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ON SEISMOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 89 
I hope to be able to try another spot shortly, below the floor of the main 
building. 
Time-keeping.—By the usual methods at an astronomical observatory." 
T. F. CLAXTON, Director. 
Paisley (The Coats Observatory), Scotland. 
Lat., 55° 50’ 44". N.; long., Oh. 17m. 43°3s. W.; alt., 100 feet above sea-level. 
Foundation is on boulder clay. 
Topographical Situation.—Instrument is placed near the top (but on the south 
side) of Oakshaw Hill, the most northerly of a series of ridges which run east and 
west between the Gleniffer Braes (800 feet high and three miles to the south) and 
the Clyde, a tidal river, three miles to the north. 
Geological Structure.—Alluvium, i.e., boulder clay, which may be 30 feet thick, 
resting probably on limestone or sandstone. The district is, geclogically, a very 
troubled one; ¢.7., the surface of Paisley town—say, a mile square—showing moss, 
running sand, shell clay, boulder clay, limestone, sandstone, coal, dolerite, &c. 
The station is an astronomical observatory. 
DAVID CRILLEY, Superintendent. 
Kew Observatory (National Physical Laboratory), England. 
Lat., 51° 28' N.; long., 0° 19’ W.; alt. of seismograph, 20 feet above M.S.L. 
The instrument's foundation is on pipes filled with cement, resting on a thick bed 
of cement. The ground immediately below, consisting of earth and brick rubbish, 
was rammed hard before the cement was laid. The supports are isolated from the 
paving-stone of which the flooring is composed. 
Topographical Situation—The Observatory stands on a low mound, presumably 
artificial. It has a deep basement, in which the seismograph is situated, the whole 
surrounded by unused subterranean cellars. The surrounding ground is nearly level 
and covered with grass, except a small garden. The Old Deer Park, in which the 
Observatory stands, is bounded on its west and north by the Thames, whose nearest 
approach to the building is some 300 yards. In exceptional floods and high tides 
water sometimes spreads to within fifty or sixty yards of the Observatory, and has 
once or twice reached the basement. The nearest ground showing any considerable 
slope is Richmond Hiil. The upward slope of the hill commences about 1,500 yards 
away in a south-eastern direction. Its altitude is only some 200 feet, the highest 
point being some two miles distant. 
Geological Structwre.—We have no special knowledge. No deep boring has 
been made nearer than that of the Richmond Water Company. The soil of the 
immediately adjacent park is alluvium (there are patches of sand and gravel not 
very far off). This we suppose to rest on the London Clay at no great depth. 
; Time-keeping.—A daily Greenwich time-signal is received, and there are good 
clocks. 
CHARLES CHREE, Supcrintendent. 
Perth Observatory, Western Australia. 
Lat., 31° 57’ 07'"4. 8.; long., 7h. 43m. 21:74s. E.; alt., 200 feet. 
Foundation is on sand. 
Topographical Situation—Hilltop. Level for half a mile south, then drops sud- 
denly to sea-level. Gradual slope downwards in other directions, though steep to east. 
Geological Structure—Considerable depth of sand (may be 100 feet or more) on 
top of limestone. 
W. ERNEST COOKE, Government Astronomer, 
San Fernando (Observatorio de Marina), Cadiz, Spain. 
Lat., 36° 27’ 42’; long., Oh. 24m. 49:34. W.G.; alt., 28°5 metres. 
Foundation is on rock. 
' See Brit. Assoc. Rep., 1899, p. 179. 
