Earthquake Areas of the Earth. FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH. 67 (Revised by the National Geographic Society of Washington, D. C., from the latest available figures and estimates.) THE Superficial area of the earth is 196,940,000 square miles-140,295,000 square miles of water and 56,255,000 square miles of land. The three great oceans comprise the Atlantic, 41,321,000 square miles: Pacific, 68.634,000 square miles, and Indian, 29,430,000 square miles. There are about 1,000,000 square miles of lake and river surface on the land, and 1,910,000 square miles of islands in the seas. The diameter of the earth at the equator is 7,926 miles, and through the poles 7,899.6 miles. The average elevation of the land above sea level is 2,300 feet. The average depth of the ocean below sea level is 12,600 feet. deepest place in the ocean yet found is off Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 32,088 feet. The highest mountain is Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, 29,002 feet. This gives a range of 61,090 feet or more, 111⁄2 miles, between the bottom of the oceans and the top of the land. AREA AND POPULATION OF THE EARTH BY CONTINENTS. The CONTINENTAL Africa.. America, N. America, S. Asia. INHABITANTS. Per Sq. Number. Mile. 11,622,619 142,751,000 12.3 16.3 7,570.015 56,337,775 7.4 17,206,000|872,522,000| 50.7 The best estimates of the earth's area place the fertile regions at 29,000,000 square miles; steppes al 14,000,000 square miles: deserts at 4,861,000 square miles; and polar regions at 6,970,000 square miles. The population of the earth at the death of Emperor Augustus, estimated by Bódio, was 54,000,000. The population of Europe hardly exceeded 50,000,000 before the fifteenth century.-Mulhall. The popula tion of the earth, at its present ratio of gain, will be about 4,000,000,000 in 2014. The proportion of females to each 1,000' males in 1910 was: many, 1,026. In France (1901), 1,033. United States 934; England, 1,068; Ger. For statistics of earth's population according to creed, see RELIGIOUS STATISTICS. The human family is subject to more than 60 governments, including Poland, Finland, the Ukraine and other fragments of the war-broken Russian Empire. The British Empire is the largest, while Monace with its 8 square miles and San Marino with its 38 square miles of territory are the smallest, The absolute monarchies are Abyssinia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Siam, and Oman; the limited monarchies are Albania, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Bhutan, British Empire, Bulgaria, Denmark, German Empire, Greece, Italy Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Persia, Roumania. Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey: the republics include: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Salvador, San Marino, Santo Domingo, Switzerland, United, States, Uruguay, Venezuela. EARTHQUAKE AREAS OF THE EARTH. FROM Major de Montessus de Balore's catalogue of 130,000 shocks, indicating with some scientific accuracy how the symptoms of seismic activity are manifested over the earth's surface. The observation covers a recent period of fifty years; but there is no reason to suppose that a longer time would materially affect the proportionate numbers. AREA. Scandinavia. British Isles. France. Spain and Portugal. Switzerland'. Italy. Holland and North Ger many Earthquakes. AREA. Atlantic Coast. 813 Mexico.. Central America. 27,562 West Indies. Australia and Tasmania. 4,467 New Zealand. Sicily. The most shaken countries of the world are Italy, Japan, Greece, South America (the Pacific Coast). Java, Sicily, and Asia Minor. The lands most free from these convulsions are Africa, Australia, Russia, Siberia, Scandinavia, and Canada. As a rule, where earthquakes are most frequent they are most severe, But to this general statement there are exceptions-Indian shocks, though less numerous, being often very disastrous. Loss of life in many cases depends, however, on density of population rather than on the intensity of the earth movement. 68 The New Star. CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS AND PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF GEOLOGIC TIME (Prepared by the U. S. Geologic Survey.) The THE rocks composing the earth's crust are grouped by geologists into three great classes, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The igneous rocks have solidified from a molten state. Those that have solidified beneath the surface are known as intrusive rocks. Those that have flowed out over the surface are known as effusive rocks, extrusive rocks, or lavas. The term volcanic rock includes not only lavas but bombs, pumice, tuff, volcanic ash and other fragmental materials thrown out from volcanoes. Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of sediment in water (aqueous deposits or eolian deposits). sediment may consist of rock fragments or particles of various sizes (conglomerate sandstone, shale); of the remains or products of animals or plants (certain limestones and coal); of the product of chemical action or of evaporation (salt, gypsum, etc.); or of mixtures of these materials. A characteristic feature of sedimentary deposits is a layered structure known as bedding or stratification. Metamorphic rocks are derivatives of igneous or sedimentary rocks produced through mechanical or chemical activities in the earth's crust. The unaltered sedimentary rocks are commonly stratified, and it is from their order of succession and that of their contained fossils that the fundamental data of historical geology have been deduced. (By H. W. Wilson, in the London Daily Mail, June, 1918.) THE apparition of a new star of the first magnitude (which means a star of extraordinary brightness) is a singular event. On Saturday night five independent observers in this country observed the sudden blazing forth of such a star in the Constellation of Aquila, and their discovery has now been verified by the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The cause of such outbursts must be some catastrophe in the cosmic world, of which we can only form the dimmest conception on our relatively stable and regularly ordered earth. From time to time stars which are invisible or all but invisible blaze up, assume for a shorter or longer period an intense brilliance, and then again fade into night. The annals of ancient astronomy record ten such instances between 134 B. C. and 1500 A. D. Since 1500 there have been ten more new stars, visible to the naked eye, so that the average occurrence is now about two per century. There are two explanations of these strange apparitions in the sky. The first is that the sudden rise in brilllance is the result of a collision in space between two stars or between a star and a mass of meteoric matter or a nebula. In the first case there would be something far more violent than the most tremendous explosion which we can imagine; the heat of the two bodies meeting-projectiles moving at a speed of at least 100,000 feet per second each-in the intense cold of the outer abysses would rise to such a degree as is not even approached in the sun's terrific furnaces. There would be an emanation of brilliance visible across the infinite and almost unimaginable gulfs that part us from these far-off mysterious objects, and then gradually the brilliance would die down. Nova Persei, such a new star discovered by T. D. Anderson in February, 1901, two days after it had been glimpsed, became the brightest star on the northern heavens, but in less than three weeks sank to the fourth magnitude, and in 1903 had fallen to the twelfth magnitude, at which level of light it has remained ever since. Stupendous physical changes must have passed in those two brief years. The second explanation is that there is no collision, but some outburst of electrical or chemical activity in the star itself due to forces similar to those which act so strangely on the sun producing sun-spots-forces which may even lie outside the law of gravitation. Other explanations have been offered but have not as yet been generally accepted by astronomers. One of the most plausible of these views the new star as the result of a sudden condensation by gravitation of a vast nebula about a star centre (or a point on which stars are supposed to be moving). Legal Holidays in the United States. TELESCOPES. 