and proper to exemplify and elucidate the same, to the secretary of the State of Delaware, who shall lay them before the legislature, at their next meeting thereafter.

SEC. 4. It shall further be the duty of the said commissioners to employ such suitable assistants as may be necessary and proper for the full performance of the duties imposed upon the said State geologist, and also to procure to be made a correct map of this State, and cause to be marked thereon, by colors and other appropriate means, the various areas occupied by the different geological formations in the State, together with the beds or deposits of the various mineral substances discovered; and on the completion of the said survey to compile, or cause to be compiled, a memoir of the geology and mineralogy of the State, comprising a complete account of the leading subjects and discoveries which have been embraced in the survey, which memoir they shall transmit to the secretary of the State of Delaware, to be by him laid before the legislature at their next meeting thereafter.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners be and they are hereby authorized to contract and agree with the said State geologist and assistants for their services upon such terms and for such reasonable compensation as shall seem to them just and proper; and for the payment of such compensation they, by their chairman, are hereby authorized to draw upon the State treasurer, who is hereby required to pay the same out of the moneys appropriated for that purpose.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall receive for their services the sum of $3 a day each for each and every day that they shall be engaged in the prosecution of the duties hereinafter imposed upon them, to be paid as is hereinbefore directed for the payment of the State geologist and assistants; and it shall be the further duty of the said commissioners to keep a just and true account of their own services as to days on which they are engaged in the performance of their duties herein, as well as by the services performed by the said State geologist and assistants, together with the moneys paid and ordered drawn by them, in furtherance of the objects of this act, which account shall be presented by them to the legislature, for settlement, at the next biennial session after the completion of the said survey.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of carrying on and completing the said geological and mineralogical survey, the sum of $3,000 is hereby appropriated, to be subject to the orders of, and expended by, the said commissioners, as hereinbefore directed: Provided, That not more than the sum of $1,000 of such appropriation shall be expended in any one county of this State for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of this act.

SEC. 8. In case of the death or resignation of any one or more of the commissioners herein appointed it shall be lawful for the governor of this State to fill the vacancy thus occasioned by the appointment of such person or persons from the county in which such vacancy may occur as shall in his judgment be suitable and qualified for the appointment.

Dover, Feb'y 13, 1837.

No change or modification in this law was found necessary, the single appropriation of $3,000 being sufficient to cover all expenses, including that of publication. The survey had no connection with any other institution, being established, conducted, and completed under the act above quoted.

Administration.-Under the authority granted the commissioners named in the act of establishment, Dr. J. C. Booth was appointed State geologist in the spring of 1837. No assistants or subordinates were employed. Doctor Booth's salary was at the rate of $1,000 a year, and continued for but two years. From a somewhat superficial survey of the State he decided that, since of the 2,200 square miles included in the State area, 2,000 square miles were devoted chiefly to agriculture, his principal efforts should be directed to this feature of the work. To quote his own words he devoted his time "chiefly to the assumed duties of a traveling instructor in agriculture, without exhibiting the formality of teacher among the people to be taught." The fertilizing resources of the green sand and shell marls were, as a result, given a major share of his attention. No museum nor library was provided for. Such fossils as were collected were placed in the hands of Timothy Conrad and others for identification. Expenses.-The total cost of the survey, as already noted, was $3.000, of which $2,000 was for salary of Doctor Booth and $1,000 to pay the cost of publication of the report.

Publication. The report comprised but a single volume of 188 pages, a few hundred copies only being issued, the same being distributed gratis by the commissioners.

Benefits.-The chief benefits of the survey, as stated by Doctor Booth, were:

After having surveyed the State with sufficient minuteness to describe its geological features, and to point out the then and probable future value of the different geological formations, I devoted the larger portion of the time remaining for the completion of the survey (more than one-half of the whole survey period of two years) to traversing the State in every direction, and personally communicating information on agriculture, and especially on the development of agriculture in each district, by means of the geological advantages offered by such district. I regarded such a result as more important and of greater value to the State than any additions to natural science; and after the experience and reflection of 50 years in the same line of thought, I perceive no good ground or reason to change my views.

FLORIDA.

Until the establishment, in 1907, of a State survey, under the direction of E. H. Sellards, Florida can scarcely be said to have undertaken any systematic geological work at State expense. In the reports of the assembly for 1852-53 is found an act, approved by the governor on January 8, 1853, establishing the office of State engineer and geologist. The act need not be quoted entire. It is sufficient to note that it authorized the general assembly, by joint vote, to elect a State engineer and geologist, who should hold office for the term of two years. The duties, as outlined in the act, were the making of

surveys of the swamp lands for the purpose of reclamation. Salary, not to exceed $2,000 a year, and other necessary expenses, were to be paid out of the receipts from the sale of these same swamp lands, or, should these amounts prove insufficient, out of the internal-improvement fund.

Under this act Mr. F. L. Dancy was appointed State engineer and geologist in 1853. It is not apparent that he was a geologist in any sense of the word or that he attempted to do any geological work. His report as State engineer occupies pages 19 to 36 of documents accompanying the message of the governor of Florida, submitted November 28, 1854. All that occurs relative to geology is given on page 20 of the appendix, and reads as follows:

On the subject of the geology of the State I have made no report, from the fact that the general assembly failed to specify any duties or make any appropriations to defray any expenses incurred in reference to the matter. Consequently, nothing has been done by me except to obtain specimens of soils and minerals from the various localities (where marked changes were perceptible) visited by me in the performance of the duties of engineer.

The office was abolished by an act of the assembly in 1855. Nothing further appears to have been done until 1886, when, on his own responsibility, and evidently without the passage of any enactment by the legislature, Governor Perry appointed Dr. J. Kost, State geologist. Below is a transcript of the letter making this appointment, together with that of a letter given to Doctor Kost, the purpose of which is self-apparent:

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

In the name and under the authority of the State of Florida. Whereas Dr. J. Kost has been duly appointed by the governor to make a geological survey of the State of Florida:

Now, therefore, reposing especial trust and confidence in the ability, fidelity, and prudence of the said Dr. J. Kost, I, Edward A. Perry, governor of the State of Florida, under and by the virtue of the authority vested in me, do hereby appoint and commission said Dr. J. Kost to make such survey of the State of Florida, and to have, hold, and exercise all the powers appertaining thereto, and to perform the duties thereof, and to enjoy all the privileges and benefits of the same.

In testimony whereof, I do hereunto set my hand and cause to be affixed the great seal of the State of Florida, at Tallahassee, the capital, this, the first day of January, A. D. 1886, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and tenth year.

By the Governor: Attest.

To all whom it may concern:

E. A. PERRY, Governor of Florida.

JANUARY 1, 1886.

Realizing how important to our State and to all interested in ascertaining and developing its resources that there should be a thorough geological survey of Florida, and recognizing that in the absence of a legislative appropriation