DOCSLIB.ORG

Table of Contents. Letter of Transmittal. the Value Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Table of Contents. Letter of Transmittal. the Value Of FOURTH REPORT THE VALUE OF SCIENTIFIC OF RESEARCH TO THE STATE. THE MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE BY VICTOR C. VAUGHAN. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ANNUAL Members of the Michigan Academy of Science:—Please MEETING permit me to thank you in the first place for the honor HELD AT which you have done me in making me President for this year of the Academy. Every man desires the good will ANN ARBOR, MARCH 27, 28 AND 29, 1902 of his neighbors, and so far as the scientific man is concerned, honors of this kind make up the larger part of PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE the recompense which he receives for his toil. It is COUNCIL especially pleasant to be honored at home, by those who best know one. I thoroughly appreciate the fact that BY my predecessors in this position have made it an JAMES B. POLLOCK, Sc. D., honorable one, and I feel that you have placed me in SECRETARY good company, and I only hope that I may bear myself BY AUTHORITY worthily. LANSING, MICHIGAN I have decided to say a few words concerning the value ROBERT SMITH PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS AND BINDERS, of scientific research to the state. In order that I may not 1904 use words loosely, and that I may plainly indicate my meaning, I will attempt a short analysis of this subject. In the first place, it may very properly be asked, what TABLE OF CONTENTS. constitutes scientific research. I apprehend by these Articles published in this report: terms the acquisition of new facts. The man who adds to the sum total of knowledge possessed by the race The Value of Scientific Research to the State, V. C. may be said to be an original investigator. The extent Vaughan ........................................................................ 1 and the value of his contribution may be small or great. Douglass Houghton, by I. C. Russell............................. 8 This is a matter of secondary importance. The man who Bela Hubbard, by I. C. Russell .................................... 10 pushes out and ascertains and establishes a fact not Magnetic Phenomena around deep borings, by A. C. hitherto demonstrated deserves a place among research Lane............................................................................. 12 students. The history of mankind shows that our race since its earliest beginnings has always been hampered A Remarkable Dust Shower, by C. D. McLouth .......... 13 by ignorance and its constant accompaniments prejudice Width of Meander Belts, by M. S. W. Jefferson........... 16 and superstition. Civilization has progressed by the slow and laborious process of extending farther and farther the limits of human knowledge. In every century there LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. have been a few whose labors have in this way contributed to the advancement of man from the savage to the civilized state. During some periods in the history TO HONORABLE A. T. BLISS, Governor of the State of of the world the number of those engaged in acquiring Michigan: knowledge and advancing the bounds of civilization have Sir—I have the honor to submit herewith the Fourth been extremely small. These are known as the dark Annual Report of the Michigan Academy of Science, for ages of the world; when the bulk of mankind has publication in accordance with Section 14 of Act No. 44, apparently receded rather than progressed. However, a of the Public Acts of the Legislature of 1899. close analysis of the history of any age will show that even during the periods of the most dense intellectual Respectfully, darkness there have always been some who have given JAS. B. POLLOCK, their lives to the advancement of knowledge. For the Secretary of the Michigan Academy of Science. most part these have been men of lowly position, whose Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 18, 1903. work at the time attracted but little or no attention. Occasionally they have been men of prominence, and the ideas advanced by them have been rejected by their contemporaries, and in some instances they have met with personal persecutions. These are the men who make up the list of martyrs which science has furnished the world. There have been occasional periods of great brilliancy when scientific investigation has been popular and has met with encouragement by those occupying high positions. Fortunately for us, we live in one of these Selections from the 4th Annual Report of the Michigan Academy of Science – Page 1 of 16 brilliant periods, when scientific investigation is popular, A few illustrations of the good that has come to man when its benefits are felt and appreciated by many. from certain scientific discoveries may not be amiss. Of course I cannot go very deeply into the subject as I have I have already said that the value and extent of neither the time nor the inclination to trespass upon your additional knowledge attained by the labors of a given indulgence too greatly. man are variable quantities. As a rule the contributions of any one individual taken by themselves would be of Primitive man as he wandered over the earth, more of a but little value, but when added to the sum total they mar beast than a human being, saw many things be of the greatest importance. The direct