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quakes.  Professor  Jaggar  has,  for  some  time  past,  been  investi- 
gating and  considering  this  subject.  He  has  visited  the  scenes 
of  the  volcano  and  earthquake  disturbances  in  Martinique,  Italv, 
St.  Vincent  and  Alaska.  In  April,  1909,  he  visited  the  volcano 
of  Kilauea,  and  then  went  to  Japan  where  he  visited  the  volcanoes 
Tarumai  and  Asama  in  eruption,  and  also  studied  the  remarkable 
stations  and  instruments  of  the  Imperial  Earthquake  Investigation 
Committee  of  Japan. 
KILAUEA  IS  PREFERRED. 
After  mature  deliberation  Professor  Jaggar  is  of  the  unqualified 
opinion  that  Kilauea  affords  the  best  point  for  the  location  of  the 
proposed  observatory  among  those  places  in  the  world  which  have 
come  to  his  knowledge,  for  the  following  reasons : 
1.  At  other  volcanoes  the  eruptions  are  more  explosive  and  an 
observatory  located  close  enough  to  the  center  of  activity  is  in 
some  danger.  Kilauea,  while  displaying  great  and  varied  activity, 
is  relatively  safe. 
2.  Other  volcanoes  are  more  or  less  connected  in  chains,  mak- 
ing many  stations  necessary  in  order  to  determine  the  relations  of 
the  different  craters  to  each  other.  Kilauea  and  Mauna  Loa  form 
an  isolated  center  of  activity,  over  2000  miles  from  the  nearest 
active  vent,  so  that  the  phenomena  of  these  two  vents  can  be  re- 
corded without  complications  occasioned  by  other  nearby  centers. 
3.  Kilauea  is  very  accessible.  The  nearby  harbor  at  Hilo  is 
only  thirty-one  miles  distant : it  may  be  reached  by  railroad  and  a 
good  driveway,  and  Honolulu,  a center  of  traffic  and  science,  is 
easily  reached  in  a day. 
4.  The  Central  Pacific  position  is  unique,  and  is  of  advantage 
for  recording  distant  earthquakes  through  the  uninterrupted  sea- 
floor which  lies  between  Hawaii  and  many  earthquake  places,  such 
as  South  America,  Mexico  and  Japan.  For  expeditions  in  case  of 
disaster  or  otherwise,  a relatively  short  route  is  assured,  with 
abundant  means  of  transportation  to  Pacific  and  East  Indian  ports. 
For  the  study  of  the  deep-sea  floor,  Hawaii  is  obviously  favorable. 
5.  The  climate  is  uniform  and  the  air  clear  for  astronomical 
work. 
6.  There  are  frequent  small  earthquakes,  which  are  of  grea/ 
interest  for  technical  reasons. 
7.  The  remarkable  distribution  of  both  hot  and  cold  under- 
ground waters  in  Hawaii  needs  careful  study,  and  this  has  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  agriculture  as  well  as  upon  science. 
8.  The  territory  is  American,  and  these  volcanoes  are  famous 
in  the  history  of  science  for  their  remarkably  liquid  lavas  and 
nearlv  continuous  activitv. 
