24 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 496. 



Tifovemher 11. — A needle, 15 m. in height, which 

 existed on the western part of the summit of the 

 dome, has disappeared. 



Novemher 15. — The dome has suffered rather ex- 

 tensive changes. 



November 16. — The summit of the dome has 

 undergone additional modifications. 



'Novemher 22. — At 8:30 a.m. an outburst de- 

 stroyed a noteworthy portion of the dome. 



'November 21. — Loss of 3 m. in altitude. 



'November 29. — Additional modifications of the 

 dome reported. 



December 2. — The dome has suffered important 

 changes and has lost through outbursts 10 m. of 

 altitude. 



December 10. — A large mass was blown off 

 from the eastern side of the dome. 



December 11. — Loss of 8 m. in altitude. 



December 13. — Additional changes on the east- 

 ern side. 



December 11. — Certain changes of form. 



December 21. — Slight modifications noted. 



December 31. — Loss of 3 m. since the 26th. 



January S, 1904- — Tlie dome has undergone 

 many changes. The remains of the ancient spine rise 

 rather rapidly while the other parts of the dome, 

 which seem stationary, are reduced by almost 

 continual avalanches. 



January 1. — A part of the dome has risen 3 m. 

 since the 2d. 



January 8. — Else of 3 m. 



January 12. — Slight modifications without 

 change of altitude. 



February 3. — Slight modifications. 



February 25. — ^Modifications of form without 

 change of altitude. 



February 28. — A large mass fell. 



March 6. — ^Loss of 3 m. in altitude since Jan- 

 uary 25. The southern portion of the dome is re- 

 ported partly destroyed. 



March 13. — The altitude of the dome is re- 

 ported stationary. 



March 11. — Sensible modifications noted. 



March 21. — Gain of 3 m. since the 18th. 



March 29. — Some modifications of form with- 

 out change of altitude. 



April 3. — Rise ef 3 m. since March 27. 



April 15. — The summit of the dome has risen 

 about 5 m. since April 3. 



April 20. — ^Rise of 3 m. noted. 



April 25. — The summit of the dome has risen 

 about 5 m. since April 20. 



May 6. — Slight loss of altitude. 



May 10. — Rise of 5 m. since April 25. 



May 20. — Gain of about 5 m. since May 10. 



Summarizing the foregoing notes, there was 

 a continual loss of altitude of the dome from 

 October 19 to December 31 inclusive, with the 

 exception of three days in November when 

 the dome rose 4 m. The net loss of altitude 

 in this period appears to have been about 28 

 m. The daily bulletins are unsatisfactory in 

 that ' modifications ' are noted from time to 

 time without any statement as to their char- 

 acter. 



On January 3, Professor Giraud reports the 

 important fact that the remains of the great 

 obelisk which towered above the volcano in 

 the early part of 1903, were again rising with 

 reference to the remainder of the new cone. 

 The daily reports from that time on say 

 nothing further, however, with regard to the 

 spine. A period of elevation set in with the 

 beginning of January, 1904, with a rise of 6 

 m. during the first eight days of the year. 

 Then for eleven weeks, the altitude remained 

 stationary, except for a loss of 3 m. during 

 the first week in March. "With the 27th of 

 March, the rise seems to have become nearly 

 continuous and amounted to 29 m. in eight 

 weeks (to May 20), giving a net gain of 32 m. 

 since January first. 



Whether this applies to the summit of the 

 new spine which was reported rising early in 

 January or not, the losses which took place in 

 the altitude of the mountain during the last 

 months of 1903 were regained during the first 

 five months of the present year. 



The activity of the volcano, which was so 

 great during September, 1903, as to seem to 

 threaten a first-class eruption, gradually di- 

 minished during the last quarter of the year, 

 and there have been apparently few note- 

 worthy outbursts to chronicle during the past 

 four or five months. Few days, however, 

 pass without clouds of steam rising from the 

 crater, accompanied from time to time by 

 dust-flows down the gorge to the Eiviere 

 Blanche to the southwest or across the basin 

 of the Lac des Palmistes to the east. 



Edmund Otis Hovey. 

 Ameeican Museum of Natural Histokt, 

 New York, June 11, 1904. 



