420 Transactions.— Geology. 
the above cone had completely vanished, and that along the greater part of 
the north side of the crater another cone, about 500 feet wide at the top, 
had been violently thrown up. In the interior of this cone, at the bottom, 
there were two openings opposite each other, out of which sulphurous 
steam was blown in considerable quantities. The outside of the cone was 
. of loose material, as might be expected from its recent deposition, and was 
composed of stones, pumice, cinders, and debris of the mountain. 
It is thus evident that this volcano is still active, although at uncertain 
periods. Over the floor of the crater, and up aloft, along the sides, as well 
as outside the mountain, sulphur-steam was issuing in all directions, 
tinging the orifices with yellow crystals of sulphur. The whole crater of 
Tongariro might be 1500 feet wide. The loose burnt sides, overhanging 
the floor, are gradually falling down, altering the configuration of the 
summit of the mountain. Upon the floor of the crater there were several 
thick patches of hardened snow; and at the north side, under the cliffs, a 
large wreath of snow, melting from the heat beneath, formed a singular- 
looking cavern with a scalloped roof, as of white marble. The writer spent 
a night inside the crater, and found the air intensely cold till the sun rose 
high enough in the morning to shine into the crater. Astronomers, in 
scanning the volcanoes of the moon, have noticed about the middle of the 
floor of certain craters a small cone, giving rise to speculation about its 
cause. Does not Tongariro afford explanation—that, as the volcanic forces 
exhaust themselves, they give vent to their expiring fires by a small cone. 
White Island.—It is generally supposed that the vapours arising from 
White Island are steam from geysers; whereas, sulphurous steam never 
rises to any height. The main forces of the grand display at the ** Theatre _ 
of Nature’ upon White Island, are burning beds of sulphur, which show 
their red fires at night across the lake, whilst the fumes rise up into the air 
in volumes, to spread there’at a great height, like a balloon, or to flow 
away in a train over the sea before the breeze. 
