KEPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. ETC. 



Seismological Investigations. — Twenty-fifth Report of the Committee, 

 consisting of Professor H. H. Turneb (Chairman), Mr. J. J. 

 Shaw (Secretary), Mr. C. Vernon Boys, Dr. J. E. Crombie, 

 Sir Horace Darwin, Dr. 0. Davison, Sir F. W. Dyson, SirE. T. 

 Glazebrqok, Professors C. G. Knott and H. Lamb, Sir J. 

 Larmor, Professors A. E. H. Love, H. M. Macdonald, J. Perry, 

 ayid H. C. Plummer, Mr. W. E. Plummer, Professor E. A. 

 Sampson, Sir A. Schuster, Sir Napier Shaw, Dr. G. T. Walker, 

 and Mr. G. \V. Walker. 



Genercd. 



The transference of the Milne books and apparatus from Shide to the University 

 Observatory at Oxford was completed in iSeptember last. Mrs. Milne sailed 

 for Japan, after some shipping delays, on September 27, and news of her safe 

 arrival on November 13 has been received. The greater part of the books, 

 records, cards, and the two globes for preliminary calculations are conveniently 

 housed in a room in the Students' Observatory, apart from the main building : 

 the remainder of the material is for the present stored in an outbuilding. But 

 by a timely benefaction of 400/. from Dr. Crombie, a small house has been 

 acquired near the Observatory, of which it is hoped to get occupation in 

 September, and this will easily hold all that is required, and serve at the same 

 time as a dwelling for the seismological assistant. These arrangements have 

 been made in accordance with the spirit of Professor Schuster's resolution 

 (quoted in the last report), offering to establish a Central Bureau at Oxford, 

 which could not be exactly can-ied into effect at the moment owing to circum- 

 stances there mentioned. Further, in pursuance of this plan, the Cambridge 

 Committee entrusted with the appeal for a Geophysical Institute which should 

 include Seismology, finding their appeal unsuccessful, passed the following 

 resolution on March 10, 1920 : — 



It was agreed that Professor Turner should be informed that no objection 

 could be taken by the Committee to a seismological station and establish- 

 ment at Oxford. 



This resolution, with a letter from the Chairman of the Committee and a 

 summary of other information, was next reported to the University of Oxford 

 through the Board of Visitors in May last, and approved. Finally, these facts 

 were reported to this Committee (B.A. Seismology) at its meeting on July 2, 

 and the plan of locating the work at Oxford approved. It remains to obtain 

 the funds necessary for the salary of a full-time director and for replacing the 

 grants temporarily made by the British Association and the Royal Society. A 

 Royal Commission is at present reviewing the finances of the Universities of 

 Oxford and Cambridge, and a note has been addressed to this Commission on 

 the subject of Seismology, in the first instance by the Board of Faculty of 

 Natural Science, supplemented by a more particular note from Professor 

 Turner. 



Instrumental. 



The Milne-Shaw seismograph erected in the basement of the Clarendon 

 Laboratory has worked well through the year. Professor Lindemann has given 

 formal sanction to the arrangement, and included the ba-sement in his general 



