916 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol,. XV. No. 



fined sunspot minimum I was led to inquire 

 whether similar coincidences were to be traced 

 in the past. I did not know then, but I know 

 now, that Wolf, exactly half a century ago, 

 had suggested a connection between solar and 

 seismic activity; in his time, however, the 

 record of solar changes was short and imper- 

 fect. 



In my own inquiry I have used our most 

 recently compiled tables, which are now com- 

 plete for the last 70 years, and I have only con- 

 sidered seismic disturbances within that 

 period. I find beyond question that the most 

 disastrous volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, 

 generally occur, like the rain pulses in India, 

 round the dates of the sunspot maximum and 

 minimum. More than this, the 35-year solar 

 period established by Dr. Lockyer, which cor- 

 responds approximately with Bruckner's me- 

 teorological cycle, can also be obviously traced, 

 so that, indeed, the intensification of the phe- 

 nomena at the minimum of 1867 is now being 

 repeated. 



In 1867, Mauna Loa, South America, For- 

 mosa, Vesuvius were among the regions involv- 

 ed; in the West Indies it was the turn of St. 

 Thomas. The many announcements of earth- 

 quakes in the present year before the catas- 

 trophe of St. Pierre will be in the recollection 

 of everybody. 



In the maximum in 1871-72, to name only 

 West Indian stations, Martinique first and 

 then St. Vincent followed suit; in the next 

 maximumj in 1883 came Krakatoa. 



At Tokio, in a country where the most per- 

 fect seismological observatories exist, we find 

 that at times near both sunspot maxima and 

 minima the greatest number of disturbances 

 have been recorded. 



Very fortunately, the magnificent work of 

 the Indian Meteorological Department enables 

 us to associate the solar changes with pressures 

 in the tropics, and obviously these pressures 

 have to be taken into account and carefully 

 studied. 



This, sir, brings me to the point of this let- 

 ter, which is, through your kindness, to ask 

 from meteorological observers in the West In- 

 dies and the surrounding regions the favor of 

 copies of their barometrical readings, showing 



the departures from the local means for the 

 two months preceding the eruption at St. 

 Pierre. In this way one or two years may be 

 saved in getting at the facts. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 



At the annual meeting of the American 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences, held on May 

 14, it was voted to award the 'Kumford 

 Premium' to Professor George Ellery Hale 

 of the Yerkes Observatory, 'for his investi- 

 gations in solar and stellar physics, and in 

 particular for the invention and perfection of 

 the spectro-heliograph.' It was also voted to 

 appropriate the sum of $750 from the in- 

 come of the Rumford Fund to be expended 

 for the construction of a mercurial compres- 

 sion pump designed by Professor Theodore 

 W. Richards and to be used in his research 

 on the Thomson-Joule effect. An appropria- 

 tion from the Rumford Fund was also made 

 to Professor Arthur A. Noyes in aid of his 

 research upon the effect of high temperatures 

 upon the electrical conductivity of aqueous 

 solutions. 



Dr. Angelo Heilpein, of Philadelphia, and 

 Mr. George Kennan are among those who are 

 engaged in studying the volcanic eruptions in 

 the Lesser Antilles. They, as well as Dr. R. 

 T. Hill, according to the reports in the daily 

 papers, have made a thorough examination of 

 the conditions in Martinique, having explored 

 that the Government will defray the expenses. 



The Paris Academy of Sciences will send a 

 scientific mission to investigate the volcanic 

 eruptions in the Lesser Antilles. The mission 

 will probably sail on June 9. It is understood 

 that the Government will defray the expense. 



An expedition to study the volcanic erup- 

 tions in the West Indies is also planned by 

 Great Britain under the auspices of the Royal 

 Society. It is expected that Dr. Tempest An- 

 derson and Dr. Flett, of the Geographical Sur- 

 vey, will be members of the party. 



A SCIENTIFIC Commission consisting of Dr. 

 G. 0. Low, Dr. 0. Christy and Dr. Castelani 

 has been sent to Uganda by the Royal Society 

 for the purpose of investigating sleeping sick- 

 ness. 



