August 14, 1879J 



NATURE 



379 



sisted of several shocks separated by short intervals. These 

 shocks were noticed at Basel, Brugg, Solothurn, on the Swiss 

 side of the Rhine, and at Lorrach, Schopfheim, Waldshut, lic, 

 on the Badish bank. They recurred at Basel on January 17, 

 and on March 29 they were again felt in the whole area described, 

 and then even at Freiburg and Strasburg. 



Other instances of repeated earthquakes are : — 



Innsbruck (January 3, 10, II, February 2, August 9). 



Gross Gerau (January 2, March 25). 



Lisbon (January 26, 27, June 8). 



Piemont (repeated shocks on November 25). 



Constantinople, Ismid, ,and Brussa (continual thocks from 

 19 to end of May). 



The damage done by the last-mentioned phenomenon at Ismid 

 and Brussa on April 19 was very considerable ; the little town 

 of Esme was quite destroyed, and many inhabitants lost their 

 lives. The English fleet, which happened to be anchored in the 

 Bosphorus at the time, noticed the oscillations, and on board of 

 one of the ships it was believed that the others were making 

 torpedo experiments, and consequently looked out for shelter. 



Less remarkable by its violence than by its enormous extent 

 considering its intensity, was the Low-Khenish earthquake of 

 August 26. The observations in this case were unusually exact 

 and numerous, which gives additional interest to the occurrence. 

 It began about 9 a.m., 'and was best observed in the city of 

 Cologne. Here it consisted of an undulatory rising and, sinking 

 of the ground, which increased in intensity to such an extent 

 that some buildings began to oscillate ominously. On the 

 cathedral tower the smaller bell struck several times and the 

 wavering pillars in St. Gereon's Church caused such a panic 

 among the congregation, that all rushed out. In many parts of 

 the city the walls of houses showed cracks. At the end of the 

 oscillations a dull subterranean noise was heard and a second 

 shock was observed by many persons. In almost all localities 

 in the Rhenish Province, from Cleve and Emmerich to Kyllburg, 

 Ottweiler, and Montjoie the observations of the phenomenon 

 were similar to those made at Cologne ; the same was the case 

 on the opposite bank of the Rhine, at Diisseldorf, Wiesbaden, 

 Miinster, and other places. At Aachen (Aix-la-Chajjelle) five 

 distinct shocks were noticed ; at Elsdorf (on the Neuss-Diiren 

 Railway) no less than eighteen until the morning of August 27 ; 

 and at Diiren and Buir their number was but little below this 

 figure. 



The area struck by the first shock, on August 26 at 9 A.M., 

 may have measured over 2,000 geographical square miles, as its 

 outlines may be indicated as follows : — Arnsberg and Hanover 

 in the north, Offenbach on the Main and Michelstadt in the 

 Odenwald inthe south-east, Strasburg, Paris, and Charelville in 

 the south, Liege and Brussels in the west, and Utrecht in the 

 north-west. 



Prof. Klinkerfues has collected the most reliable observations 

 of time and reduced them to the meridian of Paris. According 

 "to these calculations the earthquake happened at Cologne at 

 8h. 387m., at Strasburg at 8h. 39-9m., at Gottingen at 

 8b. 40'9m., at Hanover at 8h. 42'4m., and at Paris at Sh. 45'om. 

 If the starting point of the oscillations according to number and 

 intensity of the shocks be supposed to have been situated about 

 2/S geographical miles to the west of Cologne, the above indica- 

 tions of time give a velocity of the earthquake in the ground of 

 6"78 geographical miles, with a probable error of + 0-48 miles. 

 The depth of the original starting-point is unknown. Prof. 

 Klinkerfues is of opinion that it laid between 6'3 and 87 geo- 

 graphical miles from the surface. It is remarkable that the 

 phenomenon was only noticed at the surface, and was all the 

 more intense the higher the observer was above the ground. 

 Many observations were made both at Cologne and at Hanover, 

 which show that the oscillations were far more considerable in 

 the upper storeys of houses than in the lower ones. At Remagen 

 the shock was so great on the upper floor of the school-building 

 that teachers and school-children rushed terrified into the street 

 -while on the ground floor the phenomenon was hardly noticed ; 

 the workmen on the towers of Cologne Cathedral saw the scaf- 



'ding oscillate to such an extent that they feared for their lives, 



d a water-tank on the vault of the choir was almost entirely 

 emptied. Yet not one of i,ioo miners working at a depth of 

 300 metres at Altes.en noticed the least shock. 



