The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-22

/ NelOpbu Ill Lu6 6hIlu DCelN
while Europe was represented only
by islands rising here and there
above the sea, America already
stretched an unbroken line OF land
from Nova Scotia to the fer west.
In this c. SO America, not Europe, Ii
to be regarded as the "Old World.
FUTURE CHANGES IN THE ATLANTIC BED
Bearing these data in mind, we can
easily ses the force OF Professor Daw-
sons conclusions. Coming to the
question OF future chsngts in the At
lantic. he gays: "Ihe question. re-
mains, has the Atlantic achieved It's
destiny and flashed IFS course, or are
there ether changes in store Tor 1t IN
the future? The earths crust is now
thicker and stronger than ever before,
and its great ribs Of crushed snd folded
rock are more firm and rigid than 10
any previous period. GA the
other hand, Il ia Known that move
ments OF elevation. along with local
depressions, are in progress in the
Arctic regions, and a great weight Of
new sediment is being deposited
along the borders OF the Atlantic,
especially on its western side, and this
is not improbably connected with the
earthquake shocks and slight move
ments of depression which have oc'
cured ia North Amer ca. IL tsp ISL
Bile that these slow and secular move
ments may go on uninteuuptedly
until considerable changes are pre-
duced, but it 10 quite as likely that
they may be retarded or res rived. "
He adds: 1T is pcs,ib e, on the other
hand, that after the long period OF
quitscenC which has apsed there
msy be a new settlement Of the ocean
he'd, accompanied with fo!dings OF the
crust, especially on tle western side OF
the Atlaatic, and post bly, with ie'
newed vocs mic activity GU it's eastern
margin In either case q long time
re a'ively to our limited human chro-
nology may intervene befor the occu,-
renc3 OF any MAJ ked change"
Is THE EARTH's INTERIOR HOT AND
FLUID2
A most important question under
lyipg ell ssismolr gicAl quirits Is
whether the interior OF our Z ODE is g
molten masp. Until comparatively
recent times physicists aim st una1i-
m1usly agreed that the process OF
qualification began by radiation from
the cooling Of thu earth's SUI
face exposed to the atmosphere
and that the particles near the
center continued hot and fluid.
Fourier, Laplace, humboldt and
many great names are associated with
this theory. 1.-THE h at OF the water
which flows firm deep borings (arte-
sisn wellt), direct experin ents regard
ing the teml lature OF rocks in mines,
above all, the volcanic activity Of the
cath, shown by the flow OF molten
masses from open fissure afford un
questionable evidpnc )" said Hum
boldt, "ol the INCREASE of heat r
very considerable depths from the
upper slraa" II the oh etvations on
increase OF heat b.low tue tarth's tur-
face afford any light on the therm ii
state OF great subterranean depths, 1t
fellows that giani Q rocks lying thirty
miles under our feet will be in a sta Q
of fusion.
sUBrERRANEAN HEAT.
Pc s ION contended that the warmth
of water ia the art 9sian wells Is
merely that which has D. netrA q iuto
the earth fr, m without But this is
manifest y an impossible explanation,
as the rss of Temperature as we go
dowOward increases in every part Of
the g ODE, iirstp ctive Of the teas ons
and # ths tempfreture OF the eaIth's
crus'. Observati Dds on the pendulum
have also apparently shown that the
specific CAVITY OF the cath under the
great mountain chains is generally Less
than in the neigh o ing pliins, which
is, as Prof. Newcomb urges, "exactly
the result that would flow from the
theory" Cha the earh's interior il
molteo). Matbematiclans have, never
the ess, found it hard tn reconcile
with ttis the orr the pheuomepa Of
ihs procession Of the eqIitox s, nu a
{ on and dee, rs the eaIth rstists tue
lido pre- du ing forces of the Gun End
moon almost prtc's ly al II IL were q
Gold planet. BIT 4this arsument
which hgs been pressed by Sir Will
lam Thomst II and o hers. Is defect We
and ircoEclus We. This d s;ii
gulshed SCENTS, while contending
that much thu larger part o.
the earlhs interior 10 solid, admits
that lhsro may be within It's howsl,
great seas of molten matter which i:
oc,as onally beched forth ( ON vol
caulc Gomez. 1t il certain that this il
actually the tsr In many geograpbi
csl aeas--ei p4ialiy in the socalleC
volcanic districts, aud within the "cit
cles Of iiIe" which have ben tyscet
by volcanic Crsters emerging frt m tn,
grand oceanic ba ins. / would eh'
he difficult to exp ain thu fact no'eC
by the great physicist Forbes, ,ha
lavas ftom Vesuviu', from Hec)a, IRON
e. Andes, from Janan and nom New
u alsnd PIES Mt such agre ement in es
tential paritu ars as can seemingly b,
acc united for ony on the hypr thesi
that they all tmauRte from one YES
ctmmon eourlt.
Blu in the light now alta ned or ct
a'nab'e by thu most eminent physi
cists 1t would be ab urd to tsser tn
absolute fluid ty or absolu soliIty o
the earth's central ma 8.
Among the ingenious theoli de
vised to TX olain seismic disturbance
Is the athac i've intluenC, Of the moo
snd suo, Prof, Percy, a gr at seit
molo i,a student, held the view tina
earlhqu ,kes felt at certain seasons G
the Year were possibly due 10 the sui
aud nom p oducing tidein the tlu,'
interior of The globe, anu that this lid
preetiog agsiust the solid crus ciuse'
fractures. Though the theoly Rrint,
m st crede CO on account OF ITS adcp
lion by Pr ey, il was rnunciAled Ion
before his day, and hes since bee
amplif d by Fab. Assuming tina
emthqu ikes are wholly caused by tn
lunar AID solar a trsc ion, and tina
tb,y may / ereicre be predicted, Fal
stl, mpted predic ions, aud in | S7S, .
Prof Milne STA e., che preiicted tn
destructive earthquake of B luGo
which earned for himself euloS isti
lo.m."
PROF. MINES OPINION.
Though not fully accaptin; Percy
ond Fal5's WE'VE, Pot M,lae argu