69 THERE are two kinds of telescopes, viz., refracting and reflecting. In the former the rays of light are made to converge to a focus by lenses, while in the latter they are made to converge by being reflected from the surface of a slightly concaved, highly polished mirror. The chief disadvantages of refracting telescopes are the chromatic and spherical aberrations of the lenses. In reflecting telescopes these aberrations can be done away with by using parabolic mirrors. These have, however, a smaller field of good definition than refractors. Owing to the travelling of the earth in its orbit and revolving about its axis, stars if viewed by a fixed telescope would soon disappear. It is thus necessary that a telescope be mounted so a star will always be in its field. This is accomplished by using an equatorial mounting in which there are two axes, one called the "polar," that is parallel to the axis of the earth, and the other the "declination,"at right angles to it. Hence, when a star is to be followed, the telescope is clamped in position and by means of clockwork follows the star so it always remains in view. The magnifying power of telescopes is generally expressed in diameters, the practical limit of power being 100 diameters per inch of diameter of the telescope. Thus the 36-inch telescope at the Lick Observatory may give a magnifying power of 3,600 diameters. But such high power can only be used in a very clear atmosphere, and consequently most astronomical observations are made at 1,000 diameters. The largest refracting telescopes in the world are in the United States. The one at Yerkes Observatory, Geneva Lake, Wis., has an object lens 40 inches in diameter, with a focal length of 64 feet. The movable part of the instrument turning on the polar axis weighs about 12 tons, and the clock 1 tons. Other large telescopes are the 36-inch at Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, Cal., where many important astronomical discoveries have been made; the 26-inch at the U. S. Observatory, Washington, D. C., and the 24-inch (photographic objective) belonging to Harvard University. There is a 30-inch refracting telescope at the Allegheny Observatory, Riverview Park, Pa. Abroad is the 30-inch at the Imperial Observatory, Pulkova (near Petrograd), Russia. This telescope has a platform at the lower end of the polar axis, from which observers can readily operate the instrument, The Meudon Observatory (near Paris, France) has a 32-inch, the Potsdam, Prussia, a 31-inch, and the Royal Observatory, at Greenwich, England. a 28-inch. There is a 32-inch at the Nikolaieff Observatory of Russia. Two of the most perfect reflecting telescope instruments ever built are at Mt. Wilson Observatory, Pasadena, Cal. One mirror is silver on glass, 60 inches in diameter, and weighs nearly a ton. The telescope is moved by electric motors in right ascension and declination. An important feature in this instrument is the different focal lengths that can be obtained. The 60-inch mirror has a 25-foot focus, but by a suitable arrangement of mirrors it is possible to get focal lengths of 80, 100 and 150 feet. At the same observatory is a 100-inch reflector; the tube with the mirror at the bottom is 43 feet long, and with the mountings weighs nearly 20 tons. There is a 36-inch reflector at Lick Observatory, Harvard University has a 28-inch and a 60-inch, and at the Yerkes Observatory is a 24-inch. Other notable reflectors are the Lord Rosse, at Birn Castle, Ireland, which has a mirror 72 inches in diameter of speculum metal and a focal length of 54 feet: a 48-inch at Melbourne, Australia; a 60-inch at Ealing, England; a 48-inch at Paris, France, and a 39-inch at Meudon, France. The new 61-inch reflecting telescope at the National Astronomic Observatory, Cordoba, Argentina, is claimed to be the most powerful reflector in the Southern Hemisphere and the third most powerful in the world. The Dominion Astronomical Observatory, Victoria, B. C., Canada, has a 72-inch reflector. Ariz., Ark., Cal., Conn., Col., LECAL HOLIDAYS IN THE UNITED STATES. Jan. 1... New Year's Day (Ex-|April 26...Confed. Mem. Day (in Oct. 12...Columbus Day (in Ala., cept in Mass. and Dist. of Col.). Ala., Fla., Ga., Miss.). Jan. 8...Battle of New Orleans May 9... Arbor Day (in R. I.). (La. only). May 10...Confed. Mem. Day (in) Jan. 19... Birthday of Gen. Lee N. Car., S. Car., and Tenm). (in Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Miss., May 12...Mothers' Day (in N. N. C., S. C., Va. M.). Feb. 2...Arbor Day (in S. Ariz.). May 18... Peace Day (in N. M.). Feb. 12. Lincoln's Birthday (in May 20...Anniv. Signing of the Oct. Cal., Colo., Conn., Del., Ga., Ill., Mecklenburg Declaration Ind., Ia.. Kan., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mont., Neb., Nev., N. J., N. Y., N. Dak., N. M., Ore., Pa., S. Dak., Utah, Wash., W. Va., Wyo. Feb. 12...Georgia Day (in Ga.). Feb. 22...Arbor Day (in Tex.). of Oct. 13...Farmers' Day (In Fla.). 26... Fraternal Day (in Ala.). 