124 Analysis, §-c. of Cordier’s Essay upon the 
than any heretofore ieee gar These phenomena appear to 
a plain and natural consequence of the cooling of the interior of 
the globe—a mere thermometric effect. — internal fluid mass 
sible in their gradual oper to On the one hand, the. solid 
crust of the outs contracis more and more as its temperature 
diminishes,” (from radiation on the outside, and molecular com- 
munication internally. is contraction is necessarily great- 
er than the central mass sceciiass at the same time. On the 
other hand, this ew glene in cuameeriecs of the insensible ac- 
aie fluid set Sate - compell bait o flow outward 
in ‘ies form. of lavas by the process which we term volcanic, and 
with a precedent production of gaseous matters produced inter- 
nally during eruptions. Let no one be surprised at this hypoth- 
esis: I can render it probable by a very simple calculation. 
-% At Teneriffe, in the year 1803, I took as near as possible the 
cubic. dimensions of the ejected matters of 1705 and 1798. 1-did 
the same by two eruptions more perfectly insulated in the inte- 
rior of France ; in 1806 those of the volcano of Murol in Au- 
> CUbIe K. vo 
canic ejections. This is yery small, compared to. the. whole 
ges Spread over its surface, it would not be one hundredth 
of a millimetre in thickness. In exact terms, suppose’ 
Raye sulle to produce an eruption.” 
“Proceeding from these data, if we suppose that contraction 
will suffic produce the phenomena, and that five erup- 
take place over the whole surface of the earth. 
ese the contraction of the consolida- 
of t 
mass but one millimetre in ac tury. If there be b 
iene annually, the same shorteni oe 7 
erup- 
ed will take Slack di in eee centu- 
‘ a. 
cog Rilometre Lae yards English in length. A ot kilometre is about 
a metre ,03937 eubic 
