ON THE VOLCANIC PHENOMENA OF JAPAN. 215 



showing the path of an earth-parfcicle as deduced from an earthquake 

 diagram, called attention to this fact. Further, it appeared that the 

 motion upwards was greater than the motion downwards. I have pre- 

 viously drawn attention to the shortness in period of vertical motion in 

 artificially produced disturbances (see Report for 1885), and also as 

 exhibited in the preliminary tremors of an earthquake, which are probably 

 also vertical in direction. It is also probable that the sound-wave of 

 earthquakes owes its origin to the rapidity of these movements, which are 

 more marked where the strata are hard, and that many animals, like horses 

 when lying down, pheasants, geese, frogs, &c., feeling these preliminary 

 vertical movements, often exhibit symptoms of alarm from ten to thirty 

 seconds before many earthquakes are felt by human beings. 1 have recently 

 communicated a special note on this subject to the Seism ological Society. 



The severe earthquake of January 15. — By reference to the preceding 

 catalogue it will be seen that on January 15, at 6h. 51m. 59sec. p.m. an 

 earthquake, having a range of motion of 192 millimetres and a period 

 of 2'3 seconds, was felt in Tokio. Its duration was ten minutes, an 

 interval of time which probably includes the ' TJri Kaishi,' or 'return 

 shook.' Professor K. Sekiya has read a special paper before the 

 Seismological Society about this disturbance, and I myself have com- 

 municated observations on the same to our local papers. Thirty-six 

 seconds after the commencement of the motion Professor Sekiya observed 

 a maximum motion of 21 m.m. In Yokohama, 16 miles to the S.W., 

 a motion of 36 m.m. was recorded. The motion was most severe along a 

 line about 30 miles in length, running westward from near Yokohama. 



In Tokio the motion was slow, easy, and of considerable range, the 

 sensation being not unlike that upon a boat moved by a gentle swell. 



Billiard balls rolled to and fro upon their tables, and a distinct feeling 

 of nausea was experienced by very many. The slowness in period I 

 take to be due to our distance from the origin. Sometimes earthquakes 

 have been so long in their period that they have moved Tokio back and 

 forth almost unknown to many of the inhabitants, the only record of the 

 motion being that recorded by seismographs and observations made on 

 swinging lamps and objects like pendulums. Near the origin there were 

 small landslips, and the water in certain wells of an ' artesian character ' 

 was decreased or increased. A rumbling preceded the disturbance, and 

 during the night five more shocks were felt. Thousands of houses Pro- 

 fessor Sekiya reports as damaged, those which suffered most being the 

 frame houses with a stone facing, the movement of the timber throwing 

 out the facing. In my own house, which is of timber faced with brick 

 and stone, a similar but slighter effect was produced. In Yokohama the 

 damage was, as usual, amongst the chimneys, the falling of which through 

 the roof and various floors in certain cases created considerable damage. 

 These chimneys, so far as I am aware, in all, or nearly all, cases were new 

 chimneys, built partly for the sake of appearance and with a total dis- 

 regard of the experiences of 1880 and the recommendations repeatedly 

 expressed by the Seismological Society. Chimneys which were short 

 and thick, without heavy ornamental copings, and not compelled to follow 

 the vibrations of the structure to which they belonged, although situated 

 in places which are known to be extremely dangerous, did not suffer. In 

 my own mind it is certain that if the disturbance of January 15 had 

 visited a city like Naples or London the destruction would have 

 approached that which recently created eo much havoc in the Riviera. 



