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NOTE ON THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1 9 3 1 .

overlying a tenacious peat-coloured clay upon a marly-chalk that formed the basin. In this clay were discovered many animal-bones, all employed as food and consisting of the Celtic Shorthorn (Bos longifrons, Owen), Red Deer, Swine (doubtless Sus scrofa, Linn.), Sheep (Ovis aries, auct., not indigenous) or much more likely Goat (Capra hircus, known to have been feral in Ireland), Wolf (Canis lupus, Linn., formerly too common) or large Dog (Canis domesticus, extensively exported from Britain in Roman times), the Urus and Hare (Lepus Europaus, Pall.). Among these the dominancy of Celtic Cattle horns over those of Deer implies a comparatively late period in the Stone Age or possibly even that of Bronze. The Urus bones were represented by metatarsi and humeri; those of the Hare by no more than one tibia ; and of the Canis by a Single humerus.

The foregoing is not intended to be a complete list of our extinct Mammalia, but may well be admitted as no insignificant memorial of one man's spare-time labours in the cause of human knowledge : the more especially because Palaeontology, as already noted, was merely a side-line in the work of my esteemed grandparent. Furthermore, I consider it highly romantic to reflect upon times when such magnificent beasts roamed and lived out their lives in conjunction with our own primitive ancestors, over the very same territory whereon we now seek humbler prey for our enlightenment and the edification of fellow Naturalists.

NOTE

ON THE EARTHQUAKE

OF

1931.

BY F. L. BLAND, F.Z.S., F.R.MET.S. As England may not have another such experience for centuries, the facts of this phenomenon shall be briefly recorded here.

At a half-hour after midnight on 7 May 1931, without the least premonition, Britain excepting the Cornwall duchy and N.W. Scotland, S. Norway, W. Flanders, Picardy and Normandy, an area of some 150,000 sq. miles, were awakened by an Earthquake that began at 12.25 and 43 seconds at the Dyce observatory in Aberdeen, 12.25 and 55 at W. Bromwich, and 12.26.0 at Kew. The tremors were violent, travelling about 4 J miles per second, and pulsation lasted for 20 minutes, attaining maximum 11 minutes after the first shock ; but amplitude was so great as to exceed the seismological registration's limits.

Within ten minutes Kew had estimated the epicentre to lie just

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about long. 2 and lat. 56, in the North Sea, due E. of Berwick.

A cargo-boat, 80 miles off Scarborough, feit the sudden shock as though Struck by a submarine mine ; she heeled over badly but quickly settled again, though a dull rumbling sound was audible such as would arise from her runninguponagravel-beach.

Fleetwood lighthouse oscillated for a few seconds, trawlers' crews were everywhere awakened by Vibration, and a " t i d a l " wave surged upon our east coast at Lowestoft and Southend.

Six of our Members sleeping in Gorleston, and most of my family at Copdock, were aroused by the houses rocking to a low growl like that of heavy tumbrils traversing the streets ; another at Wrentham writes that " from 12.27 I should say the quivering lasted ten or fifteen seconds, and it was very stränge to feel the bed tilt under one, and hear the basin and ewer rattle, the wardrobe-doors creak, etc." At Woodbridge three " explosions " were heard and beds rose a half-inch ; at Sudbury folk ran into the streets until daybreak; Cläre church-bells jangled, as though for fire-alarm; and at Newmarket were sensible tremors. Such terra infirma affected the heart's action, and stopped timepieces ; but no loss of life or property resulted.

Consequentive shocks, anticipated from further settlement of the same earth-fault, did not occur ; and a synchronal oscillation in New York State is entirely several. The cause is attributed to some easing upon the southern edge of that wellknown "belt of weakness" in the earth's strata along the mountain ranges of Siberia to the Scots Highlands, extending as a submarine ridge through the Faroe Isles to Iceland. Britain is usually eased of such stress by the volcanic safety-valves of Sicily, Italy and Iceland ; her own are long-extinct. Similar subsidence of the ocean-floor broke cables off Newfoundland on 18 November 1929.

In 974 " a great Earthquake convulsed the whole of England " (Wendover's 1235 "Flores"), since which time over a thousand tremors have occurred here. The present is popularly asserted to be the severest since mediaeval times.

R A R E FALCONIM:.—Whatever sportsmen may think of their scarcity, no doubt can exist that the dearth of keepers is making for the increase of Raptores in the county. I was shooting at Kenton in High Suffolk on 13 November 1931, with some friends, when a great hawk was clearly sighted and carefully ignored: we agreed that it was a Buzzard, no longer ' Common ' (Buteo vulgaris, Lch.); three days later another friend, while out at Sudbourne, was so fortunate as to see an undoubted Marsh Harrier (Circus ceruginosus, Linn.).—H. C. MURRELL.