O THE NATUEALIST INBEEMUDA. 



known curiosities the Colonel says : " They are very fre- 

 quently arranged in groups of from twenty to fifty, as if 

 they had once been the roots of as many trees. It is the 

 general surmise that these curious cylinders are the remains 

 of the Palmetto (Chamcerops Palmetto, Titf). I think it 

 very likely that they belong to a member of the family 

 of Palms ; though I have my doubts as to the Palmetto 

 being the individual." 



To the caverns of Bermuda, which are so remarkable for 

 their singularity and beauty, it will be well to devote a 

 short space ; for we doubt if in interest and varied appear- 

 ance, anythmg else on the Islands can be compared to 

 them. It would be difficult to describe them, as any ac- 

 count must necessarily fall far short of the reality ; but if the 

 reader can imagine an opening of tolerably large dimensions 

 in the limestone rock, and charmingly irregular in outline, 

 from the roof of which shining stalactites descend, reflecting 

 their protracted forms in the light blue-green waters below, 

 which cover the floor of the cavern, and in whose pellucid 

 depths may be seen floating the forms of fishes, garbed in 

 coatings of the most resplendent hues, he wHl have some 

 idea, albeit a faint one, of the interesting features of these 

 subterranean recesses. 



In Mr. Wood's demesne at "Walsingham, several exam- 

 ples of the kind may be seen, and the manner in which the 

 hospitable pwner of this pretty estate has aided the charms ' 

 of nature, by means of art, is singularly manifest ; the irre- 

 gular masses of limestone rock, which hang above and ■ 

 around these natural caverns, having various kinds of ? 



i 



shrubs, trees, and plants, growing from every crevice. The 

 cavernS; however, and the objects around them, are seen to '; 



