Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-09-20
A GREAT GLOBE.
TIE BIG MODEL or THE EARTH
AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.
&c Reveals Various Proportions
and Distances in Wav
That Inparts New ideas
or Geography.

| the model Of the earth, constructed with
| the utmost accuracy to the scale OF one
millimctre'p per kilometre-that is to say,
onc-millionth of the NATURAL size; and this
is carried out in design and execution
with consumma.e SKILL whether regarded
from scientific, from an artistic, or
from mechanical point OF view.
The construction of an accurate model
of the Garth one-lnillionth of its natural
size has not been done without cncoun-
tcring many difficulties. 1t meant the
building up sphere the diameter of
which is very nearly forty-two English
feet, and painting on it all the details of
the surface of the earth, followed by its
erection under II domed building in such
Il way that every portion Of its surface
can be easily seen and examined The
globe is built upon framework or skcle-
ton of wrought iron, forming number of
meridianal ribs attached at the poles to n
central vertical axis or shaft. The out
side surface of these meridiGns is covered
with wood, to which arc fixed the panels
upon which the geographical surface is
painted The panels are formed of sheets
OF special kind OF hand mGde millboard
OF the requisite spherical curvature, and
are covered with Il hard coating of plaster
The spherical surface is divided into
forty segmcnts, each OF nine degrees of
longitude, and these are each made up of
tapering bands or panels, the width Of the
equatorial band being exactly one metre
along its horizontal centre line; there are,
therefore, 400 of these panels OF different
sizes, and the geographical painting upon
them was done before they were fixed in
their places, which was effected in such
n manner as to facilitate their removal
and replacement when the globe c taken
away ut the close of the Exhibition.
The building which surrounds the
globe is twelvc-sidcd iron and rlass
globe being supported from below Oil a
vertical axis The building is entered by
Il lift, which lands visitors on platform
near the top, somewhere opposite the
latitude of Spitzbergen, but the north
polar regions may be examined by pass
ing over the north pole by means of three
light iron semi-bridgcs or stairways,
uniting radially at the centre immediately
over the axis. Except at the part oppo-
site the door of the lift the platform is
not level, but is so constructed as to form
a spiral gallery descending by IN almost
impcrceptiblc slope until it reaches the
| ground after making number of turns;
thus every portion of the carths surface
can be infinitely examined, and moreover,
as the globe is capable of being turned on
its axis with the greatest ease, the whole
circumference of any parallel of latitude
may be looked ut without the observer
changing his position, and so perfect is
the centring and balancingoi the globe,
that although it weighs nearly thirteen
tons, boy can with ease rotate it by
means OF u handwlecl attached by bcvel
and intermediate gearing to the south
polar end of the axis.
The execution of the cartoeraphical
portion of the work is extremely beauti-
full, and it must be remembered that tho
surface is of such size mo less than 225
square fccD that very considerable detail
can be well shown upon it. Not only
the forms of countries and the contours
OF large districts easy to he depicted, but
even cities may have their general form
| and size drawn 10 scale aud some OF tho
principal thoroughfares represented. For
example, the city OF Paris on this globe
is very nearly Il centimctrc long, and oc-
cupies space large enough for the Seine
and even the Exhibition, to be fairly
marked, as well rs some of the principal
streets and buildings. Thus the actual
proportions between the areas OF great
cities and those of continents, oceans and
the earth itself are for the first tine ac-
curately shown, and rs every one IS fairly
familiar with the size Of the city in which
he lives, he is enabled by this model to
form toierably accurate estimate of di-
r tln Il At
earth.
Perhaps the most striking illustration
of this, and proving the great value of
the model as an educational object, is the
fact that not only are the dimensions of
, the seas and continents altogether differ
, cnt from the mental estimate one is accus-
toned to make, but their very positions
seem to take one by surprise. This is
easily accounted for by the fact that the
maps in an atlas are all necessarily Of the
same size, their scale being chosen so rs
to reduce each country or continent to the
dimensions suitable for the size of the
plates. Again, it is customary to place n
continent in the middle of the map, the
ocean being represented only by IA very
small portion to the right or left of it, as
the case may be, and few people have any
clear conception, for example, of how
very small or how very far north Europe
is, how far north is the Indian Peninsula,
or how far south are Australia, New Zca-
land, and Cape Horn. The great globe at
Paris, however, reveals these things at a.
glance. When the observer is Mt n level
considerably above equatorial regions
of Africa, Europe is altogether in
visible, il is round the corner. o,.
as the sailors would say, "hull down."
and India and even Ccylon are far above
the level OF the eye. Australia and New.
Zealand on the other hand, are invisible
southwark, the steamer routes leaving
Colombo and GALES on the north pass
diagonally over the apparently boundlcss
ocean, and disappear over, Or rather
under, the rotundity of the water to the
southeast. But by far the most surf
prising fact that is clearly illustrated by
tt,ic Sc.