102 J. W. Judd — On Volcanos. 



water, and many of the straits and shallows being completely filled 

 up. At a later period, Fazello appears to have himself visited the 

 island, and relates that the mountain was in a state of continual 

 conflagration. He states that from its gulf (crater), which lay in 

 the middle of the island, a cloud of thick smoke continually issued, 

 while through the fissures of the stones and narrow apertures a pale 

 flame arose in the midst of a dark cloud. It would thus appear 

 that, after the grand outburst in the fifteenth century, the volcano 

 relapsed into a condition similar to that which it now presents. 

 Another interesting fact recorded by Fazello is, that in his time 

 Yulcanello was still a distinct island, separated from Vulcano by a 

 narrow channel, in which ships could lie in safety ; but that this 

 channel was subsequently filled up by new eruptions. 



Fresh outbursts of Vulcano appear to have occurred early in the 

 seventeenth century, for Cluverius states that, standing on the 

 opposite shores of Sicily, he could perceive fire and dark smoke 

 arising from the mountain. 



Father Bartoli, who visited the island in 1646, relates that "it 

 contained a deep gulf, entirely in a state of conflagration within,, 

 and, in a small degree, to be compared to Etna ; and from its mouth 

 a copious smoke continually exhaled," This appears to have been a 

 time of comparative rest in the volcano. 



In 1727, however, when M. d'Orville visited the island, the 

 volcano was certainly in a much more active state. It had then 

 two distinct craters, each of which was situated at the summit of an 

 eminence. From the most southern of these, . which was about a 

 mile and a half in circuit, there was ejected, besides " flame " and 

 smoke, ignited stones ; and its roaring was not less than the loudest 

 thunder. From the bottom of the gulf rose a small hill about 200 

 feet lower than the top of the crater, and from this hill, which was 

 entirely covered with " sulphur " and dirty corroded stones, fiery 

 vapours exhaled in every part. M. d'Orville had, however, scarcely 

 reached the edge of this " burning furnace," when he was obliged to 

 retire precipitately. 



The second crater lay towards the northward of the other. Its 

 " conflagrations " were more frequent and ardent ; and its ejections 

 of stones, mixed with ashes and an extremely black smoke, almost 

 continual. M. d'Orville further relates that the noise of this vol- 

 canic island was heard for many miles ; and was so loud at Lipari 

 (six miles away) that he could not sleep the whole night that 

 he remained there. 



This very clear and explicit account of the state of Vulcano is of 

 great interest to us, exhibiting as it does a distinct image of the two 

 cones and craters upon the great line of subterranean fissure and 

 the rise of an internal cone from the bottom of one of them. More 

 than sixty years after, Spallanzani found that some of the oldest of 

 the inhabitants of Lipari still retained an imperfect recollection 

 of the existence of the two craters. 



At what period these were obliterated and the single cone formed, 

 we have not the means of exactly determining. It is clear that 



