Dr. C. Davison — British Earthquakes. 541 



gun-practice is occasionally carried out in the neighbourliood of 

 Orford Ness ; but my inquiries (made some time after the occurrence) 

 failed to establish the fact in this case. 



GJinrch Stretton : April 4, 1903, — A slight shock, lasting about 

 3 seconds, and strong enough to make bedroom-ware rattle, was felt 

 at about 2.30 a.m. A rumbling noise preceded the shock. (I am 

 indebted for this notice to Mr. E. S. Cobbold, F.G.S.) 



Ponteshury (near Shrewsbury): May 8, 1903. — A very slight 

 shock, without any rumbling noise, was felt at 10.20 p.m. at 

 Pontesbui'y, and also at Worthen, about 6 miles to the west. 

 (Information received from Rev. W. J. Lightfoot Harrison.) 



lUcIey : May 17, 1903.— At 4.50 a.m. Mr. H. Stuart Thompson 

 heard two apparently subterranean reports, like distant explosions, 

 which were immediately followed by a shaking of about 2 seconds' 

 duration. 



Saffron Waldeii : Nov. 1 and 6, 1903. — Under the heading of 

 " spurious earthquakes," reference is made to some supposed earth- 

 quakes that were caused by the explosion of fireworks on Nov. 1. 

 Mr. Guy Maynard, of the Museum, Saffron Walden, to whom I am 

 indebted for this information, has kindly given me the following- 

 notices of disturbances which were distinct from those caused by 

 the fireworks. On Nov. 1, at 7.10 p.m., three distinct series of 

 vibrations, each lasting about 5 seconds with intervals of 3 seconds 

 between them, were felt at Newport, 4 miles south-west of Saffron 

 Walden. No sound was heard with the vibrations. At about 

 8.45 p.m. Mr. Maynard, while walking a few miles from Walden, 

 heard a long drawn-out rumbling, with two maxima of intensity, 

 and lasting about half a minute. The rolling was too rapid and too 

 loud to be caused by a train. Again, on Nov. 6, at 12.10 a.m., the 

 Serjeant of police and constables on night duty at Walden heard 

 a heavy booming noise, lasting about half a minute, and causing the 

 pheasants in the preserved woods round the town to cry out for 

 about five minutes. This, or a similar noise, was also heard at the 

 same time at Stanstead (9 miles to the south of Saffron Walden), 

 with the same effect on the pheasants in the neighbourhood. 



Spurious Earthquakes. 



Channel Islands and South Devon : April 24, 1901. — Between 1 and 

 1.45 p.m. five reported earthquakes were observed in Guernsey, and 

 eight at Paignton in South Devon. The disturbance bore a close 

 resemblance to those produced by the firing of heavy guns at 

 a distance. They were of very short duration ; windows were 

 shaken, but there was no perceptible tremor of the ground. Ob- 

 servers in Guernsey compared the sounds to thunder or the firing 

 of very heavy guns ; but those on the English coast were, as a rule, 

 unconscious of any sound. Yet the impression of an observer at 

 Salcombe was that a cannon had been fired to the south, but " too 

 far away to bring the noise." Trials with heavy guns are said to 

 have been made along the coast of France on April 24. I have not 

 succeeded in ascertaining the place or the hour of the firing ; but 



