138 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



used to light up the Crimean darkness. 

 On the sides of the stairs one finds cave 

 crickets, Hadaenucus snbterrancus, which 

 are colorless and blind. 



The temperature of the Cave is espe- 

 cially noticeable on a hot day, remaining 

 the same summer and winter, namely 

 fifty-six degrees Farenheit. 



The interior consists of avenues, cham- 

 bers, domes and grottoes. Most of the 

 walls, floors and ceilings are of limestone 

 ornamented with formations in grotesque 

 shapes. The floor of the ;greater portion 

 of the Cave is dry, but where the most of 

 the limestone formations are taking place, 

 it is damp. 



At the foot of the stairs is Grand En- 

 trance Hall which leads into the portion 

 of the Cave known as the Long Route ; 

 there are four grand divisions of the Cave 

 called respectively, The Long Route, 

 Washington Avenue, Western x-\venue 

 and Crystal Palace. A picture cannot do 

 justice to Crystal Palace with its stalac- 

 tites and stalagmites. One must see it to 

 appreciate it. Tourists consider it "the 

 most beautiful of any natural under- 

 ground room that has ever been discov- 

 ered". 



Crystal Palace is about twenty feet 

 wide, forty feet high, and two hundred 

 feet long. The whole Cave varies in 

 width from ten to seventy-five feet, in 

 height from eight to forty feet, and the 



Washinjj^ton'A Plume, 

 i^rengo Cave, 



total length of the chambers and pas- 

 sages is about three and one-half miles. 



The four divisions of the Cave are sub- 

 divided into halls which have been named, 

 usually by visitors, for their resemblance 

 to the original : Statue Hall, Congress 

 Hall, Odd Fellows Hall, Alammoth Hall, 

 Music Hall and Elks Hall. Many of the 

 beautiful formations have also been given 

 names ; The vault in Cave Hill Ceme- 

 tery is an interesting example. Others 

 are Charleston Jail, Prison Cell, Statue of 

 Liberty, Tower of Babel, Baby Elephant, 

 Jumbo, Elephant's Head, Diamond Dome, 

 Leopard Ceiling, The Gods of Athens, 

 Solomon's Temple, Fish Market, Lovers' 

 Retreat, Niagara Falls and Alt. Vesuvius. 

 The Railroad Crossing is a strange for- 

 mation on the ceiling with what seem to 

 be parallel tracks. One of the most won- 

 derful formations is that of the Pipe 

 Organ. The manager, who guided me 

 through the labyrinthian passages of the 

 Cave, struck several of the stalactites 

 which resounded with musical tones, 

 Other beautiful and curious stalag'mites 

 are Washington's Monument and Wash- 

 ington's Plume. 



The formation of crystallized stalactit- 

 ic and beautiful stalagmitic columns with 

 glittering domes by calcium carbonate 

 trickling from the ceiling is certainly in- 

 teresting. 



The underground water of that locality 

 contains much dissolved limestone. Upon 

 seeping through the roof of the Cave it 

 begins to evaporate, losing its carbonic 

 acid, and limestone is deposited on the 

 ceiling around the edge of the drop of 

 water. Other drops form below this one 

 until a tubular pendant develops, which 

 at first is hollow but later the opening is 

 filled and successive layers are formed on 

 tlie outside. When the stalactite thus 

 formed reaches a certain stage, if the 

 seepage is sufficient, the drops will fall 

 to the floor and build up a stalagmite. 

 These meeting the pendants from the ceil- 

 ing form columns as shown in The Visi- 

 tor's Wonder or Haines's Alcove. 



The general yellow color of cave for- 

 mations is caused by the presence of iron 

 oxide. Most of those in Marengo Cave 

 are translucent and some are almost 

 snowy white. 



In one part of the Cave beautiful 

 stalagmites resembling bouquets of flow- 



