The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-10-01

etsfN ~ ANH
NRgnrics.
From the Ncw York Times.
Much interest d. generally associated
with unusual features Of the c4rthr sur
face and this De- especially true % these
features are connected with things aud
phenomena below the surface. Caves cs-
pecialv dccp ard extended ones unl those
anording opportuniaes for adventure. ar
interesting 10 overs body. many perton
consider BE- prominent events iu his 90
20 have visited the famous Mammoth
aud Luray caves The Grotto del cane
OF Italy. cont8irIus stratum % garhonic
acid over to- surface. has lr ome famous
the world over AMI many tender heart
has plueI the Toor little dog thai the
oil chemical textbooks ten ut thc cave
attendant would lead toto tIe pace just
20 stoN hos tne little fellow would be-
come ut. hyaiafcl. an1 that ths mon
could 60 on iu safety.
Sinks or slnkhoIcs az Reolosists gtnf-
orally deslEuair tn,Ip. are conf .ai depre--
sion. lu the surface oi The erourd, ana
ure commonly caused hy the failing On of
cave They alRays occur IN limestone
regions Limestone IS q soft rock und
therefore easily worn away ny the action
OF water heu,c many limestone beds be-
come nl.e6 with nssures. 10 es. caves. etc
duo 20 the erodIug action of the water
passing through them when a cave of
considerable size o. near the surface, g.
toof will eventually. on account - the
wearing action b., ONE too weak 20 sup
pori Itself and tai be-. aud the hole thus
formed vii be sink.
In places where sinks are 81 common oe-
currence farmer Be- not surprised 90 nnd
"a l.F "a UFnNa
ped few feet during me night or that
a new sink has formed in one of his helie.
The resonant sounds sometimes heard
where country roads lead over Limestone
rocks indicate cavcrns that may fan ia
at any time. and drop The passing tray
eier into the hole
Most sinks have dry bottoms but some
Of them contain water. especially those
found az bow levels The sinks 90 coast
regions. therefore. generally have water
an them. and some oil them are 80 iargs
that their water areas are frequently
called lakes
Florida an odd Corner.
The state 81 Florida b. an odd corner OF
our domain. n has many peculiar and in
ssreating geological as well as physio-
graphical features. II o. well known 20
BIOLOGISTS that beneath the orange groves.
melon and sweet potato fields, indeed, un-
this peninsula. al a depth varying from
few 90 a hundred or more feet. b. AN im-
mense bed Of croccne limestone the solid
foundation upon which Florida surface
material rests This s. known TO be very
pervious 20 water and IN many places 10
be honeycombed by cavities caVerns. ana
various other Characteristic Of the erod-
3ng action.
In evidence Of this Florida well dlggcrs
inform us that in sinking wells into this
rock their drills frequently make sudden
drops. falling at single drop from q e."
inches 10 several feet. These erodet
places musS contain lakes. wells, ana
streams iunumcra hic-strcams that vary
An magnitude from tiny rllls Of wandering
water 10 small rivers following courses
many miles long through the dark pas
cages Il 81 obvious therefore that con
ditions very favorable 20 the formation OF
sink depresslons exist IN shis bedrock.
hence sinks are numerous In Florida. and
they are found all over the state
In Alachua county thore are proi@bN
more sinks than On any other part 81 che
state. indeed. they form q conspicuous
feature OF the surface Of that region. "
Is In this county. seven miles north of
Catnosvflle that the very large sink
known as the Devils MIL Hopper Is
found This iF regarded AS the great nat
urai curiosity Of he region. anc De- quite
resort for pcnics and tourists. Tine hls
lug Is another sink a. tho same county.
remarkable on account Of i,s occasionally
draining completely large connected
lake. leaving the bed. containing thou-
sands Of acres. "a great prairie. Ana
was in Alachua county that a rev years
neo the earth gave way under the track
Of the Southern Railroad and the nlsht
train pitched hcadloug into the hole thus
formed which was about seventy rec.
- A. rsla a.
cars. Fortunately. however none OF the
passenEcrs was seriously injured.
The Disappearing steam.
An interesting feature Of some Florida
.inks a that they serve IS drainage rec
er,,oirs for creeks and rivulets. \ noth-
bic example OF this is sink tn oIans'
rofrtv into which = large stream h"ws
ara disappear completely without caus-
ing che water in the lake 10 Use
but Florida is noted especially Aof net
deem siuks. ana following Is a description
Of very deep one. said to be the deepest
one in the world. which was recently ex-
ploreh and measured hy the writer ana
several assistants. IL ia in the lake re-
zion. about four miles northwest Of or
iando. and contains a small lake present
ing a beautiful surface aud picturesque
surroundings.
some people living near the place asso-
clatesI considerable mystery with the sink
on account Of the supposed depth 81 this
lake. and this mystery was Increased h-
crude soundlnge made hy curious visitors
and the speculations TO which these sound
inas gave rise. one person did not reaen
tho bottom with a hundrsi-fcot line. AMI
another. failing 90 find the depth. came
40 the conclusion that the water WAS so
dense az tho great depth reached hy his
Iine that II prevented further descent OF
che weight and hence thar the bottom
could mover be- Uached' others were sure
chat the hole had NO bottom
II may be interesting also 10 state that
in regard 90 The age Of Ga" sink random
local opinion hxee its origin at quite 2 re-
cent date According 60 this opinion q
me orange grove included the place with
IN hs area. ana portion of the grove
was therefore swallowed up when the
sink was formed. The place IL pointed
CUT where .he house stood that was occu-
pied By the owner 90 the grove. The abb
eurdity OF this opinion bccomes evident
when e b. known that there are pine trees
nenriy two feet ln diameter growing in
the sink. ana mar 10 years would proha-
tiy be required Tor thc trees 90 grow 20
this size.
A short time ago small party from the
scientific department OF Rollins COLLEGE
equipped With long tarpon line AMI
heavy weight Tor piummef standard shcr-
unometer some engineering apparatus