Penny Blood: Serial Sensation and Working-Class Entertainment — page 281: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

264 DISTRIBUTION OF VOLCANOS. (cH. XXI. We are not obliged to suppose that those cceanic areas, now shown by Atolls and Barrier reefs, attached respectively to sunken or existing islands, to be undergoing depression, were ever continental areas, because, as already mentioned, these islands are not composed of elevated strata, but, where visible, consist of volcanic rock of a former age, a type of island belong- ing then, as now, to the open ocean. The great Pacific train of volcanos divides the world very nearly into two halves, as may be seen by placing an ordinary globe so that the wooden horizon passes over the Isthmus of Panama, the southern extremity of Kamtschatka, and the straits of Sunda. Near the latter place, however, the train becomes more complicated; for it takes a turn to the east at the Philippines, and is joined by that other train which passes through Java, New Guinea being at the place of junction, and the great Island of Borneo occupying the angle. Afterwards the combined train turns round towards the south, till it reaches Néw Zealand, following a course nearly parallel to the eastern coast of Australia. If we look at the globe thus placed, we observe that we have nearly all the land on one side of this great train, and that the other hemisphere, except Australia, is occupied by water. It appears then that, with this exception, the said volcanic band defines the elevated part of the surface. But the excep- tion proves the rule. For, when it nears Australia, the direc- tion of the main band is diverted by its junction with the second, and within the great curve which their united course follows, this insular continent is embraced. Regarding the great Pacific volcanic band under this aspect, it is seen to follow nearly a great circle of the sphere for more than half its circumference, when it 1s disturbed by encounter- ing a second, which diverts it from its direct course. It can hardly be that any cause, less than one of a very general cha- racter, affecting the spheroid as a whole, can have produced this unique, so to speak, nearly straight fissure. We are dis- posed to attribute its origination to some unknown cosmical cause. COMIC OOOKS.EO