,8^. NOTES AND COMMENTS. 417 



dwelling in France, on payment of the necessary postage. It is 

 greatly to be hoped that the readers of M. Dollfus' interesting publi- 

 cation avail themselves of the exceptional generosity of the editor in 

 providing this library for them, which, so far as we know, is unique 

 of its kind. 



We are glad to see that, among others, the widows of the late 

 Dr. P. H. Carpenter and Mr. G. T. Bettany have been awarded 

 pensions from the Civil List. 



The month of July has been remarkable for the succession of 

 catastrophes that have been recorded during it. The most interesting 

 of these is the reported destruction of Sanguir, an island about 

 130 miles from the northern end of Celebes; according to a Dutch 

 captain this was blown to pieces 'on the 7th of June by a volcanic 

 explosion, which recalls to mind the famous destruction of Krakatoa. 

 The island covers a little over 100 square miles, and its population is 

 estimated at about 12,000, but this would be a high average for a 

 Malaysian island. If such an explosive eruption has really occurred, 

 it ought to be verified by brilliant sunsets before authentic details can 

 be received. 



Etna is now in eruption, and serious damage has been done near 

 Catania, while Vesuvius has also commenced operations, and a strong 

 stream of lava is flowing down the crater into the Atrio del Cavallo, 

 where we hope it will be content to stop. Simultaneous eruptions of 

 Vesuvius and Etna are very unusual, and this adds to the interest 

 with which further progress will be watched. We hope to give a 

 detailed account next month. 



Switzerland has been occupying public attention before the usual 

 time, as the season of climbing accidents has barely commenced. The 

 destruction of St. Gervais, however, has caused more deaths in a 

 single night than have all the climbing misadventures of the century. 

 Numerous proposals have been made for the prevention of such 

 disasters in the. future, of which the favourite one is a periodical 

 inspection of glaciers ; but if the inspection merely results in an 

 order to the glacier to be on its best behaviour, as seems to be the 

 Swiss method of dealing with doubtful boilers, it will not do much to 

 allay uneasiness. The only effective means of preventing such 

 disasters would be to avoid building hotels in narrow gorges, for so 

 many of these bear upon their banks evidence of similar inundations. 

 They have not, however, been often recorded, and the descriptions of 

 the present flood may well replace those of the similar irruption of the 

 Lac de Bagnes down the Dranse valley, which as one of the stock 

 illustrations of geoloarical text books has long been worn threadbare. 



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