The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-06-15
The Earthquake i'm England /.
TNature.l


From recent observations | have con-
cluded that the seismic vertical was at or
near DR.. Green's house, close to the Strood
or Causeway which connects the mainland
of Essex with Mersea Island. The house
was built IN 1860, and istherefore new.
may here observe that las limited before IN
former letters) the modern, cheaply-Dulit
cottages were not so mich affected as the
more ancient ones. The chlmneys. walls,
&C., OF the latter were invariably destroyed,
damaged, or cracked-the former seldom
so. ! was much surprised at this. The
first thought naturally was that these
"ierry-built" houses would be shaken
down like a pack Of cards. Is 1t that their
very looseness of structure is in their
favor, as compared with the stronger-built
cottages OF 200 and 800 years ago? have
somewhere seen that in earthquake-yisited
centres the houses most secure from de-
struction are the loosely-built, low edi-
fees. One can speak plainly on this mat
ter, as no premium is required to encour-
age the development of 'jerry-build-
ing" DR.. Green's house Is literally split
and cracked in all directions, and the
splits and cracks are the most verti-
cal OF any to be seen. The entire
building was twisted on its foundations.
At the southwest corner this is WIS.,
ible to the amount OF about one inch and =
half. DR.. Green informed me he was lifted
I'D, as il from behind, and shot violently
forward. A friend OF mine remarks land
| noticed the same fact in my notebook,
but omitted inclosing it in my last cOmmu-
nication) that the railway cutting at Wiven-
hoe appears to have broken the continuity
OF the undulations, for the houses cOntgu-
Gus to it are comparatively uniniured. A
noteworthy fact in C )nnection with the re-
cent earthquake, to which can personally
testify, and which appears TO be the gene
raj experience of all the most trustworthy
observers | have come across, Is that the
sounds or noises preceded the oscillations
for an appreciate period OF time. Mallets
experiments showed that the shock OF an
explosion travelled through wet sand at
the rate Of 951 feet per second. In Ipswich
we are situated chiefly on drft-Sands and
London clay, and allowing that the earth
quake shocks travelled through these
strata at more rapid rate, 1t Is not
likely to have been much more rapid.
As sound travels at the rate OF LIS feet
per second il is very probable that the noise
accompanying the earth 'ioyements pre-
coded the oscillations. Mr.. Wilkins, the
well-known yacht-builder, at Wivenhoe,
tells me he was standing at the time the
earthquake occurred in the yard, and his
| first impression was that q new yacht he
was looking at was heeling over. and he
called out so to his workmen in the shop
close by. Then followed the crash Of the
tall chimney and the rending Of the walls.
| Tho worlyShon has an MINOR floOr with
windows on each side, and as he stood in
the yard Mr.. wilkins says the oscilatOry
waves were such that he was enabled to
look right through these windows, so as to
see the falling chlmneys OF the buildings
on the other side. He calculates that there
must have been a rise and fall OF the
ground Of two feet nine inches to have
enabled him TO do this.