For a long time afterw irds shocks occurred at Elsdorf and 



;ir. At the latter place tliey were observed on August 26, 27, 



:, 29, September 2, Octolier 24, December 3 and 10. Also in 

 o'.her places of the same area the shocks were repeated, so at 



Remagen (September 3), Wiesbaden (September 14), Osterrath 

 and Crefeld (September 18), Cologne (December 10), Luxemburg 

 and Namiu: (December 15). 



With almost all earthquakes of slight intensity it is very dif5- 

 cult to determine to what class of earthquakes they belong. 

 Thus in the Low-Rhenish earthquake no symptom points to any 

 particular cause. We may surmise volcanic influence, because 

 the most intense and most numerous shocks occun-ed near the 

 north-western slope of the Eifel-plateau ; but with perhaps 

 greater reason we may look for the cause of the phenomenon in 

 the Rheno-Belgian coal district. Altogether the earthquake of 

 August 26 seems to be but a link in a great earthquake-period, 

 which for some years past has been causing lasting changes in 

 the coal-deposits of that neighbourhood. The names of Herzo- 

 genrath, Kohlscheid, Eschweiler, &c. , recur in every one of Dr. 

 Fuchs's yearly accounts, and apart from numerous weaker oscil- 

 lations of small extent, considerable earthquakes occurred in this 

 district from September 28 to November 12, 1873, and on June 

 24, 1877. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



It is stated that the draft charter of the proposed Victoria 

 University has, in accordance with the request of the Lords of 

 the Privy Council, been submitted to that body. According to 

 this draft, the University would have the power of conferring 

 upon all persons, whether male or female, who have pursued a 

 regular course of study in any of its colleges and passed its exa- 

 minations, all degrees which can be conferred by any other 

 University of the kingdom, with the exception of medical 

 degrees, the Privy Council having declined to confer power as 

 to these at a time when legislation on the whole subject of 

 medical degrees and the licensing power for the practice of 

 medicine has been proposed to Parliament and still remains 

 unsettled. The charter, it is stated, contains provisions for 

 establishing a convocation of graduates of the University, with 

 appropriate rights and functions. 



In the late Higher Local Examinations of Cambridge Uni- 

 versity,iPhysiology and Experimental Physics were introduced as 

 separate subjects in Group E for the first time. One student, 

 Miss A. Johnson, of Cambridge, passed in Physics, and out of 

 sixteen who entered their names in Physiology, in which subject 

 Mr. J. N. Langley, Fellow of Trinity College, was examiner, 

 eleven passed, but no candidate obtained the mark of distinc- 

 tion. Only three passed in Zoology out of eighteen candidates ; 

 but two were distinguished ; the failures were about three-fifths 

 of the thirty-four candidates in Botany, and three obtained dis- 

 tinction. Twenty-two passed in Geology and Physical Geo- 

 graphy, five obtaining the mark of distinction. In the first class 

 of Group E four students are placed : Miss C. E. Cross, edu- 

 cated at 56, Regent Street, Cambridge, is distinguished in 

 Botany and Geology, and passes in Chemistry ; Miss L. M. 

 Passavant, of De la Haye House, ■ Leeds, is distinguished in 

 Botany and Zoology ; the candidate numbered 294, Leeds, name 

 not published, is distinguished in Geology and Zoology, and has 

 passed in Physiology ; Miss M. A. Broadhurst, Liverpool Col- 

 lege for Girls, is distinguished in Geology and Chemistry. Six 

 passed Second Class in Group E, and twenty-eight were placed 

 in the Third Class, to attain which passing in one subject is 

 required, no more than three to be taken in any one year ; others 

 may be taken in subsequent years. In Group C (Mathematics) 

 only two obtained distinction, namely, A. G. llee, Dedham, 

 Essex, and C. E. Oldaker, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, and 

 eight obtained a First Class. The award of Scholarships 

 dependent on the results of this examination has not yet been 

 known. 



About three years ago publicity was given to a propo al by 

 Mr. Holloway, of Oxford Street, to expend a considerable 

 amount of money in the erection of a college for the higher 

 education of women. Since that time Mr. Holloway has pur- 

 chased about ninety-five acres of land at Egham, near Virginia 

 Water, known as the Mount Lee Estate, and has vested the 

 same in trustees. Before deciding upon the form of the build- 

 ing, Mr. Holloway and his architect, Mr. W. H. Crossland, 

 visited the principal collegiate institutions in Europe, and during 

 the past year the plans and specifications have been completed. 

 We now learn that a contract has been actually signed by Mr. 

 Holloway for the building of the college within four years, the 

 contract price being upwards of 250, oaV., exclusive of fittings 



