Smith in his
Physical Geography, says, "The tidal wave flows from east to west, owing
to the earth's daily rotation in a contrary direction." Here he is
unintentionally correct, because the water striking these promontories
of the two great capes, is hurled back, and not, as he assumes, that
the great ocean wave is moving from east to west. The United States
government sailing charts lay down the fact of this great ocean wave
moving from west to east, south of the capes, and the ships coming from
the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean take advantage of this and ride the
sea at the rate of over twenty knots per hour, by following the routes
laid down in Maury's charts.
The old philosophy of the crystalline spheres was not more at variance
with the correct motion of the stars and planets, than the moon theory
of the tides. In their dilemma to account for the retrograde motions of
the planets, they denominated them wanderers, stragglers, because they
would not march with the "music of the spheres." In the moon theory of
the tides the lunar satellite is made to pull and push at one and the
same time, which is entirely at variance with the philosophy of force.
Pages:
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180