^ J J Cold ll'inds v:'.ich ijfue out of the Earth, 



heightj and every whcic ohieived tliefe fragments, which he docs not doubt were formerly 

 CoUedled in this plac; by fome public order. At prefent the police maintains them ; for 

 thefc cavea are fo ufiful and valuable, and there is fo much apprehenfioii k-ft their quality 

 fliould be altered, that every excavation, and even the cultivation of the ground on this fmall 

 mountain, is prohibited. And it is truly a very fingular phenomenon, that in the midft of 

 this dlftrlcV, of which the air is fo hot and ftifling in fummer, there (hould be found a 

 fmall ifohted hill, from the bafe of which currents of air of extraordinary coolnefs fliould 

 iffiie on ail fides. 



It is not lefi lingular, that under a flill more fouthern climate, and in an ifland like that 

 of Ifchia, which is entirely volcanic, and every where abounding with hot fprings, a cold 

 fubterraneous wind fhould be found like that here dcfcribed. Sir William Hamilton 

 alTured our author, that there is a fimilar grotto at Ottiano, at the foot of Vefuvius. Thcfc 

 erottoi have even an appropriate name ; they are called Ventaroles. That of Ifchia is 

 <:alled Ventarola Jella Funera. It is beneath a fmall chapel dedicated to St. Anthony, 

 which is itfolf beneath the Cafa Monella. On the 9th of March 1773, the thermometer 

 in the open air in the ftiade out of the grotto ftood at 14 degrees, and that which 

 M. De Sauflurc placed at the bottom of the grotto ftood at 6 degrees ; and he was aflurcd 

 that in the fummer, during the great heats, he would have found it much lower. 



The cold caves of St. Marino are at the foot of a hill of grit-ftonc, on which the capital 

 of this fmall republic is built. On the gth of July 1773, about three in the afternoon, 

 tlje thermometer in the open air ftood at 1 3 degrees ; and in the caves at 6. The 

 floor of thefe caves lies between 320 and 330 toifes above the level of the fea. 



The caves of Cefi are fituated in the town of the fame name, which is fix miles north of 

 Terni, in the EccleCaftical State. That infpc£led by M. De Sauflure was in the houfe of 

 Don Giufeppe Cefi. The cold of this cave, like the preceding caves, does not proceed 

 from its depth, but from a cold air which iflues from the crevices of a rock againft which 

 it is built. This air iflued out with fo much force at that time, that it almoft extinguiflied 

 the flambeaux which enlightened them ; and the proprietor alTurcd our author, that the 

 wind would have been much ftronger, if the weather had not been cold, as it was for 

 the fcafon. In the winter, on the contrary, the wind ruflics violently in, and the more fo 

 the colder the weather. This is exprefled in the Latin verfes which the mafter of the houfe 

 (hewed him : 



Abditus hie ludit vario difcriminc vcntus, 



Et facllcs miros cxhibct aura jocos : 

 Nam fi bruma rigct, quscumqus objcceris haurlt ; 



Evotrit aftivo cum calcf ignc dies, &c. 



The mafter of this houfe derives great advantage from the coolnefs of this cave, not only 

 by prefervlng wines, fruits, and provifions of every kind, but likewife by condu£ling this 

 cool air by pipes Into the apartments. Cocks, at the extremity of thefe tubes, emit the 

 cold air in fuch quantities as may be deCred. This refinement is carried fo far as to convey 

 the air under certain ftands, the foot of which is pierced ; fo that bottles placed on thefe 

 flands are continually cooled by the wind which iflues forth. On the day when M. De 

 Sauflure rneafured the temperature of this fubterraneous wind at the entrance of the 



2 fmall 



