April 13, 1905J 



NA TURE 



563 



coral reefs. The Agalegas group may also be sur- 

 veyed, and the nature of its land ascertained. From 

 the Seychelles the Sealark will return to Colombo, 

 while the civilian members of the expedition will 

 spend some months in that group and its vicinity, 

 returning home in January, 1906. 



The scientific work of the expedition will be of a 

 varied nature. In the first place, the soundings and 

 temperature observations taken by H.M.S. Sealark 

 should settle such questions as the existence or non- 

 existence of any relatively shallow banks connecting 

 India and South .Africa, and also of any bank from 

 Mauritius to the Seychelles. They should also give 

 an accurate knowledge of the rise and relationships 

 of the various Chagos atolls and banks to one 

 another, and show whether they are really isolated 

 by deep sea or arise on some shallow plateau as do 

 tiie greater number of the Maldivo atolls. Inci- 

 dentally, also, the soundings may reasonably be ex- 

 pected to indicate what changes, if any, have taken 

 place in the reefs and banks since the last surveys. 

 At the same time it is hoped to examine the currents 

 at various depths, so as to see as far as possible the 

 actual influences at work. In the same connection 

 an investigation has already been commenced on the 

 waters of the Indian Ocean. By the kind assistance 

 of the Meteorological Council, cases of bottles have 

 been sent out to many captains of the British India, 

 P. and O. , Orient, Bibby, Clan, and other lines for 

 daily samples of (he surface waters, while the ex- 

 pedition itself will obtain samples both from the 

 surface and from various depths during the whole of 

 its sojourn in the Indian Ocean. Mr. D. Matthews, 

 English hydrographer to the North Sea investigation, 

 has undertaken the analyses of these samples, and it 

 is hoped that by continuing the collection for twelve 

 months a more accurate knowledge may be obtained 

 of the movements of the waters of the Indian Ocean. 

 In meteorology a careful log and graphic records will 

 be kept, which, coming from such a little known 

 region, should be useful for comparison with the more 

 regular steamer routes. 



In biology, the expedition will everywhere take 

 samples of the bottom and of the pelagic fauna at 

 various depths. The coral reefs will be examined, 

 both surfaces and slopes, while the currents and other 

 factors, possibly influencing the same, will be care- 

 fully investigated. The dredges and trawls will be 

 let down as frequently as possible, both to ascertain 

 the general characters of the bottom off the islands 

 and banks, and also to sample the flora and fauna. 

 The deep-sea fauna will not be collected, work being 

 for the most part devoted to intermediate depths (50 

 to 500 fathoms), within which light tails off into 

 absolute darkness. .'Vt the same time, the fauna at 

 lesser depths, both in the Chagos and .Seychelles, will 

 be investigated as completely as possible. By these 

 means some clear Idea should be obtained of the 

 vertical distributions of both animals and plants, and 

 the comparisons of the marine fauna and flora of the 

 Seychelles and Chagos, together and with those of 

 the surrounding slopes of the Indian Ocean, should 

 at least illuminate the question as to how far the 

 horizontal distribution of such is of value in tracing 

 the former connections of continents and lands. The 

 land flora and fauna can scarcely be expected to be 

 of great interest — it will not at present be attempted 

 in the Seychelles — but it will nevertheless be col- 

 lected in view of the gradual peopling of oceanic 

 islands. 



On the whole, this most recent British exploring 

 expedition may be said to be conceived in the interests, 

 not of one, but of many sciences, and all who sym- 

 pathise with the advancement of knowledge may be 

 grateful to the Admiralty for detailing a vessel for 



NO. 1850, VOL. 71] 



such work. The hydrographic results alone should 

 more than justify the dispatch of H.M.S. Sealark, 



while any discovery which may be made of the laws 

 which govern the formation and growth of coral and 

 other reefs — and to which we seem to be tending — 

 would make navigation in tropical waters appreciably 

 safer. The scientific members of the expedition have 

 been required to find all the extra gear and instru- 

 ments necessary for their work. In this they have 

 been materially assisted by grants from the British 

 .Association and from the Balfour memorial fund at 

 Cambridge; but the bulk of the expense has been 

 undertaken by the Trust recently founded by Mrs. 

 Percy Sladen in memory of her late husband — to 

 whom, it is felt, the objects of this expedition would 

 have very closely appealed, and whose name will 

 appropriately appear upon the publications issued as 

 a result of the investigation. 



THE INDIAN EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 4. 



AL.ARGE part of north-western India was severely 

 shaken by an earthquake which occurred on 

 .April 4, shortly after six o'clock in the morning, 

 causing the destruction of numerous buildings and 

 the loss of many lives — the number being estimated 

 at twenty thousand. The last great earthquake in 

 India, in June, 1897, was one of the most violent of 

 which there is any historical record, but the casualties 

 and damage due to that disturbance were compara- 

 tively small, because the earthquake occurred at five 

 o'clock in the afternoon, when many people were out 

 of doors, and there were no large cities within the 

 area of maximum violence. In the case of the earth- 

 quake on .April 4, most people were indoors at the 

 time of the shock, and the area of greatest disturb- 

 ance included, unfortunately, several centres where 

 fairly large towns have grown up, chiefly round the 

 ofiicial settlements, cantonments, and sanatoria of the 

 British Government. Dharmsala, Dalhousie, Simla 

 with several neighbouring cantonments, Mussoorie, 

 Dehra Dun, .Almora, Ranikhet, and Naini Tal are the 

 chief of these; and the many substantial stone build- 

 ings in them have naturally suffered much damage 

 from the earthquake shocks. 



The reports so far available show that the earth- 

 quake, like that of other great disturbances of the 

 same kind, was of Himalayan origin, the centre being 

 about Dharmsala. Its intensity decreased through 

 the Punjab and the United Provinces, while f 1 om 

 Rajputana to the north it decreased rapidly. There 

 appears to have been no wide extension of the disturb- 

 ance towards .Assam or .Afghanistan, but informatioft 

 from the west is verv imperfect. 



The whole area where serious damage is known 

 to have been done is included within a line drawn 

 from Shahpur through Kangra to Jawalamukhi, 

 thence east to Sujanpur, and then to Baijnath; 

 but what occurred eastwards of this area is not 

 known. 



It is clear from the Viceroy's telegrams that the 

 towns of Dharmsala, Kangra, and Palampur are 

 virtually destroyed, that the loss of life has been very 

 great, and that the full measure of catastrophe, owing 

 To difficulty of communication, cannot be ascertained 

 for some time. 



The King has sent to the Viceroy a telegram ex- 

 pressing his " profound concern at the news of the 

 calamity which has befallen Lahore and surrounding 

 district," and a message of sympathy with all who 

 have suffered from the earthquake has been sent by 

 the Prince and Princess of Wales. 



No news about the earthquake has been received 



