Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles* 23 ? 
steps of stones to a stage of ten feet high, and is in a south-east di- 
rection. Here the roof begins to form a regular arch, the height of 
which from the floor varies from five to eight feet, the grotto being 
from six to twelve feet wide, to the part called the crawling place, a 
name which is given to it in consequence of travellers being obliged 
to crawl, in order to reach another large neighbouring chamber ; 
from this to the spot, in which a pillar is found, for a mile and a 
quarter, there occurs an alternating succession of large and small 
chambers. Sometimes the way is flat, at other times enormous 
blocks of rock must be climbed, which have been detached from the 
roof, and then the pillar occurs in the form of a magnificent white 
column, which reflecting the sombre light of the torches, has a 
majestic and dazzling aspect. Visiters rarely proceed further than 
from 100 to 150 fathoms. The pillar or column is 15 feet in dia- 
meter and thirty high ; it is regularly fasciculated from the summit 
to the base. Not far from it are several other pillars of the same 
form, but of smaller dimensions : it is composed of carbonate of 
lime. 
The date of the discovery of this grotto is not known ; it is known 
only that it was visited in 1807 by some persons who found in it a 
bed of salts from 6 to 9 feet thick on the bottom of the grotto, where 
they observed enormous blocks scattered over it, whilst the walls 
were covered with saline products. The sulphate of magnesia abounds 
throughout this grotto in different forms, and sometimes in masses 
of one pound to ten. The soil has a brilliant appearance on account 
of the numerous portions of this salt disseminated in it. This sul- 
phate lines the walls at various distances ; if it be removed it is re- 
produced in four or five weeks in needle-form crystals. The poorest 
earth which has been washed gave four pounds per bushel, and the 
richest from 20 to 25 pounds. The salt which next occurs in the 
greatest quantity is nitrate of lime, and afterwards nitrate of alumina, 
which yields as much nitrate of potash as the nitrate of lime. Sul- 
phate of lime also occurs, with traces of sulphate of iron and of car- 
bonate and nitrate of magnesia. The sulphate of magnesia is not 
pure, as will be readily conceived . — Journal de Chimie Medical, 
January 1840. 
MANUFACTURE OF CHLORATE OF POTASH. 
M. Pelouze has communicated a new and advantageous mode of 
preparing chlorate of potash. Hitherto carbonate of potash has 
always been decomposed by chlorine : M. Pelouze describes the in- 
conveniences of this process, which he proposes to remedy by sub- 
stituting soda for potash ; by this chlorate of soda and common salt 
are obtained, and the chlorate of soda is converted by double de- 
composition in chlorate of potash by one of the cheap salts of pot- 
ash which occur in commerce. 
M. Pelouze also proposes to pass chlorine into milk of lime, by 
which chloride of lime is obtained, and this is then decomposed by 
chloride of potassium. — VInstitut, No. 318. 
