Ixx. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



calculations of the effect of tidal friction, would be 60,000,000 

 years, but that the true age must be much greater, perhaps 

 500,000,000 to 1,000,000,000. This, though vague, is not 

 inconsistent with other modes of measurement which have been 

 adopted. 



A severe earthquake took place in Italy and Sicily on 

 September 8th last, causing much damage to property and 

 loss of life. In many places all the houses were destroyed, and 

 in Stromboli, which was in eruption at the time, crevasses of a 

 yard wide and 20 long opened. On January 3ist, 1906, a violent 

 earthquake occurred in Columbia, the shocks continuing for 

 several days, and huge sea waves devastated the coast. The 

 seismographs in the Isle of Wight showed that some great 

 movement was taking place at 347 p.m. of our time, the 

 maximum occurring about 34 minutes later, and the earthquake 

 was felt by instruments, if not by the inhabitants, in all parts 

 of the world. This makes us realise, perhaps, more than 

 anything else, the enormous force of these greater earth- 

 quakes, which shake the whole earth. A connection has been 

 established between this earthquake and shocks in the West 

 Indies on February 1 6th, a similar sequence having happened in 

 1902. 



Very severe earthquakes took place in Formosa on March i7th 

 and April i4th. Though the actual loss of life was probably 

 less, and the magnitude of the earthquake not greater, than those 

 I have mentioned, the recent catastrophe at San Francisco has 

 eclipsed them all in our minds. A great city, covering many 

 square miles, first torn by violent shocks, and then burning in a 

 way which we, in this country, have to go back to the Fire of 

 London to parallel, can hardly be realised in these civilised days, 

 but, the water mains being broken by the earthquake, there were 

 no means of stopping the progress of the conflagration. This 

 earthquake also, like most severe ones, was felt by instru- 

 ments all over the world. It may be of interest to mention 

 that a Milne seismograph was taken with the National Antarctic 

 Expedition, which recorded 156 distinct earthquakes, 73 of 



