4?6 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Nov. 9, 1888. 



afterwards I was awakened by a tremendous din, which can 

 hardly be described. As I jumped up from my bed I felt 

 stones falling on the roof as hail — such cannonading going on. 

 I understood what was the matter, ran to the opposite room, 

 where I had made my children sleep that night. They were 

 also up, in consequence of indescribable noise of thunder, 

 rush of gases, flames, falling of huge boulders, rocks, etc. I 

 took them to the drawing-room, but as soon as the door was 

 opened a big stone, red hot (all these stones were quite red 

 with heat) fell through the roof, ceiling, and floor a few yards 

 jrom us, smashing all, setting fire to everything. Now I took 

 my children back to the bed-room, which looks on to the 

 verandah, and tried to gain the terrace by that side. The 

 house doors were shivering and shaking, so that it was a 

 difficult matter to open the doors. At last I succeeded, but 

 before we were out in the verandah another stone fell at our 

 feet, was smashed to fragments, and burned the feet and legs 

 of my boys. Now we passed through the verandah, regained 

 the house at the top of the stairs ; here another stone fell 

 very near us (none of these stones were less than 2 ft. in 

 diameter). This last stone (which is the fourth that struck 

 the house, including the one that fell on the ceiling of my bed- 

 room while in bed) had nearly blocked our way out in the 

 rubbish that it brought from the roof. We passed through 

 over the heap of rubbish, and were now out in the open to 

 the north of the house. By this time (not many minutes after 

 all) the whole place was lighted up, woods, grass, buildings, 

 hedges — all was on fire ; the huge boulders and stones were 

 literally raining everywhere about us — what confusion ! 

 Natali, the faithful boy, had by this time come to the help of 

 my little boys. We all began to run to Vulcanello and away 

 from the dreadful thundering mountain. All the means of 

 communication we possessed at Vulcano consisted in an old 

 half-broken 20-ft. boat and a lighter, both of which the men 

 in their panic and mad despair had taken away with them, 

 leaving us on the sands of Vulcanello. Towards noon, how- 

 ever, boats of rescue reached us from Lipari, and we thus 

 ended one of the most eventful days of our life. 



" On revisiting the spot I saw the whole plains below the 

 mountain, to the distance of one and a-half miles, especially 

 the neighbourhood of the house and the men's habitations, 

 literally covered with boulders and rocks of all sizes, which 

 have embedded themselves in the ground to various depths. 

 The most huge of them is near the well of the house, and 

 is not less than 10 yds. in diameter, or better in length, and is 

 some 10-1 1 ft. deep in the ground. This is about three-quar- 

 ters of a mile from the crater. Another, of nearly equal dimen- 

 sions is on the shore near the Quarantana at the end of the 

 bay of the Levante. Rocks of one yard in diameter are as 

 plentiful as can be as far as the middle of Vulcanello, 

 near the Punta Samossa. We have to thank God for going 

 unhurt through this ' hail-storm.' 



" After this awful calamity, which has caused me so much 

 loss, the crater has recommenced the rushes of steam, ashes, 

 etc. This was a time of comparative diminution of activity, 

 which has lasted for some days. Soon, however, it began the 

 old game of throwing stones, boulders, ashes, etc., every two 

 or three minutes in all directions. No doubt many of these 

 boulders are 10-15 yds. across, and are projected as far as 

 the sea, but often fall back in the crater itself. This state is 

 continuing incessantly and uninterruptedly, causing further 

 damage and frightening everybody. 



" During the last three or four days the noise of the thunder 

 and eruption is so loud that from Lipari (at the distance of 

 six miles) it would be impossible to distinguish it from a 

 prolonged thunderstorm. — Yours truly, 



" A. E. Narlian." 



— <^>t^"^«f-» — 



Intercolonial Meteorological Conference. — An 

 Intercolonial Meteorological Conference met in September 

 at Melbourne. Mr. Ellery was elected Chairman. The 

 other members present were Sir James Hector, Mr. C. 

 Todd, Mr. H. C. Russell, Mr. C. L. Wragge, and Com- 

 mander Shortt. 



THE WHOMBEYAN CAVES. 



MR. W. S. LEIGH, of the Geological Survey Branch 

 of the Australian Department of Mines, has given 

 the following account of the new cave recently discovered 

 by Mr. M. Chalker at the Whombeyan Caves, near Goul- 

 burn, New South Wales. 



" The entrance, a round opening about 2 ft. in dia- 

 meter (which it is proposed to enlarge) is situated on the 

 face of a rather steep hill, and is about 200 yards north- 

 west of the mouth of the old cave, and 500 yards from 

 proposed site of the cave-house. After passing through 

 the entrance into the new cave a perpendicular descent 

 of 25 ft. is made, and then a further descent for a like 

 distance on an incline, the passage progressively increas- 

 ing in size the lower you descend, until the bottom is 

 reached, where it opens out into a large chamber about 

 50 ft. by 30 ft., and averaging 10 ft. in height. This 

 chamber contains a fine collection of stalactites and 

 columns, etc., and may be termed the ' Hall,' as the 

 main caves radiate from it in three different directions. 



" The first branch to the right of the entrance runs 

 about due north about 100 yards in a zigzag line on a 

 comparatively level floor, and averages about 10 ft. in 

 width and 12 ft. in height. The floor for 20 or 30 ft. 

 from the entrance is remarkably pretty in its formation, 

 resembling a stream of crystals overflowing from a large 

 basin, the stream below the main basin being composed 

 of innumerable miniature basins in terraces, each basin 

 being filled with a pure white coral-like formation. Other 

 parts of the floor are covered with spherical stalagmites 

 resembling snowballs. The stalactites in this, as also in 

 the other branches, are grouped more regularly than is 

 usually the case, as they run in almost parallel lines 

 across the limestone roof. These, as well as the other 

 formations, are remarkable for their snowy whiteness 

 and transparency, the only exception being an occasional 

 nest of stalactites resembling terra-cotta in appearance, 

 and so lending a pleasing variety of colour. A very 

 singular feature here is a large column of stalactites 

 having small stalactites varying in size from the thickness 

 of a needle to half-an-inch in diameter projecting at all 

 angles round its base, the whole resembling very much 

 the trunk of a tree with the young shoots sprouting up 

 all round. 



"The middle branch cave, by far the largest, consists 

 of a chain of chambers ranging from the size of a small 

 cabin to that of a lofty cathedral. These are formed by 

 the immense rocks falling and wedging themselves 

 together in all shapes, which necessitates the making of a 

 number of steep ascents and descents. The chambers 

 are well filled with all the prettiest formations met with 

 in other caves. An instance is also observable of a large 

 column formed of a number of stalactites, having been 

 naturally broken across at a point about halfway between 

 the floor and the roof, the broken surfaces being separated 

 from one another by a space of about 2 ins., so that the 

 upper part of the column remains suspended from the 

 roof. 



" A further extension of this cave was discovered during 

 my inspection, and I may safely say it is the crowning 

 discovery as yet in the whole cave, being a roomy 

 chamber at the extreme end (as far as yet known) of this 

 branch, the floor of which might appropriately be named 

 the ' crystal lakes,' the so-called lakes being a large 

 number of pure white and transparent basins formed 

 into a succession of terraces, each basin being partly 



