872 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 
zenith, and lasting beyond twilight. After the 11th August a blue sun was 
seen at the Bermudas, and on the 15th at Mobile. In October at Washing- 
ton, and at Alexandria in Virginia, there was a red sun-glow, and at mid- 
day the sun was silver white. Again, Dr. Taylor (in his Australasian notes) 
quotes Col. Stuart- Wortley to the effect that he has seen similar skies in 
the Pacific, caused by the volcanic eruptions of South America: and Ed. 
Whymper, on the slope of Chimborazo, 8rd July, 1880, saw an eruption of 
Cotopaxi, 65 miles away, which produced not only a blood-red sky, changing 
to verdigris green and the colours of brick dust, copper, 4nd shining brass, 
but also a veritable green sun. 
.. The fact which I wish to bring out by all this evidence is that somehow 
or other by the discharge of smoke, dust vapour, or gas—i.e., matter in one 
of its three leading forms—from voleanic rents, the colours in the sky and 
of the heavenly bodies have been and can be for a period of time, short or 
long, very considerably changed. Here, therefore, we have an additional 
reason besides that of sequence in point of time, for associating the late 
manifestations with the outbreak at Krakatoa, and the very exceptional 
‘violence and extent of the operation of that eruption enables us to-see why 
the sun-glows recently have been so remarkable and brilliant, and of 
such long continuance. 
But that is not all. The year 1883 was as a whole wonderful in its 
voleanie activity. "The old fiery life is still throbbing in the earth's veins, 
and as the Times recently remarked in a leading article, the lava catastrophe 
clearly shows that our little world is not near its latter end yet. I find that 
from March of last year almost up to the present time there has been a 
series of earthquakes and eruptions such as mankind has probably never 
before experienced in historie times, within a similarly brief period. By 
the mieroseismometer, earth-tremors of the faintest character are duly re- 
eorded ; and this delicate instrument reveals the fact that for some time, 
partieularly in certain parts of the world, earth-tremors have been more than 
usually continuous. I would ask you to earefully note the following list of 
the eruptions and earthquakes during the period indicated. I have com- 
piled it up to Christmas last from a journalistic summary of the events of 
the year :— 
22nd March. Earthquakes in Sicily, eruption of Etna. 
26th March. Eruption of Hecla. 
12th April. Earthquakes in Tasmania begin, and last through year. 
20th May. First eruption of Krakatoa. 
22nd July. Earthquake in Ischia (6,000 killed ; felt even so far as 
Wiesbaden). 
25th August. Great eruption of Krakatoa, 
