m 



The volcanic energy of our globe has certainly shown no 

 diminution during the past year, for it has not only been exercised on 

 a grand and devastating scale, but over an enormous area, the 

 earthquakes in Greece, America, and New Zealand being especially 

 marked with disastrous consequences. It would almost seem as 

 though earthquakes were becoming more and more frequent in 

 late years, although this appearance is no doubt partly due to 

 the ever-increasing number of scientific observers and to the 

 delicacy of the seismological instruments now used to record the 

 slightest tremor of the earth's crust. At present we take in this 

 country only a languid interest in foreign earthquakes, because we 

 lie out of the immediate tract of the recent volcanic disturbances ; 

 but we must not forget that the British Isles have been in former 

 ages the scene of tremendous convulsions of nature, and the shocks 

 recently felt in the Hebrides and in Norfolk remind us disagreeably 

 that our turn may possibly come again. It would fare badly with 

 London and most of our large towns if a shock of earthquake 

 occurred, the tall modern stuccoed mansions, built of bogus bricks, 

 rotten mortar, and flimsy joists would collapse like a pack of card 

 houses. Fortunately, however, London is built on a stratum of 

 clay or gravel, both of which are bad conductors of earth tremors. 



It really seems at last that the day may not be far distant when 

 people, instead of making the invariable comment on the present 

 state of the weather, may discuss the probabilities of the morrow 

 or the chances of storm or sunshine for the next week. There is 

 no doubt that meteorology is becoming year by year more a precise 

 science, and the numerous and complex laws which govern it better 

 understood. Mr. Eddy, of the American Signal Service, reports 

 that of 38 predictions issued in April to June, 1885, 18 proved 

 correct ; but during a similar period in 1886, 15 out of 19 storm 

 prognostications were absolutely true, while in the remaining four, 

 hailstorms and wind prevailed. 



Two of the urgent necessities of mankind are pure water and * 

 available heat. The teaching of last year leads us to the con- 

 clusion that both these essentials can be obtained in inexhaustible 

 quantities by scientifically " tapping " the supplies which exist 

 beneath the surface of the earth. The investigations of Mr. de 

 Ranee prove that the water-bearing strata of England absorb from 

 one to twelve inches of rain water annually, and that every inch is 

 equal to a supply of 40,000 gallons daily to every square mile. 

 This would give a daily underground flow of from 40,000 to 

 480,000 gallons to each square mile, more than sufficient for 

 all the wants of the population. To utilise this enormous supply 

 wells must be sunk in water-bearing strata only, and with scientific 

 precision. Underground water, being naturally filtered, is un- 



