April 6, 1905] 



NA TURE 



seismic phenomena, as we should expect to find them 

 in a text-book, the author has given a concise history 

 of eig^ht disturbances, each of which has a special 

 interest. The Neapolitan earthquake is of interest 

 from an historical point of view, the Ischian earth- 

 quakes illustrate the relationship between volcanic and 

 seismic activities, a Japanese earthquake is described 

 on account of the fault line which was produced at the 

 time of its occurrence and the numerous after shocks 

 by which it was followed, whilst a British earthquake 

 illustrates the growth of a fault. From the work of 

 Robert Mallet upon the first of these earthquakes, 

 which in 1857 devastated a district to the south-east 

 of Naples, and when upwards of 9000 people lost their 

 lives, the scientific world learned that out of ruins much 

 might be learned respecting the direction and intensity 

 of the movements which had caused them. Although 

 his methods of investigation, as, for example, those 

 relating to the determination of the depths of seismic 

 foci, may have been modified by new observations, 

 Mallet directed attention to new problems for the solu- 

 tion of which he employed scientific methods. 



The Andalusian earthquake in 1884, we are told, is 

 chiefly remarkable from the fact that it was recorded 

 at very distant stations, as, for example, by magneto- 

 graphs near Paris, at which city the movements of the 

 ground could not be felt. For this disturbance the 

 depth of its origin is determined by means of angles of 

 emergence calculated from the directions of fractures 

 in masonry walls. That the direction of these fractures 

 might be due to the varying steepness of the earth 

 waves which produced the shattering is not con- 

 sidered 



The peculiarity of the Charleston earthquake is that 

 it occurred in a region where such disturbances are 

 almost unknown, that it had two foci about thirteen 

 miles apart, and that it illustrated the behaviour of 

 different races when confronted by a terrible disaster. 

 With the negroes there was wild fear, panic, and a 

 " selfish rush for safety." With Europeans in similar 

 circumstances similar conditions prevail, but we are 

 told that with Japanese there is calmness. Our own 

 idea is that Japanese like to save their necks as well as 

 other people. They will bolt at the time of an earth- 

 quake, to return, not with hysterical and shattered 

 nerves, but chattering and laughing as if earthquakes 

 were very fine jokes. 



A subject attractive to the general reader which is 

 referred to in several chapters is an account of signs 

 which have given warning of a coming earthquake. 

 Underground sounds have been heard, springs have 

 varied in their flow, horses, birds, dogs, and even 

 human beings have been restless for some time before 

 great earthquakes. In his reference to the Riviera 

 earthquake in 1887, Mr. Davison remarks that as pre- 

 monitions were noted at 130 different places within the 

 central area, " there can be little doubt that they were 

 caused by microseismic movements for the most part 

 insensible to man." In these days of psychical research 

 we think that the author has lost an opportunity for 

 romantic speculation. 



-Although the book is intended more for the person 

 NO. 1849, VOL. 71] 



of ordinary intelligence than for the specialist, here 

 and there we come upon information of an uncommon 

 kind. For example, it is pointed out that the areas 

 over which earthquake sounds are heard is variable in 

 different countries. One reason for this is that the 

 limits of audibility vary with different races. From 

 illustrations given it would appear that for certain 

 sounds the Anglo-Saxon ear is more acute than the 

 Neapolitan, and very much more than that of the 

 Japanese. This relationship between the physiological 

 structure of tlie human ear and earthquake music is, 

 to say the least, extremely interesting, but while dis- 

 cussing the same the fact must not be overlooked that 

 in the same country districts may be found where 

 seismic sounds are frequent, whilst there are other 

 districts where Pluto shakes the ground but mutterings 

 are never heard. 



Dr. Davison 's book is well worth reading, whilst the 

 manner in which its contents have been arranged 

 should obtain for it a circulation amongst those who 

 seek for general information. 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



A German-English Dictionary of Terms used in 

 Medicine and the Allied Sciences. By Hugo Lang 

 and B. .Abrahams. Pp. vi + 598. (London : J. 

 and A. Churchill, 1905.) Price 15^. net. 



There is undoubtedly a vacant place which would be 

 filled by a well-compiled work bearing the above title. 

 The book now under review has a certain claim on our 

 regard in this connection, and in some respects is a 

 useful work. It purports to be, in the first place, a 

 medical dictionary, and, so far as we can judge, fulfils 

 this promise in a satisfactory manner. With a few- 

 minor blemishes there is a complete vocabulary of 

 medical terms, and as a rule these are very fairly 

 rendered by their English equivalents. But in the 

 allied sciences, which are also supposed to be included, 

 there are curious lacunas. Chemistry is pretty well 

 represented — for example, we found most of the 

 technical terms in Biedermann's " Chemiker Kalen- 

 dar " duly set down — but the pathological vocabulary 

 leaves much to be desired, and apparently physiology is 

 not considered an allied science at all — at any rate, 

 physiological terms are very seldom to be met 

 with. 



The authors have generally avoided the pitfalls set 

 for the unwary in works of this kind, and there are 

 few actual mistakes ; occasionally it is difficult to ascer- 

 tain the real meaning of a word without extraneous 

 assistance. For example, the word " typhus " by it- 

 self is not correctly translated by "typhus"; it in- 

 variably means " enteric " (typhoid), and the English 

 typhus fever is " fleck-typhus," the latter being, how- 

 ever, correctly entered in its place. The medical mean- 

 ing of " Belastung " is given; the completely dilTerent 

 signification when the word is applied to muscle is 

 omitted. But the cardinal fault of the dictionary is the 

 treatment of compound words. These are separately 

 set forth at length instead of being collected under 

 their first components, and this increases the bulk and 

 cost of the work (already too great) without conferring 

 any real ease of reference. The courteous way in which 

 the authors in the preface invite suggestions disarms 

 too caustic comments, and we merely hint gently that 

 in the next edition the space that could be saved by the 

 course indicated could be profitably employed by the 



