EDITORIAL . 283 
has not been adequately appreciated. Hecker found that the body 
tide rises directly under the tide-raising body. This implies that 
it is the tide of a rigid elastic body. Such a tide obviously has no 
effective influence in retarding the rotation of the earth by reason 
of lag; it is effective only in so far as energy is transferred by 
friction. 
We have fallen much short of noting all the significant points 
in these valuable papers, but we venture to hope that the points 
cited may be helpful to some readers and may lead to an intimate 
acquaintance with the papers themselves. These seem to have 
a common trend, and to prophesy that we may in the near future 
tread a terra firma indeed, and may be permitted in time to build 
the history of the earth on a solid foundation in a literal as well as 
figurative sense. 
EPC. 
April 9, 1913 
