the Interior of the Kingdom of
Naples, to investigate the Circumstances of the Great Earthquake of
December, 1857," to the many illustrations of which the pecuniary grant,
in aid, of L300 was most liberally made to the publishers (Messrs.
Chapman and Hall) by the Society.

It is not my intention here, nor would space allow, of my going into the
details of observation, nor of the deductions and conclusions I have
recorded in those volumes. I have referred to their contents as marking
the advent of a new method. I have ventured to call it a new _organon_
in the investigation of Earthquakes, and, through them, of the deep
interior of our earth; and will only add that the method, on this its
very first trial, proved fertile and successful. The depth of focus for
this shock of December, 1857, was about seven to eight geographical
miles below sea level, roughly stated. It gives me great pleasure to add
that my friend, Dr. Oldham, Director-General of the Geological Survey of
India, has since applied these same methods to the phenomena of the
great Cachar Earthquake of the 10th January, 1869, and with success. The
pressure of official duties has, he informs me, as yet prevented his
fully working out his results, but they appear so far to indicate, as we
should expect, a depth of focus or origin considerably greater than in
the European case of 1857. Some account of Dr. Oldham's results were
this year communicated to the Geological Society of London through
myself, they are of great interest and importance.

Such, briefly and imperfectly sketched, is the existing state of
Seismology. As a branch of exact science it is, as it were, an affair of
yesterday. It is with reluctance that I have been compelled, in this
review, to refer to my own work so prominently. The harvest has been and
still is plenteous, but in this field of intellectual work the labourers
are few. This must continue to be so as long as Geology shall continue
to be viewed in public estimation (in England at least) as a fashionable
toy, that everyone who has been to school is supposed capable of
handling; and until all who profess to be geologists shall have learnt
that, to make sound progress, they must first become mathematicians,
physicists and chemists.

It is to the general imperfect knowledge of these sciences amongst
geologists that speculative errors show such vitality, and that Geology
makes such poor progress towards becoming the interpretation of the