328 New Theory concerning the [June, 
1759, 1783, 1787, 1805, 1809, 1832, 1845, 1868, 1876; and, 
as a rule, the eruptions from these and other burning 
mountains-— Hecla, for example— will be found to cluster 
about the opposite solar phases that tread quickly on one 
another’s heels, so that the cry of distress arising from the 
excessive summer rains still vibrates on the ear now winter 
has commenced to deluge the arable land. 
Some consider that the winter season, the equinoxes, or 
summer solstice, and the full and new moon influence these 
paroxysms of the mountains. Prof. Silvestri telegraphs to 
the “ Daily News ” correspondent concerning the recent 
eruption of Etna : — -“The coincidence with the full moon on 
March 23rd is again remarkable.” Mr. B. G. Jenkins, in a 
letter to the same newspaper a year or two ago, observes — 
“ If the movements of the lava in Vesuvius may be taken 
as an indication of what is going on in the interior of the 
earth, then the liquid fire within the globe must ebb and 
flow like the liquid ocean without, for the volcano, as your 
Naples correspondent has frequently observed, shows during 
its eruptions very many indications that the activity of the 
lava depends on the position of the moon.” Certain mem- 
bers of the British Association — the names of Darwin and 
of Sir William Thompson of the Glasgow University occur 
to mind — have worked on these assumptions, and endea- 
voured to deteCt the existence of lunar vibrations with deli- 
cate seismographs, undaunted by the witticismthat perchance 
they were keeping unconscious register of the local traffic. 
It must, however, be borne in mind that the statistics that 
originated this lunar theory were never unexceptional. Mr. 
Mallet, in introducing the subject to the notice of the Asso- 
ciation, in 1859, remarked — “ M. Alexis Perrey has thus 
succeeded, by the simple analysis of catalogues which he 
, had previously drawn up, in proving, by three different and 
independent methods, the influence which the moon pos- 
sesses in the produdtion of earthquakes : first, that earth- 
quakes occur more frequently at the Syzygies ; secondly, 
that their frequency increases at the perigee and diminishes 
at the apogee of the moon ; thirdly, that the shocks of 
earthquake are more frequent when the moon is near the 
meridian than when she is 90 degrees away from it.” But 
Mr. Mallet added — “ The numerical tables from which these 
three propositions are derived present some anomalies ; and 
the author has omitted nothing to endeavour to account for 
them, and to prove the law which is revealed at their first 
inspection.” 
Passing from the influence of the moon to the certain 
