170 



KNOWLEDGE. 



May, 1913. 



brium of the disturbed 

 tract at the origin of 

 disturbances, each of these 

 shocks removing an un- 

 stable or weak point un- 

 derneath. Further, as a 

 very great shock would 

 remove a correspondingly 

 great underground insta- 

 bility, it is probable that 

 such a shock would not, 

 for a long time, be 

 followed by another of a 

 magnitude comparable to 

 its own, in the same or 

 a neighbouring district. 

 When, however, the initial 

 shock is not very great, 

 it may be followed by 

 another like it ; but even 

 in this case the position 

 of the origin of the second 

 shock would usually be 

 quite distinct from that 

 of the first. 



It is a matter of com- 

 mon knowledge that a 

 large part of the soil of 

 Holland, with its villages 

 and cities, is many feet 

 below the level of the 

 sea, and is slowly sinking, 

 while the Scandinavian 

 Peninsula is in process 

 of elevation. It is in 

 this way that the great 

 changes in the earth's 

 surface take place in the 

 course of ages ; and the 

 theory that mountain 

 ranges, like the Hima- 

 layas, were suddenly 

 thrust up by some world- 

 shaking, upheaval, has 

 long since been dissolved 

 by the light of experience 

 and investigation. But 

 while these mighty 

 changes have come about 

 unseen and unheard, the 

 petty shakings of the 

 seismic regions force 

 themselves in a terrible 

 way upon our attention, 

 as in the appalling disaster 

 of 1909 in Calabria and 

 Sicily, one of the most 

 awful of the recorded 

 earthquakes of the world. 



Earthquakes are of such 

 common occurrence in 

 Japan that they are 

 hardlv noticed unless 



Figure 157. ProfessorOmori with Vibrating Recorder at the 

 Seismological Institute, Tokyo. By means of this instrument 

 vibrations of railway bridges and steamers are measured. 



Figure 158. "Shaking Table" in the Seismological 

 Institute. Tokyo University. The bricks are made specially 

 for testing purposes from brick columns previously des- 

 troyed by earthquake. They are pulled asunder in order 

 to find out the strength of the brick and mortar joint. 



some damage is done, 

 and the writer was often 

 awakened in the night by 

 the bed rocking from side 

 to side, which sometimes 

 caused a slight feeling of 

 giddiness, like being at 

 sea. She was also un- 

 pleasantly reminded of the 

 forces at work at this 

 seismic junction of the 

 universe, when staying 

 in the Yamogata Prefec- 

 ture, in the north of the 

 main island, where an 

 unusually strong shock of 

 earthquake was experi- 

 enced. It lasted fully 

 three and a half minutes, 

 and although the house 

 in which the writer was 

 staying was not seriously 

 damaged, there were 

 cracks three feet wide in 

 the ground near the 

 windows (see Figure 152). 

 The building rattled and 

 swayed as though Samson 

 were beneath shaking it 

 as a terrier does a rat, 

 the surprised dogs outside 

 began to bark and the 

 cocks to crow, and the 

 feeling of mysterious 

 tremor or palpitation was 

 distinctly uncanny. At 

 the first indication all the 

 Japanese rushed franti- 

 cally into the street shout- 

 ing, "Jiskin! Jishinl" 

 (earthquake) and stood 

 huddled together in the 

 utmost terror until the 

 danger seemed over. The 

 .writer's own instinct was 

 to sit tight and cling to 

 the writing - table, but 

 presently shefound herself 

 sliding on the floor with 

 pictures off the walls and 

 bric-a-brac — ancient and 

 modern — strewn around. 

 In Tokyo people mention 

 earthquakes as we in 

 England do the weather, 

 when other conversation 

 fails, and thrilling tales 

 of personal experiences 

 during the most appalling 

 of nil the operations of 

 nature, are often told 

 round a dinner-table in 

 the metropolis. 



