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"THE FALLING ANGEL," Parque de Duevos, San Salvador.

American Museum of Natural His- which, coupled with the outbreak of tory, in a recent letter to Mr. the Salvador volcano, brought terror George H. Sherwood, assistant secretary of the museum, gives an account of the earthquake in San Salvador which occurred on June 7. Dr. Spinden was at the time in Central America engaged in studying and collecting patterns and materials for textiles useful to American manufacturers.

among the population who crowded from their crumbling homes into the streets and parks of the darkened city. The shocks were not confined to the first day, but continued at intervals with a gradual, though irregular, decrease in intensity for more than a week. Nearly every hour brought a slight tremor, while more violent shocks occurred on June 8, at 10:22 p. m.; on June 9, at 1:00 a. m., and on June 13, at 10:30 p. m. The usual course of a

The first shock occurred between 6:45 and 7 p. m. on June 7, and was recorded in New York by the seismograph in the American Museum. Dr. Spinden reports that several shock was characterized by a rapid shocks followed the initial one rise to maximum intensity, followed

by a gradual decrease or by a series the lighter types of cement crumbled of disconnected tremors, decreasing to earth under the strain. The ilin violence by slow but frequently lustrations, sent by Dr. Spinden to irregular degrees. Often, a second the American Museum and here reshock, called the "echo," followed produced, show the extent of the after a few minutes. damage. The natives, left homeless, The inhabited regions about the have fitted up temporary shelters base of the volcano suffered partial of mats, burlap and sheets of rusty destruction, the capital, San Salva- tin but with the rainy season apdor, being particularly unfortunate. proaching, a serious situation may Ninety per cent. of the homes were result, unless substantial relief destroyed or rendered unfit for habi- from outside sources is received. tation. In many cases the greatest The food situation has not been damage was due to the falling of critical since the conveyances of the heavy tile roofs through the some 25,000 people who fled the city inadequate supporting structure. were laden with foodstuffs on their Most of the public edifices, more return trips. Temporary distress substantially constructed, suffered resulting from shortage of water but little. Reinforced cement con- was soon relieved by the collection struction stood the test well, while of seepage from the broken mains

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SEISMOGRAPH RECORD OF THE SALVADOR EARTHQUAKE.

This record is from the instrument deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, by the New York Academy of Sciences. It shows the vibra tions of two separate needles-those of the north-south needle being at the left of the photograph and those of the east-west needle at the right. The north-south needle indicated that the shock was felt in New York City on the night of June 7, 1917, at 5 minutes and 20 seconds past 8 o'clock, while the east-west needle began to register at 6 minutes past 8 o'clock. The time of the greatest intensity of the shock as here indicated by wide vibrations was at 8 minutes and 30 seconds past 8 o'clock.

and by the utilization of artesian wardian professor of geology in the wells. University of Cambridge.

The outflow of the volcanic eruption, while abundant, caused comparatively little damage, since it was largely confined to uninhabited regions. Eight vents opened on the west side of the mountain, sweeping the slope with a stream of lava. A number of coffee plantations on the flanks of the stream were destroyed and, for a distance of two kilometers near Acajutla, the railroad was covered with lava to a depth of 30 feet. For the most part, the region affected is identical with that covered by the last great eruption occurring in 1674. It is said that in some places the old flow has been lifted bodily upon the new.

The San Salvador region is perhaps more frequently visited by earthquakes than any other section of America. In 1873, a shock probably equal in severity to the present one occurred, while more moderate tremors are of frequent occurrence. The accompanying record shows the intensity and duration of the shock of June 7 as recorded in New York City by the seismograph in the American Museum of Natural History.

SCIENTIFIC ITEMS

WE record with regret the death of James Mason Crafts, distinguished for his chemical researches and for a time president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; of Julius Otto Schlotterbeck, dean of the College of Pharmacy of the University of Michigan, and of T. McKenny Hughes, F.R.S., Wood

A MEMORIAL tablet to the late Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, distinguished as physiologist, physician and man of letters, was unveiled at the recent commencement exercises of the University of Pennsylvania.-A portrait of the late Professor Raphael Meldola is being painted by Mr. Solomon J. Solomon, in order that copies may be presented to the Royal Society and the Institute of Chemistry.-A memorial tablet, including a medallion portrait of the late Sir William Ramsay, is to be erected in the University of Glasgow, of which he was a graduate and teacher.

THE late Mr. W. Hudson Ste

phens, of Lowville, N. Y., a life member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since its eighteenth meeting held in Salem in 1869, by the terms of his will has bequeathed the sum of $5,000 to the association.

THE will of the late Colonel Oliver H. Payne provides bequests of more than $7,000,000 to charitable and educational institutions. The largest gifts are to Yale University, Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, and the New York Public Library, each of which will receive $1,000,000. An endowment of $500,000 is bequeathed to the Cornell University Medical College. Other gifts include: Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., $500,000; St. Vincent's Charity Hospital, Cleveland, $200,000; Cleveland Jewish Orphans Asylum, $200,000; Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y., $200,000, and the University of Virginia, $200,000.

THE SCIENTIFIC

MONTHLY

SEPTEMBER, 1917

THE WOODLOT: A PROBLEM FOR NEW
ENGLAND FARMERS

HOW

By Professor JAMES W. TOUMEY

DIRECTOR OF THE YALE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY

OW to get from the land more of the materials that feed, clothe and shelter mankind is becoming more and more essential with the passage of time. The better use of the land is a basic problem in New England at the present time. The right solution of this problem will maintain her population in the highest degree of comfort, help determine her future greatness and give her the power that makes for endurance. New England's prestige can not rest upon manufacture alone. It must be rooted in the economic development of the land. Germany's position in the industries, developed almost entirely during the past half century, rests upon a firm foundation in land usage. More so than most other nations she has learned how to attain the maximum yield of agricultural and forest products and at the same time she has experienced wonderful industrial development. New England in her fight for industrial development has neglected the foundation upon which it ought to rest. Her land, instead of becoming more productive as years slip by, has become less productive. The acreage used in agriculture is much less than formerly, and the yield per acre astonishingly low when compared with Europe. Her yield of forest products is less than formerly and the quality much lower, due to the practical extinction of virgin forests, the want of adequate protection and the lack of reproductive and intelligent management of the second growth.

The best use of the land requires an adequate conception of what crops, be they agricultural or forest, each particular site is best suited for. Every acre of land unsuited for agriculture that is settled upon and cleared is an economic waste. Every acre of land suitable for agriculture that is left in forest

VOL. V.--13.

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