The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1884-09-10

that II me- could irora al,oyc the surface ci
the earth, lcwcr spring balance with, say
= ten pound wight GA il. At Just the W
lccity which falling kNly acquires, the
index would show Al rere, in other Wor,is
Nc rclicNe tho spring ~ the wight A
rapidly moving lava strcan has all the
lcsiJrSS eSSSgvrstsi which exhibit them
SclvSs N = rtNor,
IL wopld ~ diaicnlt 10 do justice in
short notice, b all the different interest
ing f,ointS connectci with Hawaiian wi
canoes h. tNe found in Capt. buttons N
lSovt On them l have cndcsvored morc
particularly 10 call attention 10 . FEW Of
the problems which seem 81 admit u other
Solutions than thoSc ther' presented. IS
Ncll Is t. extend IL Volcanoes generally,
Cart putton'S view which l have long
sdVOcatsNl that the surface ~ the lava
in the hilauea and MaunA lsoa conduitS,
sppcar a. equilibrium levels depending
upon their mean density At any given
time. and - - 10 ~ applicable 60 the gcn
C~al hypothesis ~ volcanic sciicn, sSsufn-
ins & thin crtiS; Of the earth and = molten
Sub>trstum
II tins lesS density II the upper layer
~ the molten SulvStratum when az least
II eNpNnd> into = 6SSure in the cruS;
may bc fairly inferred Is probable, We
should have ready means 81 accounting
for the different phases Of volcanic action
whether bylirVStStic or explosive, IN IN
cient ~ well Is in modern periods eSpe
cially when w consider them IN connec-
ton with El,e lie Documents important
urinciple " the constant struggle between
the delOrInationO t the SpherOid by internal
Tvs " heat, and the tendency Of the earth's
notation to maintain that sphcroiial figure
raorc nearly exact.
Accidentally Occluded water or steam,
which seems to h 80 common IN European
volcanoes, might then-hk eoyserS- take
its prulsr position u supplementary "
parasitic phase 81 volcanic action. while
An iutslhSible cause would present itself
for the behavior Of certain Sctiv, volcA
noes, not Hawaiian alone, but such rs
Charles Darwin refers TO in his account Of
those IN the Chilean CorhllsrJ,, situated
far apart trun each other, and built up
IN great Snow-elad cones" far above the
eSrth's mean surface; and the lav1S IN
which simultaneously Appearing durlng
the great regional earthquake Of 1885, he
describes a reminding him Of water
splashing up through holes IN the ice OF a
frozen pool when = person stamps on the
surface
Curtain DuttCn refers In the concluding
paragraph Of the chapter on the Volcanic
Problem 10 -une characteristic Of volcanic
action. which Is quite universal, that i,
the intermittent feature Of erupuOnS,7 by
which. volcanoes do not discharge all
their available product at once, but by re
psGtsi spGSus Of activity, separated by
intervals Of rspose, the cause Of which he
seeks IN some unknown elastic force,
which gradually develops and i then DIS
charged The agency" be says, winch
thus progressively develops the potential
energy or elastic force. Is the missing fac
tor. When we discover It We shall discover
the secret Of the Volcano As Tar a.
the eruptiuus Of HawaiiSn volcanoes are
concerned however, Captain DuttUn seems
to have sufficiently explained their inter
mittent action IL the second paragraph
quoted in the commencement Of this no
ticefur he looks upon the columns Of lava IN
Maula Loa and kIlausa a. steadily riSIne;
columns. while an eruption only means.
that the LIQUID columns discharge them
selves al a lower level. when their height
exceeds the retaining limits Of the neigh
burin- crust. The columns then take some
wears 70 reach or exceed the old levels
again, when the process : repeated In
tbs way the sruptlUus Sppe1r intermittent,
and the cones are gradually built up by
succession Of lava streams, the lava some
times. however. being discharged at the
summit instead Of the sides, when the lat
ter are strong enough to resist the hydro
st5tfc urpSsurp The missing factor
therefore. does not seem IN these cases.
to D., connected with the intermittent &C
ton, nor necessarily with any aecUmulat
In- elastic force, but rather with the power
which has Kept these lavas slowly and
steadily rising through the ayes, as far
back At least a the life Of Mamma Loa-7
Some phase Of the secular defamation
Of the spheruii-a process which We IN
the Pacific Ocean see II acton al around
u II the slow subsistence Of It's bed not
WlthstaufInE the local uphedvI OF active
volcanic arsas-may perhaps Indicate one
means az Least. by which ths molten sub
stratum may be gradually pressed up
through issTres IN the crust. while the
normal level Of the liquid upper layer
when expanded into such fssure, and lsav
ing the heavier cuupoueuts below, may Be
many thousand feet above the mean sur
face Of the eartE's crust. owing to Its less
density. However this may b., Hawaiian
volcanoes, II the Erandsr phenomena as
vel a. II the details Of their acton seem
70 be operated by hyJfrUstatic rather than
ply elastic forces, although the latter may
vel BE- every now and then exhibited a.
noisy and dsmuuztratIve. but really sec
outiary feature. W L GsEES-
H1E0IuIu- August 18th 1854