parts of the world these three or four months past^ it 

 would seem that a subterranean stream of fire was 

 running round a large section of the Earth, from a South 

 Western to a North Western course or vice versa ; for 

 since June or July last we read by the telegrams re- 

 ceived by the European mails, of earthquakes and erup- 

 tions of extinct or of new volcanoes in Greece, the 

 Mediterranean, Spain, New- York, Charleston (U.S.A.) 

 and New Zealand. 



Of the last mentioned, the subject of this paper, we 

 read how the beautiful Hot Spring District of the North 

 Island, with its wonderful display of volcanic phenomena 

 has been completely destroyed by the sudden eruption 

 of the dormant crater " Tarawera." 



A short geographical description of that part of 

 New Zealand will not be out of place before we enter 

 into our subject. 



" The North Island of New Zealand containing the 

 former provinces of Auckland, Wellington, Taranaki or 

 New Plymouth, Hawkes^ Bay or Napier, with the chief 

 towns on their coasts, is nearly 500 miles long, including 

 the narrow isthmus at Auckland with the northern 

 peninsula and in its main part, 200 to 300 miles broad. 

 In the centre of its broadest part is Lake Taupo, in the 

 midst of a wild mountain and forest region, from wliich 

 the Waikato, the only large river, flows to the north." 

 Following the course of one of the tributaries northwards 

 we come to the Lake Tarawera on the south-eastern 

 border of which is mount Tarawera. 



