CAVERNS. 541 



accumulations of different periods are sealed up and separated by 

 deposits of stalagmite. But it must be remembered that caverns 

 were not only used as habitations, but also for burial. Sea-caves 

 were rarely occupied by man — except perhaps in the form of 

 smugglers. 



Caverns are most abundant in the Carboniferous and Devonian 

 Limestones, but they are met with in some of the limestones of 

 Oolitic age, and also in the Magnesian Limestone. 



Stalactites and Stalagmites. — The deposits of carbonate of lime 

 found adhering to the roof or lining the walls of caverns are called 

 Stalactites, those covering the floor are called Stalagmites. Small 

 and friable stalactites are frequently seen hanging from limestone 

 arches, where their formation is rapid; or they may be formed from 

 the mortar cementing bricks, in similar situations. 



The stalactites in caverns are formed by the deposition, film by 

 film, of some of the carbonate of lime which the rain-water has 

 taken up in solution while penetrating the limestone. This in- 

 crustation in process of time attains considerable dimensions, and 

 the stalactites and stalagmites sometimes meet, although the in- 

 crease is often scarcely perceptible to the human eye in a lifetime. 

 Such deposits indicate a pause in the formation of the particular 

 part of the cavern in which they occur ; but their accumulation 

 naturally varies with the rainfall and the subterranean flow of the 

 water. 



Cox's famous cavern at Cheddar, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip 

 Hills, is unequalled in England for the beauty of the stalactites which hang in 

 fantastic shapes from its roofs and arches, or the stalagmites which grow in equally- 

 irregular forms from its floors and ledges. The cavern is not a large one, for in 

 size it is surpassed by many others in the Mendip Hills, but its ornamentation 

 renders it the most attractive one. By a little stretch of imagination one recognizes 

 the wonderful things pointed out by the guide — here a petrified goose, there a loaf 

 of bread, now a font and a monkey, then a nun and the Black Prince, a jelly glass, 

 some drapery, a mummy, a turkey, a tongue, a flitch of bacon (this is generally 

 present in a stalactite cavern), a great number of pillars, and a Hindoo Temple! 



The Yordas Cavern, Kingsdale, near Ingleton, is famous for its stalactites ;^ a 

 cavern with stalactites was discovered in i860 at Greenhow, near Pateley Bridge, 

 in Yorkshire ; and other caverns with stalactites occur at Tenby and in Caldy 

 Island. 



Near Matlock, in Derbyshire, the Cumberland and Rutland Caverns contain a 

 few stalactites, some also may be seen at Poole's Cavern, Buxton ; but most of those 

 that formerly existed have been broken off and carried away. The High Tor 

 Cavern is a fissure 600 feet long, from 2 to 7 feet wide, and 150 feet deep. The 

 Peak Cavern, near Castleton, is noted for its size. The Speedwell Cavern is an 

 old lead mine, opening into a fine cavern ; the water which traverses it is con- 

 nected with the Peak Cavern. There are large Caverns at Clapham, in Yorkshire. 

 Wookey Hole, in Somersetshire, is, however, deserving of mention on account 

 of its size. One chamber is nearly 80 feet in height. A still larger Cavern, that 

 of Goatchurch, in Burrington Combe, is mentioned by Prof. iJawkins ; while 

 the Lamb Cavern, near East Harptree, in part an old lead-mine, has i^ecently been 

 re-opened. 



It will be impossible to enumerate all the Caverns, but the more important ones 

 ■which have yielded bones must be noticed. Of these Caverns, some are simply 



^ W. B. Dawkins, Cave-Hunting, p. 64. See also Phillips, Rivers, etc., of 

 Yorkshire, p. 30. 



