226 



SCIEJSrCJE. 



[Vol. Vin., No. 188 



interest from any points within the disturbed area, 

 and especially from points near its limits ; that is, 

 southern Florida ; central Mississippi, Arkansas, 

 Missouri, and Iowa ; south-eastern Minnesota and 

 Wisconsin ; central Michigan : southern portion 

 of the province of Ontario ; northern New York ; 

 southern Vermont and New Hampshire ; and 

 eastern Massachusetts ; also from the western 

 part of the Atlantic and northern part of the 

 Gulf. 



2. At what hour, minute, and second of standard 

 time was it felt ? When this can be accurately 

 given, it is of the very greatest importance. Be 

 particularly careful to state whether it is standard 

 (railway) time or local time ; whether the watch 

 or clock was compared with some standard clock 

 at a railway-station or elsewhere, how soon, what 

 the error was, and whether you corrected your 

 observation by this comparison or not. 



3. How long did its perceptible motion con- 

 tinue? 



4. Was it accompanied by any unusual noise ? 

 If so, describe it. 



5. Was there more than one shock felt? If so, 

 how many? Where several were felt, give accu- 

 rately, or even roughly, the number, duration, and 

 character of each, and the interval between them. 



6. Which of the following measures of intensity 

 would best describe what hapj)ened in your vicin- 

 ity? — No. 1. Very light; noticed by a few per- 

 sons ; not generally felt. No. 2. Light ; felt by 

 the majority of persons ; rattling of windows and 

 crockery. No. 3. Moderate ; sufficient to set sus- 

 pended objects, chandeliers, etc., swinging, or to 

 overthrow light objects. No. 4. Strong ; sufficient 

 to crack the plaster in houses or to throw down 

 some bricks from chimneys. No. 5. Severe ; over- 

 throwing chimneys, and injuring the walls of 

 houses. 



7. Do you know of any other cause for what 

 happened than an earthquake? Give also any 

 further particulars of interest, stating whether they 

 are from observation or hearsay : for instance, 

 whether the shock seemed like a tremor or jar, or 

 an undulatory movement ; and whether it seemed 

 to come horizontally or vertically ; whether any 

 idea of direction of shock was formed, and if peo- 

 ple agreed in their idea as to such direction. Men- 

 tion any unusual condition of the atmosphere ; any 

 strange effects on animals (it is often said that 

 they will feel the first tremors of a shock some 

 time before people notice it at all) ; character of 

 damage to buildings ; general direction in which 

 walls, chimneys, etc., were overthrown. Springs, 

 rivers, and wells are often noticeably affected by 

 even slight shocks, and such facts are especially 

 interesting. If a clock was stepped, give the time it 



in dicated, and some idea as to how fast or how slow 

 it was, its position, the direction in which it was 

 standing or facing, and the approximate weight 

 and length of the pendulum. If a chandelier was 

 noticed to swing decidedly, describe it and state 

 direction of swing. If pictures swung, state di- 

 rection of wall, and whether pictures on the wall 

 at right angles to it were also put in motion. If 

 doors were closed or opened, state the direction of 

 the wall in which they were set. All such little 

 facts, if only noticed, remembered, and recorded, 

 are of great value. 



At end of letter give name of the observer, if 

 other than the writer. A moment's thought will 

 show the impossibility of an immediate acknowl- 

 edgment of every letter received, although each 

 one will have its share in contributing to the 

 value of the result, as it finally appears in the 

 public press and the official publications of the 

 survey. 



Address simply, Division of volcanic geology, 

 U. S. geological survey, Washington, D.C. 



Eyeeett Hayden, Assistant Geologist. 



THE FRENCH ASSOCIATION FOR THE 

 ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



The French association for the advancement of 

 science held its fifteenth annual meeting in Nancy, 

 the 12th of August and the week following. 

 Nancy, one of the frontier towns, near the German 

 limit, is a very handsome and pleasant city. It is 

 very prettily built, and contains old monuments of 

 a striking effect. It is also a scientific and literary 

 town, and many able savants or writers hold a 

 position in the university. The meeting was a very 

 successful one, in that a large number of members 

 were present, and the papers submitted were 

 numerous and satisfactory. The president was 

 M. Friedel, the well-known chemist, the successor 

 of Wiirtz in the Sorbonne, and one of his best and 

 most affectionate pupils. In his address to the 

 meeting the first day, he made it known that the 

 Association scientifique, founded by Leverrier, is 

 to be soon combined with the French association 

 under the name of the latter. The greater part of 

 M. Friedel's address was concerning recent prog- 

 ress in chemistry and mineralogy. After having 

 recalled M. Moissan's successful experiment, by 

 which fluor has been isolated for the first time, 

 and M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran's interesting re- 

 searches concerning two new metals, he spoke at 

 length on the artificial synthesis of different com^ 

 pounds, such as those of felspars and some precious 

 stones. After M. Friedel's address, M. Collignon, 

 the secretary-general, briefly recalled the principal 

 points of the association's history for the past 