application undoubtedly which greatly surprised and in some that can be made of a scientific discovery is not a correct instances terrified him. Probably nothing else had for measure of its value. It often happens that a certain him greater terror than the volcano, which his crude investigation leads to the discovery of a fact which at the imagination and his superstitious theology believed to be time appears to be wholly without value, but the the opening into regions occupied by demons and devils. advances made in subsequent years may convert the If in pursuing his scarcely less savage game he came rough pebble dug from the mine, possibly centuries across fissures in the earth from which inflammable before, into a most valuable jewel. We are therefore gasses issued, and if he saw these aflame,—as he correct when we that science should be pursued for its probably did around the shores of the Caspian Sea,— own sake and without any reference to its future utility. great indeed must have been his horror. These strange Discovery must always precede use; science must live phenomena were not explainable, and centuries passed and labor before art can exist; pure science must always before he had any conception of their true character. precede the application of scientific knowledge. After a while he discovered coal and began to use it, but century after century passed before he thought of A scientific man is one who adds something to the sum obtaining an inflammable gas from this substance. In total of knowledge possessed by his race. Scientific 1726 one, Dr. Stephen Hales, made, so far as we know, research is the process by means of which these the first attempt to submit coal to distillation and to obtain discoveries are accomplished. The range of science is and utilize the gases that might be evolved by this unlimited; it embraces everything existent; it deals with process. In a communication to the Philosophical both matter and energy; it may concern itself with the Society he tells of his experiments, which apparently infinitesimally small, or it may lead to investigations that were made with great scientific accuracy, although on a carry ones thoughts to distant parts of the universe. very small scale. He not only distilled the coal, collected Some people say that science is materialistic and the the gases, but he determined the amount of gas that scientist a materialist. Such assertions are made by could in this way be obtained from a given quantity of those who know not whereof they speak. More than coal, and he states that from 158 grains of coal he anyone else does the scientist realize that there are obtained 180 grains of an inflammable gas. Thirteen other things in the universe than matter. He knows that years later, or in 1739, the Reverend John Clayton in a energy is real as substance. He is aware of the fact that contribution to the Royal Philosophical Society detailed light, heat, motion, electricity, and other forms of energy experiments of a similar kind in which he distilled the are as real as the matter in which or through which they coal and collected the gases in bladders. From this time manifest themselves. In fact, it is the scientist who on for many years the formation of an inflammable gas measures energy, and it is by means of his discoveries by the distillation of small quantities of coal was looked that the wonderful applications of electricity and other upon as an interesting laboratory experiment, but of no forms of energy have been made to the benefit of the special value, and it was not until the year 1792 that race. Robert Murdoch made his first attempts to obtain coal Having endeavored to explain what I mean by scientific gas in large quantities and utilize it for illuminating research, I now desire to say a few words concerning its purposes. From that time up to the present, every value to the state. I shall not attempt to measure the decade has seen some improvement in the preparation value of scientific discoveries in dollars and cents, or utilization of illuminating gas. The value of this because I apprehend that there are other values which discovery to the world can hardly be summed up in a few the mass of mankind can appreciate, and which many at words. In the first place, morally it has been more least are wise enough to prefer to wealth.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Brief History of the Michigan Geological Survey – Page 1 of 6 Understanding of the Michigan Basin
    MICHIGAN Geological Survey and also the first department of the State created by statute. Michigan Geological Survey, Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 30028, 735 E. Hazel Street, The bill authorized and directed Governor Stevens T. Lansing, MI 48909. Mason, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MICHIGAN A competent person whose duty it shall be to make an GEOLOGICAL SURVEY accurate and complete geological survey of this state, which shall be accompanied with proper maps and R. Thomas Segall, State Geologist diagrams, and furnish a full and scientific description of its rocks, soils and minerals, and of its botanical and geological productions . and provide specimens of the HISTORICAL SEQUENCE OF same . ORGANIZATIONAL NAME AND An appropriation of some $3,000 was recommended to carry out the above work during the first year, and on DIRECTORS: February 23, 1837, Governor Mason signed the bill into First Geological Survey law. Douglass Houghton, State Geologist, 1837-45 As a result of this legislation, Dr. Douglass Houghton, Second Geological Survey who had conceived and planned the survey, and Alexander Winchell, State Geologist 1859-62 persuaded individual members of the legislature to Michigan Geological and Biological Survey commit money and time to this undertaking, was Alexander Winchell, State Geologist, 1869-71 appointed Michigan's first State Geologist. The Carl Rominger, State Geologist, 1871-85 Michigan Geological Survey's early accomplishments Charles E. Wright, State Geologist, 1885-88 are inextricably linked with the work and personality of M. E. Wadsworth, State Geologist, 1888-93 Dr. Houghton.