43 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



places as possible is necessary for the suffi- 

 cient investigation of every earthquake, the 

 commission has taken measures to enlist 

 those persons generally in its own country 

 who are interested in investigations of this 

 kind in cooperation with its work, and is 

 perfecting a special organization for the col- 

 lection of observations with the aid of such 

 assistants. A special field is assigned to 

 each member of the commission, and he is 

 expected to put himself in communication 

 with persons who may be disposed and com- 

 petent to aid him in different parts of his 

 district. A tract for distribution has been 

 published under the direction of the commis- 

 sion, which contains a summary of the most 

 recent facts that have been ascertained about 

 earthquakes, and points out the directions in 

 which an increase of knowledge on the sub- 

 ject can be promoted. A number of stations, 

 selected by the commission, are provided 

 with instruments for special observations. 

 The observers are furnished with a schedule 

 of questions respecting the different phases 

 of the earthquakes they may witness, which 

 they are expected to answer as fully as they 

 are able to do. They are also requested to 

 represent the phases of the shock graphically 

 on a chart, where it is possible, to assist in 

 comprehending and reviewing the character 

 of the phenomena. The collected accounts 

 of observations are arranged and preserved 

 in an archive of earthquakes. As the ques- 

 tions concern a subject of general interest, 

 and are useful aids to investigation every- 

 where, we repeat them entire. They are 

 seventeen in number, as follows : 1. On 

 what day was the earthquake noticed ? 2. 

 At what hour ? 8. How did your clock 

 agree on the day, or, better, on the hour, 

 of the earthquake, with the nearest tele- 

 graph clock ? 4. Endeavor to furnish an 

 exact description of the place of observa- 

 tion, the canton, town, situation, whether in 

 the. open or among buildings, in what story 

 of the house ; state in what position and 

 what occupation the observer was when the 

 shock was perceived ? 5. On what kind of 

 soil does the place of observation stand ? 

 Whether the surface be of rock, soil, or 

 peat ; depth of the ground to bed-rock, etc. ? 

 6. How many shocks were felt, and during 

 what interval of time ? V. In what direc- 

 tion was the motion ? Did it come from be- 



low, was it short and in a direction from 

 side to side, or broad, surging in the form 

 of waves, or only a trembling ? In case 

 there were more than one shock, was there 

 a difference in the character of the differ- 

 ent shocks ? With what could the motion 

 be compared, and how did it affect the ob- 

 server ? 8. In what direction was the trem- 

 bling of the earth felt ? 9. How long did 

 the shocks and the subsequent trembling 

 seem to last ? 10. What effects did the 

 shaking produce? 11. How might this 

 earthquake be distinguished from others 

 which have previously been noticed by the 

 same observers ? 12. Was any noise heard, 

 and, if so, what kind of a noise was it 

 like thunder, a clinking, a rattling, a clap, 

 or a continuous noise, etc. ? 13. Did the 

 noise precede the shaking or follow it, and 

 how long did it last in comparison with 

 the duration of the shocks and of the inter- 

 vals between them? 14. What particular 

 minor phenomena were observed? Were 

 there, for instance, anything peculiar in 

 the behavior of animals ; any drying up, 

 or troubling, or breaking out again of 

 springs ; any peculiar rustling in the woods, 

 any gusts of wind simultaneous with the 

 shocks, or .abnormal features of the weath- 

 er ? 15. What was noticed with regard to 

 the lakes ? 16. Were lighter shocks felt be- 

 fore or after the main shocks, and at what 

 time ? 17. Can you mention any other ob- 

 servations made by your acquaintances or 

 in your neighborhood, or can you give the 

 addresses of persons who are able to an- 

 swer all of these questions, or a part of 

 them ? 



Precocity a Sign of Inferiority. M. G. 



Delaunay, in a communication to the French 

 Societe de Biologie, has advanced the opin- 

 ion that precocity is a sign of biological in- 

 feriority. In support of his position he - 

 adduces the fact that the lower species de- 

 velop more rapidly, and are at the same 

 time more precocious, than those higher in 

 the scale. Man is the longest of all in ar- 

 riving at maturity ; and the inferior races 

 of men are more precocious than the supe- 

 rior, as is seen in the children of the Esqui- 

 maux, negroes, Cochin-Chinese, Japanese, 

 Arabs, etc., who are, up to a certain age, 

 more vigorous and more intellectual than 



