Chapter 5
| 1858-11-6 to 1859-4-2 | 17 articles on Natural History of the Voyage (Emigrant Soldiers' Gazette) |
| 1864- 3-14 | Remarks upon the Geography and Natural Capabilities, and the condition of its principal gold-Fields. (Journals of Royal Geographical Society, No. 34) |
| 1872- 3- x | Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai (1869) (Ordnance Survey Office-Southampton) |
| 1873- 6- x | Ordnance 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- 3-20 | On 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- 6 | On the importance of placing the departments of surveying and astronomy in Japan on a sound scientific footing (Memorandum sent to K. Inouye) |
| 1881- 7-17 | On the proposal to establish a physical Observatory at Hongkong (The Official Report) |
| 1881-11-16 | A 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) |
| 11-20 | The Great Comet of 1882 (Daily Press Hongkong) |
| 1883- 2-10 | The 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- x | Practical Astronomy (Aide de Memoire for use of R.E. Officers) |
| 1886-11-23 | Earthquake Researches in Japan (The Times) |
| 1887- 3- 1 | The story of an Earthquake (The Times) |
| 6-25 | Irrigation Works at OJI Paper Mill (Japan Weekly Mail) |
| 8-27 | The recent solar eclipse (Japan Weekly Mail) |
| 1888- 7-28 | The recent volcanic explosion in Japan (The Times) |
| 10-21 | The Bandaisan eruption (The Times) |
| 1891- 7- 4 | Irrigation Works at Misakamura (Japan Weekly Mail) |
| 11- 7 | The Great Japan Earthquake (The Times) |
| 1892- 2- 2 | 〃 (The Times) |
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.
The publications, beginning from April 1, of a daily weather-sheet, by Mr. Ikunosuke Arai, the Director of the Imperial Meteorological Observatory started.This article was written in the happy mood that his long cherished opinion was materialized.
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.
The 19th of August, 1887, will assuredly be long remembered as a Black Friday in the scientific annals of Japan.
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.