V.
DAILY MOTION.
Nature seems to have just the right adjustment in all its affairs, whether in coloring of flowers, season for growth, flavoring of fruits, supplies for animal and vegetable life, and instincts for everything created, to adapt them to living purposes.
So in the Earth’s diurnal revolution of 24 hours, supposing it was slowed to 25 hours, we should have less wind and tides, less warmth and more land free from the encroachment of the sea.
Increase the speed to 23 hours would give us more warmth by greater friction, increase the flow of our springs, give higher tides, and make most of the present commercial seaports of the world take seats farther back, as millions of acres of land now available would be flooded every tide.
The moon, we are told, has little or no atmosphere. It is pronounced cold and uninhabitable. This all looks reasonable. Being only a little over 2,000 miles in diameter and a revolution about like the Earth through a thin atmosphere, it is easy to see the lack of friction to produce warmth, and therewith the proper constituents to sustain life. This is an easy one and readily disposed of.