JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 37 
ber of hours which elapse between the Moon’s meridional passage 
and high water. This is called the ‘‘establishment of the port ” and 
is constant for any particular place. Thus the establishment of the 
port at London Bridge is 1 h. 58’, so that lunar high water occurs 
t h. 58’ after the Moon’s transit—and the same with the solar high 
tide. The actual high tide being due to Earth and Moon conjointly 
is earlier or later than the lunar tide by the priming or lagging. By 
adding a correction for this to the “‘ establishment of the'port ” the 
time of high water may be found for any phase of the moon. 
Knowing, as we do, the effect of gravitation, and knowing, too, 
that the Earth and Moon and planets are nearly spherical in shape, 
we conclude that these bodies were once molten and plastic. A 
swiftly moving fly wheel will continue to revolve for a long time 
after the moving force has ceased to operate. Its inertia will carry 
it on, but the friction upon its bearings, the Earth’s attraction and 
the resistance of the air will at length reduce it to rest. The Earth 
has no bearings, but yet the tidal friction applied as it is to its sur- 
face acts as a brake, and must thus retard the Earth’s rotation, and . 
as by Newton’s Third Law of Motion, action and reaction are equal 
and in opposite directions it must follow that as the Earth is retarded 
the moon is accelerated. This proposition, however, demands a 
more careful investigation. 
if 
Let the circle represent the normal shape of the Earth rotating 
in the direction of the curved arrow. Suppose the water envelope 
or the plastic mass of the Earth to be devoid of friction and to take 
