4© Account of some Volcanic Eruptions, tfc. [Dec. 



Article IX. 



Account of some Volcanic Eruptions, Sjc, in the Islands of Japan, 



Professor Daubeny observes, in his Description of active 

 and extinct volcanos lately reviewed in the Annals,* that 

 " in the islands of Japan, ten volcanos have been enumerated, 

 but little is known concerning them ; " and he only mentions 

 in particular three volcanos in Jesso, the northernmost of the 

 Japanese islands, with two diminutive cones on islands near its 

 south-western extremity, and one volcano in Satzuma Bay in 

 the most southern island called Kiou-siou. In this deficiency 

 of information respecting so considerable a portion of the 

 volcanic chain extending from the peninsula of Kamtschatka 

 through the Kurule islands and those of Japan to the group of 

 Loo Choo, and thence to Formosa, and the PhiUipines, the sub- 

 joined particulars of volcanic eruptions in Niphon, the central 

 and largest island of the Japan group, and also in Kiou-siou, 

 extracted from Titsingh's Illustrations of Japan, may be accept- 

 able to such of our readers as are interested in the subject. 

 They have been derived from some collections relative to the 



Ehaenomena of volcanos, made whilst engaged in studying the 

 istory of Meteorites, with the immediate view of preparing the 

 means for investigating the question, whether any important 

 coincidences in point of time could be detected between the 

 -descents of meteorites and the eruptions of volcanos,t and with 

 the ulterior design of laying the foundation of a treatise on vol- 

 canic phsenomena ; this design, however, has been altogether 

 superseded by the publication of Dr. Daubeny's excellent work, 

 which comprises nearly all the information on volcanos that the 

 present writer had been able to collect. But in a few instances, 

 as in the present one, the collections alluded to afford particu- 

 lars unnoticed by Dr. D. and these it may now be useful occa- 

 sionally to give to the public in this Journal. 



The following extracts from M. Titsingh's work J are written 

 in a confused, and in some places in an obscure manner, and 

 exhibit perhaps a degree of oriental hyperbole, or at least of 



* See the present vol. p. 215. 



f Although the idea of the projection of meteorites from volcanos has been 

 discarded by the best-informed writers on their nature and origin, yet there are 

 many facts respecting the meteors from which they descend, and the mineralogical 

 ■constitution of the substances themselves, which render it necessary in the 

 (thorough investigation of their history, to keep in view all the pha;nomena of volcanos. 

 That meteorites cannot be emitted, as stick ^ from volcanos, appears certain ; but 

 that the causes of volcanic phenomena are intimately allied to those of the pliienomena 

 of meteorites, if they are not actually the same with them, the present writer hopes to 

 prove, in a work exhibiting the present state of our knowledge regarding meteorites, 

 irhich will be published in the ensuing spring. 



X Illustrations of Japan ; by M. Titsingh, translated from the French by Frederic 

 Shoberl. London, 1822, 4to. 



