NATURE'S REALM. 25 
fully six feet tall; some are very pleasing to 
the eye, and, though all are coarse in forma- 
tion from the roots up to the flowers, they 
nearly all have grace in form, and with their 
. crowning clusters of golden racemes and 
fringes they present a very agreeable appear- 
ance. 
The Solidago speciosa is a kind found on 
low ground generally, which has the reputation 
of being one of the latest to bloom in the genus ; 
I have observed it in all its glory as late as Oc- 
tober Io. 
The golden rod appears to prefer clearings, 
and, like most wild weeds, springs up where 
fires have played havoc with the vegetation, 
but many species prefer the low ground where 
the soil is watered by numerous springs. The 
plant does not seem to be changed in its selec- 
tion of agreeable sites for unfolding its autum- 
nal glory, by any effects produced in advancing 
civilization, for it is found flourishing in the 
‘Same retreats where it was seen to annually 
blossom over a half century ago. Fifty-eight 
years ago my grandparents moved into this, 
Kalamazoo County, then a wilderness in the 
wilds of Michigan Territory. The season was 
autumn and the golden rod greeted the tired 
settlers with its handsome yellow flowers and 
courteous noddings in the gentle breezes. 
In those early days all.woolens were spun by 
hand, but the dye stuffs used for coloring had 
to be selected from the fields and forests, as 
there was not a drug store nearer than Detroit, 
nearly one hundred and fifty miles distant. The 
customs of the Indians were therefore often 
borrowed, and among them the practice of 
dyeing cloth with golden rod was adopted. I 
am at present the owner of a checked blanket 
which has often accompanied me on my camp- 
ing trips, which was dyed with So/idago fifty- 
seven years ago, and it still holds its color well 
and is in daily use. A beautiful yellow will 
result from the mixture of a little alum with 
the blossoms for the dye. 
Though I do not advocate this plant as our 
national flower, I consider it one of our most 
pleasing flowers, and, with all sportsmen and 
lovers of nature, can honestly say, long live 
and wave the golden rod. 

THE CARNIOLA GROTTO. 
A magnificent grotto has been discovered 
and opened to the public near the famous Cav- 
ern of Stalactites at Adelsberg, in Carniola. 
It is the largest and most magnificent hitherto 
known in Europe. A walk through it occupies 
rather more than two hours. It is snow-white 
in color, relieved only by portions of grayish 
hue, whereas at Adelsberg the prevalent shade 
is yellowish. The grotto opens with a deep 
ravine and a number of comparatively shallow 
caves, in which the stalactites take the form of 
curtains, or widely spread wings, and the 
drops and stalagmites have the appearance of 
huge cactus plants, with beautiful white glitter- 
ing pendants. The next cave shows forms of 
various animals. 
walks through a succession of lofty domes until 
Going further, the visitor: 
the ‘‘ball room” is reached, three times as 
large as the corresponding ‘‘ dancing room” at 
Adelsberg. The roof of the “ ball room ” seems 
to be adorned with hundreds of flags and 
streamers, each flag having its staff formed ot 
pendant tubes, around which the standards or 
banners are wound. The most remarkable 
cave has a vaulted roof; its farthest wall is 
formed by a snow-white rock of limestone, 
which divides the grotto from the mountain 
river Polk, which rushes behind it, and the two 
side walls are covered with indentations, mostly 
formed of single drops. There are enormous 
trees in the centre of the cave, some rising toa 
height of forty or fifty feet, each with numerous 
branches strewn with drops instead of leaves, 
in wonderful regularity of form. 
