TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. Ill 



which pass along the Kurile Islands, throughout Nippon, the great Japanese island, 

 and thence to the well-known range of spiracles in the Ladrone Islands. At the 

 northern end of this range is the well-known Mount Fusi, 10,000 or 12,000 feet in 

 height, now quiescent. To the south of this volcano is Simoda, — a port between 

 the two capitals of Japan, Jedo and Miako, which has been thrown open to the ships 

 of the United States in 1854. The dreadful earthquake of 1854 at this place was 

 alluded to. It totally changed the character of the harbour of Simoda, destroyed 

 the fine city of Osaca, and injured Jedo. The wave which was caused by this up- 

 heaval of the land traversed the entire breadth of the North Pacific in twelve hours 

 and some few minutes, a distance of between 4000 and 5000 miles, demonstrating 

 the depth of that ocean to be between two and three miles. The diagram illustrating 

 the paper showed the singular confusion before mentioned in the hydrography of 

 these small but important positions. The Bonin Islands lie to the southward. They 

 have recently been made the subject of some uncourteous disputation by the Americans 

 as to the right of discovery and ownership. There can be no doubt of their Japanese 

 discovery, and are the Arzbispo Islands of the early Spaniards. Next follows Captain 

 Coffin in 1824-25, who was believed to be an Englishman, but which is controverted 

 by Commodore Perry of the United States Navy. The particulars of the discovery 

 were related. Next, Captain (now Admiral) Beechey saw them in 1827, and took 

 possession of them before the discovery of Coffin was published. They were colonized 

 under the direction of Her British Majesty's Consul at Oahu in 1830, the survivors 

 of those settlers still living there. These islands have been lately explored by the 

 United States Japan Expedition, and their volcanic origin established. It was hoped 

 that some authority to repel aggression would be established there, as the islands have 

 now become important, as they are adapted for a coaling and refitting station for 

 steam-vessels. The Volcano Isles which follow are tolerably well known, and from 

 these the volcanic submarine ridges diverge to S.S.E. and S.W., several isolated 

 shoals and volcanic rocks having been discovered in these directions. The paper 

 concluded with a hope that our naval officers would endeavour to clear up the embar- 

 rassing confusion which had arisen from the imperfect accounts given of this now 

 important region. 



Vesuvius and its Eruptions ; illustrated by a Collection of Drawings hy 

 W. Baylis. By F. D. Haktland. 



On the most Ancient Map of the World, from the Propaganda, Rome. 

 By F. D. Hartland. 



Vesuvius and its Eruptions. By Frederick D. Hartland, F.S.A., F.R.G.S, 



The first part of this paper (which was illustrated by a series of views) was de- 

 voted to a geographical and geological description of the mountain ; it then touched on 

 the legends of the Phoenicians, of its previous volcanic character, and finally gave an 

 outline of the principal of its fifty-four historically recorded eruptions, selecting from 

 each the peculiarities that render it most interesting. The 34th, which took place on the 

 8th of August, 1779, and terminated in three days, was thus described : — "A dense 

 smoke first issued from the cone, followed by a shower of scoriae and large stones ; an 

 explosion, of such force as to shake Portici, Torre del Greco, and Torre dell' Annun- 

 ziata, followed, and then in an instant a fountain of liquid transparent fire began to 

 rise, and gradually increasing, arrived at so amazing a height as to strike every 

 beholder with the most awful astonishment. The height of this stupendous column 

 of fire could not be less than three times that of Vesuvius itself, which rises perpen- 

 dicularly near 3700 feet above the level of the sea. Puffs of smoke, as black as can 

 be possibly imagined, succeeded each other hastily, and accompanied the red-hot trans- 

 parent and liquid lava, interrupting its splendid brightness here and there by patches 

 of the darkest hue. Within these puiFs of smoke, at the very moment of their emis- 

 sion from the crater, could be perceived a bright but pale electrical light, briskly 

 playing about in zigzag hues." This graphic description is from the pen of Sir 



