JOHN MILNE 7i7 



He at once constructed pillars on which to erect the pendulums 

 he had brought from Japan, and in three weeks he began the 

 long series of records which have made his name and observa- 

 tory so widely known. As far back as 1883 he had predicted 

 that with suitable instruments every great earthquake might 

 be recorded in all parts of the globe. Within the next twelve 

 years, observations in Germany and England, as well as in 

 Japan, fulfilled the prediction and at the same time showed 

 that the horizontal pendulum, in one or other of its various 

 forms, was admirably adapted for the purpose. Milne preferred 

 his own form of pendulum, with photographic registration ; and 

 this form, with some improvements, still holds the field in 

 British, as well as in some foreign, observatories. 



During his last years in Japan, Milne's interest in the 

 phenomena of local earthquakes gave place to that in the 

 phenomena of what he called " world-shaking earthquakes " ; 

 and in his new home it was only natural that the later interest 

 should prevail. At the first meeting of the British Association 

 held after his return, the committee on the earthquake and 

 volcanic phenomena of Japan, which had naturally ceased to 

 exist, was merged in that on earth tremors, and the joint 

 seismological committee took up the great task of organising 

 a seismic survey of the world. As a similar task had also been 

 undertaken at about the same time by the International Seismo- 

 logical Association, with its headquarters in Strasburg, Milne's 

 work became almost, though not entirely, confined to British 

 colonies. Beginning with his observatory at Shide, the network 

 of stations extended year by year, until the number of stations 

 contributing records to the Seismological Committee now 

 amounts to thirty-four. In this country, in addition to Shide, 

 there are ten other stations furnished with the Milne seismo- 

 graph or similar instruments. In the British possessions they 

 are to be found in Canada and British Columbia, in Ascension 

 Island and the Cape of Good Hope, and in various parts of 

 India, Australia, and New Zealand. Records are also sent to 

 the committee from several observatories in foreign countries, 

 in Spain, the Azores, and Syria, and from such distant island 

 stations as Fernando Noronha and Honolulu. Since 1899 the 

 records have been published twice a year in Circulars; while 

 from 1896 onwards the results have been discussed in the 

 valuable reports presented annually at the meetings of the 



