302 EECOED OF SCIEXCE FOR 1886. 



and time is illustrated, the former by a map based upon that of Mallet, 

 and the latter by reference to the results of Mallet, Perrey, Schmidt, 

 Fuchs, and others. In discussing the causes of earthquakes the usual 

 theories of steam, vulcanism, chemical action, cosuiic inHueuGe, are 

 stated, the only conclusion being that the cause is endogenous to our 

 earth, and that solar and lunar influences Jiud barometric fluctuations 

 have small effect. The last 40 pages are devoted to earth tremors, 

 which escape notice by reason of their small amplitude ; earth jnilsa- 

 tions, Tvhich are overlooked on account of the slowness of their period; 

 and earth oscillations, by which are meant such slow changes of level 

 as are illustrated by the well-known temple of Jupiter Serapis. In re- 

 gard to the earth tremors reference is made to the observations of d'Ab- 

 badie at Hendaye, of G. and H. Darwin at Cambridge, of Bertelli aud 

 Eossi in Italy, and of the author in Japan. The book is written in a 

 IDoiJular style and, while dated 1886, appears to have been completed at 

 least two years earlier, as it does not refer to the most recent work in 

 this department, even that of Milne himself. 



At the second annual conference of delegates of the " corresponding 

 societies" enrolled in connection with the British Associatiou, Professor 

 Lebour stated that the Korth of England Mining and Mechanical En- 

 gineers had a committee actively engaged on the connection of earth 

 tremors and mine explosions, and that they were desirous of organizmg 

 concerted observations on earth tremors by the corresponding societies. 

 (Nature, xxxv, 80.) 



In the re-modelling of the Imperial University of Tokio, with which 

 the Imperial College of Engineering is now united, a chair of Seismol- 

 ogy has been founded, and filled by the apj)ointment of Mr. Seikei 

 Sekiya, who has already become known by his previous work in that 

 science. Japan is thus the first country to recognize the importance 

 of this department of science by assigning to it a separate i^rofessor in 

 its university. (Xature, xxxiv, 130.) 



The French Academy appointed MM. Daubree, Fouque, Hubert, 

 Gaudry, and des Cloizeaux as the Commission of Award for the Yail- 

 lant prize, the subject for which was " to study the influence which 

 the geology of a couutry, the action of water, or'other physical causes 

 might have upon earthquakes." (Compt. Eend., cii, 541.) The prize 

 was awarded to the members of the Frencli Commission on the An- 

 dalusian Earthquake of December, 1884 (MM. Michel Levy, Bertraud, 

 Barrous, Off"ret, Kilian and Bergeron), whose rej^orts were referred to 

 in the summary for 1885. They also awarded in the same connection 

 an "encouragement" of 1,000 francs to M. de Montessus, who had 

 passed four years (1881-1885) in San Salvador, and while there had 

 made a careful study of seismism in its relations to other physical and 

 cosmic phenomena. (Compt. Rend., cm, 1355, 1358.) 



In 1885 the East Indian Section of the Dutch Royal Institution of 

 Engineers published some prize questions, one of which related to the 



