IRRIGATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, IN ANSWER TO A resolution of the House of the 7th instant transmitting information relative to the most approved method of irrigation of public lands, &c. MAY 19, 1868.-Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and ordered to be printed. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SIR: Pursuant to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant. I have the honor to transmit herewith " copies of the correspondence that the Commissioner of the General Land Office has opened with a view to procure information as to the most approved methods of irrigation, and also to obtain data illustrative of the natural history and the industrial and commercial capacities of the public lands," together with the Commissioner's letter of the 16th instant, addressed to the department on the subject. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, O. H. BROWNING, Secretary. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Report to the honorable Secretary of the Interior, from Joseph S. Wilson, Commissioner of the General Land Office, in answer to a resolution adopted May 7, 1868, by the House of Representatives. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERior, General Land Office, May 16, 1868. SIR By resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted on the 7th instant, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to furnish "copies of the correspondence that the Commissioner of the General Land Office has opened with a view to procure information as to the most approved methods of irrigation, and also to obtain data illustrative of the natural history and the industrial and commercial capacity of the public lands." The resolution having been referred to this office, I have the honor, in reference to the first part of the same, to transmit herewith copies of the following papers: First. Commissioner's circular, dated March 18, 1868, to the United States surveyors general, to elicit information as to localities requiring irrigation and the best irrigating methods. Letter, dated 30th March, 1868, to the Secretary of State of the United States, requesting the intervention of the State Department to obtain from the United States consul-general in Egypt data relative to the system of irrigating lands in the region of the Nile. Reply, dated April 9, 1868, of the Secretary of State. Letter, dated April 3, 1868, to the United States minister to China, desiring the aid of that functionary in obtaining information from the East respecting irrigation. Second. In regard to the requirement of the second part of the resolution, I euclose herewith copy of a circular letter, dated May 4, 1868, to officers of the land department and others, respecting the development of the mines of the precious metals in the public domain and the formation of a " mineral cabinet." Also of a communication, dated May 2, 1868, to John Cunningham, esq., of Fort Simpson, British Columbia, represented as a gentleman of enlightened public spirit, from whom I am encouraged to expect valuable information in regard to the territory lately acquired from Russia, with contributions to our cabinet of specimens illustrating the natural history of the northwestern coast of North America and the character of its aborigines. Under the directions of the Secretary of the Interior a cabinet of natural history has been opened in this office, for the collection and preservation of a complete system of scientific memorials of the whole country, especially of the public domain. An alcove, surmounted by the coat of arms of each State and Territory, has been assigned for the preservation of its particular specimens. This cabinet is intended to embrace all branches of natural history, with Indian relics; but its main scope is geological and mineralogical. The geological memorials of each State will be arranged in stratigraphical order, so as to facilitate comparisons between the geological formations and the paleontological remains of all parts of the country. After embodying a complete system of extinct fauna and flora, and of the rocks in which they are found, all duplicate specimens will be held for exchange with other cabinets in this country and in Europe, thus utilizing surplus collections and establishing valuable relations everywhere with scientific movements. A systematic study of the branches represented in this cabinet has been a part of American collegiate education for many years. It is to be regretted, however, that the views of American educators in regard to the necessity of profound and thorough acquaintance with the physical sciences have not been commensurate with the demands of progressive civilization. For the lack of this thorough practical intelligence, millions of capital and years of time have already been wasted in abortive mining projects. The crash of financial disaster and the press of present necessity are turning the attention of capitalists to the schools of France and Germany, founded eighty years ago, for engineering skill to direct our mining enterprises. Pupils from the United States and Great Britain are flocking to these European centres of science for that professional training which should be provided for in this country. A great effort is, however, now being made to meet this keenly felt want, by establishing schools upon splendid endowments by State and national governments. These enterprises, however, are mostly in embryo, or at least in infancy. Meantime it is fitting that facilities for the study of these sciences should be accumulated in different parts of the country, and nowhere are they more appropriate than at this capital, and by the authority of some branch of the government. The success of the cabinet in the General Land Office has been remarkable. |