"When one is at sea, or standing on the sea-shore, the first part of a ship seen at a distance, is its mast. As the bessel advances, te mast rises higher and higher above the horizon, and finally the hull, and whole ship, become visible. Now, were the Earth's surface an exact plane, no such appearance would take place, for we should then see the hull long before the mast or rigging, because it is much the largest object." -Comstock 1850

Spheroidal Form of the Earth

"When one is at sea, or standing on the sea-shore, the first part of a ship seen at a distance, is its…