The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-23

would be invested with scientific and
curious interest in any county, but
strange as it may appear, they have
hardly as yet elected local interest.
! These wells are fashioned out by the
| hand of nature in a circular form, with
! vertical walls, almost as perfect as if
they were made through the agency
of man. The depth of these wells, it is
said, has never been ascertained, but
from the surface down to the water the
! distance is about forty or fifty feet
! They have subterranean passages for
i their surplus water, whose outlet has
never been discovered.
MOUND SPRING.
The Mound Spring is found a few
I miles east of Chinquepin, Duplin coun-
| ty. This spring has formed mound
| Of stone around it's outlet, from the
mineral sediment of its waters.
The mound rises some four feet
above the earth's surface, and is fifteen
feet broad at the base, forming cone
through which is an orifice 26 inches in
diameter, that receives the discharge
of the spring, at the top of the cone
The stoue that composes this mound is
j of u brow hue with metallic speclls,
,
J AS the operation of this stone making
is going on from day to day, perhaps
it would afford scientists an insight in
to the manner in which the sedimen-
tary and crystalized rocks of the older
! geological periods were formed (prior
to the Azoic period).
! The great mystery in the matter Of
this spring is that the water although
cold and clear, secrets its OVID mineral
matter and deposits it in the form Of
stone.
And another wonder is, how can the
metallic matter be formed in sufficient
quantities to form these crystalized
cubes? The water of this spring, al
though highly charged with mineral
matter, tastes well, and is refreshing,
| and is said to possess rare medical
| properties by the people living near it.
| Yet, while this spring may be called
one OF the great wonders of this CONT
nent, it has never been heard of by the
| people living within ten miles of it.
SONOROUS EARTH.
There are several places in this sec
ton of country that when walked over,
the earth emits a sound resembling
that made by one walking in the TO
| AtHtd III ii = bOIic buiilfllllG 10y bAluiBB~
! ing the earth with maui the sound is
| frigh tful, and leads one to suppose
| they are over a hollow cavern thar is
on the point OF breaking in. Some
amusing incidents have occurred by
! persons driving over these places who
were strangers to these peculiar
! sounds, and some OF them have taken
/ fright and run away. One Of these
noted places is in Lenoir county and
another is in Duplin county. in about
one mile of Maple bridge. The earth
az all these places is the color Of mo
| lasses cake" having their ANIMATED
stratas of hard-pan. At one Of these
| places, in Leno;r county, this earth
is said to overlie quicksand. The ma
tiFes call these places sounding
| ground"
MUD LAKE.
For the benefit of the curious. it may
be mentioned that in Onslow county
near the junction of the Southwest
river and Halves Run on the upland
there is a mud lake that has about the
same consistency of thin batter. An
imais thrown into it perish, for they
can neither swim. or crawl out
/ Tt is supposed this lake is caused by
/ lit that has been for centuries oozing
out from stratifed clay shale, the sur
plus escaping during wet times over a
rim that surrounds the lake on the
east side
The natives have given this lake tile
absurd name of THE Devils Wood
Yard"
~ A few hundred yards from this lake,
but well below in the swamp, there is
a mineral spring that l take to be
white sulphur water. II is said to have
made some remarkable cures, and fifty
years ago it was quite a resort for in
valids, who lived in eXtempore huts.
VENUS FLY TRAP.
1t is not here intended to discuss the
remarkable fora of this section. In
stances are referred to only to illus
trate it's semi-tropical character.
For a full description of its flora the
reader is referred to Hales Woods and
Timbers OF North Carolina and ESSAYS
descriptive of its botanical character
published both by the late Dr. Curtis
and DR., Wood.
Mention viii be made, however, Of
, the celebrated plant, dionaea musci-
pula, or Venus Fly Trap, as it is popu-
~ known. 1t is named in honor Of
/ the mother Of Venus. Only one spe-
! cies exists. Prof Gray, Professor Of
/ Natural History in Harvard Univer-
Isity, describes in his work on botany
! this plant as follows;
"Ihe most extraordinary Of all the
plants Of this county" Speaking of
America SIS the Dionaea or Venus's
/ Fiy-trap, which grows in the sandy
/ bogs around Wilmington North Car
Dina. Each leaf bears at it's summit
an appendage which opens and shuts,
in shape something like a steel-trap
and operating much like one. For
when open as it commonly is when
the sun shines, no soner does a fly
light on its surface, and brush against
any one of the several long bristles
that grow there, than the trap sud
denly closes, often capturing the intru-
der, pressing it all the harder for its