A. Winchell — Trend and Crusted Surplusage. 419 



meridionally disposed. These must have consisted, of incipient 

 meridional ridges and accumulations, meridional belts of greater 

 and less strength, and belts of differentiated internal elements 

 — either in form, position or material. 



Now, while refrigerative contraction would necessarily de- 

 velop wrinkles in the crust, it would not determine for them 

 a meridional trend. This was pointed out by Captain Dutton. 

 The tidal action instanced would, however, produce this result. 

 Nor can it be pronounced insignificant in amount, since evi- 

 dently, a force which could move the earth on its axis could 

 move a floating patch of the earth's shattered crust. 



It will be readily understood that the retral slipping of the 

 tidal mass would be greatest at the crest, as first shown by 

 Professor G. H. Darwin, and would diminish according to a 

 certain law, toward the north and south. As the mean decli- 

 nation of the moon may be regarded as zero, the greatest mean 

 slipping would be on the equator. The sub-meridional pre-dis- 

 positions instituted would therefore trend from the equator 

 eastward of north and south. 



If, as is probable, the moon's distance were much less during 

 the incrustive periods, the tidal results cited would become 

 more conspicuous. If, as is equally probable, the earth's rota- 

 tion were correspondingly more rapid, the tidal results would 

 be correspondingly further augmented. 



The actions here considered pertain necessarily to the early 

 forming stages of the crust, and have impressed its profounder 

 features. Later, with increased rigidity of crust, tidally formed 

 predispositions were less controlling; and with the growth of 

 oceans, crustal pressures were experienced from other direc- 

 tions.* 



2. Meridional trends would be further promoted by the secular 

 subsidence of the earth's equatorial protuberance. That this 

 accompaniment of the slow retardation of the earth's rotary 

 motion must have exerted geological influences was first dis- 

 tinctly shown by Professor J. E. Todd ; and I have elsewhere 

 recorded the fact ;f but its determinative influence on the trends 



* These views, for the greater part, were first propounded by me in printed 

 form in World Life, Nov., 1883/pp. 252-255, 350-355; but were taught in lect- 

 ures several years previously. 



f The ample resume of W. B. Taylor, in the October number of this Journal 

 will not be overlooked. An abstract of this paper was read before the Geological 

 Section immediately after the presentation of my own communication. 



I embrace this opportunity to remind the reader that the first conception of the 

 now accepted cause of the moon's synchronistic motions must be credited to 

 Kant rather than Ferrel, as" Mr. Taylor thinks. In 1754. Kant presented to the 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin, a memoir entitled : Untersuchung der Eh'age ob 

 die Erde in ihrer Umdrehung um die Achse wodurch sie die Abwechselung des Tages 

 und der Nacht hervorbringt einige Veranderung seil den ersten Zeiten ihres Ur- 

 sprunges erlilten hale. After appealing to the action of the tides as a cause of 

 diminution of the earth's rotational velocity, he says : " Dieses legt uns auf 



