THE ERUPTION OF BAXDAI-SAX. 



125 



by an earthquake, are given their full weight, they consider that a 

 very limited number of holes will be left to be explained by falling 

 stones ; and that these holes will be either flat basin-shaped bruises 

 or tubular cavities of comparatively small diameter. 



We shall not stop to answer all the points criticized by Pro- 

 fessors Knott and Smith as we think we have already spoken enough 

 on the subject. It is quite true, we admit, that conical holes were 

 produced by uprooting of trees in forests; indeed we saw numbers of 

 such holes near the upturned roots, especially on Miné-yama. As 

 the origin of these there could be no doubt. But by far the Greatest 

 numbers of holes were found on bushy hills, on grassy slopes, in rocky 

 glens, or in regions that were not occupied by forests, and on ground 

 where the trees still stand uninjured. Such are the holes which we 

 believe to have been formed by falling stones, and to which we have 

 been referring thron o-hout. 



The fact that the bamboo leaves which we discovered under 

 the stones, and which we brought back to Tokyo, were comparatively 

 uninjured was much criticized by saying that, if they had been forced 

 into the ground by the bonders, they must have been more severely 

 damaged. Those which we discovered were, however, originally 

 much folded and packed, while the specimens collected by Mr. Odium 

 were crushed to a much greater extent. 



Mr. Otsuka, a school-master in Hibara, who kept a diary of Earthquakes, 

 the weather and other matters, told us that there were slight shocks 

 of earthquake on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of July. At about 3 o'clock 

 on the afternoon of the 13th there were occasional shakings of the 

 ground which were also felt at Inawashiro. Between 3 and 4 o'clock 

 on the afternoon of the 1-1, i. e., the day preceeding the eruption, quite 

 an extensive earthquake occurred in the neighbouring provinces, but 

 although it was felt in the Bandai-san district its origin was far away 



