176 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
GENERAL NOTES. 
—— 
EARTHQUAKE DISTURBANCES IN NORTH CANTERBURY.— 
We are indebted to Mr. J. D. Enys for some interesting in- 
formation respecting the results of the earthquake of December 
5th, 1881, as recorded from three different localities in the 
Canterbury provincial district. 
The first instance was recorded by Mr. Carson, manager of 
the Grasmere Station, near the Cass river. About two hours 
after the earthquake shock (10.30 a.m.) he noticed, in passing a 
small lake called Lake Sarah, that at a distance of about two or 
three chains from the bank, mounds of water were thrown up to’ 
a height of 4 to 5 feet. Two hours later they were still in 
action. The lake is situated at the foot of a sugar-loaf hill of 
considerable height, and is placed at an elevation of two or 
three hundred feet above the Waimakariri. The formation in 
which it occurs is said to be an ancient one, but nothing more 
definite is stated. Mr. Enys communicated his information 
about this remarkable disturbance to the Philosophical Institute 
of Canterbury, in a paper read at its February meeting. 
The second instance is from Banks Peninsula, on the south- 
western slopes of Mount Herbert, over Little River.. Here, a 
few days after the earthquake, a mound of eartk vas thrown up, 
and steam issued for some time. The clay ana soil also in the 
mound were found to be burnt. 
Lastly, at a place called the Ram paddock, situated near 
Oxford, and about ten miles north of Waimakariri river, some 
springs several feet in depth were completely dried up. At the 
same time a new spring, described as possessing a smell which 
makes the immediate locality unapproachable, has broken out. 
The whole country in the neighbourhood of the Ram paddock 
is also said to be continually on the move. 
At Castle Hill, the chimneys were destroyed, and articles on 
shelves running east and west, and facing to the north, were 
thrown inwards into the rooms. 
THE USE OF LIGNITE IN THE BLAST FURNACE.—We are 
indebted to the courtesy of the Editor of “ Nature” for a copy 
of the paper on the above subject, by Prof. von Tiinner. The 
article is one which has a practical interest to us in New 
Zealand, where lignite is abundant, and no apology to our 
readers is needed for its insertion in these columns. 
FERNS.—We omitted to notice in our last issue that Mr. H. 
C. Field, of Wanganui, will be glad to name any collections of 
ferns entrusted to him for that purpose. We come across so 
many misnamed specimens among the ordinary fern-collectors’ 
sets, that it is as well to know those persons who are able to 
name correctly. 
