^70 Contributions to Physical Geography. 



curiosity, aiid much resembles the drawings of the famous cave 

 of Antiparos in the Levant. Its full extent has not yet been 

 ascertained : tradition says it joins the subterranean passages 

 of the seraglio of Pekin ! We paced the distance, and took 

 bearings, and found we had gone nearly a mile before we 

 turned. An abrupt and deep precipice obstructs the road a 

 little beyond where we turned, and farther than this has not 

 yet been explored. It would be curious to follow it up, and 

 trace out all its ramifications. An opening might very pro- 

 bably be found on the opposite face of the mountain ; also to 

 ascertain the existence or otherwise of organic remains in the 

 muddy soil." — Calcutta Gov. Gaz. 



5. Account of the Burning Mountain in Australasia, called 

 'Mount Wingen, near Hunter'' s River. By the Reverend 

 ^Alr Wilton of Paramatta. 



• The accounts which have already been given of this moun- 

 tain represent it as a regular volcano with a distinct crater, 

 but Mr Wilton finds this to be a mistake, and has furnished 

 us with the following very interesting description of the phe- 

 nomena which it exhibits, which he has published in the 

 Sydney Gazette. 



" There is," says he, " no mouth or crater at all, nor does 

 such an opening lie between the peaks of two mountains which 

 the blacks have called Wingen. That part of the Mount 

 Wingen, where the fire is now burning, and which is a compact 

 sandstone rock, comprehends parts of two declivities of one 

 and the same mountain. 



" The progress of the fire has of late been down the north- 

 ern and highest elevation, and it is now ascending with great 

 fury the opposite and southern eminence. From the situa- 

 tion of the fire having been in a hollow between two ridges of 

 the same mountain, Mr Mackie was probably induced to give 

 to the clefts in the mountain the appellation of a crater. The 

 fact is, the rock, as the subterraneous fire increases, is rent in- 

 to several concave chasms of various widths. I particularly 

 examined the widest of these. The rock, a solid mass of 

 sandstone, was torn asunder about two feet in width, leaving 

 its upper and southerly side exposed to view ; the part so torn 



