Royal Society of Edinburgh. 4211 



so far from the Torbanehill mineral being well distinguished in this respect from some 

 kinds of coal, he had placed specimens of it and of certain kinds of coal, side by side, 

 before a very competent authority, who could not decide which was the one and which 

 the other. On the whole, therefore, he was satisfied that it was vain to attempt 

 to draw any distinction between the Torbanehill substance and coal. 



The Blind Animals of the Mammoth Cave at Kentucky. 



Read "A Notice of the Blind Animals which inhabit the Mammoth Cave of 

 Kentucky." By James Wilson, Esq. 



The cave in question was described as of great extent, and remarkable in several 

 respects. Although described as a " cave," it consists of innumerable extensive under- 

 ground galleries, the sides and tops of which consist of limestone. The temperature 

 of the cave is uniformly 59° Fahrenheit throughout the whole year, and a remarkable 

 phenomenon is shown by the variation of temperature outside. When the temperature 

 outside is higher than that of the cave, then an outward current of air is observed, its 

 violence being proportionate to the difference of temperature. On the other hand, 

 when the outer air falls below 59°, then a reverse current sets in. In some cases 

 these currents are so strong as to extinguish the lamps carried by explorers. No 

 change of temperature has, however, been on any occasion observed in the cave, a 

 proof of its vast extent. It is completely dark, but inhabited by some animals. These 

 inhabitants are, in most cases that have been observed, completely blind, some indeed 

 having the rudiments of eyes, and others the eyes to appearance pretty well developed, 

 but useless for the purposes of vision. Specimens of the animals were handed round, 

 and the author of the paper detailed their characteristics and habits, as well as of all 

 other remarkable animals in other parts of the world that are known to be without the 

 power of vision. As blind inhabitants of the Kentucky cave, he noticed two bats, two 

 fishes, several beetles, two rats, — one found at a distance of seven miles from day- 

 light, some spiders, moles, Crustacea, and other animals, including the minute Infuso- 

 ria, which last not being furnished with eyes in those species that live in light, were 

 not to be expected to possess them in those that live in darkness. He alluded to the 

 blind mole of the Cape, and also to the blind mole of Greece, which is the common 

 mole there, and the mole of Aristotle. Aristotle was therefore correct in describing 

 the mole as blind, and his correctors and commentators wrong who found eyes in the 

 British mole, which is a different animal, possessed of the faculty of vision. He also 

 noticed a blind reptile. The inquiry as to the origin of those remarkable beings that 

 inhabit the Kentucky cave is full of interest. Whether their origin is coeval with the 

 cave itself we cannot tell; it may be that they were created for the remarkable con- 

 ditions which it affords. But it is also possible that they may represent unfortunate 

 animals that had ages ago wandered into the dark recesses of the cave, and in the 

 total absence of light, and consequent disuse of their visual organs, these organs may 

 have become obliterated, or where their forms remain, they may have become incapable 

 of performing their functions. In such an inquiry, the author remarked, that, like 

 the animals themselves, we grope in the dark. 



