wan, and on St. Lawrence Island have also been successful. Additional reservations for natives were made by Executive order on the Kobuk River in Arctic Alaska and on Cook Inlet. A code of regulations for the government of the colony on Annette Island was put into effect January 28, 1915. Under these regulations the government of the Annette Island Reservation is vested in an elective council of 12 members with power to pass such ordinances for the local government of the reservation as are not in conflict with the Government of the United States, the laws of the Territory of Alaska, or the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Alaska reindeer service.—On June 30, 1914, there were in Alaska 57,872 reindeer distributed among 65 herds. The increase for the year was 22 per cent, notwithstanding the fact that nearly 6,000 reindeer were killed for their meat and hides.

Commissioner. The commissioner has continued his policy of attending meetings of more important national, sectional, State, and local associations interested directly or indirectly in education, and in visiting and inspecting schools of all kinds and grades. In doing this he has traveled approximately 70,000 miles, visited 27 States, and made more than 200 addresses. Within the year he has called nine special conferences, six of which he attended and directed.

Recommendations.-The following recommendations are submitted by the commissioner: An increase in the salaries of the chief clerk, editor, and statistician; the removal of the limit on the amount of salaries which may be paid from the lump-sum appropriation for rural and industrial education; provision for an assistant commissioner of education and an assistant editor; more adequate provision for the investigation and promotion of rural education, industrial education, and school hygiene, and school and home gardening; provision for the study and promotion of concrete education in city schools, investigation and promotion of education of exceptional children, investigation and promotion of secondary education, investigation and promotion of commercial education, and investigation and promotion of education in civics and citizenship. An inerease in the appropriation for traveling expenses should be provided for the commissioner and his assistants to enable them to give more direct and more efficient help to school officers and teachers in all parts of the country. There should be an increase in the appropriation for the education of natives of Alaska and for medical relief of natives of Alaska.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

Scope of the Survey's work.—The scientific work of the Geological Survey was continued along lines similar to those followed in previous years, and the usual number of contributions have been made

to the knowledge of geology and related subjects. The appropriations for the work of the Survey for the fiscal year 1915 aggregated $1,620,520. The great demand for mineral investigations in various parts of the country was, in part, relieved by an increased appropriation of $100,000 for geologic surveys. This permitted largely increased activity in work on the public lands and to an appreciable extent met the demand for the investigation of oil and other mineral resources in the States containing no public lands. The appropriation for water-resources work, however, remained inadequate, being, in fact, $50,000 less than it was eight years ago, whereas a large portion of the land-classification work depends on this appropriation. The roll of Survey members holding Secretary's appointments numbered at the close of the year 909, an increase of 18.

Geologic surveys.-Investigations were continued in 47 States by a force of 164 geologists, and 70.3 per cent of the appropriation was spent in the public-land States. Detailed geologic surveys covered 20,292 square miles and reconnaissance geologic surveys 47,355 square miles, a total of 67,647 square miles. Systematic detailed surveys of mining districts were carried on in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah; reconnaissance studies of mining districts were made in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming; and general and detailed geologic and paleontologic work was continued in all parts of the country. A large amount of the geologic work was done in the coal and oil fields, especially in the public-land States, and the search for commercial deposits of potash and nitrates was continued. Cooperative work was carried on with the geological surveys of 17 States, as well as with the Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Standards, Office of Public Roads, Bureau of Fisheries, Forest Service, Smithsonian Institution, Lighthouse Service, War Department, Navy Department, Carnegie Geophysical Laboratory, and marine biologic station at Dry Tortugas.

Surveys in Alaska.-The early date of the appropriation for the continuance of the investigation of the mineral resources of AlaskaApril 6, 1914-made possible an early start for the field, which was in striking contrast to the two previous years, when the delay in granting funds until summer hampered the field work and increased its cost. Ten parties were engaged in surveys and investigations, the work resulting in 1,000 square miles of exploratory geologic surveys, 7,700 square miles of reconnaissance geologic surveys, 325 square miles of detailed geologic surveys, 600 square miles of exploratory topographic surveys, 10,300 square miles of reconnaissance topographic surveys, and 10 square miles of detailed topo

graphic surveys. Considerable work was done by the geologists in investigating special field problems in the important mining districts. Statistics of mineral products.-Work was continued on the annual report on the mineral resources of the United States for the calendar years 1913 and 1914. In the collection of mineral statistics the Survey cooperated with the State geologists of 16 States and conducted correspondence with 90,000 producers. The practice in making the Mineral Resources report a treatise on the sources of mineral production of the United States was continued. The report is still, however, an annual inventory of the Nation's mineral resources. The separate reports on each principal mineral product are, as soon as the figures become available, printed as advance chapters of the volume and widely distributed. On June 30, 1915, 20 chapters of the volume for 1914 had been published or were in press. About January 1 preliminary estimates of the production of the principal minerals in 1914 were given to the newspapers. The widespread demand created by the European war for information concerning American mineral products was met by the immediate preparation of statements for the press and the prompt issue in September of Bulletin 599, "Our mineral reserves." This resulted in a heavy and sustained correspondence between the producer and the consumer, the Survey acting as a clearing house of information on all mineral

resources.

