Dr Dalton jun. on the Proteus anguinus. 333 



which is the only one usually visited by travellers, and which 

 is justly celebrated for the extent of its passages, and for 

 the elegance and variety of its stalactites, has its entrance on 

 the side of a hill, about fifteen minutes' walk from the village. 

 It is called by the inhabitants the " Grotto of Adelsberg." A 

 small stream flows into its mouth, but disappears after a 

 short distance through one of the numerous chasms which 

 open into the principal passage. The grotto penetrates the 

 hill in a nearly horizontal direction, and can easily be fol- 

 lowed for a distance of one or two miles. It has also been 

 explored for nearly twice that distance, but the passage is 

 difficult and dangerous, and its termination has never yet 

 been reached. In the waters of this cavern there are found 

 occasionally a few crabs and fishes, of the same species as 

 those met with outside, and which have been carried in by 

 the stream that enters at its mouth. There is, however, 

 another grotto, situated about a mile farther from the town, 

 called the " Magdalena Grotto," the waters of which contain 

 the curious species of reptile known as the " Proteus 

 anguinus." This is the only place in the vicinity of Adels- 

 berg where the animals are met with ; and though they ex- 

 ist also in other parts of Carniola, they are more abundant 

 in the Magdalena Grotto than elsewhere. 



Unlike the " Adelsberg Grotto," this cavern receives no 

 stream at its mouth, and penetrates the hill in a steep down- 

 ward direction, instead of horizontally. After descending 

 for about fifteen minutes, by an exceedingly rough and irre- 

 gular passage, partly rocky and partly covered with soft 

 mud, the visitor comes to a pool of still water, varying from 

 12 to 18 feet in depth, according to the season, beyond 

 which the cavern cannot be explored. It is in this pool that 

 the Proteus is met with. The water apparently communi- 

 cates with that of the Adelsberg Grotto ; as it is always 

 turbid when the latter is so, and vice versa. Both caverns 

 are, of course, perfectly dark, and can be explored only with 

 torches. The temperature, in the latter part of August, was 

 about 40 c to 50° Fahr., and probably does not vary much 

 throughout the year. It is certain, at least, that in winter 

 it is much higher in the interior of the grotto than outside. 