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Outline History of the Upper Great Lakes Fisheries Robert Archibald Northern Michigan University, [email protected]
    Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region Volume 6 Article 7 2018 Fish Farm: Environmental Outline History of the Upper Great Lakes Fisheries Robert Archibald Northern Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.nmu.edu/upper_country Recommended Citation Archibald, Robert (2018) "Fish Farm: Environmental Outline History of the Upper Great Lakes Fisheries," Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region: Vol. 6 , Article 7. Available at: https://commons.nmu.edu/upper_country/vol6/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Peer-Reviewed Series at NMU Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region by an authorized editor of NMU Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Archibald: Fish Farm: Environmental Outline History of the Upper Great Lakes Fish Farm: Environmental Outline History of the Upper Great Lakes Fisheries Robert Archibald Ph.D. The Upper Great Lakes are beautiful in their enormity, clarity, and beauty. But their appearance is not the whole story. Underneath the surface there is clear evidence of profound ecological change, exhibited in many ways but especially in the history of fish species. Fish are impacted by airborne pollution; over-fishing, point pollution, run-off pollutants and invasive species compete for food and alter the food chain. The size and quality of native fish stocks provided a reliable food source for Native Americans and impressed the first European visitors to the Upper Peninsula. Fish, particularly whitefish, were a mainstay in the diet of Upper Peninsula’s indigenous population.
    [Show full text]
  • Chocolay Township History Then And
    n ... I ' J r ' l r ' r ) J l I : J J; J' ' J. On the cover: this photograph was taken on top of the "Rock Cut" on March 6, 2008 at 11 :00 a.m. by Tom Shaw. In response to why this place, Tom answered: "Exercise, fresh air, beauty, quiet time with Him, to step back and look at the big picture and because I can. The best short answer is that I love it. The view brings me back to simpler times." CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP . .. Just the combination of those two words CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP brings some vision to your mind. It may be the one on the cover of this booklet or any of the various scenes throughout the other pages. All of them are special to someone, but whatever picture comes to your mind and the fact that you are reading this booklet reinforces that this is a special place for you. As you read this historical writing, I just want to join you in thanking the dozens of people who made it possible. First the township board located a woman, Elizabeth Delene who had the gift for writing and arranging the many contributions that came her way. Elizabeth, thank you for making the time to put these facts in a very readable form! Next on the list of volunteers is Cathy Phelps from the township office. She went above and beyond the call of duty to solicit information and assist Elizabeth in putting together this manuscript. A local committee of Lula Sarka, Elry Reetz, Marilyn Heitman, and Ben Mukkala were ever ready to assist joined together to read the facts, and add comments and reach out for additional information to make this a factual, fascinating piece.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents List of Illustrations
    STATE OF MICHIGAN Deltas..................................................................... 41 MICHIGAN GEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SURVEY Distributaries.......................................................... 42 Lake deposits ........................................................ 42 Publication 12. Geological Series 9. CHAPTER IV. Physical Geography (Continued). .......44 GEOLOGICAL REPORT ON WAYNE COUNTY Surface drainage..........................................................44 BY Stream development ............................................. 44 W. H. SHERZER. Drainage systems.................................................. 45 Lakes, ponds, swamps and drains ........................ 54 PUBLISHED AS A PART OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Soils and subsoils. .......................................................55 BOARD OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR 1911. General characteristics.......................................... 55 LANSING, MICHIGAN Clay soils ............................................................... 55 WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO., STATE PRINTERS Sand and gravel soils ............................................ 56 1913 Loam...................................................................... 57 Silt.......................................................................... 58 Contents Muck ...................................................................... 58 Amelioration of soils .............................................. 59 CHAPTER I. Geographical and Historical CHAPTER V. Physical geography (Continued)..........61
