Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1829-03-21


vague speculation. As far as We know, his theo.
ny of the internal space being filled with light is
n)vei, and belongs To the Professor exclusively,
although the idea of central fire iSvefy ancient
and very general
We shall now take brief aud dcsultory view
OF Various theories, all founded upon !psss..Ppos'-
ton that the earth IS hollow aud cav.rd"es.
| In the Le'res PiySigucs ct M,raies SIR 4 It's
TORE de la Terre ct det' H,mnie, BY VI: DE- Luz,
we find the following passage :.1kr The DiatHh, nj
the ancient sea (Which coeeiyd Jour cenrincnts
before the DeIuge) had under RScaveri,s who's.
vaults being tnInned, and impaired by the eY,s,.
"a ions made by suberraneous fires, were eifhsf
pierced, or fell IN from time To- times. ..
III was an opinion entertained, We. believe, by
the celebrated d.. HALEY, that the interior Of Tin.
earth might consist of IA separate globe, detached
thought 1t not imp,oDsl that as the h4,,on of
the shell would be more pan that otthG kerr
net 'hat circumstance III OCCASION the Sa-
ton ot the ma .Inetic needle.>
1t has been supposed, by some writer's, that,
there are subtelranean covImuncatioIs cuinect<
Ing all the countries of the earth; and the stimuli
tAneoas earthquakes aud VOLCANIC phenomena al
| remote places, have been ad,iuctd as plars BILE
| argument IN favor OF this con lecture.
| On the memorable first OF November, 1855,
ah"utten O'Clock IN the morning, when the EARTH
quake SD fatal IL. Eisidn happened, the wOrkmen
| III the Derlyshlre mines were greatly alarmed
he rocks wlic t.Sarrounded them were 81 much
disturbed tl,at$.iI2Sxc. tell fro their FONTS or
assures; and tha5 likewise heard violen, expio-
| sions, as 1t were of cannnli."
| We now come to the most singular geological
| theory that has ever been seriously entertained;
aud which we noticed some length, upwards OF
! ten years ago.
! In the number Of the old series Of the KnLado-
scope published October 10, 1918, we meuYIned
| the singular hypothesis of Capt. Synmes Of Ohio,
who maintained that our globe was hollow within.
aud formed OF concahtrn spheres, aud that It was
open at both poles This hypothesis, extravaganza
As 1t apPeated to be, Captain Sy,pmes was sand to
have demonstrated 10 the satsiaciiDI>ut scientific
men, including. DIR. Mitchell IA The Knleida-
| scope of Sep,enher ~ ,;,2G. we resumed The sub
Iect III an ctito'ra, article, whicl stated that
Captain S'~anca medltatcd an expedition to the
aperture, winch, he was assured, was 10 he found
n""~i hC S;nuth Pole. Since that time we have
entirely lost sight of this gentleman, who, for am
ihing We know To the. contrary, may have fnund
ms way int" the polar funnel, which. like
mouse trap, may be easy gel in but very diff
Quito get out at.
Before we proceed further wirh this interesting,
Nd wc may say. enchanting speculation, we shalt
'"hure to "tler few remarks "f oar own, which
"e not the result ot lle LScent agitation. of the
htIect, tut which oriInafed in reasoning by
uaogy, founded ON the economy of nature. OBJ
rrvable IN all her works.
When we reflect that man has never by min
ug, boring, ar any other process succeeded IN
"e"etrating into the earth more than quarter, or
salt II lie deep. and when further relcc, that
he earihs diameter is about eight thousand miles
Ho mnet ADM, that the excavations effected nv
'uman art bear no greater proportions IT, the cart.
is@!t than the impaipable dust lying upon the
$ rive q an eighteen inch globe hrals to the
-i'!c self Since We could reflect at all it has
| iwats eemed To lis improbable and inconsistent
Ath the designs of the Author of nature that
the whole Of our earth should he occupied with
, 50 III matter: never could conceive how such
AL immense and closely packed mass, could he
! possibly 'dered snbservient 10 the economy of
nature, ar useful to the beings that people the
| earth. Nature always adapts the means to the
end, and never employs superhuiiy of the mat
| Ter from which her works are moulded Thus,
| animal bonrs are constructed hollow. hy which
means they combine strength and luhtness
IN The same compass than they would contain In
any other form. Is it likely then, that Provi-
dcnce, whish has assigned the earth as the resi-
drnce OF man, of animated nature, and inr the
growth OF vegetation, should have merely adapted
the exteina! crust to their purposes, filled all the
internal recesses of the globe with inert and pom
deTous matter, inaccessible to man ar ether crea-
lures! 1t appears to us more consonant there
| foT", WIN what we know OF the ccOnDU- and the
harmnny of nature, believe that the earth Is
not solid to the centre, as is generally supposed
but that IN lis vast recesses there 10 ample scope
Tor the free enjoyment of animal life nor is there
any thing extravagant III the supposltion that the
interior cavity of the ea,th may he as well u-
minated as the exterior surface. The band that
could light up the torch of the cold glow worm
could render the subtefrapeau vault visible at
will
In note appended to letter in the Northern
| Wig to which we have before adyerted there is
one remarkable observation which will deeply III
terest our scientific readers In speaking of the
theory Vi Captain Symmes, which we have no.
tced IN preceding part Of this article our lnte-
gent brother editor says" He captain ST. has
has been confirmed in this belief by circum-
stance which has occurred to Captain Parry and
fathers who have endeavoured to explore the
Northwest Passage. They found, by ~. ans of
an accurate chrqpometer, that the sum- in very
high latitude, sets for considerable time before
that laid down IN the almanac, from which CAP.
tain Symmes infers, that, tor great distances
round that orihce at the Poles, the waters hollow
In, k,<,,p 81. ri