7 i4 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



that he preferred to approach his new home by a solitary and 

 toilsome journey overland. Crossing Asia, almost along the line 

 of the present Siberian Railway, and making many geological 

 observations on the way, he arrived at Tokyo after the lapse of 

 nearly a year. On the first night spent in that city, he began 

 his acquaintance with Japanese earthquakes. A strong shock 

 made his house creak and pictures sway, and it is said that, from 

 that moment, the main interest of his life was fixed. 



In its early days, the Tokyo University depended largely on 

 foreign aid. On his arrival in 1876, Milne found among its pro- 

 fessors the late W. Ayrton as well as J. Perry and J. A. Ewing, 

 all of whom became interested in the construction of accurately 

 recording seismographs. Milne's opportunity, however, came 

 with the destructive earthquake of February 22, 1880, when the 

 neighbouring port of Yokohama was laid in ruins. In a country 

 visited by a thousand earthquakes a year, the materials are too 

 abundant for solitary workers, and Milne realised that it was 

 only by the co-operation of many students and observers that 

 substantial advances could be made. As the result of a public 

 meeting due to his initiative, the Seismological Society of Japan 

 — the first society devoted exclusively to the study of earth- 

 quakes and volcanoes — was founded in the spring of 1880, with 

 Mr. J. Hattori as president and Milne as secretary. 



In later years Milne often claimed that the formation of this 

 society marks an epoch in the history of seismology, and all 

 will admit the justice of the claim. Little, it was recognised, 

 could be done without the aid of an accurate seismograph, the 

 essential feature of which is that a part should remain at rest or 

 nearly so while the ground to which it is attached is in constant 

 motion. The problem was solved satisfactorily by members of 

 the Seismological Society, and it is to them, and especially 

 to Ewing, Milne, and Gray, that we are indebted for the first 

 instruments deserving of the name of seismographs. The fre- 

 quent earthquakes of Japan soon offered the materials for 

 registration, and the diagrams of these early seismographs 

 represented with precision the movements of the ground during 

 earthquakes both great and small. The Seismological Society 

 lasted for about twelve years, and ceased to exist in 1892, mainly 

 because its work could be carried on more completely under 

 official guidance and control. During the greater part of the 

 time Milne might almost have said that he himself was the 



