June 2, 1887] 



NATURE 



109 



horizontal motion has been compounded during intervals 

 of 4, 6i, and b\ seconds respectively : the results are 

 shown to a magnified scale in Fig. 2, and illustrate well 

 the complex character of earthquake motion. The 

 greatest extent of horizontal motion is from one to 

 the other extremity of the figure-of-eight in the first 

 of these diagrams : its actual amount (on the ground) 

 was 7-5 millimetres. The greatest vertical motion was 

 15 millimetres. Other records obtained by Prof. Sekiya 

 lead him to conclude that the greatest vertical motion in 

 Tokio earthquakes is about one-sixth of the greatest 

 horizontal motion. In former examples published by the 

 writer the record was in all cases taken on the soft alluvial 

 soil on which the greater part of the city of Tokio is 

 built. In this instance the record was taken (at the site of 

 the new University buildings, Kaga Yashiki, Hongo) on 

 the much harder ground which here and there rises above 

 the alluvial plain. From a comparison of records taken 

 at the old and the new sites of the Seismological Obser- 

 vatory, Prof. Sekiya concludes that the motion of the 

 alluvial plain is generally greater than that of the higher 

 and stiffer soil in the ratio of two or three to one. 



J. A. EwiNG. 



NOTES. 

 On Tuesday, Congregation at Oxford declined, by a majority 

 of 106 votes to 60, to sanction the lending of books or manu- 

 scripts from the Bodleian Library. This decision is, no doubt, 

 greatly regretted by a number of resident graduates, but it has 

 the cordial approval of most other persons. Had the proposed 

 change been made, it is certain that sooner or later many valu- 

 able books and manuscripts would have been lost or injured, and 

 scholars would constantly have found that the works they wanted 

 were "out." It would have been a serious mistake to transform 

 one of the most magnificent collections of books in the world into 

 a lending-library for the benefit of a small class of students. 



In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Her Majesty's 

 reign, the general meeting of the Zoological Society of London 

 on June 16 will be held, at 4 p.m., in the Society's Gardens on 

 the lawn, which will be reserved for this occasion. After the 

 usual formal business, the silver medal awarded to the Maha- 

 rajah of Kuch-Behar will be delivered to His Highness. The 

 President will then give a short address on the progress of the 

 Society during the past fifty years. After the conclusion of the 

 general meeting, the President and Council will hold a reception 

 of the Fellows of the Society and other invited guests. 



The new University of Upsala was opened with great cere- 

 mony on May 17. There were present the King and Crown 

 Prince of Sweden, a number of delegates from foreign Universi- 

 ties, the leading Swedish men of science, and some 1500 

 students. The building is very handsome, and has cost nearly 



;^250,000. 



In the Report of the Royal University of Ireland for 1886, just 

 issued as a Parliamentary Paper, it is stated that last year 2933 

 persons presented themselves at the various examinations, an 

 increase of 43 on the previous year. The degree of Bachelor of 

 Arts was conferred on 9 women, of whom 4 took honours. One 

 lady was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts, and another, 

 Miss Mary Story, obtained the first place in the first-class 

 honours in modern literature, and won a first-class exhibitioix. 

 Of the 78 women who presented themselves for matriculation, 

 71 passed, 27 of them with honours. Speaking of the exhibi- 

 tions founded by the Drapers' Company and the Irish Society 

 for the promotion of education among women in Londonderry, 

 the Vice- Chancellor says: — "It would be most useful that the 

 example thus set should be followed by others. There are 

 other Companies of the Corporation of London who also hold 