    [Show full text]
  • Geological Survey of Michigan Lower Peninsula 1896-1900 Vol. Vii Part I
    GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF MICHIGAN § 3. Post-glacial soils. ...............................................15 ALFRED C. LANE, STATE GEOLOGIST a. Sand and gravel. ...............................................15 b. Clay...................................................................15 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF MICHIGAN c. Loam. ................................................................15 d. Silt. ....................................................................16 LOWER PENINSULA e. Muck. ................................................................16 1896-1900 B. Relation of Soils to Vegetation:. .............................16 § 4. Fertility. ..............................................................16 VOL. VII § 5. Fruit culture. .......................................................17 PART I § 6. Farm products. ...................................................18 § 7. Forest growth. ....................................................19 GEOLOGICAL REPORT ON MONROE COUNTY C. Amelioration of Soils:..............................................19 MICHIGAN § 8. Importance of subject.........................................19 § 9. Natural amelioration. ..........................................19 BY a. Inorganic agencies ............................................19 W. H. SHERZER b. Organic agencies. .............................................20 § 10. Artificial amelioration. .......................................21 ACCOMPANIED BY SEVENTEEN PLATES AND EIGHT FIGURES INCLUDING THREE COLORED MAPS CHAPTER VIII. ECONOMIC PRODUCTS.....................22
    [Show full text]
  • Portals to the Past: a Bibliographical and Resource Guide to Michiganâ
    Northern Michigan University NMU Commons Books 2017 Portals to the Past: A Bibliographical and Resource Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Russel Magnaghi Northern Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.nmu.edu/facwork_book Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Magnaghi, Russel, "Portals to the Past: A Bibliographical and Resource Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula" (2017). Books. 27. http://commons.nmu.edu/facwork_book/27 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by NMU Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Books by an authorized administrator of NMU Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. CENTER FOR UPPER PENINSULA STUDIES Portals to the Past: A Bibliographical and Resource Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Russell M. Magnaghi 2017 Revised edition Portals to the Past: A Bibliographical and Resource Guide to 2017 Michigan’s Upper Peninsula TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................................... 2 REVISED INTRODUCTION FOR SECOND EDITION ............................................................................ 6 GENERAL OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 8 AGRICULTURE ............................................................................................................................... 13 AMERICAN PRESENCE, 1796-1840
    [Show full text]
  • Along the Shorelines of Lake Attracted by the Abundant Fur-Bearing St
    Prior to European settlement, the The aquatic plant, “folle avoine,” A LONG THE S HORELINE shoreline of the Lake Huron to Lake of which American geographer William Erie corridor looked very different Darby wrote is wild rice (Zizania than it does today. Extensive Great aquatica) and once was common in the Lakes marshes skirted the shoreline, region’s coastal marshes. Wild rice is very especially along Lakes St. Clair and sensitive to changes in water flow. As a he natural beauty of the region lying between Erie. Upland from these marshes result of major shoreline alterations, it no there was generally hardwood swamp longer thrives. In fact, today it is listed as on poorly drained clay soils and a threatened plant species in Michigan. Lakes Erie and Huron has been recorded by all beech-maple forest on better-drained sites. Tallgrass prairie and oak savanna Great Lakes marshes are dynamic the early travelers, with words of admiration. systems. Since their topography is grew in the lakeplain’s sandy areas. ALLEN CHARTIER almost flat, they are highly influenced Many of the islands were low, and Great Lakes Coastal Marsh by fluctuating Great Lakes water The American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is a floating plant of coastal marshes in the “T Great Lakes coastal marsh is a wetland levels. This is especially true in the St. Clair River Delta where a lower Detroit River and western Lake Erie. some of the river margins scarcely above the ecosystem distinct to the Great Lakes. Its exotic-looking white blossoms inspire the It is the most productive natural change of only a few inches Lotus Garden Club of Monroe, which works water.
