542 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Appeals for government aid have so far been fruitless ; though recently 

 one or two welcome private donations have been forthcoming. 



It will, no doubt, be objected to this comparison that an important 

 consideration has been omitted. Seismological questions are of urgent 

 practical importance in Japan, but not in England. That is true, 

 and we all hope that it may remain true ; but our guarantee is not abso- 

 lute. Whether the regions of danger are permanent or shifting is just 

 one of the questions which the whole world is interested in answering, 

 and which can be answered only by patient and laborious research. 

 The British Isles are far from being in a specially safe region; in fact, 

 they lie almost exactly on the smaller dangerous circle above-mentioned, 

 through Tashkend, the Azores and the Indian region; and though 

 earthquake activity seems to be at present limited to these three regions, 

 and so far as it strays in our direction seems to find an outlet rather 

 beyond us (in the region labeled J by Professor Milne, between Ice- 

 land and the North Cape, where three earthquakes were recorded in six 

 years), we have no right to assume that this state of things is more 

 than temporary. 



During the last year or two, however, more has been done in Europe 

 generally to follow the lead of Japan; international cooperation in 

 seismological work has been organized in Germany; and though the 

 adhesion of some important countries is not yet certain, owing to 

 various difficulties which need not be noticed here, it is hoped that 

 these may be smoothed away in time. If so we may look forward to a 

 welcome strengthening of the corps of workers in seismology, though 

 there is still more than enough work for them all to do. 



