508 



INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE. 



ciation of Academies, which Avas hehl in London in 1904, and a com- 

 mittee was appointed for the purpose of suggesting such modifications 

 in the constitution of the seismic organization as might bring it into 

 harmony with the views of the associated academies. This commit- 

 tee, over which I had the honor to preside, met at Frankfort and 

 recommended a number of important changes, wdiich were unani- 

 mously accepted by the second seismic conference, held last summer 

 in Berlin. In consequence of this acceptance, it appears that Italy 

 and the United States joined the seismic association, while England 

 declared its willingness to join under certain conditions, of which the 

 simultaneous adhesion of France was one. The following summary 

 of the States which have joined and their population is copied from 

 the official re]jort of the last meeting at Berlin : 



Country. 



German Empire 



Belgium 



Bulgaria 



Chile 



Kongo State 



Spain 



United States. . . 



Greece 



Hungary 



Japan 



Country. 



Italy 



Mexico 



Norway 



The colonies of the Neth 



erlands 



Portugal 



Roumania 



Russia 



Switzerland 



Population. 



33, 000, 000 

 13, 600, 000 

 2, 300, 000 



5, 500, 000 

 5, 400, 000 

 6, 300, 000 

 129, 000, 000 

 3, 300, 000 



Contri- 

 bution. 



£160 

 80 

 20 



40 

 40 

 40 

 160 

 20 



It was decided at the Berlin meeting that Professor Kovesligethy, 

 of Budapest, should be secretary and Professor Palazzo, of Rome, 

 the vice-president of the International Seismic Association. Pro- 

 fessor Gerland had already previously been designated as director of 

 the central bureau. The office of president of the association was left 

 vacant until the final decision of Great Britain as to its adhesion had 

 been settled. There the matter stands for the present. 



The disastrous results of recent earthquakes and volcanic erup- 

 tions have directed increased attention to the subject. Its thorough 

 iuA^estigation is indeed likely to yield important information on the 

 interior constituton of the earth. A hearty cooperation to obtain 

 and circulate the material for a detailed discussion can not fail to bear 

 fruit, and even though there may be legitimate grounds for dissatis- 

 faction at the manner in which a particular scheme has been organ- 

 ized, I must express my own opinion that at the present moment the 

 permanent interests of this country w-ould be best secured by our 

 joining the association and helping to direct its work in a manner 

 which would assist rather than hamper the present organization of 

 the British Association, 



I do not like to conclude without mentioning a newly established 

 organization, which has its central bureau in my own laboratory at 

 the University of Manchester. This is a union for the observation 



