POLAR ICE-CAPS AND SEA LEVELS. 341 



take, and how quickly they do it, when I throw 

 them on this fluid substance water. Look at this 

 cone in water. That cone (in wax), now so much 

 inclined, was upright on i6th December, and I 

 shall not say where it will be in the course of 

 another month. There is a long cylinder in water 

 you observe it falls down on its side. Then here 

 is a shorter cylinder in water it falls into an in- 

 clined position. Here again we have a very short 

 cylinder which would be clearly unstable with its 

 edge down. There we have a cylinder with lead 

 on it it is stable. It is a counter-part of that 

 which floats in water with the lead up, and would 

 also float with the lead down, but it was placed in 

 its present position. Now, there you have floating 

 bodies which in a second of time, in water, do that 

 which those similar bodies floating in wax are to be 

 gradually doing in the course of the next few years. 

 So that it is only a question of time between water 

 and the shoemaker's wax. 



Look at that globe of shoemaker's wax floating 

 in water. Just watch it; if you could watch it with 

 me for a month you would see what would happen. 



