An inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of America / By John Delafield, Jr. With an appendix, containing notes, and 'A view of the causes of the superiority of the men of the Northern over those of the Southern Hemisphere', by James Lakey.
- John Delafield
- Date:
- 1839
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: An inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of America / By John Delafield, Jr. With an appendix, containing notes, and 'A view of the causes of the superiority of the men of the Northern over those of the Southern Hemisphere', by James Lakey. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![inclination of the earth’s axis to the plane of the ecliptic which it possesses at present. But as a matter of course in this case, we presume that the original eccentricity of the earth’s orbit was so' great, as to bring the earth in its perihelion near enough to the sun to enable his inductive influence to overcome the resistance furnished by the rotary motion of the earth upon its axis, so that whenever the earth approached its perihelion, the attraction of the sun for the negative hemisphere, and his repulsion of the positive, were combined in giving the earth’s axis a certain degree of inclination, and this inclination became increased at each annual revolution. But the amount of annual increase must have diminished in proportion to the diminution in the eccentricity o-f the earth’s orbit, until finally this diminution became so great, as to remove the earth in its perihelion too far from the sun for his inductive influence further to disturb the position of its axis; and whatever inclination the axis had at that time, must be maintained with slight variations so long as the earth revolves in an orbit with an eccentricity not less than the one which it possessed at the time when the inclination ceased to be augmented. But whether this diminution in the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit has been the effect of a central repulsive power, dependent upon the electrical condition of the sun, and operating upon the earth as an electric of a greater or less degree of intensity, or whether it has been exclusively the result of the disturbing influence of the other planets, I am not prepared to say. But I believe that no philosopher has ever yet attempted to assign any limit to the original eccentricity of the earth’s orbit, and all agree in believing that it was once far greater than it is at present. This opinion is strongly corroborated by the geological indications in high northern latitudes, where we find the fossil remains of vegetables and animals, which are now known to exist only in tropical regions, showing that the frigid zone must have once possessed a much higher temperature than it does at present, which must have resulted from the greater approximation of the earth to the sun in perihelion, particularly when the perihelion coincided with the summer solstice. — Southern Review for August, 1838. Article, Electrical Astronomy. Pages 147, 148. (7.) Turning to a map, the reader will find Botany Bay on the eastern coast of New-Holland, in the 34th degree of south latitude. This spot is the centre of the settlement which extends north •and south for two degrees of latitude, forming a sea-coast range of about 300 miles. The breadth of the province may be reckoned at somewhat less than 200 miles in the broadest part; and its irregular boundary line, as laid down by Major Mitchell, would be contained within the shape of a half heart, except towards the southern extremity, or lower end. Its physical features are sandy plains and rocky mountain ranges, intermingled here and there with spots capable of cultivation, especially on a waterline; the proportion of the fertile to the barren land will be apprehended from Major Mitchell’s statement, that out of 23,000,000 of - acres, not quite four and a half millions have been found “ worth having.” * * * * * Except to the south of the Murray, the general features of this vast country [Australia Felix,] are — an alternation of vast grazing plains, fertile, till parched up hy drought; flats of a soft soil, which, after rain, is scarcely passable even with light carriages, whilst in dry weather it cracks into large gaps; wastes, varying from scrub to sandy desert, and occasional high lands, which, towards the north and south run into the range of mountains parallel to the coast. * * * * * But the most striking character of the whole country, [Australia Felix,] is the evident proof it affords of violent floods succeeding the long droughts. Extensive lagoons are discovered along the 21](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30455662_0180.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
