving $3.50 to be expended next
year. 1t is very possible that Mr.. Roth Will
not be able to remain in the field long
enough to spend the entire sum appropriated
to him and it is also quite possible that $40
is Ii larger amount than Will be needed for
expenses during The next two months. IN
either of these contingencies the balance Tor
1898 would be cOrreSpOndingly increased.
The work of the survey began about July
/ and the following has been accomplished:
In the study Of the building stones of the
STATE Mr.. Buckley has visited all the quar-
ries now being worked. He has furnished
all quarrymen with blanks for reports and
has received large number of the blanks
rlled out He has made arrangements for
samples and specimens of stone and has Il
iuIl set of notes, etc. He is now ready TO
begin TO prepare his report and will devote
the winter to that work.
Mr.. Weidman has been studying the eX-
tfemeIy complex geological structure OF the
region about Merrill and Wausau, Il dis
tilcC which was left almost untouched by
the last geological survey. His field study
has covered an area of several hundred
square miles. He will devote the winter to
Working up his material, preparing maps OF
the region, etc, but IL is not at all probable
that he will have report ready Tor pub
Icati0n during the next season.
Early in the summer the forestry commits
sion appointed by the last Legislature rep
resented to the commission that there
great need Of an investigation OF the forests
of the state. such as would serve them as Il
basis on which they could recommend to
the next Legislature measures VI the bet
ter preservation of our forests The survey
was asked to appropriate $500 to defray the
expenses of such an investigation, provided
the United States department Of agriculture
would assign one OF its stan to this service
The arrangement was made and Filibert
Roth Of the United States department of
agriculture, forestry division was assigned
to duty in this state by DR.. 3. E. Fernow,
chief of the division Mr.. Roth has been
engaged in work in the northern part of the
state since the middle of August and is max
ing as thorough an investigation of our for
est resources as can be done in seasons
work. He has already collected Il very large
amount Of information and will embOdy his
conclusions in report during the coming
winter. This report will be made to DIR.
=. T. FernoW, chief let OF the departm,ent of
the survey for publication.
Prof. Cheney of Madison continued during
the early summer his study of the distribu
ton of the plants of northern Wisconsin
Cral years, the expenses being betrayed by
the University of Wisconsin. The sum
tion to that from the university, enabled
him to increase the number of persons assist
ing him and thus to extend the area Of his
work. During the autumn Mr.. Cheney spent
some time in the field with Mr.. Roth.
Prof. Collie of Beloit spent most of the
summer in the study of the topography OF
the southern part of the state. He has
taken numerous photographs and Will pre-
pare general report on the physical geog-
This report will be fully illustrated and will
he issued in 4 form for use in the schools.
Prof. Collie had expected to complete his
field work during the summer and to write
illness, his field work was cut short and up
to this time he has been unable to work up
the results which he had reached l had
expected to be able to publish his report
during the year 1898 but it now seems
probable that at least a p of another sea-
son must be put into field work before the
results can be made ready for publication.
Prof ID. z. Nicholson of Lawrence uni
versity has begun similar study of Devils
lake and the DellS of the Wisconsin Other
engagements made it impossible for Prof.
Nicholson to begin field work before the
first of September. | hope that his report
may be ready for publication during the COM
ing year, although | fear that it cannot be
issued during 1898.
Prof. Marsh and 1 spent some time in the
work was done in the lakes of the Kettle
Moraine from OconOmowoc south, while
Prof. Marsh visited these lakes and extend
ed his work as far north as Elkhart and
also made two trips to the lakes III the
northeastern part of the state. The investi-
CATION of this subject will be slow as it
involves new problems and methods of study.
and the work of the past season wholly
Of a preliminary character, as will be most
From this brief summary it will be SeeI
that there has been accomplished the field
work for the following reports: Buckley,
Present Condition of the Forests These
reports at least ought to be issued during
The year 1898 and will be unless unforeseen
paper by Prof Hobbs on the volcanic
rocks of the Fox River valley to which ref
arence is made later in this report.
| ought to add that no salaries other
compensation have been paid, except to the
regularly employed Assistant Biologists
Buckley and Weidman. Mr.. Roth's salary
professors have given their services to the
survey. Prof. Van Hise, although not III
nominal charge OF geology, mas SupeflntenQ-
ad the work of this department and has Civ
much time and a great deal of thought
70 advising and directing the assistants ~
geology He spent more than week III
the field, at the beginning of the season.
with Messrs. Buckley and Weidman. and
later he visited Prof. Collie at Beloit and
Mr.. Weidman at Wausau. spending several
lays at this latter place.
Some Recommendations.
Several important matters should be de-
Etrmined by the commission at this time:
Prof Van Hise has consented TO accept
he position of consulting geOlogist to the
survey and l recommend that the board of
commissioners appoint him to this position.
In this capacity he will have general charge
If all Investigations belonging to this de-
partnent of the survey. While it win not
be possible for him to spend much time in
The field, he will start the parties in their
work and have general oversight of their
field study, as he has done during the past
summer, and will also be able 20 supervise
the office work during the winter. His
name. as consulting geolOgist, should appear
On all publications of the survey belonging
TO this department.
| recommend that the reports o.. this sur
vey be known as bulletins of the geological
and natural history survey of Wisconsin,
ana that they be published in three series:
Scientific series. economic series, educational
series. To the second, or economic series
Il h. IL ,Kff fr