Topographic surveys.-New areas amounting to 20,508 square miles were topographically mapped, making the total area surveyed to date in the United States 1,218,290 square miles, or 40.2 per cent of the entire country. Areas aggregating 3,048 square miles were resurveyed, making a total for the year of 23,556 square miles. In addition 19 square miles was surveyed in Hawaii and 10,910 square miles in Alaska. This work was carried on in 30 States, Alaska, and Hawaii, and 20 of these States and Hawaii cooperated with the Federal Survey. The technical field force numbered 151, and in addition 37 technical field assistants were employed during the field season. The average cost per square mile was $22. About 60 per cent of the appropriation was expended in the public-land States.

Water resources.-The present appropriation of $150,000 is insufficient to meet the pressing demands upon the Survey for the investigations of stream flow and underground waters. During the year 1,350 gaging stations for measuring the discharge of streams were maintained in 41 States and in Hawaii. The technical force numbered 76. Twenty-five States and Hawaii cooperated in this work, and the Reclamation Service, Indian Office, Army Engineers, and Public Health Service also cooperated largely in the study of the flow of particular rivers. Investigations of underground waters have been conducted in 12 States. Investigations of the present and probable

future use of both surface and underground waters have been made in connection with the classifications of public lands, with special reference to their use for power under Government permit or for agriculture under the enlarged-homestead, desert-land, or Carey acts. About 64 per cent of the appropriation was spent in the public-land States, largely in stream gaging.

Land classification.-No coal lands were withdrawn during the year, but 2,363,646 acres were restored, of which 292,695 acres were appraised and made available for purchase as coal lands, leaving outstanding withdrawn at the end of the year 48,244,274 acres. There was a decrease of 113,088 acres in the area of coal land to which values had been given, owing to a reclassification as noncoal land of certain areas heretofore classified as coal land and appraised. At the end of the year a total of 19,489,771 acres had been valued, at an average price of $40.60 an acre.

During the year 197,073 acres of oil land were withdrawn and 180,818 acres of nonoil land were eliminated from withdrawals, leaving the net area included in oil withdrawals 4,774,418 acres.

The phosphate classifications resulted in the withdrawal of 273,221 acres and the restoration as nonphosphate land of 454,894 acres, leaving the area withdrawn 2,660,376 acres.

During the year 119,224 acres were withdrawn for potash explorations and 2,880 acres were eliminated from existing withdrawals, leaving the withdrawn area 342,013 acres. Areas containing metalliferous minerals amounting to 967,210 acres, chiefly in Indian reservations, were classified. Of this total 929,916 acres were classified as nonmineral and 37,294 acres as mineral land. The new withdrawals of land valuable for power sites amounted to 292,134 acres and the restorations to 55,646 acres, leaving the area withdrawn 2,228,105 acres. The areas withdrawn for public-water reserves during the year amounted to 19,257 acres and the restorations to 366 acres; the total area withdrawn is 182,653 acres.

During the year 17,485,259 acres in 14 States were classified as nonirrigable and were so designated under the enlarged-homestead acts. The total area thus designated to date amounts to 235,596,180 acres. During the year there was a total classification of about 23,000,000 acres. The total areas withdrawn during the year for all purposes were over 900,000 acres and the total restorations were over 3,000,000 acres.

Publications. The number of books distributed during the year was 596,649, and the number of topographic maps and geologic folios 510,637, a total of 1,107,286. Of these 342,404 maps were sold. The amount of money received and turned into the Treasury from the sale of publications was $27,711.12. During the year 187 reports were published and 16 were reprinted, 3 geologic folios were published and 3 reprinted, 90 new topographic atlas sheets were engraved and printed and 98 were reprinted, and 46 other maps were

issued, a total of 443 publications, including reprints, with total editions aggregating 1,424,969. A large amount of additional work was `done by the engraving division under contract for other departments through the Government Printing Office.

RECLAMATION SERVICE.

The Government's reclamation projects in the aggregate now exceed in cultivated area and annual crop returns some of the smaller States. In 1914 the projects irrigated 761,271 acres, of which 703,424 acres yielded crops valued at $16,475,517, or an average of $23.50 per acre. At the same time the Reclamation Service was prepared to supply 1,240,875 acres; that is, the works were completed and water ready for nearly 500,000 acres that were not in use. This area consists of private and State holdings, unentered public lands, and unirrigated portions of the producing farms.

It is important to bring these idle lands into use to play their part in the social and commercial upbuilding of the projects. Undeveloped they delay the repayments to the reclamation fund and in some cases constitute a positive menace to adjoining farms by harboring animal and weed pests.

Irrigation and crop results on Government reclamation projects 1914.31

I Data are for calendar year (irrigation season), except on Salt River project, Arizona, data are for corresponding agricultural year, October, 1913, to September, 1914.

Area Reclamation Service was prepared to supply water.

Figures for farms not reported, except irrigated acreage, estimated from figures for reported farms. $18.22 excluding 19,000 acres native pasture land at $1.21 per acre and 4,908 acres otherwise not in full production.