4 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
rises 66 on pillars lofty and light and tall.” Beautiful, too, are 
the long lancet windows in the apse and those of the clerestory, 
which are for the most part filled with rich stained glass. 
Notre Dame du Port is a truly curious church, said to- 
have been built about a.d. 580. It ranks among the historical 
monuments of France, and through the very early character of 
its Bomanesque architecture and sculpture is of especial interest 
to the antiquarian. The elaborate decoration in mosaic of its 
towers is believed to be of the best Byzantine architecture, and 
the sculptures on the tympanum of the south doorway are 
curiously rude and unusual. The church is barrel-roofed, with 
an apsidal termination. The crypt, which is under the choir, 
is said to be the most ancient part of the building, and is re- 
markable for its rude pillars and massive roof. Here, as at Le 
Puy en Velay, is a black Virgin, probably the Roman Catholic 
adaptation of some Eastern idol. The petrifying spring of St. 
Alyre was once celebrated for the miracles performed there. 
There are many other springs in Auvergne possessing incrusting 
qualities, but none of them incrust objects exposed to their 
spray in so short a period as that of St. Alyre. Both Dr. Dau- 
beney and Mr. Scrope attribute the immense quantity of traver- 
tine deposited by the water to the volcanic action below, and 
believe that the springs were fuller when the subterranean 
forces were in greater activity. Of the various objects 
placed on shelves and boards for incrustation by dripping are 
stuffed animals, their hair all coated with carbonate of lime,, 
and stuffed birds ; but the really beautiful specimens are cray- 
fish and land shells, which preserve their shape entire in stone*. 
There are also baskets, artichokes, and bird’s-nests, with brooches 
made from casts and alto-relievos. Some of the latter are taken 
from coins found at (xergovia. The “ Pont naturel ” is worthy 
of a visit, forming as it does a natural arch which is constantly 
increasing. 
When staying at Clermont some years ago we visited the late 
distinguished naturalist and geologist, M. Lecoq, to whom we 
had a letter of introduction from Sir C. Lyell. We found him 
most kind and communicative as to the points best worthy of 
observation. His museum was a model of good arrangement 
and careful keeping. Especially was it interesting to us in its 
illustrations of the natural history of Clermont Ferrand and its 
neighbourhood, of the rocks and minerals of the district, the 
fossils, the fiora, the birds and their eggs, besides a large con- 
chological collection from all parts of the world. M. Lecoq 
entered fully and unreservedly into his own views of the geology 
of the lacustrine beds of the Limagne, the extinct volcanos 
and their lavas. With regard to the occurrence of the glacial 
epoch and its effects in Auvergne, he considered that some 
