June 1 6, 1887] 



NATURE 



151 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



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[ The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their 

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British Association Sectional Procedure. 



As the time for holding the Manchester meeting of the British 

 Association approaches, it seems natural to inquire whether any 

 action will be taken by the Council of the Association toward 

 carrying out the impoitant suggestions made in the columns of 

 Nature (vol. xxxiv. p. 495), by Prof. Oliver Lodge, imme- 

 diately after the late meeting at Birmingham. I can vouch for the 

 fact that many of the active workers in the Section meetings of 

 the Association can heartily indorse the expression of discontent 

 which fell from Prof. Lodge as to the inadequacy of the present 

 arrangements. The effect of the attempt to shirk holding Section 

 meetings on the Saturday, and on the succeeding Wednesday, 

 has been to cause a most undesirable pressure upon the time 

 available on other days, and has rendered serious and effective 

 discussion of the subjects of the papers almost impossible. It is 

 understood that at Manchester, thanks to the generous hospitality 

 of the local leaders, the Association will be graced by the 

 presence of an unusual number of foreign men of science, includ- 

 ing some of the most distingui'-hed of chemists, physicists, and 

 biologists. This fact is in itself an additional reason for expect- 

 ing earnest and lively discussions to arise in the Section meetings, 

 — <liscussions such as add greatly to the interest of the meetings, 

 and are of extreme value to those who are actual workers in 

 science. It would indeed be cause for regret if the anticipated 

 discussions were to be burked or spoiled by want of due atten- 

 tion to the arrangements of the meetings. The suggestions of 

 Prof. Lodge are indeed so timely that I fear to weaken their 

 force by adding to them or emphasizing any of them. Yet I 

 cannot refrain from urging two points : one the extreme undesir- 

 ability of scamping the Wednesday sitting ; and the other the 

 advisability of reconsidering the hours of holding Committee 

 meetings. Why should not the Sectional Committees meet from 

 3 to 4 o'clock, and the Sections at 10.30? A clear half-hour 

 would be gained ; Committee-men might slip out for lunch 

 instead of attempting to sit out a dwindling meeting in a 

 famished state ; and they would continue their attendance to the 

 end of the Section meeting because of the Committee meeting at 

 its close. 



Further, much good would accrue if the Council would cause 

 to be published from the first the days and hours appointed for 

 the reading of papers or the holding of discussions on the various 

 topics. Last year I succeeded in inducing the Sectional 

 Secretaries to begin this practice, in spite of the cold water 

 thrown upon my suggestion by more than one of the ancient 

 lights of the Council. If the Council would only, as a matter of 

 good business-like arrangement, issue instructions that this should 

 be done in No. i of the Journals, the benefit would be double. 

 As an instance I will only mention that many of the members of 

 the Committee on Electrolysis, of which Prof. Lodge is Secretary, 

 are looking forward to a full and interesting discussion of their 

 report, in which discussion they especially anticipate that an 

 important part will be taken by their distinguished Continental 

 visitors. Knowing this to be the case, why cannot the Council 

 fix beforehand a day and hour for this matter, which is to many 

 of the physicists and chemists the most important event of the 

 meeting, more important than the addresses of Presidents of 

 Sections, more important than the set evening discourses, more 

 important even than the address of the President himself? 



Silvan us P. Thompson. 

 20 Arundel Gardens, W., June 4. 



The Recent Earthquakes in Mexico and Turkestan. 



In vol. xxxiv. p. 570 of Nature you kindly allowed me to 

 bring forward some facts in support of a view advanced by me 



and mentioned in your review of the " Catalogue of European 

 Earthquakes " which appeared in your number of September 16, 

 1886 (vol. xxxiv. p. 465), that earllnjuake localities lie on or 

 are connected by great circles representing main lines of Assuring 

 and therefore coast-line directions. Since then I have observed 

 and noted two or three other remarkable cases, but the earth- 

 quakes recently reported (May 30) from Mexico, and June 9 

 from Turkestan, are so interesting in this respect that I venture 

 to ask you for permission to point out how a great circle connects 

 them. 



This great circle is a coast-line direction which I had laid 

 down and called "Coast of Coromandel Great Circle." _ It 

 passes through or near the following localities and points. 

 Parting from the mouth of the Musi River on that coast it takes 

 in the coast-line to Pulicat ; traverses the Indian and Southern 

 Oceans and South Polar region (passing not far from the South 

 Magnetic Pole) ; traverses the South Pacific and cuts the coast of 

 Mexico at Talipa ; passes at Oaxaca (the province of the same 

 name is named as having been affected by the recent earthquake), 

 also between Pitebla and Vera Cruz (also similarly affected) ; runs 

 parallel to the west coast of the Mexican Gulf ; traverses the 

 United States, about 200 miles west of the boundary shown in 

 Major Powell's map of the earthquake of August 31, 1886 (see 

 Nature, vol. xxxv. p. 31), and roughly parallel to it ; cuts the 

 west coast of Hudson's Bay at the mouth of the Nelson River ;. 

 passes at about i" east of the North Magnetic Pole ; traverses 

 the North Polar region ; crosses Nova Zembla, and the promon- 

 tory to the north of the Sea of Obi and Siberia ; and passes at 

 about fifty-two miles to the west of Vernoje. 



It maybe of interest to remark that a great circle representing 

 the Riviera coast-line, so lately and so disastrously shaken, passes 

 in a north-west and south-east direction about 4° to the north-east 

 of this point, and as the Turkestan earthquake has evidently 

 extended beyond Vernoje, the actual distance between this great 

 circle and the district affected may be less than 4°. In any 

 case it is an interesting relation, and all the more so as this 

 Riviera great circle cut New Zealand in the vicinity of the earth- 

 quake district of June 10, 1886, itself antipodal to that of 

 Andalusia of December 25, 1884. J. P. O'REILLY. 



Dublin, June 11. 



The Late Earthquake on the Riviera, February 23, 



1887. 

 Having been at Nice during the late earthquake, I was much 

 interested in the accounts published in Nature (vol. xxxv. pp. 

 419 and 442), from which I have drawn up the following 

 table :— 



Earthquake of February 23, 1887. 



