HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS I P. 



Si 



in the roof, is a piece of chert covered with a deposit 

 of lime, very like a shoulder of mutton. 



We next arrived at the " Chamber of Worms." 

 This name exactly describes the appearance of the 

 small curling stalactites on the roof and sides, looking 

 like worms writhing out of the rock, their colour 

 varying from white to deep yellow. A few more 

 steps bring us to " Tom of Lincoln's Bell Hole." 

 Here the water, dropping from the roof, frequently 

 changes colour, from white to red, giving a beautiful 

 variegated appearance to the stalagmite forming 

 underneath. 



Further on is a piece of chert in the shape of a 

 sheep's head, and also a perfect forest of small 

 stalactites, varying in size to three inches in length ; 

 these have all been formed since the cavern has been 

 in the hands of the present proprietor, and are grow- 

 ing more quickly than any others, the drop of water 

 at the end of each hanging long enough for a deposit 

 of lime to take place before it falls to the ground ; in 

 other places, where the water percolates more rapidly, 

 the growth is slower. Passing along, almost every 

 step brings in view some new form or colour in the 

 incrustations, and in a small chink in the rock the 

 guide pointed out a stalagmite, exactly like a goose 

 roasting. The succeeding caverns, however, far ex- 

 ceeded in brilliancy and colour everything we had 

 previously seen. The first, named "The Grotto of 

 Paradise," is about 20 feet long and 12 feet high, 

 and has a pointed roof like a gothic arch hung with 

 numberless splendid stalactites, and a floor and sides 

 one mass of crystallisation. 



The second is called "Calypso's Cave." It is 

 impossible to give any idea of the beauty of the long 

 slender stalactites hanging like icicles from the roof, and 

 of the rows of columns, and the masses of honeycomb 

 which adorn the sides. The floor also is covered 

 with a stalagmitic deposit, to which numerous stalac- 

 tites, fallen from the roof, are fastened by the dripping 

 water. To obtain the best view of this cavern we 

 ascended some steps to a recess, while the guide 

 illuminated it with magnesium wire, and the effect 

 of the brilliant light on the mass of crystallisation 

 was beautiful in the extreme, and is more easily 

 imagined than described. Climbing up the encrusted 

 side we entered a narrow chink called the " Straits 

 of Gibraltar," where splendid masses of crystallisation 

 cover the whole of the rock, many of them 2 to 

 3 feet long, and of great thickness. We then re- 

 traced our steps for some distance, and turning to the 

 right, through a low passage, entered the "Hall of 

 State," which is much wider and higher than the 

 other parts of the cavern. Beyond this is the Dungeon, 

 a circular hole about 30 feet deep, which the guide 

 has explored and found other spacious openings lead- 

 ing out of it. The next object of interest is a large 

 rock covered with crystallisation, like honeycomb 

 or net-work, and above it, in a niche, is a stalagmite 

 resembling a recumbent figure on a tomb. The 



stalactites on the roof are of all shades, from deep 

 red to pure white, each with a drop of water at the 

 end, sparkling like a diamond. 



The way is now very rugged, large blocks of lime- 

 stone having fallen from the roof ages ago, their 

 shape exactly corresponding with the roof, which is 

 now covered with stalactites. We then came to a 

 large pile of limestone blocks, about 30 yards long, 

 and 2 to 3 yards wide, in the shape of an old boat, 

 pointed at each end, lying in the middle of the cavern, 

 with a path on each side ; the guide took the right- 

 hand side, and we the other, and his light shining 

 through the chinks in the rocks as we proceeded had 

 a very curious effect. 



Further on a small stream runs through the cavern, 

 and in it are many smooth pebbles covered with a 

 black deposit ; the water has also brought with it a 

 large quantity of sand, which is in some places ripple 

 marked. The presence of this sand is very strange, 

 as the country is limestone for some distance round. 

 In the roof is a chink, which the guide a short time 

 ago ascended, and found a narrow passage running 

 for some distance over the one we were in, and filled 

 with beautiful crystallisations. We next came to a 

 fine opening, with curious stalactites running down 

 the centre of the roof for more than ten yards, greatly 

 resembling the backbone of a huge fish. 



It was now half-past three o'clock, so we were 

 obliged to defer till another day further exploration ; 

 the guide, however, informed us that the path descends 

 for about a quarter of a mile and then branches off 

 in five different directions, down each of which he 

 has gone for hours without arriving at a termination ; 

 and in one of them is a large waterfall, falling 60 

 feet. The noise of it is deafening, and the guide has 

 been so far beyond it as to lose all sound of it without 

 finding the end of the passage. We were agreeably 

 surprised to find the air of the cavern remarkably 

 pure and fresh, and quite free from the unpleasant 

 dampness so often experienced in such places. 



The return journey was soon accomplished, and 

 we reached daylight again soon after half-past four 

 o'clock, highly delighted with our visit to this wonder- 

 ful place. 



Ada E. G. 



LIST OF ASSISTING NATURALISTS. 



[Continued from j>age 36.] 



Cambridgeshire. 



Cambridge. Albert H. Waters, B.A., 1 Panton 

 Street. Geology, Entomology, particularly Lepi- 

 doptera. Interested in Natural Histoiy generally. 



Cornwall. 



Falmouth. Ernest Bullmore. Phanerogams, Aero- 

 gettous Cryptogams. 



D 2 



