REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, 



Etc. 



Seismological Investiieitions.— Thirty-fourth Report of Committee 

 (Professor H. H. Turner, Chairman ; Mr. J. J. Shaw, Secretary ; 

 Mr. G. Vernon Boys, Dr. J. E. Crombie, Dr. C. Davison, Sir F. W. 

 Dyson, Sir R. T. G-lazebrook, Dr. Harold Jeffreys, Professor H. 

 Lamb, Sir J. Larmor, Professor A. E. H. Love, Professor H. M. 

 Macdonald, Dr. A. Crichton Mitchell, Mr. R. D. Oldham, 

 Professor H. C. Plummer, Rev. J. P. Rowland, S.J., Professor R. A. 

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

 Dr. F. J. W. Whipple). [Drawn up by the Chairman except where 

 otherwise mentioned."] 



General. 



[Kindly note that this is the 34th report, and that those for 1927 and 1928 should 

 have been numbered 32 and 33 instead of 31 and 32. It is drawn up earlier than 

 usual (June 21) in view of the South African visit.] 



We recret to record the death of Father Pigot of the Riverview Observatory, 

 whose observations have often been of the greatest value in determining epicentres 

 near Australia, especially in the days when the other Australian observatories had 

 only seismographs of the Milne type, which gave readings of inferior accuracy. Also 

 the death of Prof. G. Grablovitz on September 19, 1928, the doj'en of seismology. 

 He was for forty-three years director of the R. Osserv. Geodinamico di Casamicciola, 

 founded as a consequence of the severe shocks of 1881 and 1883. 



The new buildings at the University Observatory, Oxford, include two rooms in 

 which the seismological computations can now be made in comparative comfort, and 

 in one of which (the upper) ' The Milne Library ' has been placed. Below them is 

 the basement for seismographs presented to the University by Dr. J. E. Crombie, 

 and named ' the Crombie Basement.' It contains a massive pier (8 ft. X 4 ft. surface) 

 for the two seismographs, which were mounted upon it in October 1928. One of them, 

 indeed, was mounted in July, but it was found that the pier had not dried or otherwise 

 settled down ; and even in October it was found desirable to allow it further time at 

 one end, the E.W. component being meanwhile transferred to a temporary pier on 

 the basement floor. The two piers previously used in the Clarendon Basement had 

 been erected forty years ago for Prof. C. V. Boys's ' Cavendish Experiment,' and 

 had been kindly put at disposal during the years 1918-1928 by Prof. Lindemann. 

 On the occasion of their return to the regular use of the laboratory in October 1928 

 a small brass plate was mounted on the wall of the basement recording their uses 

 for the seismographs, and for the Cavendish Experiment, the history of which was 

 recounted by Mr. C. V. Boys on November 23 to an appreciative audience. In the 

 course of his lecture he recalled that his observations had on one occasion been inter- 

 rupted by the occurrence of an earthquake, viz., that in Roumania on 1893 September 

 lOd. 3h.45m. 



An earthquake with date 1928 April 22d. 20h. 13m. 50s., which partly destroyed 

 the city of Corinth, was mentioned in the last report. The position of Corinth is 

 37°-9 N., 22°-9 E. ; that of the epicentre (according to readings received from Helwan, 

 San Fernando, Toledo, Tortosa, Paris and Vienna) is not far from 40''-0 N... 23°-0 E. 

 By the kindness of the hydrographer an interesting note has been received of a 

 disturbance of the magnetic compass on H.M.S. Argus in 33°38' N., 24°4' E., sailing 

 on an easterly course (286° true or N71° W. standard). 



Great care was clearly taken to relate the observed disturbance of 5° to the 

 magnetic compasses rather than to the gyrocompasses, but one point is still in doubt, 

 viz., whether the disturbance occurred at the time of the earthquake or (perhaps by 

 some confusion with local time) two hours previously. Even in the latter case it 

 may have been related to the earthquake. Prof. S. Chapman is investigating the 

 matter from a magnetic point of view. Whatever may be the final outcome of this 

 particular incident, it calls attention to the fact that, in the existence side by side 