    [Show full text]
  • Geological Survey of Michigan Lower Peninsula 1896-1900 Vol. Vii Part I
    GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF MICHIGAN § 6. Name. ................................................................11 ALFRED C. LANE, STATE GEOLOGIST § 7. General data. .....................................................11 § 8. Thickness...........................................................12 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF MICHIGAN § 9. Lithological character. ........................................12 § 10. Geological position...........................................12 LOWER PENINSULA § 11. Lithological history............................................13 1896-1900 C. Traverse (Hamilton) Group:....................................14 § 12. Name and geological position. .........................14 VOL. VII § 13. General data. ...................................................14 PART I § 14. Thickness.........................................................14 § 15. Lithological characters. ....................................14 GEOLOGICAL REPORT ON MONROE COUNTY § 16. Lithological history............................................15 MICHIGAN D. Dundee Limestone:. ...............................................15 § 17. Name and geological position. .........................15 BY § 18. General data. ...................................................16 W. H. SHERZER § 19. Drift covering. ...................................................16 § 20. Thickness.........................................................17 ACCOMPANIED BY SEVENTEEN PLATES AND EIGHT § 21. Lithological characters. ....................................17 FIGURES INCLUDING THREE
    [Show full text]
  • The Origin and Meaning of Chippewa Place Names Along the Lake
    Names, Vol. 32, No.3, September 1984 The Origin and Meaning of Chippew~ Place Names Along the Lake Superior Shoreline Between Grand Island and Point Abbaye BERNARD c. PETERS Introduction The place naines we utili~e today are products of the past. They often reflect the perception, use, or personal associations which were attached to landscape features by cultural groups which previously occupied the landscape. In the case of Michigan, some of the place names currently in use originated with the Indians, or French voyageurs. Unfortunately, most of the Indian landscape nomenclature has been lost. Because there were few Indians around when the Americans occupied the interior of the state, most of the names found there were given by the settlers them- selves. Fortunately, when the voyageurs named the landscape, they often simply translated the Indian name into French. Thus we have, in many of the French place names, or their subsequent English translations, the essence of the original Indian name. I It rarely happens that we are able to discover the original Indian names for landscape features. Once in a while, however, such an opportunity presents itself. Two primary documents have come into my possession which enable me to attempt such a toponymic reconstruction for a portion of Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline. The Documents The first document dates from 1840. In the summer of that year the state geologist, Douglass Houghton, led an expedition along Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline to study its minerals. One of the members of the expedition was the assistant state geologist, Bela Hubbard.
