April I St, 1887.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



43 



three days previously. This brings us to another theory, viz : 

 — that the particular times of earthquakes are determined by 

 the position of the heavenly bodies, especially of the sun 

 and moon. If we assume, with certain geologists and physi- 

 cists, that the interior of the earth is in a fluid state, resem- 

 bling lava, we can readily conceive that the movements of 

 the heavenly bodies would occasion in this molten mass a 

 kind of tides. Were the sun and moon alone concerned, the 

 phenomena of earthquakes would be repeated at regular in- 

 tervals. An eminent French physicist has maintained, how- 

 ever, that the gravitation of the superior planets — especially 

 Jupiter and Saturn — comes also into play. The case must 

 thus be greatly complicated, and a long time must elapse 

 before the theory can be established, or refuted, by actual 

 observation. 



Let us here remark that if we go on the other hypo- 

 thesis, of the solidity of the earth's interior, as held, 

 e.g., by Sir W. Thomson and Professor G. Darwin, the 

 gravitative action of the heavenly bodies is by no means 

 excluded. 



Another theory, which seeks for the exciting cause of 

 earthquakes outside our own globe, is that of the sun-spot 

 cj'cle. Every eleven j'ears or thereabouts the spots on the 

 sun's disc pass from a maximum to a minimum, and not a 

 few authorities hold that this cycle maj' be traced out in 

 the character of the weather, in the abundance or scarcity 

 of the crops, in the appearance of flights of locusts, in 

 public health, in commercial crises, and even in wars and 

 political agitations. Hence its application to earthquakes 

 is not surprising. It cannot, however, be readily made to 

 tally with recorded facts. The number of earthquakes 

 is found to be far greater than was formerly suspected, no 

 fewer than 104 having been recorded in the year 1876. 

 From 18S1 to the present date no year has passed unmarked 

 by at any rate one earthquake of considerable extent and 

 intensity. We do not see how this annual recurrence is to 

 be reconciled with an eleven years' cycle. 



The favourite theory at present is that of the progressive 

 cooling and consequent shrinkage of the earth's crust. That 

 such a process of refrigeration is at work cannot be doubted, 

 and that when acting upon bodies of different conducting 

 powers, such as the strata of the earth, it must produce 

 unequal contractions is also fairly certain. Lateral shocks, 

 the opening of chinks and fissures, and movements of trans- 

 lation may thus be satisfactorily explained. Nor need we, 

 if we accept this theorj', wonder why earthquakes should 

 occur in some regions of our globe more than in others. 

 But whether it can, without overstraining, account for all the 

 phenomena of earthquakes, especially those of an eruptive 

 and projective character, may well be questioned. 



We conceive, in short, that under the common name of 

 earthquake there are included phenomena, alike in their 

 destructive action upon life and property, but different in 

 their origins. Some, it will probably be found, are due to 

 refrigeration and shrinkage ; some, like that of Martinique, 

 to electric action ; some, such as at Krakatoa, to the infiltra- 

 tion of water : and some, perhaps, to a gradual dissolving 

 out of soluble matter in certain strata, thus approximating 

 the result to a landslip. 



This subject has a very practical side. In Granada, as 

 in Charleston, it has been remarked that upon certain strata 

 the ruin was much greater than upon others. It lies within 

 human power to determine what localities are the most 

 dangerous and which are comparatively safe. 



Further, the Japanese have for ages built their dwellings 

 of light wood, so that, in case of an overthrow, the loss is 

 trifling and the danger is minimized. Europeans and their 

 descendants have in the meantime gone on erecting in the 

 earthquake districts ponderous dweUings, palaces, and 



churches of massive stone-work, and have again and again 

 been crushed by their own handiwork. 



Lastly, an earthquake-country can prosper only by agri- 

 culture. If it enters upon a manufacturing career, any day 

 may see its total ruin. What would be the issue of a single 

 first-rate earthquake in England ? 



THE PATENT OFFICE. 



THE report of the committee appointed by the Board of 

 Trade to inquire into "The Duties, Organisation, and 

 Arrangements of the Patent Office under the Patents, Designs, 

 and Trade Marks Act, 1883, having special regard to the 

 system of examination of the specifications which accom- 

 pany applications for patents, now m force under that Act," is 

 now issued, and will be perused with interest by the large 

 body of persons who are connected with, or take a special 

 interest in, the working of the patent laws in Eng- 

 land. The Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act of 1883 

 made no alteration in the fundamental laws ruling the grant 

 of letters patent, but only in the procedure and routine to 

 be adopted in the examination of the specifications and the 

 granting of the patent. It is clearly of the greatest impor- 

 tance that such procedure and routine shall be of the simplest, 

 most effective, and least costly description, and this report 

 of the committee gives some useful and instructive informa- 

 tion on this point. 



The committee was first appointed on December 30th, 

 1885, and reconstituted on March 3rd, 1886. It consisted, 

 from the latter date, of Lord Herschell (then Lord Chan- 

 cellor), the Earl of Crawford, Baron Henry de Worms, M. P., 

 Sir Bernhard Samuelson, M.P., Sir Richard Webster, O.C, 

 M.P., and Mr. C. T. D. Acland, M.P. It was therefore about 

 as strong a committee as could have been got together for 

 the purpose, and as the members have been engaged in the 

 interval in taking evidence and preparing this report, it may 

 be considered to represent their full and matured opinions. 



The committee appear to have devoted almost the whole 

 of their attention to the question of examination of applica- 

 tions, which constitutes one of the great changes introduced 

 by the Act, and the one about which there has been most 

 complaint and difference of opinion. Their recommendation 

 upon this subject is : " That sub-sections 5 and 6, of section 

 7, and the corresponding provision in section 2, should be 

 repealed." These two sub-sections refer to the examiner 

 reporting to the comptroller when he finds that any parti- 

 cular specification passing through the office comprises the 

 same invention as some other specification also passing 

 through the office at the same time, and to the comp- 

 troller giving notice to both applicants that their speci- 

 fications interfere with each other. The reference to this in 

 section 2 is to the effect that such notice may be cited as one 

 of the grounds upon which a patent may be opposed. The 

 report states that this system has failed to effect its purpose, 

 and that the cost of carrying it out has been from ^3,000 

 to ^4,000 a year. 



We are hardly disposed to form so low an estimate as the 

 committee do of the success of this system. Our experience 

 would lead us to conclude that when the notice has been 

 unsatisfactory or incorrect, the applicants have generally 

 ignored it altogether. On the other hand, when it has been 

 well founded, some sensible working arrangement has usually 

 been made between the parties interested. In cases where 

 opposition has resulted, it has generally ended in the offending 

 parts of the specification of more recent date being struck 

 out. This is a course naturally involving far smaller ex- 

 pense to the parties than would have been the case had the 

 patent been completed and legal proceedings been taken. 



Those evils which have been complained of really arise, 



