46 AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



in underground channels, resemble a serpent cut into pieces. Most of them 

 flow beneath the surface valleys, but others take their course athwart moun- 

 tain ranges. Thus the Cettina, which flows along the foot of the Dinaric 

 Alps, is supposed to be fed from a lake lying beyond the hills, towards the 

 east, whilst itself discharging a subterranean branch which reaches the sea 

 near Spalato. The blue Ombla, which flows into the Bay of Gravosa, and the 

 spring of Doli, which rises from the bottom of the sea, are supplied by the 

 Trebincica, a tributar}^ of the Narenta, flowing beyond the mountains of Herze- 

 govina. Others of these subterranean rivers have never been traced to their 

 mouths, and there are springs supplied we know not how. The Lake of Vrana, on 

 the island of Cherso (Kres), covers an area of 2*3 square miles, and holds 

 233,000,000 tons of water. It is undoubtedly fed by springs supplied fi'om the 

 mainland, for its temperature is lower than any experienced on the island. 



The greater part of Carniola and Dalmatia would be altogether without water, 

 if it were not for underlying impervious sandstones and clay, which occasionally 

 force the underground rivers to appear on the surface. Besides this, in crossing 

 these bare and white plateaux, we are occasionally charmed by the sight of a large 

 depression filled with verdure, like the quarry gardens of Syracuse. The famous 

 vineyards of Prosecco occupy one of these verdant sinks of the Triestine Carso. 

 Many identify these vines with the vîtes pucinœ of the ancients, whilst others seek 

 them on the slopes of Duino, near the mouth of the Timavo, which yields the 

 excellent wine known as Rcfosco. 



One of the most diflicult tasks of the people dwelling around the Carso consists 

 in their protecting themselves against the sudden floods caused by these subter- 

 ranean rivers. The water, not being able to spread laterally, rises vertically, fills 

 up the sinks, and even overflows thera. The Rieka has been observed to rise 

 350 feet above its ordinary level in the sink of Trebic. The villages are thus 

 perpetually threatened by inundations. The inhabitants take many precautions 

 to avert the danger. They place gratings over the openings of the sinks, to 

 prevent their becoming choked up; they occasionally clean cut the underground 

 channels ; and sometimes even resort to blasting in order to open more commodious 

 passages for the surplus waters. Permanent or temporary lakes are formed in 

 many places, in spite of these precautions. One of the largest is the Lake of 

 Rastoc, to the north of the swampy delta of the Narenta. It shrinks according to 

 the seasons, a portion of its bed being alternately covered with water abounding 

 in fish, or cultivated. Still none of these Adriatic lakes can compare with that 

 of Zirknitz, which lies on the northern slope of the Carso. 



Caverns no longer serving as a passage to rivers are as numerous in the Carso 

 and the Illyrian Alps as are the channels of underground rivers. They ramify 

 to such an extent tbat the whole country has been likened to a petrified sponge. 

 The most widely known of these labyrinthian passages lie within the basin of the 

 Save, but those of Dalmatia, though less frequently visited, are quite as curious. 

 Not only are they curious on account of their stalactites, but also because of their 

 fauna and flora. A peculiar species of bat is found there, and seven species of a 



