COMBINATION OF RELATIONS. 195 



elapse between two successive planets, so that the normal 

 order of actual fractions is \, \, f , I, j 5 ?, etc., or the frac- 

 tions by the short way in phyllotaxis, from which, how- 

 ever, the Earth is excluded, while it forms a member of 

 the series by the long way. The explanation of this, sug- 

 gested by Peirce, is, that, although the tendency to set off 

 a planet is not sufficient at the end of a single interval, it 

 becomes so strong, near the end of the second interval, 

 that the planet is found exterior to the limit of this second 

 interval. Thus, Uranus is rather too far from the Sun 

 relatively to Neptune, Saturn relatively to Uranus, and 

 Jupiter relatively to Saturn, and the planets thus formed 

 engross too large a proportionate share of material, and 

 this is especially the case with Jupiter. Hence, when we 

 come to the Asteroids, the disposition is so strong at the 

 end of a single interval, that the outer Asteroid is but 

 just within this interval, and the whole material of the 

 Asteroids is dispersed in separate masses over a wide 

 space, instead of being concentrated into a single planet. 

 A consequence of this dispersion of the forming agents is, 

 that a small proportionate material is absorbed into the 

 Asteroids. Hence, Mars is ready for formation so far 

 exterior to its true place, that, when the next interval 

 elapses, the residual force becomes strong enough to form 

 the Earth, after which the normal law is resumed without 

 any further disturbance. Under this law, there can be no 

 planet exterior to Neptune, but there may be one interior 

 to Mercury. 



Let us now look back upon some of the leading fea- 

 tures alluded to before, omitting the simpler relations of 

 organized beings to the world around, or those of indi- 

 viduals to individuals, and consider only the different pa- 

 rallel series which we have been comparing when showing, 



o 2 



