272 REPORT— 1898. 



embrace those of movements due to eartliquakes which originated at great 

 distances. These unfelt movements of the earth's crust, which are as 

 frequent in Great Britain as they are in the Italian Peninsula, are those 

 which at present receive the greatest attention. 



It has no doubt been largely due to the discovery that earthquakes 

 can be recorded in any one country as well as in any other that the 

 German Government has been led to devote so large a sum for the esta- 

 blishment of a central observing station in Strassburg, and at the Uni- 

 versity of Gottingen provision has been made for a professorship of earth 

 physics. 



In Austria, for some time past, the Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissen- 

 schaften has had its earthquake commission, which has issued publications 

 and established several earthquake stations provided with the Rebeur- 

 Ehlert pendulums. 



The Central Observatorium of St. Petersburg has established several 

 fitations somewhat similar to those in Austria, and in both countries the 

 means for observing especially the unfelt earthquakes is being extended. 



The elaborate system of earthquake observation which has been in 

 existence for many years in Japan is too well known to require descrip- 

 tion. This is now being extended to embrace observations on earth 

 movements not recordable by ordinary seismographs. In addition to the 

 bureau which reports upon ordinary earthquakes, which forms portion of 

 the meteorological department and a chair of seismology at the University, 

 there is a large committee composed of practical engineers and others 

 whose chief work it is to carry out investigations which may lead to the 

 mitigation of earthquake effects. In connection with the first yearVwork 

 of this committee the Government grant was 5,000^. Inasmuch as prac- 

 tical results have been obtained from this committee every year, I believe 

 a substantial sum of 1,000/. or 2,000/. appears in the Parliamentary esti- 

 mates for a continuation of their investigations. 



It will no doubt be of interest to this committee to note that means 

 which experience has demonstrated lead to the mitigation of earthquake 

 effects, have during the past year received the consideration of the English 

 Government and private companies in connection with reconstruction 

 after severe earthquakes in the West Indies and Assam. 



The inauguration of the investigations which led to the demonstration 

 of these means was in great measure due to the support which this 

 Association has from time to time given to their committees. 



XTII. Freliminary Examination of Photograms obtained with the Seis- 

 mometer in the Liverjiool Observatory. By W. E. Plummer. 



In August 1897 the Seismological Committee of the British Association 

 entrusted one of their seismometers to my care. It was mounted by 

 Mr. Horace Darwin in a cellar of the Observatory, and the photographic 

 record of the motion of a spot reflected from the mirror has been main- 

 tained since, save for a few interruptions arising from the failure of the 

 clock or some temporary disturbance. The instrument itself has been 

 described by Dr. Davison in ' Nature,' 1. 24G, and the general arrangement 

 of the apparatus there detailed, the method of determining the scale, and 

 the directions for the use of the instrument, have been followed without 

 alteration at the Liverpool Observatory. The instrument is arranged to 



