Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1868-10-23
The Use of EarthQuakes.


The Use of EARTHQUAKES.
In the New York Times We find long
paper on earth qnakes. We extract the fol-
lowing passage relating to the important
part they play in preventing the earth from
being all washed away into the ocean
IL is matter of obsc' ya,ion that every
where around the coast line Of every CONT.
nent, the sea is constantly at work warning
against The land. crumbling it away at its
edges. grinding it 10 powder. and carrying
the detritus away and spreading 1t over it,
own bottom This process is slow but it
goes on JoTerer. and the result is that in
time Chat ~, in The secular time in which
geology works. the structure OF continents
Is entirely worn away, and new ones arc
formed out OF the ruins Of former ones Ii is
quite certain that our present land was
formerly the bed OF the sea. and that con-
tInental masses once reared their forms
where now rolls the deep and dark blue
OCEAN Now. rightly estimated this
mighty power ot the aqueous agents which
.
the carth's surface to 4 level. IL - easy 10
see that. il they went on unopposed they
would at length ''cleaE away and spread
over the bed Of the ocea al all our present
existing continents and islands" and. in-
deed, they have been at work long enough
to have, il unopposed, pro Iucei this very
result
IL Is the earthquake and the volcano which
place themselves in opposition to this de-
structise tendency; so that VIZ may regard
the Igneous agents As in constant antago-
n'smto the aqueous agents--the latter labor
ing incessantly To- oblierate the land, while
the former are equally active in restoring it
What are these iSneous agents, and what is
their source!
1t is a tact perfectly assured that in pro
portion as we descend into the earth the
heat augmcnts, and the deeper we 20 ;hc
hotter the earth Is found to be. THIS is
proven by numberless observations that
have been made. not only in the temperature
OF the ar in mines, but in that of rocks and
in the water issuing from them Ia boring
artesIan wells the water alwavs comes up
hot, and the deeper the boring the hotter
the water. In the iamou, sells IA Paris at
La GFenellc, the water rises from dcp,h
OF 1874 feet and its temperature Is - deg.
Fahrenheit, which Is almost that Of TIA tqua-
tor. The same thing appears in natural hot
springs, Tor instances that OF y sau-as,
,hI.h - -.al.I.p.s k,t sI,.a ......,...,,
Gus tempe rAture of loD deg rbis increase
i, estimated at about degree OF the
thermometer additional warmth for every
ninety feet OF additional depth; or about
So deg. per mile "a, twenty miles depth, >
says distinguished physicist. according
to this rate. the ground must be fully red
hot ;aui at no such very great depth be, ond
either. the whole must be- melted. or only
the most intusib'c And iniractable kinds Of
material, such as our fire clAyes and hln,s,
would present some degrees Of solidity"
Now, though geology does not say that
there may not be solid central mass in
the interior Of the earih-"kept solid in
spite Of The heat by the enormous pressure -
-tt Hbf1 rAF All4N NJ iNtUtfNNf iaAl~t "
terrestrial phenomena compcls rs 10 con.
clude that beneath the crust OF the earth
there is sea of liquid FIRE. on which the
continents and the land underneath the ocean
are floating This central FIRE Is not only
incnndescent matter. bot il is matter iu a
state OF energetic elasticity continually
reac,ing upon the structure OF the earth,
anI making itsclf felt more or e.s palpahle
sometimes producing violent undulaiofy
motions. and at other times breaking through
the crust and vomiting forth lava and the
central nIid. The former Of these com.
motion. are styled earthquakes the latter
volcanoes there is little doubt that they
have a common origin, and. as has already
been observed it is their function to coun.
teract the levclling effect Of water. partly by
heapins up new matter 100 certain localities,
and partly by Deepening one portion, and
forcing oli another OF lh. earth crvrf..
i, remains 10 see in what manner ;bis i.
done