Wheeling compiler. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [i.e. W. Va.]) 1829-1831, 1830-06-16

ltiOfN w. AtttlHt4i IL GhLlU1NS III 10 nNfae.At
the elements of bird, destined to cut the
air with velocity superior TO- tbeswlnds.
Thus was our earth placed, motionlcsS
amid the darkness Of the heavens, when
the sun appeared. launching alar It's al
fractions, light aud life. The earth, drawn
by his paiernal influence, presented the
brightest side Of her circumference and
approached heruler Of her desiinies. Per
haps the mighty Cordilleras in the west,
or the lofty mountains Of Java, of BOrneO,
and Of New Holland in the east, were first
offered to his attractive force These last.
as well as those of the oriental Indics, ap-
pear to have been first visited by the suns
rays, and to enjoy the honors of antiquity,
from the richness Of their products, 50 far
surprising those of the western world.
Scarcely had the earth felt, titough the
medium oC her atmosphere, the heat Of the
star of day, when becoming lighter on
those hem.sphercs Of which he sun had
dissolved the ices, aad heavier on those
which he had not vet heated, she tens up
on herself and finishes her first revolCtioD.
Il was then her poles became firmly fixed
by the weight OF SHOWS and ices accumu-
lating upon them; then that she formed a
round her an equator, aud envelOpcd her
self in two seas. one the waters Of the o.
ccan, and the other those evaporated fluids
rolled up in masses like the Alpine noun
tains, which the winds deposite ia snow
and ice, in places beyond the influence of
ibe solar heat. 1t was then, in short, that
the hcmispheres found their equilibrium.
One may form some idea of this immense
evaporation, by considering that which is
occasioned by the sun daily, whilst above
the horizon in the torrid zones, and which
condensed into clouds, the winds trans
port and deposite in those places where he
no longer shines. 1t is evident, that a
portion of the globe becoming lighter by
the warmth Of day, and the other half hea-
vier by the GOODNESS of the night, the earth
losing its equilibrium ought to turn upon
its poles; aud as it always advances from
the west. which is the heaviest, towards
the SUM-, and repels the eastern surface
which he has rendered lightest, she turns
ia a sense opposed to that Of his attractive
force. Thus her rotation is in equIlibrl-
UNI with his attraction; for If she turned IN
the direction Of her course, or in concur
renee with his attraction, she would IN
doubtedly precpitate herselfinto the sun.
The force of this daily evaporation Of
the ocean is very considerable IN the tor
rid zour, for we may perceive II with
gance at the volume Of ITS clouds, pill
e, up like the CordilIeras, and driven
continually TO the west by the trade winds.
But however clear may be It's azure at
mosohere. if the winds but change, n an
instant the subtle vapors with which IT
was CHARGED. become sensible, ia the form
of dense clouds, which obscure the heav-
ems. The air in these ATTITUDES, IS at all
times so humid, that it corodes steel ex-
posed TO its action, and the gold and silver
stufs which are transported to, and from
the Indies:-must be shielded from its IN
Auence. bv trunks lined with soldered tin;
without this precaution they are ruined by
the searching moisture. Join to the evap-
Grafton of the torrId zones, that OF the two
tempcrate. and even part Of the glacial
zones. II IS evident, that the sun acting at
the same time upon nearly half Of the sur
face ofthe globe. renders il lighter by his
presence. But as the yapors which he
thus ralscs.-fall again by the cold Of night
on the hemisphere which he abandons, II
follows that the impolliDg rotary force Is
doubled; one side of the globe becoming
heavier. whilst the other IS reduced IN
weight
This mechanism which produces the
successive days and nights, is similar to
that which balances the poles, and which
ojves the alteration TO the seasons. Thus.
when the ices ofthe one are more cOnsld-
erable than those Of the opposite pole It
apDroaches IFS hemisphere 10 the sun, and
ENJOYS the genial summer, whilst the 9th
or which recedes is bound in wintry chains
But this latter becoming heavier m ITS turn
Inv bo accommodating SHOWS and ices, and
he former. lighter by the dissolution Of a
norton offs own, they change alternately
their temperatures and seasons, placing
them in equilibrium, in the annual motloas
Of The earth from North to South, ana
from South 10 North. It is from the same
source that Is derived the motions Of the
earth from West 70 East, gIvIngus The al
ternations ofnight and day.-fhe side pre-
scented to the sun being always heaviest,
the globe of necessity turns upon himself
The aulhog would have been able, w.t.
the aid Of some algebraic formula, 10 give
an imposing and mysterious air to these
principles, but lie regards calculation as o
dangerous service, especially when aPpn
ed to the laws ofnature, for If this science
sets out with wrong principle as ire
quenty happens, It leads 10 ncaieuiaD'e