EEMAKKABLE NATURAL BAROMETER. 147 



such a spot as the very mouth of hell, and never 

 passed it without an agony of terror, nor with- 

 out counting their beads, and praying for pro- 

 tection to the Virgin ! 



The " lagoons " consist of rude circular basins, 

 partly excavated, partly built, which are situ- 

 ated exactly over some of the fissures in the 

 ground, from which the bursts of vapour rise. 

 These basins are ranged one above the other, 

 so that the overflow from the highest runs in 

 succession down to the lowest; and they are 

 filled with water by allowing a rivulet to run 

 into the uppermost of them. The hot vapours 

 rising by their natural conduits from that dis- 

 turbed region below where the chemical pheno- 

 mena combining in their production take place, 

 bring with them the borax, which, on entering 

 the water of the lagoons, becomes condensed and 

 dissolved by it. After the water has passed 

 through all the basins, it is evaporated in an 

 ingenious manner by pans, which are heated by 

 the vapours rising from the earth. It is then 

 crystallized, dried, and sent to the market. 



It is very curious that the inhabitants of the 

 surrounding districts judge of the state of the 

 weather by the quantity of vapour which they 

 observe to rise from these lagoons. If there is 

 an unusually large quantity, it betokens wet ; 

 if less than usual, it foretells fine weather. And 



