2 REPORT—1858. 
periodically to a central bureau for discussion. What has been done for 
astronomy and for terrestrial magnetism, is beginning to be done for meteor- 
ology, and through the suggestive labours of Maury, Bache, and others, 
for maritime discovery, ought to be done now for seismology, whose chief 
requirements could be readily added to those already supposed to be system- 
atized from Lieut. Maury’s proposals, as well as to those long in course in 
the astronomical, magnetic, and meteorological observatories of the world. 
The spread of the net of telegraphic wires rapidly over the whole earth offers 
facilities for the observation of earthquake phenomena, in which time always 
enters as so important an element, never before possessed. We shall revert 
to this in treating of seismometry. 
Before proceeding to the discussion of the British Association Catalogue, 
I propose giving some account, in a connected form, of the discussions by 
Professor Perrey, of his own local or partial catalogues, and of the conclusions 
he has thence drawn; as well as referring to some minor catalogues, more 
or less completely discussed by their authors: amongst the latter, Mr. Milne’s 
valuable contributions escaped my notice when preparing my first report. 
Perrey’s labours in generalizing (as far, perhaps, as can from the data be 
safely done) the facts of several great seismic kingdoms, and announcing 
their results, form a valuable prelude to the still larger base of generalization 
finally here discussed, and extending to the whole known globe. The dis- 
cussed catalogue memoirs of Perrey, to which I have had access, apply to 
the following localities :— 
In the European Hemisphere— 
The Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland. 
The British Islands. 
The Spanish Peninsula. 
France, Belgium, and Holland. 
The Basin of the Rhone, 
The Basin of the Rhine. 
The Basin of the Danube. 
The Italian Peninsula. 
Algeria and Northern Africa. 
The Turco-Hellenic Peninsula, with Syria. 
And in the American Hemisphere— 
The Basin of the Atlantic. 
Canada and the United States. 
Mexico and Central America. 
The Antilles. 
Chili and La Plata. 
Cuba, by M. Poey. 
' In addition to which, Perrey has combined and discussed together— 
Europe, with the adjacent regions of Africa and of Asia. 
The North of Europe and of Asia— 
viewing the three continents in the light of two parallel Austral and Boreal 
zones, 
The general method adopted by Perrey has been, after an introductory 
physico-geographical sketch of the region, and the catalogue itself of earth- 
quakes, to discuss them numerically and graphically. 
By centuries 
ine a rg and 
~ * ty vears .', 
relatively Seasons, months, 
days. 
