SEINE 



5295 



SEISMOGRAPH 



tent among the tillers of the soil over the fact 

 that they could not own the land. Some 

 seigneurs and censitaires, moreover, took all 

 they could get from the habitant, whose life 

 was often a hard one. The system of seignio- 

 rial tenure was always an obstacle to the devel- 

 opment of an independent farming class. Espe- 

 cially after the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century the agitation for its abolition grew in 

 force. For half a century it was the chief 

 political issue, aside from the demand for re- 

 sponsible government, in Lower Canada. Fi- 

 nally, in 1854, seigniorial tenure was abolished 

 by the McNab-Morin ministry. The seigneurs 

 were recompensed for the surrender of their 



constructed between Paris and Rouen, a canal 

 runs parallel with the river between Marcilly 

 and Troyes, and the stream has connections 

 with the Loire, the Rhone, the Rhine, the 

 Meuse and the Scheldt by means of canals and 

 its tributaries. Of the latter the most im- 

 portant are the Oise and the Meuse. There is 

 also a canal skirting the north shore of the 

 estuary, between Havre and Tancarville. The 

 Seine at times overflows its banks, and Paris 

 has on several occasions suffered from floods. 

 One occurring in January, 1910, caused great 

 damage to property. 



SEISMOGRAPH, sys'mograj, a word de- 

 rived from the Greek seismos, meaning an 



THE SEISMOGRAPH AND ITS RECORD 



The instrument is described as follows : (a) support; (&) pendulum; (c) recording lever ; (d) 

 electric time marker; (e) record cylinder. At the right is a picture of a record cylinder which has 

 recorded an unusual disturbance somewhere on the earth's surface. The delicate adjustment of the 

 instrument makes possible a record of the smallest tremor as well as of a severe quake. 



rights, almost the entire expense being borne 

 by the government. 



SEINE (in English, sayri) is the river in 

 France upon whose banks lies the city of Paris. 

 As a trade route the Seine is first among the 

 rivers of France, for in normal years it carries 

 over 10,000,000 tons of freight for Paris alone. 

 Rising in the department of Cote-d'Or, at an 

 elevation of 1,500 feet above the sea, it flows 

 with many windings in a northwesterly direc- 

 tion, dividing Paris into two parts and finding 

 an outlet in the English Channel 250 miles in 

 a direct line from its source. Because of its 

 many curves, the river is actually 472 miles in 

 length. 



Its mouth is a spacious estuary, on which is 

 situated the city of Havre. Large sums of 

 money have been spent to enhance the com- 

 mercial value of the Seine. Locks have been 



earthquake, and graphein, meaning to write. 

 The term is applied to a machine which "writes 

 about" or records the occurrence of an earth- 

 quake and indicates its force and direction. It 

 is unfailing in announcing such a disturbance, 

 but of course gives no hint as to the section af- 

 fected except from the violence of the re- 

 corded movement the possible distance away 

 can sometimes be inferred with considerable 

 accuracy. 



The most efficient form of seismograph con- 

 sists of a delicately-suspended pendulum which 

 remains stationary while the earth's crust is 

 moved even very slightly by earthquake shocks. 

 A pen or pointed instrument is attached to the 

 pendulum and records on smoked glass the 

 movements of the earth. A highly sensitive 

 seismograph is produced by suspending a non- 

 magnetic needle by means of silk or quartz 



