pino farmers, who will rebuild many of 
the obliterated villages if allowed to do 
so. The inevitable result will be that 
sooner or later they or their descendants 
will be hurled into eternity, when the 
volcano again rouses from its sleep. 
How are such conditions to be met? 
Shall residence within the danger zone 
be prohibited? And what is the danger 
zone? No one can say with certainty. 
Stretching across Cavite province to and 
beyond Manila are thick deposits of vol- 
canic tuff believed to be composed of 
ejecta from the crater of a great volcano 
which once stood where Bombon Lake 
now lies. A new crater may form at any 
time along either of the fissure lines 
hereinbefore mentioned. 
After the recent eruption the waters 
of Bombon Lake flowed slowly into Taal 
through fissures in its walls, forming the 
present crater lake. Should a seismic 
shock crack the earth's surface at this 
weak point and allow these waters to 
reach the fires underneath, what would 
be the result? It is certainly well within 
the limits of possibility that the map of 
Batangas Province might be suddenly 
and materially altered, and that the peo- 
ple of New England might again be fa- 
vored with some of those wonderful red 
sunsets which followed the blowing up 
of Krakatoa. 
One cannot travel fast or far in a 
country buried in mud, but the waters of 
Bombon Lake can be navigated except 
when they are being swept by typhoons 
or by giant waves due to profound seis- 
mic disturbances. It is certain that re- 
lief can best reach most points on the 
lake shore by water, and in my opin- 
ion the Philippine insular government 
should therefore maintain there, and 
keep ready for instant use in case of 
emergency, suitable and adequate ecjuip- 
ment for water transportation. The es- 
tablishment on Volcano Island of a small 
and very strongly constructed observa- 
tory, properly equipped with a universal 
seismograph and with apparatus for 
studying subterranean sounds, would be 
a wise precaution. There should also be 
established on the neighboring mainland 
a larger and more complete station, 
where an observer would reside and be 
on duty except when visiting the station 
on the island, which he should do daily. 
The seismic disturbances which precede 
an eruption would then be noted and 
timely warning given. 
It would be a wise precaution to allow 
no one except scientific observers to re- 
side within the known danger zone. So 
far as concerns Volcano Island, the pro- 
hibition should be sweeping and abso- 
lute. 
From "In the Heart of Africa," by Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg (Cassell & Co.) 
ORNAMENTAL SCARRINGS WHICH ARE POPULAR IN GERMAN EAST AFRICA 
367 
