20 
The volcanic energy of our globe has certainly shown no 
diminution during the past year, for it has not only been exercised on 
a grand and devastating scale, but over an enormous area, the 
earthquakes in Greece, America, and New Zealand being especially 
marked with disastrous consequences. It would almost seem as 
though earthquakes were becoming more and more frequent in 
late years, although this appearance is no doubt partly due to 
the ever-increasing number of scientific observers and to the 
delicacy of the seismological instruments now used to record the 
slightest tremor of the earth’s crust. At present we take in this 
country only a languid interest in foreign earthquakes, because we 
lie out of the immediate tract of the recent volcanic disturbances ; 
but we must not forget that the British Isles have been in former 
ages the scene of tremendous convulsions of nature, and the shocks 
recently felt in the Hebrides and in Norfolk remind us disagreeably 
that our turn may possibly come again. It would fare badly with 
London and most of our large towns if a shock of earthquake 
occurred, the tall modern stuccoed mansions, built of bogus bricks, 
rotten mortar, and flimsy joists would collapse like a pack of card 
houses. Fortunately, however, London is built on a stratum of 
clay or gravel, both of which are bad conductors of earth tremors. 
It really seems at last that the day may not be far distant when 
people, instead of making the invariable comment on the present 
state of the weather, may discuss the probabilities of the morrow 
or the chances of storm or sunshine for the next week. There is 
no doubt that meteorology is becoming year by year more a precise 
science, and the numerous and complex laws which govern it better 
understood. Mr. Eddy, of the American Signal Service, reports 
that of 38 predictions issued in April to June, 1885, 18 proved 
correct; but during a similar period in 1886, 15 out of 19 storm 
prognostications were absolutely. true, while in the remaining four, 
hailstorms and wind prevailed. 
Two of the urgent necessities of mankind are pure water and- 
available heat. The teaching of last year leads us to the con- 
clusion that both these essentials can be obtained in inexhaustible 
quantities by scientifically ‘‘ tapping ” the supplies which exist 
beneath the surface of the earth. The investigations of Mr. de 
Rance prove that the water-bearing strata of Hngland absorb from 
one to twelve inches of rain water anoually, and that every inch is 
equal to a supply of 40,000 gallons daily to every square mile. 
This would give a daily underground flow of from 40,000 to 
480,000 gallons to each square mile, more than sufficient for 
all the wants of the population. ‘Yo utilise this enormous supply 
-wells must be sunk in water-bearing strata only, and with scientific 
precision. Underground water, being naturally filtered, is un- 