31... Admis'n Day (in Nev.). 1... All Saints' Day (in La.). 1...State Fire Day (in Neb.). Independence (in N. Car.). May 30...Confed. Mem. Day except Dist. of Col.) Nov. 23...Repudiation Day (Stamp Act), in Frederick County, Md. Nov. 27... National Thanksgiving Day (usually the last Thursday in November. In every State and Dist. of Col.). 4... Mardi Gras (in Ala., day (in Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Dec. 3...Arbor Day (in Ga.). agreement). Day Mar. 4... Inauguration Day (every 4 years in the Dist. of Col.) June 3...Jefferson Davis' BirthMar. Fla., La., in the parishes of Miss., S. Car., Tenn., Tex. Orleans, St. Bernard, Jefferson, June 3...Confederate Memorial Dec. 25... Christmas (all St. Charles, and St. John the Day (in La.). over Union). Baptist). June 15...Pioneer Day (in Idaho).ments Law adopted by every State Under the Negotiable InstruMar. 17...Arbor Day (in Okla.). June 17...Bunker Hill Day (in in the Union except Cal., Ga., Me., Mar. 25... Maryland Day (in Md.) Boston. Not a legal holiday, Miss., S. Car.. and Tex.. every April 6...Arbor Day (in N. Ariz.) but banks close by general negotiable instrument is payable April 12...Halifax Independence! at the time fixed therein without Resolutions (in N. Car.). July 4...Independence Day (all grace. When the day of maturity April 13.......Jefferson's Birthday (in over Union). falls upon Sunday or a holiday, the Ala.). July 24...Pioneer Day (in Utah).instrument is payable on the next Aug. 1...Colorado Day (in Col.).succeeding business day. In the Aug. 16...Bennington Battle Day United States legal holidays are (in Vt.). fixed by State and Territorial legisAug. 20-21..Good Roads Days|lation. It is customary for the (in Mo.). President to proclaim the last Sept. 2...Labor Day (except in Thursday in November as a day of Ñ. Mex. and Dist of Col.). Thanksgiving. This makes it a Sept. 9...Admis'n Day (in Cal.), legal holiday in the Dist. of Col. Sept. 12...Old Defender's Day (in and in the territories, and it is Baltimore, Md.). customary for State Governors to 'Oct. 7...Missouri Day (in Mo.). 'Ax the same date. April 15... Arbor Day (in Utah). April 21...San Jacinto Day (in April 21...Arbor Day (in Col. and April 23....... Fast Day (in N. H.). 70 Holidays of the World. HOLIDAYS OF THE WORLD. By countries, compiled by the Guaranty Trust Company of New York, and revised for 1919 by Arthur Newton, of the United States Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C. Nov. 27...Thanksgiving Day. during 3... Mon. bef. Lent Carniv. 4...Tues. bef. Lent Carniv. 5...Ash Wednesday. June 22... Coronat'n Day (W. A.). Mar. Sept. 27...Agricultural Show Day April 19... Holy Saturday. Oct. 7...S-Hours' Due days follow Sundays and Oct. 10...8-Hours' Day (S. A.). July 16...Intention of Ind. Day. legal holidays. General Election Nov. 5...Cup Day (Melbourne). July 24...Bolivar Birthday. Nov. 30...St. Andrew's Day Aug. (Queensland and Victoria). Aug. Dec. 16...Separation (Q'land). Sept. Dec. 25...Christmas Day. Oct. Dec. 26... Boxing Day (all States Nov. except South Australia). Nov. Day two every years, ALGERIA. Jan. 1... New Year's Day. 2... All Souls' Day. 8...Immaculate Concept'n. 25... Christmas Day. * Unofficial. Dec. 27...2d Day after Christmas Dec. BRAZIL. Dec. 28...Frocl. Day (S. Aust.) In Australia legal holidays are determined by the various States, just as they are in the United National Holidays for all Brazil. States, and differ considerably in Jan. the several States. In the event of Feb. any of these falling upon a Sunday. April If any the Monday next following is kept May * Unofficial holidays. holiday falls on Friday or Tuesday as a holiday. the banks are closed on Saturday or Monday respectively. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. Jan. 1... New Year's Day. Feb. 2...Purification. Mar. 3, 4.. Ante-Lent Carniv. Dys. April 18...Good Friday. Mar. 25*.. Annunciation. April 17... Holy Thursday. Aug. 30...Santa Rosa de Lima. May 9...The Ascension. June 9... Whit Monday, Nov. Nov. 1...All Saints' Day. Dec. BELGIUM. On all of these days, except those Indicated by an asterisk, banks and Jan. all business houses are closed, as Mar. are also Government offices, law Mar. courts, etc. * Religious days not generally observed by banks and April 8...King's Birthday. business houses. AUSTRALIA. Jan. 1... New Year's Day. April 18*. . Good Friday. 2... Day after New Year's July 21... National Ind. Day. (Victoria). Aug. 15...Assumption. Jan. 26...Foundation Day (in N. Nov. Mar. 17...St. Patrick's Day April 18... Good Friday. 