664 EEPORT— 1888. 



cone standing out of the deep water of the Mediterranean and rising about 3,000 

 feet above its surface. The north side has been partly breached, so that the active 

 crater is now on the side of the mountain, about two-thirds of the way up. Explo- 

 sions take place constantly i'rom it at intervals of a few minutes, or occasionally 

 longer. The ejected materials partly fall back into the crater and partly roll down 

 the steep slope, or schinra, into the sea. The details of crater itself are constantly 

 changing. A photo taken on May 17 showed two small cones on its floor, one of 

 wliich constantly emitted clouds of vapour, while the other was that from whick 

 the explosions proceeded. 



2. Notes 011 the late Eruption in the island of Vulcano. By Tempest 

 Anderson, il.D., B.Sc, and H. J. Johnston-Lavis, M.IJ., F.G.S. 



Both authors have visited the island of Vulcano, the former during the month 

 of May of this year, and the latter just one year before. Both have photographed 

 the principal points of interest : those of the latter were exhibited at the last 

 meeting of the Association, and Dr. Anderson's are now shown before the meeting 

 by aid of the lantern. 



The island of Vulcano, so far as we can trace back its geological history, came 

 into existence and was chiefly built up of a cone composed of doleritic lavas and 

 related products. This large cone, traversed by radial djkes, some solid and some 

 hollow, indicating the existence at one time of parasitic cones, was eventually 

 destroyed by one or more explosive eruptions, and by truncating it very low, aided 

 by subsequent denudation, reduced it to an irregular table-land. On this plain a 

 IVesh eruption took place, giving rise to small scoria cones and lava streams, some 

 of which are basalts very rich in olivine. 



This was followed by an eccentric explosive eruption, drilling a large crater out 

 of the northern part and edge of this plain, and along this axis the present active 

 cone of Vulcano was built up. This cone seems to have been formed at first of 

 basic rocks, like that composing the main mass of the island, but subsequently 

 highly acid products were erupted, composed of very acid pumices and lava streams 

 of obsidian, very spherulitic in the interior. Lastly, still further north of this is 

 the triple cone of Vulcanello, which, perched upon its own platform of lavas, con- 

 stitutes an almost circular peninsula joined to the rest of the island by a narrow 

 low neck of land. There is every reason to believe that Vulcanello has almost, if 

 not entirely, been built up by eruptions of doleritic lavas and derivatives during the 

 historic period, though at present only slight warm emanations of steam occur from 

 a few cracks. 



The main crater of Vulcano has also been in gentle solfataric activity from time 

 to time, interrupted by paroxysmal eruptions. In its solfataric state the bottom 

 and sides get more or less covered by sublimations of sulphur, boric acid, realgar, 

 &c., whilst some distant rocks afford at present, and have from Roman times afforded, 

 many varieties of the alums. For many years the sulphur and boric acid were 

 collected for commercial purposes, but from the competition of Asia Minor and 

 f'alifornia the latter product has been neglected, and the English company who 

 own the property have converted much of the island, described by Spallanzani a 

 century ago as totally barren, into a rich vine, fig, and broom plantation, including 

 more than 20,000 of vine plants. 



The second of the authors described in ' Nature,' of this summer, the state in 

 which he found the Lipari group of volcanoes in June 1887, and the first of th« 

 authors noticed no important difference three months since. 



In 1886 a slight eruption cleared out the bottom of the crater of Vulcano, and 

 since that time the crater has never ' entered into its former quiescent condition ' 

 to which the residents on the island are accustomed. 



Mr. Narlian, whose villa is within a few hundred yards from the crater, very 

 narrowly escaped with his and his children's lives. The following is the substance 

 of his letter, and is, we think, quite worthy of being put on record : — 



