New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-05
EIRTH0U1K ES.


foreseen and announced as changes in the
weather now are. bu( so far It's advent is UNI
heraded. and in spite Of an immense amount of
study and investigation not much is actually
known about IT, The first really scientific in
onry into the subject dates from the great catas-
tronhe M Naples, in 1851 and was instituted
by II. r. Maet, who laid down the outlines OF
4 system for the investigation of earthquakes
which has formed the basis Of all subsequent
work in that direction. At the same time Pal
mieri established his seismOmctrc observatory
ON The slopes Of Ncsuyus. and demonstrated the
necessity of special instruments for measuring
the movements Of the soil. Since then every
earthquake Of importance has been carefully
investigated and the varying phenomena or all
of them recorded 4 continuous improvement
in the instruments employed in the work has
been made and by means Of the new seismo-
.,.orb established at the Collcgo Romano 1t was
possible to observe ut Rome not only the earth
auakes which took place in Greece lndla ana
Turkes.an but also to see on March - last three
distinct waves coming from three dstlnct SHOCKS
in Japan They had travelled over space
eoualling a quarter Of the earths circumference
at speed Of about $50 yards second, ana
were hardly perccptible in Italy, though they
revealed themselves in the delicate tracings or
the instrument In the present year new
nendulum has been devised and applied by Mr.
Horace Darwin Of the most refined and precise
accuracy Of registration. 1t can record ana
measure n tremor Of the earth wholly imper
ccptible 10 the senses. and may convey to the
coCnition Of science testimony of good many
carthouakes so delicate that they obtain no pop
ular recognition.
In studying the distribution Of these shocks
unou the surface Of the globe the annals OF all
Countries have come under examination, and
immense and exhaustive catalogues have been
compiIed by H. r. Mallct. Alexis Percy and
Fuchs. and quite lately by OrloT and Mush-
kctof for Russia and the adjoining lands in
Asia Special centres. as are informed by
Prince Krapotkin in n recent number Of The
Nineteenth Century" have also grown up for a
detailed study Of earthquakes In South Italy.
Greece and Japan-especially In Japan-the lana
Of earthuuakes and earthquake studies, where
Invaluable data are collected by sending out all
over the country scores of thousands Of postal
cards which are returned every week to the
Seismological Institute with notices OF the
shocks experienced at each spot. 1t appears
from all these Investigations that earthquakes
are decidedly more frequent during the winter
months than during the summer, and that their
frequency stands in some not fully determined
relation TO atmospheric pressure. The latter,
however. is not thought to be a cause Of earth
ouakes but n condition tending to break an al
ready unstable equilibrium, originating, accord
ing TO the theory now generally accepted by
seismolocists ". aqueous action. SO much SCI
once has determined TO its own present satsfac-
ton. but new theories may dsplace or modify
the old. and upon the subject at large the sum
total of the unknown is left greatly in excess OF
that which IS known. Experience demonstrates
without the aid Of instruments that when there
has been one shock another is likely to follow 1t
IN no long time so that If this city and adjacent
territory are thrilled by another vibration it Will
he quite in the line Of precedent, and need not
occasion any great alarm. particularly If 1t Is as
LIGHT rs the one that went before il.
Rvron tells Of battle in Spain beneath which
"on earthquake rolled unheededly away" the re-
citol being commonly regarded as indicating the
dcspcrate valor and fury Of the combaTants,
though II may also have borne testimony to the
ightness Of the shock. OF the great number of
these agitations which take place around the
rim Of the world the majority are harmless, and
n good many are slight that they are hardly
rocoenzcd But taken altogether, they indi-
cato that our orb possesses an extremely unstable
and iremulous pericarp requiring careful watch
ing and the most searching and systematic meth
DDS Of investigation which can possibly he APP
piled to II.