1881.] A Geological Idea of Lord Bacon's . 529 
been the present, the folds ever raised laid bare and sub- 
merged, never permanently constituted, would have presented 
a transitory appearance whose image we may trace in the 
equator, where the effects from either side consequent on 
centrifugality tend to balance each other. 
Three land segments traverse the equator. This is analo- 
gous to the perturbations suffered by the moon. The first 
one commences on the west coast of America, between the 
deepest waters in the West Atlantic and East Pacific, at Pr, 
the pericentre of the nucleus in the equator. Counting 
meridian Pr o°, segment Pr occupies 31° 20'. Segment Af, 
commencing with go°E. long., again occupies 31 0 20^ Seg- 
ment Ap we meet in 180 E. long. ; it extends from Sumatra 
beyond Gilolo to the east of Waggiou, through 31 0 20', not 
entirely occupied by land, but the segment is well defined by 
continental islands west and east. We thus have in the 
equator land formation 31 0 20' x 3 = 97°, to the remaining 
266° of ocean 1 : 2*83. 
Globe I. shows the three segments from pole to pole. 
The land within is 0*512 of all land ; the remaining 0*468 
are around. The land of two segments is partly contiguous ; 
the boundary corresponds to geological and organic character- 
istics. The middle segment, with the greatest mean eleva- 
tion, is entirely opposite to ocean. 
This is the prototype which always tended to form, but 
never formed ; like an embryo contending to develop one 
form, but by interference bound to adopt another. 
Folds from pole to pole would be barriers against their 
cause — the revolution of an ocean and the circulation of 
ocean rings parallel to the equator and a coinciding orbit. 
Any outside body which disturbs equality of density and 
of distribution of weight to the sides of this equator pro- 
duces a perturbation in latitude which causes the ocean to 
break through the folds rising perpendicularly to the equator, 
makes the equator inclined on the orbit, maintains the cir- 
culation of the ocean round the earth by engendering polar 
streams, and allows the poles to develop themselves to an 
oscillatory permanency. It allows the earth animal to live ; 
its blood circulates, its heart beats : when the ocean stops, 
the corpse descends to the sun, which finally also dies. 
The continents have been tangentially folded by the sea, 
and perpendicularly lifted by the expansive powers of its 
substances present and penetrating below the envelope. 
The inequality of density and mass has been developed in 
* Globes as referred to may be seen at the South Kensington Museum, 
