Year: 1871

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Scientific Sensation.


We have all heard Of the great year" "
which Is supposed to be equal to twenty
sixty thousand, or, more accurately,
twenty-five thousand eight hundred
and sixty-sight of our years. We are
told that it has its season-spring, sum-
mer, autumn and winter-and that ever
since the Deluge the denizens Of those
portions of the earth lying between the
Polar circles have been enjoying the
summer Of the great year. This astron.
omical period is measured by the
procession Of the equinoxes. It may be
necessary to explain that the procession
Of the equinoxes is a continual shifting
OF the equinoctial points from east to
west. II, for the sake of illustration, a
particular point in the heavens where
the sun crosses the equator this year bs
noted, next year the sun will cross .
little to the westward Of that point and
so on every year until a complete circle
has been described by this shifting
point; or, rather, till an entire revolu-
ton has been made, which will be in
twenty-five thousand eight hundred
and sixty eight years. But there are
said 10 be some other conditions enter
ing into the problem which reduce the
period of revolution to twenty one thou
sand. This is, of course, All imaginary
method of representation of the process
sion Of the equinoxes. The shifting Of
the points Of contact between the ap-
parent path Of the sun and the equator
is all effect of the spheroidal figure
traction Of the sun and moon upon the
excess Of matter about the equatorial
regions.


Without entering into any elucida
ton Of the scientific problem, it will be
sufficient to say that Alphouse Adhe.
mer, an eminent French methemati-
clan, has demon strated that during half
the great year" the sun shines on the
Northern Polar regions seven days
longer than on the corresponding section
of the South Polar Zone. That is, for
the thousand five hundred years the
Northern regions have ten days more of
sunshine than the Southern. This
destroys what might be called the iso-
thermal equilibrium.


Seven days, or rather nights, of extra.
freezing adds to the cap of ice that COW
lo -, l.
and steadily it is pushing up in the
direction of the Antarctic Circle. When
the period of ten thousand Ave hundred
years has been completed this cap will
have reached the seventeenth degree Of
south latitude and will have changed to
some extent the shape of the earth. The
centre of gravity will have shifted some
three or four miles to the South.


Then comes charge. The earth will
have passed around to the other side of
this imaginary orbit, or, rather, it's pro-
jected axi. will have toppled over, and
the sun will shine on the South Polar
regions, seven days longer than on the
Northern. The effect will be to melt the
cap of icc, and in the course of centuries
cause general breaking up Of that Sec
ton of the ice cap that has pushed itself
beyond the Antarctic Circle. Then
comes the mighty catastrophe. While
the freezing was going on and the ice
accumulating in the South Polar re-
gions, the earth's centre of gravity had
shifted few miles along its axis in the
direction Of the South Pole, drawing
with it the vast body of water on the
earth's surface. A glance at the map of
the world shows that nearly three
fourths of the water surface of tho earth
is in the Southern hemisphere. When
we remember that the Southern oceans
are much deeper than the Northern, we
can form some idea Of the vast prepond-
erance of water in the Southern hemis-
phere, which, according to NJ. Adhe-
mer, has been increasing ever since the
last delulge established a temporary
equilibrium. AS soon as the ice cap is
broken the waters will rush back to the
Northern hemisphere, and will over
whelm islands and continents in their
flow. New oceans will be formed in the
Northern hemisphere, and new CONT
nents will rise in the Southern. The
most comforting part OF this theory is
that, according to NJ. Adhemer, We still
have $1,000 years Of grace before the del
uge overtakes US in which We can get
ready our "Arks, and make prepara
ton for saving fragment Of the race
from destruction.