Sept. 6, 1883] 



NATURE 



439 



to the arrival first of the emergent wave, followed by the 

 progress outwards and along the surface of others from 

 the seismic vertical. On the contrary, those in the meso- 

 seismal area felt the blow and report apparently simul- 

 taneously ; the walls fell before any attempt at an escape 

 could be made. It appears therefore that the sound 

 waves travel faster than those of the earth, though the 

 difference in arrival is inappreciable at short distances 

 from the seismic vertical. 



Since the principal shock the following minor ones have 

 been felt : — 



... Slight shock in the morning ? 

 „ 3.10 p.m. 



>, 4 5° .. 



11. 15 „ 

 2.30 „ 

 i.i5or2.i5? 1 



,, i>, ,, ,, 10.40 a.m. 



,, 12, ,, ,, morning? 



The accessibility of the island, the advanced state 

 of our geological knowledge of it, and the small ex- 

 tension of the earthquake area, make it most suitable 

 and convenient for the study of its terrestrial move- 

 ments. What is required is a number of seismographs 

 scattered over the island, which should be capable of 

 registering azimuth, angle of emergence or molecular 

 velocity, with the exact time of each movement so as to 

 obtain velocity of transmission. These should be distri- 

 buted in two circles around the seismic vertical, and 

 should be at least sixteen in number, eight being in each 

 circle, one or more for registering vertical waves to be 

 placed along the seismic vertical. Accurate thermometric 

 measurements of the principal fumaroles and mineral 

 springs to be registered hourly, and if possible some 

 device for measuring quantity of outflow of mineral 

 waters, and pressure of vapour in fumaroles. To these it 

 might be useful to add microseismic observations. The 

 changes in sea level would be of interest if compared with 

 those of Naples. 



The principal expense would be providing the instru- 

 ments, which could be placed in caves cut in the solid 

 tufa, of which there are hundreds in the island that could 

 be obtained for almost nothing, if not entirely free of 

 expense. 



By such means we might study the true nature of these 

 shocks, the progress of the focus towards the surface, and 

 verify whether any premonitory signs are to be depended 

 upon preceding an earthquake. 



I would impress on all persons charitably inclined that 

 money spent on such an enterprise would be productive 

 of far more good than when distributed to be spent in 

 rebuilding the perilous houses of masonry in preparation 

 for another catastrophe. Not six days aiter the terrible 

 event, masons were at work repairing the most dangerous 

 walls, and many inhabitants have already returned to 

 reside in their fissured and crumbling abodes. Besides, 

 if another shock occurs more violent than the last, a large 

 number of additional localities would suffer, such as Forio 

 and Ischia, besides the villages on the south coast of the 

 island. H. J. Johnston-Lavis 



P.S.— In collecting evidence of ihe Ischian earthquake 

 a very remarkable fact was communicated by Mr. Peter- 

 sen, the engineer of the Zoological Station at Naples. 

 Whilst dredging on the north side of the unfortunate 

 island, about opposite the cemetery of Casamicciola, a 

 number of pieces of pumice were found floating on the 

 water, some of them as large as a man's head ; they had 

 quite a fresh appearance. The conclusion is that there 

 has been a submarine eruption somewhere near the 

 island. Such would explain the sensations felt on board 

 the steamers and the apparent disturbance of the coast 

 line. On the other hand it is strange that the eruption 

 1 Which was much stronger and produced slight damage. 



left no other signs, and that nothing was observable the 

 next morning. No dead fish were noticed. The pumice 

 might be derived from loose deposits containing that 

 material, which form some of the sea cliffs which were 

 shaken down by the earthquake. Whatever be the real 

 cause, we propose to investigate it thoroughly by dredg- 

 ing and diving, as the water rarely exceeds twenty to 

 thirty fathoms at the most. H. J. J.-L. 



Naples, August 31 



THE BERNISSART IGUANODON^ 



'"PHE wonderful discovery of remains of Iguanodons 

 ■*■ made at Bernissart in 1S78 caused quite a sensa- 

 tion amongst naturalists at the time, and the publication 

 of the scientific results of that grand find have been 

 awaited ever since with eager expectation. Nevertheless, 

 as five years have elapsed since the discovery was 

 announced, it is well that the memory should be refreshed 

 by a few brief details as to the circumstances of the find 

 itself before the results as to the nature of the Iguanodons 

 themselves, lately made public, are referred to. Bernissart 

 is in Belgium, situate between Mons and Tournai, close 

 to the French frontier. In the spring of 1878, in one of 

 the galleries of a coal mine there, were discovered in 

 Wealden clays a large number of bones. Specimens of 

 these bones were forwarded to Professor P. J. van 

 Beneden, who at once recognised them as belonging to 

 Iguanodon. 



It is to M. Fages the director general of the Bernissart 

 Mining Company that the discovery is due. He 

 interested himself greatly in the matter, and from first to 

 last the mining company has most generously and 

 meritoriously devoted its best resources to the recovery 

 from the depths of the earth in the most perfect condition 

 possible of these most remarkable scientific treasures. 

 It has presented them all to the Royal Museum of 

 Brussels. The actual removal of the specimens from 

 their beds and their transmission to the surface, was 

 performed under the immediate superintendence of .Air. 

 Gustave Arnould, chief engineer, and of M. De Pauw, 

 the latter being the superintendent of workshops at the 

 Brussels Museum, who has since successfully mounted 

 the enormous skeleton shown in the accompanying 

 engraving. So immensely abundant were the remains 

 found to be that Mr. De Pauw assumed for three years 

 the habits of a miner, watching and controlling the 

 removal of every specimen. He invented an ingenious 

 method of hardening the bones in situ which prevented 

 their crumbling when exposed to the air, which at first 

 occurred. The bones exposed on the surfaces of the 

 blocks excavated were covered with a coating of plaster 

 for protection, and the masses thus formed were then 

 raised to the surface, a distance of more than 1,000 feet 

 and removed to cellars under the natural history galleries 

 of the Brussels Museum, to be worked out at leisure. 

 M. Dupont, Director of the Museum, confirmed Professor 

 van Beneden's determination of the bones, and at the 

 same time fixed the exact age of the deposits in which 

 they occurred. 



Some surprise has certainly been felt by naturalists 

 that so very little information about the Bernissart 

 skeletons has been published during the time which has 

 elapsed since their discovery, but it must be borne in 

 mind that it took three years even to get the rough material 

 out of the pit, and that every mass of matrix containing 

 bones requires a great deal of most careful labour to be 

 expended on it before the bones in it are fully exposed 

 for study. M. L. Dollo, a distinguished former pupil 



1 M. L. Dollo. "Premiere Note sur les Dinosauriens de Bernissart." 

 Bulletin ilit Musee Royal d' Hist. Nat. de Belgiane, T. i. 1882. Deuxieme 

 note. Ibid. , / c. Troisieme note, ll'id., T. ii. 1883. " Note sur la presence 

 chez les oiseaux du Troisieme Trochanter des Dinosauriens et sur la function 

 de celui-ci," Ibid., I.e. "Les Iguanodons de Bernissart." Bulletin 

 Scientifique de pidagogigue de Bru.rcllcs, April 1, 1883, No. 2, p. 25 



