Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-11-25

= - J - - lsurssei Tn.-
49, 4 81 , q 16ssat Il II
AA90 r. - (n1nne - the 18Th q
- 80 = - Win - - lsisnt q
fasel = 80 obdwsts nsAa1s eDd MIN
sEal s1Aso1noes. Hence the inference
that t. central part Of the earth Is in
IN incapdsscent state. Allowing the
cruat 70 BE- 80 miles in thickness, and the
dianetsr Of the earth to be {, 900 miles, then
1850 Of the satirs distance from one side
Of ~ sasth - the opposite side viii Be
hllsd with melted matter. The solid crust
Of the earth u not nearly A. thick, in
proportion, - the skin Of an orange IL to
the part enclosed BY it. II Is not strange
that this comparatively thin crust should
bend and crack asunder az the earth. was
being reduced from Auid or plastic state
into solid one.
II il we'll established fact that Jupiter
and some other Of the larger planets Of
the solar system, have only about one
fourth the density OF the earth. Now If
these planets ever assume the density Of
our earth, or our earth should ever
become a. dense as the planet Mercury,
which IL much heavier aud has about the
density Of lead, there must in each In
stance be great reduction OF size and
consequently great heat would be evolved.
During this antagonistio process Of re-
duction Of sizo and the evolution Of heat
In our earth, it is evident that rents must
have been made in the earth's crust
which was then much thinner than at
present. As the earth continued to grow
smaller, the outer crust become wrinkled
and collapsed. Hence it is that in the
older stratified rocks we observe the pill
Gated or highly inclined strata. Many
are led to believe, when they see the
stratified rocks with their strata nearly
perpendicular, that "some great convul-
sion in nature" has placed them in that
attitude. This is not necessary. 1t re-
quires comparatively no greater convul-
sion to produce the inequalities or fold
ings of the earth's crust than it does to
produce the wrinkles in the skin of an
apple when the bulk of the apple is re-
duced and it becomes shrivelled by drying
or by being baked. The elevations and
depressions on the surface of baked APP
pie are much greater in proportion than
are the hills and valleys of the earth
The skin of an apple is highly elastic,
but even with its elasticity it is sometimes
burst asunder and the juices of the apple
are forced through it into the hot oven
And SO with the earth's crust 1t has
become wrinkled, and being inelastfc to
certain extent, it has cracked, and out Of
these cracks melted matter has been
forced by the intense heat and disengaged
gasses, steam and continued pressure of
the contracting crust, till long mountain
ranges and numerous volcanic islands
have been formed on the line Of this great
fracture. When the break has once been
made, the fused matter, which is called
lava, will more readily escape through
these cracks than at points where the
crust is solid-eyen il not so thick Hence
it is that we often find lava escaping from
the top peaks of the Andes instead of
breaking out at lower points on the land
or through the oceans bed, where the
crust is unbroken.
And it is along this line OF fracture
that the crust is most likely to be affected
by the surging tide Of lava and made TO
bend and produce earthquakes. 1t was
the bending of the crust, made weak by
the fracture, that caused those waves of
the Pacific to rush, with such destructive
force upon the coast of Chill, at the time
Of the earthquake there and the shakings
more recently in San Francisco. 1t is
only along the line of these vents or fs-
sures that destructive earthquakes abound.
No spot on the earth suffers more from
Celebes volcanic islands that have been
formed on line of fracture near where
the two lines diverge.
And no portion of the earth is so secure
from earthquakes AZ points remote from
these assures. Hence it is that they are
seldom felt in New England, and when
felt the shocks are not severe. They only
result from the slight bending OF the
earth's Gust the great wave OF melted
matter surges along beneath it. The time
will doubtless soon arrive when volcanic
i 4 II
tons noted with such nicely "a to deter
mine exactly where every earthquake
wave finds an outlet.
Had observations been made NJ the
time OF the recent earthquake III Vermont
it is probable that some volcano would
have shown additional activity when the
wave reached it Unfortunately for
science most volcanoes are FAR from tele-
graph line. aud beyond the easy reach Of
scientific observation. Bqt Alaski and
Eastern Asia are being brought 30 near
US that we may reasonably expect tina.
within twenty-five years the volcanoes of
the japan Islands will be more easily
reached than Vesuvius was twenty-five
years ago. When this time comes and
suitable observations are made it will be
found that the volcanic eruptions which
followed the destruction OF Pompeii,
Calabria and Lisbon were MOI accidental,
but resulted from the grea. waves that
shook down those ill-fn.ed cities, and that
every earthquake. however small, affects
more or less some volcanic vent where the
surplus lava finds exit and thus re.
| lieves for time the extra PRESSURE that is
| brought - bear upon tta m rtter ENCLOSED
| by the earth- crust.
| ID As mos. persons find it convenient TO accept
the judgment of bankers or experts in the matter
of permanent Investments, the following concern
ing Messrs. Fisk Hatch, which We take from
the New York Hethodist, bear directly on thai