THE TOWNS WITHIN THE ZONE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8122, 18 April 1906, Page 3

THE TOWNS WITHIN THE ZONE.

The towns within the zone of the eruption, which have been mentioned by the cable messages, are Torre del Greco, Torre Annunziati, and San Uuiseppe. The first of these is o flourishing town of some 35,000 inhabitants, which stands on the lava streams of 1631. Twothirds of the older towns were destroyed iu that outbreak. Again in 1737 and 1794 grenfc damage was sustained from lava, whilst the earthquakes of 1857 aud 1861 proved till more destructve. On this last occasion eleven small openings were 1 formed Immediately above the town, whence vast showers of ashes were precipitated, while the shore in the vicinity wbb upheaved to the extent of three feet, causing the ruin of any houses. The sens* of security which is natural in man, when uot brought faoe to face with imminent danger, ia well illustrated by the faot that people persist in I inhabiting such regions. "Although the entire base of Vesuvius, as far as Torre Annunziata, is covered with traces of simiiar catastrophe," says the writer already quoted, "yet the inhabitants appear never to be de- ' terred from rebuilding their dwellinga." Some idea of the nature of the country around Vesuvius may be gathered from N the desuription of the road from Resina to Vesuvius. Diverging to the left from the high road immediately beyond the trance to the excavations of Hercu-' laoeum, it pauses through luxuriant gardens, which nre interspersed with gardens and cottages, presenting a picture <if teeming fertility, and yielding the famous Laorimae wine, which is generally strong and heavy, and never of a vary refined quality. Probably it will bo a long time before any more of that wine is made. The Royal Observatory aod Chapel of San Salvntore are situated about an hour and a halt's journey from Resina at an elevation of 1,995 feet above tlie sea. The first director of tjie observatory, which now no longer exists, was the famous Melloni, who died in 1854. His successor, Palmleri, who died in 1896, remained at his post in the observatory ,ou April 26th. 1872, when a huge stream of lava issued from the Atrio del Oavallo with such suddenness as to overtake and destroy twenty persons out of a crowd of spectators who were watching the spectacle of the eruptions of that year, while others were injured by the stones thrown from the summit. A slab was placed at the entrance of the observatory in memory of the travellers who per ished in the Atrio del Cavallo, on that occaasion. Torre Annunziata was a prosperous town of 28,084 inhabitants, with a small harbour. A beautiful glimpse was obtainable from the town of the Hay of Oastellamare with the town, commanded by Monte Sant Angelo, tbo summit of which is crowned by the chapel of San Michele. THE CAUSES OP THE EH OPTION. The causes of these volcanio phenomena are still matters of conjecture. It is highly probable, says one authority, that they are intimately connected with water, for all the principal voloanoes are situated near the eea or some large iake. The enormous clouds of steam generated during eruptions cannot easily be explained, except on the theory of some temporary communication of the water with the burning liquids of the iuterior of the earth, while the premonitory earthquakes are possibly occasioned by the vapours and gases as they expand and endeavour to flnd an outlet. The red-hot fluids expelled from the volcano by moans of these vapours are oalled Lava. When, however, they are broken by the vapours into fragments, the larger of these are koown as Bombs, the smaller as Lapiili or Scoriae, whilst the minute portions form Volcanio Ashes, with which Naples appears to have been smothered. If the sides of tbe cone are strong enough

to resist the prejsure of the moUen lava, the latter flows, out from the top df the crater; but if not, a lateral fissure is formed, through which the lava is forced, at first from the top, and later from the bottom of iche cleft. Serious eruptions are aacompanied by loud subterranean noises, earthquakes and flashes uf lightning, and peals of thunder, owing to the electricity produced by the sudden condensation of the steam and the intense friction, cf the clouds of steam and ashes. The temporature of the lava as it descends occasionally exceeds 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The volume and velocity of the streams vnry; the latter is affected by the consistency and temperature of the lava, as well as by the slope of the ground. The surface of the lava when ccld ultimately becomes disintegrated into black sand. The smoke which ascends from the crater is more or loss dark iu colour, according to the quantity of ashes raiugled with it. The appearance of fire at night is not flame but the reflection of the molten lava in the interior of the crater on the rising clouds of va* pour and ashes."