1909.] REID— SEISMOLOGICAL NOTES. 311 



quakes is a thoroughly practical subject, and if properly prosecuted, 

 will be of distinct benefit to the country. 



Let us glance, for a moment, at the special problems which a 

 national bureau should take up. They may be enumerated as 

 follows : 



1. The collection of information regarding earthquakes in the 

 United States and its possessions. 



2. The study of the distribution of earthquakes in the United 

 States and the preparation of maps showing this distribution and 

 its relation to the geological structure. 



3. The study of special regions, such as the California coast. 



4. The prompt examination of a region which has suffered a 

 severe earthquake. 



5. The collection of information regarding earthquakes under 

 the sea, and tidal waves. 



6. The study of the earthquakes of the Gulf of Mexico and the 

 Caribbean Sea from the records of instruments around these areas. 



7. The issue of monthly bulletins, giving the records of felt 

 earthquakes and of seismographs in the United States. 



8. The study and dissemination of information regarding the 

 best methods of construction in areas subject to earthquakes. 



9. The theoretical study of earthquake instruments. 



10. Other theoretical studies. 



The variety of these studies requires the sympathetic cooperation 

 of many branches of the government for their successful prosecu- 

 tion. The Weather Bureau and the Post Office Department are 

 especially adapted to collect information regarding felt earthc^uakes ; 

 and the trained observers of the former, distributed as they are all 

 over the country, could readily add a seismograph to the instruments 

 under their charge and obtain important records, of distant and 

 near earthquakes. The Navy, through its personnel and through its 

 Hydrographic Office has especial facilities for collecting information 

 regarding earthquakes felt at sea. The Geological Survey alone 

 could study the relation of geological structure to the occurrence of 

 earthquakes ; and the Coast and Geodetic Survey has on its staff 

 able mathematicians capable of deducing the characteristics of the 

 interior of the earth from the velocity of earthquake waves through 



