AN ANTARCTIC QUEST.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 8 March 1912, Page 5

AN ANTARCTIC QUEST.

I I One of the most interesting subjects of I investigation in the.South Polar regions, where several scientific expeditions are now at work, is the shapes of the earth. That may seem startling to those who have been accustomed to accept a& finai the familiar sehoolbooki description of th e earth as an ellipsoid, flattened at the poles. There is recognised ground, however, for challenging the accuracy of that description and for likening the form of the earth not to an orange but to a somewhat stumpy pear. The more scientific designation of it would be that of a tetrahedron—solid bounded by four triangular sides and thus witn foui apexes and six ridges. According to this so-called Lowtliian Clren theory, three of the summits of the tetrahedron are already known. They are in Scandinavia, Canada and Siberia, and the three faces lying opposite to them are the South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The fourth face is assumed to be the region round the North Pole, the latest soundings of ocean depths there supporting that theory, and therefore the fourth apex is confidently to be looked for in the neighbourhood of the South Pole. It is to the determination of this theory that- much of the scientific study of the Antarctic regions as being directed, with careful surveys and with measurements of the force of gravity by means of the pendulum. The practical value of the result will be considerable, since, apart from th*» satisfaction of knowing what the iorm of the earth really is, it must be remembered that astronomical distances are measured in terms of the earth's diameter. There is a curious interest, also, in recalling ] that this latest theory of the iorm of the i earth accords with a belief which was cherished by Columbus, who held the earth not to be round, but egg-shaped or pear-shaped, though he erred in fixing its apex. He gave that distinction to Venezuela, which he declared to be "the highest part of th e earth," and he supposed that the vast torrent of fresh water which the Orinoco poured into the Gulf of Paria. was flowing down from the highlands of the-Garden of Eden ! It is' not clear that he had or assumed any scientific basis for his belief, blifc it interesting to ,findt scientific; research coming so near to vindicating his imagination.