CHAPTER IV
Palmer as an Astronomer and a Natural Scientist

 Palmer showed a very keen interest to various astronomical, meteorological phenomena, earthquakes, volcanic explosions etc., through all his life starting from youth.
 On nearly all such occasions, he collected these materials and arranged them in various articles and reports as per the list herein enumerated.
1858-11-6
to 1859-4-2
17 articles on Natural History of the Voyage
(Emigrant Soldiers' Gazette)
1864- 3-14Remarks upon the Geography and Natural Capabilities, and the condition of its principal gold-Fields.
(Journals of Royal Geographical Society, No. 34)
1872- 3- xOrdnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai (1869)
(Ordnance Survey Office-Southampton)
1873- 6- xOrdnance Survey-The Kingdom, its objects, mode of execution, history and present condition
(Edward Stanford-London)
1874- 4- 6"The Transit of Venus"
(The Times)
12- 5   〃   
(Japan Weekly Mail)
1876- 3-20On recent American determinations of Geographical position in the West Indies and Central America
(Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 36)
1878- 3- x"SINAI" -Ancient History from the Monuments
(Society for promoting Christian Knowledge)
1880-10- 6On the importance of placing the departments of surveying and astronomy in Japan on a sound scientific footing
(Memorandum sent to K. Inouye)
1881- 7-17On the proposal to establish a physical Observatory at Hongkong
(The Official Report)
1881-11-16A Note on Earth Vibration
(At the meeting of the Seismological Society of Japan) (Two Examples)
12-21"A Note on Earth's Vibrations"
(The transactions of the Seismologic Society of Japan)
1882- 2-24"On a determination of latitude at Mount Elgin"
(The Government Notification)
11-20The Great Comet of 1882
(Daily Press Hongkong)
1883- 2-10The Great Comet of 1882
(Japan Weekly Mail)
3- 3     〃
( 〃 )
4- 7"Meteorology in Japan "
( 〃 )
4-14"Infant Science of Meteorology"
( 〃 )
5- 5"National Survey"
( 〃 )
 〃"Pendulum Observations to determine the true figure of the Earth"
( 〃 )
5-19"The Great Comet of 1882" after reading the last number of Annual Report of the Council of the R.A.S."
( 〃 )
12- xPractical Astronomy
(Aide de Memoire for use of R.E. Officers)
1886-11-23Earthquake Researches in Japan
(The Times)
1887- 3- 1The story of an Earthquake
(The Times)
6-25Irrigation Works at OJI Paper Mill
(Japan Weekly Mail)
8-27The recent solar eclipse
(Japan Weekly Mail)
1888- 7-28The recent volcanic explosion in Japan
(The Times)
10-21The Bandaisan eruption
(The Times)
1891- 7- 4Irrigation Works at Misakamura
(Japan Weekly Mail)
11- 7The Great Japan Earthquake
(The Times)
1892- 2- 2     〃
(The Times)



 Hereunder let the writer write down some of the Items which he did not treat in the preceding chapters.

(I) Notes on Earth Vibration

 "A Note on Earth Vibration" written by Palmer on November 16, 1881 in Tokyo and read on December 21 (Not by Palmer) at the meeting of the Seismological Society of Japan, in which two examples were introduced.
a) When I (Palmer) was in New Zealand in 1874, in charge of the British Government Expedition to that Colony for observing the Transit of Venus, I had chosen a site for my observatory near the Burnham railway station on the Canterbury Plain, about 400 yards from the line, which ran past it in a southwesterly direction; and I required to ascertain what depth of excavation would be  necessary in order that the instrument-piers should not be  affected by the surface-tremors caused by passing trains.
 For this purpose, I merely dug a trench about eight feet long and three feet wide, in a north and south direction.
 After the repeated tests, at depths 2-1/2, 3, 3-1/2 feet with  the result that the tremors diminished with the depth, and that  at the last-named depth not the slightest disturbance could be  detected under any conditions of the train's motion.