1... All Saints' Day. 8...Immaculate Concept'n. Dec. 25...Christmas Day. LOCAL HOLIDAYS--Commemo- Rio de Janeiro-Jan. 20, Sept. STATES. Alagoas-June 11, Sept. 16. Ceara-Mar. 25, July 12, Nov. Espirito Santo-May 2, May 23, Goyaz-June 1, Dec. 16. * Unofficial, The Brussels Bourse Maranhao-July 28, Nov. 18. does not close on these days. It is Matto Grosso-Jan. 22, June (inclosed, however, every Saturday 13, Aug. 15, Dec. 9. throughout the year. The first Minas Geraes-June 15. day of the Kermesse is usually a Para—June 22, Aug. 15. April 19... Holy Saturday (all but holiday in each locality where this Parahyba-July 20, Aug. 5. New South Wales). April 21...Easter Monday. popular carnival is held. The Parana-April 7, Dec. 19. Kermesse lasts from a week to a Pernambuco-Jan. 27, Mar. 6. June 17, July 24, Nov. 10. Plauhy-Jan. 24, June 13, Nov. 16. April 22... Easter Tuesday (Vic-month, that at Brussels beginning April 26...8-Hours' Day (Vict.). Jan. June 3...King's Birthday. Feb. BOLIVIA. 1...New Year's Day. 3...Birthday Gen, Sucre. Rio Grande do Norte-Mar. 19, Rio Grande do Sul-Sept. 20. Holidays of the World—Continued. Santa Catherina-June 11, Nov.May 29...The Ascension. 17. June 3... King's Birthday. Jan. COSTA RICA. 1... New Year's Day. 71 Sao Paulo-Jan. 25, July 8, June 23...Prince of Wales' B'day. Mar. 19...San José (St. Joseph) July 1*.. Bank Holiday. Dec. 15 April 11... Battle of Rivas. Sergipe-May 18, Oct. 11, Oct. Oct. 30...Muhammadan Hadji. Jan. Jan. BULGARIA. tional bank holidays: 9...Buddhist Wesak. 29, 30, 31...Bank Holidays. May 1...Sur'nder Gen. Walker June 19*.. Corpus Christi. Aug. 15*..Assumption. 1... Christmas Day (O.S.). Oct. 19...Dipawali Festival. Sept. 15...Anniv. C. Amer. Ind. 8...2d Xmas Day (O.S.) The dates of native festivals are Dec. Oct. 12... Discovery of America. 9*..3d Xmas Day (0.S.). 8*..Immaculate Concept'n. approximate only: they are notified Dec. 25...Christmas Day. Jan. 14...New Year's Day (O.S.). in due course in the Government Dec. Jan. 19...Theophanie (O.S.). The Gazette. The principal Moham- * Unofficial. Epiphany. medan and Chinese holidays are Jan. 20..2d Day of Theophanie. also observed to some extent in Jan. 31*.. Prince Boris Birthday. Ceylon. Feb. 15*.. Purification (O.S.). Feb. 27...B'day King Ferdinand. Mar. 4...Treaty of St. Stephano. April 18...Good Friday. April 7... Annunciat'n Theotokos April 19...Holy Saturday. (O.S.). April 17*.. Holy Thursday. April 19*.. Holy Saturday. April 21... Easter Monday. April 22... Easter Tuesday. dious (O.S.). May 29...The Ascension. May 21...Anniv. Battle Iquique. May 24.St. Cyril and Metho-Sept. 19... Celebration of Victories April 18... Good Friday. of Army and Navy. April 20...Easter. May 29*.. The Ascension. April 21... Easter Monday. Aug. 15... Coronation 8... Whit Sunday. 9... Whit Monday. 3*.. King's Birthday. June 5... Constitution Day. June Aug. 19...Transfiguration (O.S.). Jan. 1 to 3.. New Year's Holidays. Dec. 25...Christmas Day. 1... New Year's Day. Feb. 27... Founding of Republic. 6*.. The Epiphany. April 17...Holy Thursday. April 18...Good Friday. June 18*.. Corpus Christi. May 29*.. The Ascension. June 29...St. Peter and St. Paul. July 5... Memorial Day. Dec. 26*.. Day after Christmas. Aug. 15*.. Assumption. Foreign exchange banks and 1...New Year's Day. foreign chambers of commerce at Aug. 16... War for Independence. 6...The Epiphany (Queb.). Peking and the Treaty Ports observe Oct. 12...Discovery of America. 5... Ash Wednesday (Que-most of the foregoing, though the Nov. 1*.. All Saints' Day. bec, Alberta and Saskatchewan). practice is not uniform at all ports. Dec. 25...Christmas Day. Dec. S*.. Immaculate Concept'n. April 18...Good Friday. * Unomcial. These holidays are * Unofficial. April 21... Easter Monday. not observed by the Chinese. May 24... Victoria Day. Jan. Jan. Mar. CANADA. May 29...The Ascension (Queb.). + The Chinese New Year or Spring DUTCH EAST INDIES. Holiday falls on a different day Jan. 1... New Year's Day. every year. It comes between Jan. Feb. 1...Chinese New Year. 20 and Feb. 19. The Dragon Boat April 18...Good Friday. Festival is the 5th day of the 5th April 21...Easter Monday. moon in the Chinese calendar. May 29...The Ascension. Nov. 1t.. All Saints' Day (Queb.) while Mid-Autumn Holiday is the July 21...End of Poewasa Month 8... Immaculate Concept'n 15th day of the 8th moon. (Quebec). Sept. 1...Labor Day. |