1854.] 



SYSTEM OF SIMULTANEOUS METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



241 



buildings. Pompeii was situated at the mouth of the Sarnus ; 

 and most of the streets which have been uncovered, ran down to 

 the edge of the sea westward from the entrance of the river. But 

 the accumulations of volcanic substances have thrust oft* both the 

 river and the sea — the former half a mile, the latter two miles, 

 from their ancient places. Up every street, as you look towards 

 the north-west, Vesuvius closes the vista — still showing, by his 

 ever restless column of steam, how capable he is of again rousing 

 up his destructive energies. About two-thirds of the city still 

 remain unexcavated. Where the excavations cease, you can ap- 

 proach and examine the perpendicular sections of the whole mass 

 of accumulated material. You observe immediately that numerous 

 showers of volcanic matter have descended since A.D. 79. 



Near the Amphitheatre, the different strata with their thick- 

 nesses may be traced as follows, beginning with the surface : — (1) 

 Black sparkling sand (recent), 3 inches; (2) Vegetable mould, 3 

 feet; (3) Brown incoherent tuft* 1 foot 6 inches; (4) Small scoriae 

 and white lapilli, 3 inches; (5) Brown earthy tuff, 9 inches; (6) 

 Brown earthy tuff, with lapilli, 4 feet; (7) Layerof whitish lapilli, . 

 1 inch ; (8) Grey solid tuff, 3 inches ; (9) Pumice and white 

 lapilli, 3 inches: — in all, 10 feet 4 inches (Lyell). Another ob- 

 servation, where the thickness is 20 feet, gives the arrangement of 

 the strata as follows, beginning from below: — Separating the 

 whole into five parts — the first three consist of pumice-stone in 

 small pieces, resembling a light white cinder, and covering the 

 pavement to the depth of 1 2 feet: the next portion, composed of 

 six parts, begins with a stratum of small black stones, 3 inches in 

 thickness ; to this succeeds a thin layer of dry mud ; upon this 

 lies another stratum of little stones, of a mixed hue, in which blue 

 predominates; then comes a second stratum of mud, separated 

 from a third by a thin wavy line of mixed blue stones : this com- 

 pletes the fourth portion ; while the fifth or highest division con- 

 sists entirely of vegetable earth or decomposed volcanic matter 

 (Gell). In the neighbourhood of Pompeii you see large fields of 

 the cotton-plant, which about here reaches its northern limit in 

 Europe. On leaving the inn near the ruined city, I was taken 

 by surprise by being presented with a bouquet of bursting cotton- 

 pods and flowers, accompanied by a salute upon the hand — the 

 graceful offerings of a handsome peasant to whom during the day 

 I had given a few baiocchi for some little service rendered. 



Herculaneum is situated nine English miles to the westward 

 of Pompeii. It was overwhelmed, as is well known, with mate- 

 rial more solid than that which came down upon the latter city. 

 And sheets of fluid have flowed over its site since its first obli- 

 teration. So that now the excavations have to be made as in a 

 quarry of solid rock, to a depth varying from 70 to 112 feet. 

 Care is taken, when any additional building has been opened and 

 searched, to throw back the material into its former place — lest 

 the superincumbent mass, on which the present town of Resina 

 is built, should break through. Consequently, the parts which 

 you are enabled to examine are limited. With the aid of torches, 

 the shape and dimensions of the theatre — capable of accommo- 

 dating 8,000 persons — can be well made out, where it is a curious 

 thing to see the capitals of pillars embedded, like ammonites or 

 portions of the mastodon, in almost solid rock. From Hercu- 

 laneum have been derived some of the most interesting of the 

 objects in the Museo Borbonico in Naples. In a villa here were 

 found the striking statues of JEschines and Agrippina, authentic 

 busts of Plato, Socrates, Demosthenes, Scipio Africanus, Seneca, 

 and others, with beautiful bronzes — some of them made to look 

 life-like by the insertion of glass eyes. But its most interesting 

 relics are the papyri-rolls, resembling brown charred sticks, two 

 inches in diameter, and from six to eight inches long. Some of 



them — displayed now under convenient glass-cases — have been 

 successfully unrolled and decyphered. But the regretted de- 

 cades of Livy and History ot Sallust are desiderata still. No 

 works of importance have been discovered, with the exception, 

 perhaps, of a treatise by Epicurus, entitled "Be Natura." 



Stabise, overwhelmed also in A.D. 79, and situated under a 

 portion of the modern town of Castellamare, four English miles 

 eastwards from Pompeii, has ceased to be examined. Having 

 been reduced to ruins by Sulla in the course of the Marsic war, 

 B.C. 91, it is not supposed to be so rich in relics as the two 

 towns which have been excavated. Oplontis, a small Roman 

 village, overwhelmed with its more distinguished neighbours, 

 was cut into during the construction of the Western Railway 

 from Naples, about two miles eastward from Herculaneum ; a 

 few mosaics and sculptured animals were found. 



( To he continued.') 



On the Establishment of a System of Simultaneous Meteoro- 

 logical Observations; &c 9 throughout the British 

 Korth American Provinces. 



By Major R. Lachlan of Montreal. Read before the Canadian Institute, 

 March 18th, 1854. 



Conceiving it to be the duty of every well-wishing member 

 of the Canadian Institute, whether residing in Toronto or at a 

 distance, to take every available opportunity to contribute his 

 mite, however humble it may be, to its literary and scientific 

 treasury, I offer no apology for venturing to draw its attention 

 towards two highly interesting philosophical objects which I have 

 long had at heart, and which, if zealously undertaken and per- 

 severingly carried out, would not only be most creditable to the 

 Institute, as valuable contributions to the advancement of 

 science, but even prove very beneficial to our rapidly improving 

 country. 



I allude, in the first place, to the institution of a well organized 

 chain of daily simultaneous meteorological observations, at a 

 number of well selected stations all over Canada, with Toronto 

 for its centre, to be connected with a similar arrangement to be 

 invited to be set on foot in each of the Lower Provinces, and so 

 conducted as to be readily united with the extended system of 

 Meteorological Registers already in operation in the United 

 States, under the fostering auspices of the Government and the 

 various philosophical associations of that country. I advert, in 

 the second place, to the establishment of a similarly simultane- 

 ous record of the rise and fall of the great Canadian Lakes, 

 throughout their whole extent.* Of which more hereafter. 



Having so far hinted at the mere outline of the undertaking 

 .contemplated by me, I may perhaps be permitted, though at the 

 risk of prolixity, to advert by way of further preliminary, to the 

 simple and inexpensive means by which I had originally pro- 

 posed to accomplish my objects, while I at the same time frankly 

 acknowledge these to fall short of the scientific standard to 

 which we may now reasonably aspire, with the Provincial Mag- 

 netic Observatory and the Canadian Institute for our guides. 



I proceed, then, to observe that it is more than ten years since 

 I first ventured to propose to Dr. Cragie of Hamilton, a well 

 known excellent meteorological observer and recorder, whose 

 name I rejoice to see lately enrolled as a member of the Insti- 



* See Notes appended to the annexed Tables, No. 2. 



