Hennessy — Fluid State of Bodies of our Planetanj System. 583 



dumpling or pudding of soft matter flattens if placed on a table ; but 

 this would not occur if all the forces were directed to its centre. The 

 globe of lead already mentioned, if melted by heat, would be flattened 



Fiff. 2. 



out completely under the action of parallel forces, as would all liquids ; 

 or the oblateness of a perfect liquid woiald, in that case, be infinite. 



Fig. 3. 



N'o sharp mountain peaks of great altitude could exist ; they would 

 be flattened into semi-rounded masses. But all observers concur in 