    [Show full text]
  • Borne of the Wind
    BORNE OF THE WIND An introduction to the ecology of Michigan’s sand dunes DEDICATION Susan Crispin To Dr. Warren Wagner, Jr., who inspired many of us to become biologists and inspired many more to love and value the beautiful world of nature… Susan Crispin Dr. Warren H. Wagner, Jr. …and to Wendy O’Neill, who spent her short life inspiring those around her to acquire and protect lands for conservation. Wendy O’Neill Borne of the Wind: An Introduction to the Ecology of Michigan’s Sand Dunes GREAT LAKES COASTAL DUNES The high sand dunes are Some of the earliest Euro- also found along the among the most rugged and pean explorers and settlers in shorelines of all Great Lakes beautiful natural features Michigan commented on the states, and on the Ontario of the Lake Michigan and rugged character of the shoreline as well. Lake Superior shorelines. dunes. Bela Hubbard, a Great Lakes dunes comprise member of the 1840 survey The high coastal dunes the most extensive fresh- of the Grand Sable dunes, familiar to many Michigan water dunes in the world, described them as “a residents are not the only so vast that they are visible miniature Sahara.” Many of kind of dunes. In fact, other to astronauts from outer Michigan’s most visited types of dunes may be found space. In terms of the state parks and national along the shoreline as well plants and animals, the lakeshores showcase these as in the interior of the state. coastal dunes are also rich, thrilling natural features. Here we discuss some of supporting more endemic Michigan contains more the more common dune species than any other dunes than any other Great types and their significance Great Lakes ecosystem.
    [Show full text]
  • Pamphlet 1, Douglass Houghton, State Geologist -- Page 3 of 20
    Part of the Geologic Map of the Middle and Western States published in Natural History of New York, Part IV, Geology by James Hall 1843, Albany New York. Hall stated, “Dr. Houghton, State Geologist of Michigan, has obligingly furnished me with a geologic map of that state of which I posses a very imperfect knowledge.” The Houghton Manuscript is lost. The map outlines the ‘Coal Measures’ and carboniferous limestone, Portage and Chemung groups. Granted there has been substantial information added since 1843, but the basic pattern still holds true. Amazing this was done with out cars, paved roads, GPS or computers. Truly an amazing accomplishment. Map Martin, Helen M. An Index Of The Geology Of Michigan,. Lansing, 1956. Table of Contents Geological and Land Management Division Douglass Houghton Michigan’s First State Geologist Pamphlet 1 - 1966, 1970, 1977, 2004 1837-1845 ............................................................................ 5 DOUGLASS HOUGHTON Abstract................................................................................ 5 MICHIGAN’S FIRST STATE Houghton Family ............................................................... 5 GEOLOGIST 1837 - 1845 Education ............................................................................ 6 by Helen Wallin Lectures in Detroit............................................................. 6 Expedition of 1831 ............................................................ 7 Illustrated by James Campbell Expedition of 1832 ..........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 69-20,911 University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
    69-20,911 PETERS, Bernard Chauncey, 1933- EARLY AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF INNER MICHIGAN WITH EMPHASIS ON KALAMAZOO COUNTY. Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1969 Geography University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan ©Copyright by BERNARD CHAUNCEY PETERS 1969 EARLY AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF INNER MICHIGAN WITH EMPHASIS ON KALAMAZOO COUNTY By .A'1 Bernard C. Peters A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Geography 1969 ABSTRACT EARLY AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF INNER MICHIGAN WITH EMPHASIS ON KALAMAZOO COUNTY By Bernard C. Peters The central theme of this study was expressed by Carl Sauer when, in 19^1, he wrote that in a newly occupied area the "habitat must be viewed in terms of the occupying group."1 The fundamental question being asked is — How did the American pioneer (the occupying group) view the landscape (the habitat) of Inner Michigan? The American frontier was a zone where one cultural group dispossessed another. As the pioneer pushed the Indian off the land, he opened it for his own occupation. The landscape taken over was one which had essentially no impress of the American culture (i.e., roads, towns, etc.) and was covered by several vegetative associations. Any J attempt to explain the settlement patterns of these early arrivals must take into consideration their concepts of land­ scape evaluation. And, during the early l800's, when the southern part of Michigan Territory was being occupied, most settlers based their appraisal of land on the vegetative growth the soil produced.
    [Show full text]