324 ANNUAL OP SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



OBSERVATIONS ON EARTHQUAKES. 



A report of a committee of the Institute of France, consisting of MM. 

 Lionville, Lame, and Elie de Beaumont, on the subject of a theory of 

 earthquakes, has been transmitted to the British Association, for the use 

 of that Society. From a careful discussion of several thousand of these 

 phenomena, which have been recorded between the years 1801 and 1850, 

 and a comparison of the periods at which they occurred with the position 

 of the moon in relation to the earth, M. Perrey, of Dijon, would infer 

 that earthquakes may possibly be the result of an action of attraction ex- 

 ercised by that body on the supposed fluid centre of our globe, somewhat 

 similar to that which she exercises on the waters of the ocean, and the 

 report of the committee of the Institute is so far favorable that at their in- 

 stance the Institute have granted funds to enable the learned professor to 

 continue his researches. Observations of a similar character are now 

 going on in England, under the auspices of Messrs. Mallet and Milne. 



ON THE ANNUAL INCREASE IN THE PRODUCTION OF METALS. 



In a recent publication of Mr. J. D. "Whitney, entitled, " The Metallic 

 Wealth of the United States described and compared with that of other 

 countries," a general summary is given, accompanied by a tabular state- 

 ment of the estimated amount and value of metals produced throughout 

 the world in 1854. The metals selected are gold, silver, mercury, tin, 

 copper, zinc, lead, iron. The aggregate of these is as follows : 



GOLD. SILVER. MERCURY. TIN. COPPER. ZINC. LEAD. IRON. 



Ibs. troy. Ibs. troy. Ibs. av. tons. tons. tons. tons. tons. 

 481,950 2,965,200 4,200,000 13,660 56,900 60,550 133,000 5,817,000 



The product of the United States in gold is set down at 200,000 pounds ; 

 Australia and Oceanica at 150,000 ; Prussia at 60,000 ; and Mexico and 

 South America, 47,100. Of silver, the new world supplies 2,473,700 

 pounds, leaving only the small residue of 491,500 pounds for all other 

 coxmtries. Of mercury, Spain gives the world 2,500,000 pounds, and the 

 United States 100,000 pounds. England and Australia furnish over half 

 of all the copper produced by the world, the present produce of the 

 United States being in this metal only 3,500 tons. Prussia and Belgium 

 furnish four-fifths of all the zinc used in the world, (viz., 16,000 and 

 33,600 tons.) Lead is distributed between Great Britain, Spain and the 

 United States, in the ratio of 4, 2, 1, (viz., 61,000, 30,000 and 15,000 

 tons each.) England furnishes more than half the iron of the world, 

 3,000,000 tons, and the United States 1,000,000 tons. France is the next 

 most productive country in iron, 600,000 tons. Russia produces but 

 200,000 tons, and Sweden 150,000, quantities bearing a very small rela- 

 tion-to the celebrity of product of those countries. 



