Sicily

and Reggio, Italy, in Dec., 1908, with a lo of more than 150,000 lives. Within the United States only _five great earthquakes are known to have occurred since the first settlement. The first was in 1755, in Ma achusetts which though very forcible, was muck le so than the other three. The sec ond, the most energetic of all, was that of New Madrid, Mo., in 1811. 'The third was in the Inyo Valley of Cali. fornia, in 1868, the fourth at Charleston in 1886, and the fifth along the California coast in 1906, when San Francisco and nearby towns were almost totally destroyed. The last two afforded good time data concerning the rate of transmi ion. The observations then made gave a speed of about 17,- 000 feet a second. The countries which have suffered most are those washed by the Mediterranean, the Andean regions, Central America, and Mexico. In Japan light or moderate earthquakes are more frequent than in any other country, 331 being recorded from 1885 to 1892. There are earthquake stations for the careful study of their phenomena in Japan, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, on the Upper Rhine, etc.