The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware advertiser., 1826-05-11
ISelected for the Hiimingtonian.l
GROTTO DEL. CAM.


The following description of the Grotto del
CAM, near Naples, is from the pen Of MIR. Addi-
SOM
"The Grotto del CAM is famous for its steams,
which rise foot above its surface The sides Of
the Grotto are marked with green, as high as the
yapour reaches. The common experiments arc,
holding dog with his nose in the vaponr by
which means he soon looscs all signs Of life, but
on his being carried into the open air. or thrown
into neighbouling lake. if he is not dead, he i'm
mediately RECEIVERS. A torch dipped into the va
pour, goes out in amoment, snuff and all-and .
pistol cannot take fire i'll it. Isplit a reed, and
laid train of gun powder in the channel of it,
and then placing one end of the reed above the
yapour, and the other at the bottom, found tlat
though the steam was strong enough to extn-
guish lighted torch, and to hinder a pistol from
taking fire, it could not intercept the train, nor
hinder it from running to the very end; and by
repeating the experiment, so far dlssipated
the vaponr, that could let off pistol in it. /
observed how long dog was in losing his sens
the first time, and after his recovery, but found
sensible difference The first time viper
was put in, il bore the vapour nine minutes, and
ten the second; but upon its being brought out af
ter the first trial, it took such quantity ofair into
its lungs, that it swellcd nearly twice big as be-
fore, and upon this extraordinary stock Of air il
perhaps lived minute longer than the second
time. Dir. Connor, in discourse on this grotto.
attributes the death of animals, and the extinc-
&c l;trht - tho oft, "a air
caused by the heat and cruptions of the steam
This heat is, however, very inconsiderable; but
to satisfy myself, placed thin phial, well stop
ped with wax, within the smoke of the vapour,
which certainly would have burst in an air so rl-
rificd as TO kill dog, or quench torch; but
nothing followed upon it. However to remove
all further doubt, borrowed weather-glass,
and fixed it in the grotto in such manner that
the stagnum was entirely covered with the va
pour; but after half an hours standing in it, /
could not perceive thar the quicksilver sunk
II is generally supposed that this vapour is sui
phureous, but could see no reason for such a
supposton, upon my dipping my hand into it,
left no smell upon it, and though put whole
bundle of lighted birthstone matches into the
smoke, they all instantly went out, as if mmers-
ed in watcr.-Whatevcr be the composition Of
the vapour, let it have but one quality, of being
very viscous or gluey, and believe it will me-
chanicalls solve all these phenomena. Its unc-
tuousness will render it heavy and unfit for
mounting, unless the heat fthe earth was much
greater than i: is, to rarity and scatter it. 1t will
be too thick and gross TO keep the lungs in play
for any time, so that animals will die sooner or
later, i'll proportion their blood circulates
slower or faster Fire is us soon cxtin-
guished i'll it as in water, from its wrap
ping itself in the same manner about the
fame, and hndcrng, by its continuity, any quar-
tity ofairand nitre from approaching it; but as
its parts are less compact than those of liquors,
they are not SO tenacious as to intercept fire
that has caught a train Of gunpowdcr, on
which account they may be quite broken and
dispersed by repeating this experiment