The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-06-09

q
short time ago. DR.. j. $. Grasty. OF
| the department OF geology at the Uni
Nersity of Virginia. took his class In
geology to the Grottocs to study the
formations there. He was so impress
1 cd with the caves that he prepared an
! article about them for leading jour
i'ai devoted to uutomobiling ana tour
. ing. j. NJ. Pirkey superintendent Of
| the Grottoes. said the ether day that.
az result of this one article he had
received several hundred letters from
people. chiefly in New England, ask
ing for information about the caves.
and especially If the roads were good.
MI. IirkeN, in answer TO each query.
sends road map in addition TO other
data. Many visitors In the last few
weeks have told him that they never
heard of the Grottoes until they saw
Er. Grasty's article, and. Furthermore.
were not aware that The roads would
justify their coming until they inquir-
ed
Last TuesdLy DR. II. /. Ciciand. PRO-
lessor of geology at Williams College.
Mass, headed party from the North
on Il visit to IN, GrOttocs. 1t should
be OF interest to VirEln!ans to know
something of their impressions OF
these caves Wcycr's and the Cave OF
Fountains which. according TO tho
Icologists, arc not apparently as fully
appreciated rs they deserve.
The iirst thing that pleased tic vis!-
tors vas the approach by automobile
to the Grottoos. Tho caves arc only
short walk from Grottots station. on
the Norfolk and Western. and are not
far from Cave Station. on the Baltl
moro and Ohio but the way to get the
most out OF visit to them is TO go by
automobile.
Dr. Clelands party went to staunton
and then up the Valley via the fam
! GUS turnpike. These tourists came
Z from the land of tho far-famed Berk-
! shire Iills. They were familiar with
mountain scenery and tho charm Of
boautiful valleys AS they sped along
the pike they behcid a panorama that
lacked nothing of the beauty OF tho
Massachusetts hills. and which. in adj
dtio1. had the advantage of being
fertile and we'll cultivated. Even the
wild honcysucklc along the way drew
admiring attention Tn. fragrant air.
the splendid road. the gorgeous seen
cry Of towering mountain and rich
valley combined to give tho visitors
an impression that will never be for
gotten and which, "a one of them said
VIII be pleasure to talk about when
get home
New EnginndcrS Impre.sion.
Speaking OF the fun and benefit of
such run up the Valley, DR.. Grusty.
in the article to which reference has
been made. said
THE whole route Is rcplctc with
historic associations; and. even If tho
range OF ones reading has not been
wide enough to anticipate and rccog.
nize numerous points OF interest. there
are local historians in plenty who re-
Vel in rccounting the achievements OF
the past ind ere glad to furnish al
each stopping point a ready made his
toric atmosphere. II the tourist is
therefore icl " ,1
he can make thc Journey one of great
educational value.
However, the great majority are
out for the run. and the fun ana pleas
ure. OF the trip. only picking up mere
and there as incidental to the tour,
facts about hard fought and. AZ IN the
case of Stoncwall Jackson, brilliantly
executed campaigns. which made this
Eow smiling and prosperous section
in Civil War times loo.S like a vcrit-
able wreck"
The visitors admired the pike. and
declared that for automoblling. Vir-
ginia could put that highway in com
lctttion with any in the country and
not fear the comparison. But they
lad been told that seven miles from
the Grottoes they should have TO turn
Ia the right and travel a dirt road.
Dirt roads with automcbil SITS are not
discussed In polite society. not only
because life Is too short. b n also be-
cause of the language they feel bound
IL use. So they We're awaiting that
stretch OF dirt road much az one
thinks of 4 chains weakest link. But
when they actually reached the turn
ing on point. they that found the road
was In excellent condition and was
ma cadam but for n short distance
Workmen ara busy on the unmprovc cd
section now. and the whole stretch
VIII he completed within few
! months
Most Remarkable Of Caves.
: DR.. Cleland pronounced the caves to
he the most remarkable in some re-
spccts that nc had ever seen. lie was
: first struck with the fact that the
walks are dry The natural bridge in
Meyers Cave he thought was of par
circular interest, and the mammoth
"oyster shells" arc to he found in no
other cave in the world.
They arc caused by the steep dip
!, OF tho rock in this section and the
precipitation Of calcium carbonat,,
due 10 the surface tension of water
containing that substance while held
, II. suspension drop at time.
The many other phenomena in the
caves were pronounced ~ DR.. Clcland
and others in his party to be not only
of great popular interest, but of much
scientific value ne we'll AS result
Of this trip scientific experiment will
I've made IN Weycr's Cave The pres
; ent theory as to the forma tion of the
stalactites IL that every ten years one
aiXty-fourth part of IN inch Is form
ed. In one part Of the cave. near tho
, vast canyon and the natural bridge.
: the only one of it's kind ever found
in cave. by the way. stalactitcs are
forming under most favorable condi-
tons, Several OF these will he care
fully chosen and measured scientifical-
~. then carefully marked. The data
will be filed. Visits to the cave IN
years to come and careful measure
mHnts made'hy biologists. will deter
mine the value Of the present theory
about the growth OF staiactites. This.
Of course. could he done in other caves.
but the formation at the selected point
in Meyers Cave Is peculiarly suited
for scientific reasons to make the test