CHAPTER XVIII. 



PREDICTION OF EARTHQUAKES. 



General nature of predictions — Prediction by the observation of un- 

 usual phenomena (alteration in the appearance and taste of springs ; 

 underground noises ; preliminary tremors ; earthquake prophets 

 • — warnings furnished by animals, &c.) — Earthquake warning. 



General nature of ^predictions. — Ever since seismology 

 has been studied, one of the chief aims of its students has 

 been to discover some means which would enable them to 

 foretell the coming of an earthquake, and the attempts 

 which have been made by workers in various countries to 

 correlate these occurrences with other well-marked pheno- 

 mena may be regarded as attempts in this direction. 



Ability to herald the approach of these calamities 

 would unquestionably be an inestimable boon to all who 

 dwell in earthquake-shaken countries, and the attempts 

 which have been made both here and in other places are 

 extremely praiseworthy. In almost all countries where 

 earthquakes are of common occurrence these movements 

 of the earth have been more or less connected with 

 certain phenomena which, in the popular mind, are 

 supposed to be associated with an approach of an 

 earthquake. 



If predictions were given in general terms, and they 

 only referred to time, inasmuch as on the average there 

 are in the world several shakings per day, w^e should 