b) I may further mention a curious fact, perhaps not very generally known, which came under notice at the Greenwich Observatory several years ago.
 The observers found that from time to time, at considerable intervals, there would be an evening when the usual observations for determining the collimation-error of the transit circles by means of reflexion in a tray of mercury could not be taken, on account of the constant trembling of the surface of the mercury, which on such occasions would continue until long past midnight.
 For some time the staff were greatly puzzled by this phenomenon, until at length, a series of the dates for its occurrence having been obtained and examined, it was found that these dates coincided with the public and bank holidays.
 On these days, crowd of the poorer classes of London flock for amusement to Greenwich Park and a favourable pastime with the young people, often prolonged until after nightfall, is to clamber to the top of the steep slopes of the hill on which the Observatory stands, in fact, to the paling of the enclosure, and then, joining hands in twos or threes, to bolt precipitately to the bottom, where, as may be imagined, they usually arrive <all in a heap>.
 Hundreds join in this sport on fine evenings, and the result, as shown by the behaviour of the mercury, is to set the whole of Flamstead Hill in a tremor, which does not subside until early the next morning, many hours after the people have left.
   

(II) Meteorology in Japan

   "Meteorology in Japan" dated April 7, 1883, Palmer states as follows;
 The publications, beginning from April 1, of a daily weather-sheet, by Mr. Ikunosuke Arai, the Director of the Imperial Meteorological Observatory started.
 This sheet which is printed in English and Japanese, consists of two parts, a map and a report.
 On the map are shown the meteorological out-stations, twenty-one in number, from which, thanks to the admirable system of telegraphic lines which now cover Japan, daily reports of pressure, temperature, wind, rainfall and state of the weather, at the same hour of absolute time, are sent to the Head Station in Tokyo.
 To men of science, to all seafaring people, and indeed to the public generally this first evidence of a systematic investigation of phenomena in which most of us have a more or less lively interest will doubtless be very acceptable.
 The dearth of accurate knowledge of the laws which govern the meteorological conditions of these regions has long been deplored by the meteorologists of the world, but there is now reason to hope that this cause of complaint will soon cease to exist.
 It is not too much to expect that, after a reasonable interval for collection and study of the daily phenomena over Japan's extensive territory, it will be possible to predict with accuracy the probabilities of the weather a day or two in advance, even in this land of frequent, sudden and violent changes.
 It should also be possible, or in concert with other observatories, to foretell with something like certainty the approach and progress of the much dreaded typhoons.
 This article was written in the happy mood that his long cherished opinion was materialized.
 It was essential for Japan to be included in the network for the meteorological and astronomical observations of the world, especially that in Asian region, as the proof that Japan got modernized, Palmer had held such opinion since 1880s as clearly seen in the memorandum which he had submitted to the Japanese Government on the advisability of establishing the meteorological and astronomical observatory, to say nothing of the design which he had made for Hongkong Observatory for the same purpose.

(III) Practical Atronomy

 Palmer, at the end of 1883, wrote in the "Aide de Memoire for the use of Officers of Royal Engineers" on Practical Astronomy."

(IV) Observation of Total Sun Eclipse at Fukushima Prefecture

 In August 1887, Palmer went to Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture for the purpose of observing the total solar eclipse on August 19, with the American Expedition team under the leadership of Professor David P. Todd, of Amherst College, Massachusetts.
 Unfortunately, the observations failed because of the sudden change of the climate as Palmer wrote in the closing sentence in the Japan Weekly Mail of August 27 titled "Recent Solar Eclipse" as follows;
 The 19th of August, 1887, will assuredly be long remembered as a Black Friday in the scientific annals of Japan.

(V) Great Earthquake at Mino/Owari District

 On October 18, 1891, Palmer, having known the outbreak of the severe Earthquake in Mino and Owari districts, hurried to the spot and energetically started the investigation there.
 The detailed reports which he sent to "The Times" on both November 7, 1891 and February 2, 1892 were his final work as astronomer and natural scientist. He concluded the second report as follows;
 Japan, with her 700 earthquake-observing stations scattered over the empire, is well equipped for profiting by that lesson. That she sorely needs to pay close heed to all that observation and research can teach her is established by ages of bitter experience.
 Not only are her people shaken up by fully 500 earthquakes every year - some of them, more or less destructive - but at intervals there comes a great disaster, amounting, as in the present case, to a national calamity.
 No fewer than 29 of such disasters have been recorded in Japanese annals during the last 1,200 years.



Chapter 3



Chapter 5