232 The American Geologist. Octaber, 1904. 
motion would meet within itself a resisting force which would 
change the direction of the motion. Such a supposition would 
be contrary to both nature and reason, and still the rotation of 
the primeval nebula of the solar system as the theorists have 
imagined it, depended upon just such supposed conditions; and 
hence we find that the very starting point of the theory rests 
on a rather shaky foundation. 
We notice, next, a point of equal importance, namely, that 
the strength of the resisting force, supposing that it exists, 
would be proportional to the velocity with which the attracted 
matter passes towards the center ; and further, that this veloci- 
tv would be entirely too small to create the necessary resis- 
tance ! This presents a new difficulty and raises a new doubt ; 
if the condensation of the matter, in the condition of a nebula 
at such a stage, is not sufficiently rapid to create the necessary 
resistance, then its rotation would thereby be prevented. 
Let us accept the assumption, however, that the contracting 
matter meets a resisting force and that the condensation is 
rapid enough to cause a resistance strong enough to change 
the course of the contracting matter, and see if that puts us in 
a better position tO' accept the theory, or, in other words, if it 
then will be natural to suppose that this change in motion 
be from a straight to a curved line, to one side of the center 
more« than to the other. 
When we speak of a nebula whose matter is condensing, we 
claim at the same time, that the force of condensation and the 
force of resistance are identical in all directions to and from 
the common center of gravit}-, whereby any motion towards 
one side becomes just as possible or impossible as a motion to- 
wards the other side. From this we must conclude, that ro- 
tation cannot possibly be caused in that manner. If in spite of 
this, we hold on to the supposition claiming that the nebula 
rotates around its center by virtue of the force of gravity, 
then we must at all events admit, that the rotary motion could 
take place in a plane in one direction as well as in another, 
since the attractive force is the same in all directions. The ro- 
tation should, then, according to the theory of this generative, 
rotary force, have exactly the same cause to go from south to 
north, from north to south, from cast to west as from west to 
