Year: 1860

AN IMPORTANT MEASURE.


After discussing for two years the propri-
ETY. of providing for geological survey of
our State, the Legislature has at last given
its decision on theimportant subject by pass
ing bill creating the Office of State Geolo-
gist, with a salary of $4,000, indicating
Prof. ]. D. Whitney as the first incumbent,
and providing that, in case of his death,
Prof. Agassiz shall appoint his successor
The latter provision is extraordinary, but
we do not consider it at all improper 1t not
only insures to the State the best scientific
aid in the investigation of her wonderful
formation and resources, but pays to an en-
inent adopted citizen compliment deserved
by him and honorable to US. Prof. Whitney
has received from the best qualified men of
the day the heartiest praise, which he won
by his able geological explorations in the
Eastern States report from him on the
geology and mineralogy of California will
prove the most important and generally in
terestlng single contribution to physical
knowledge which has lately been made 1t
must likewise prove Of immense pecuniary
value in a State whose entire population is
given to mineral hunting, either as a steady
or an occasional pursuit In spite of the
sneering remark Of some orantjournaiists
our miners are not the best geologists. They
are indefatigabe discoveries and laborious
developers, but consume much time and
money in mfsdirected efforts to attain ends
that science would have helped them to inn
mediately and cheapy. They also pass over
daily, no doubt, mineral deposits that would
enrich them, if they only knew their value
AS an instance of this we refer to the well
known fact that the first specimens from the
Comstock silver vein were popularity pro-
nounced to contain only sulphuret of iron
As single instance of the value. in dollars
and cents, of a good geological survey, we
hnd 1t stated, that since the scientific DEM
onstration, from geological evidences, that
the great coal fields of the Western and
Southern portions of our continent, cannot
possibly extend into New York, more money
has been saved to that State, by the preven-
ton Of useless explorations for coal. than
the entire cost of its geological survey and
printing of the report thereof But the gain
to California from such a survey will be pos
tive, for the reason that it will direct in
stead of merely preventing exploration and
especially will it direct the explorations af-
ter those minerals-such as coal, iron, tin,
zinc and copper-which are more useful
than gold and silver, and really more pre-
cious. If a geological survey should do
nothing more for this State than to deter
mine whether it contains good coal beds, or
hasten the opening of those already thought
to exist, it will more than pay for itself, re-
garding it from strictly business point of
view. Indications Of coal, some of them
thought to be very promising, have been
found in about fifteen different places, but
in the absence of positive scientific assur-
ance that elaborate investigation of these





two attempts have been made to 90 beyond
the surface. The Importance of coal beds
to the material welfare of metal-producing
country like ours, cannot be overrated and
especially when it is remembered that our
supplies of hard wood for fuel are being rap
idly exhausted, and resort to our splendid
pine forests for this purpose is even now ne
cessary in some localities. Manufactures
and that infinite diversity of pursuits which
follows them, cannot flourish here to great
extent without cheap supplies of coal The
worlds annual yield of that useful mineral
is said to be worth nearly two hundred mil
lions of dollars-which is larger than the
yearly gold yield. A single State in the
Union annually realizes as much wealth from
her coal mines as we do from our auriferous
ones. Add this great element of sdbstan
tial wealth to her other resources, and what
State will California become