2 PICTURE OF ORGANIZED NATURE. 



doubtedly in the plains of the Torrid Zone, at the 

 level of the sea. From hence life fluctuates, according 

 to the seasons, to a fixed limit, both in the Northern 

 and the Southern Hemisphere, as well as in the 

 depths of the Ocean ; similar to the action of the 

 sun, whose quickening beams extend, with varied 

 influence, to all places. Our Picture is therefore 

 founded upon this state of organic life, as it spreads 

 itself over the surface of the globe. 



LINE OF PERPETUAL SNOW. 



The limit to which, in every part of the globe, or- 

 ganized beings extend, in a perpendicular direction, 

 above the level of the sea, is marked by a region 

 where the cold is so intense, that the summits of 

 mountains reaching or extending beyond that limit 

 are covered with perpetual snow : this is called 

 the Snow-Line. The sea at both poles is covered 

 with ice; in the Southern Hemisphere, in a larger; 

 in the Northern, in a smaller proportion. The land, 

 if any exist, is enveloped with eternal snow, vegeta- 

 tion ceases, animals die, and the inquisitive disposi- 

 tion of man terminates. There, of course, the snow- 

 line is at the level of the sea; although water may 

 flow under the ice as far as the poles. At a greater 



