seen in Europe, were built of the same material as my own Church. The date of the building of these temples cannot be precisely determinéd, no record that we possess helps us in the matter; one thing is certain, that they are of great antiquity. Situate as they are on the seashore, and, therefore, exposed to the tempests of centuries, they, nevertheless, show little weathering, and under that southern sun their colour, of a warm orange yellow, is extremely beautiful. Notwithstanding the value attached by the Romans to travertine as a building material, it is not to be supposed that we have any large store of it in England, a treasure, which, remarkable as it is for combined lightness and durability, could easily be turned into profit. The growth of travertine in Italy and in Auvergne is promoted by the prevalence of springs highly charged with carbonic acid. The solid carbonate of lime is thus deposited extremely rapidly, and I cannot resist quoting a few instances mentioned by Sir C. Lyell which prove this.

In a short paper of this kind I cannot enter at any length into the description which he gives of the various masses of travertine which he has visited. The Elements of Geology is a book accessible to all, the whole subject is exhaustively treated there, and his authority, which may on many geological questions have been disputed by later writers, on the subject of travertine, (which he was able to observe in process of formation), will hardly be questioned. Nor can I enter into his interesting disquisitions on the formation of the spheroids of concretionary travertine. It is sufficient to say that the remarkable concentric layers deposited are owing, he believes, to the absolute uniformity in which the deposits were made. The first mass of travertine which he mentions occurs near Clermont Ferrand, in Auvergne, 240 feet in length. At its termination, 16 feet high, and 12 feet wide-I have myself seen it-it had the appearance of an artificial embankment. The growth here was aided by the springs being charged with carbonic acid, produced by volcanic agency, so marked in the neighbourhood of Clermont. He next mentions the deposit at the baths of San Vignone, situate between Rome and Siena, it may be said to cover the hill on which the baths are built; the pipe which conducts the water to the baths deposits half a foot of travertine every year. At San Filippo the water supplying the baths which falls into a pond has been known to deposit a mass 30 feet thick in about 20 years; the stratum there is a mile and a quarter in length, one-third of a mile broad, and in thickness 250 feet.

I must pass over the description of the springs at Viterbo, on the Campagna at Rome, at Tivoli, which are not less interesting than those which I have previously named. I would rather devote a few lines to the description of travertine masses which lie within reach of a visit by members of this Club. By the kindness of the Rev. Martin Buckle, Vicar of Clifton-on-Teme, I have been put in possession of Mr. Noake's published description of the travertine mass known as Southstone Rock. He writes:-"About a mile from Stanford Church stands Southstone Rock, in ancient times the retreat of hermits and the resort of pilgrims, to taste the waters of a holy well, which had for ages dispensed their miraculous effects throughout and beyond the district far and wide. The rock stands out perpendicularly from the high ground with which it is connected, and

forms one side of a delightful ravine, watered by a rivulet which runs into the Teme; while the wood of noble forest trees in which it is embosomed, serves as a shaggy crown to the wild scenery. Some rooms or cells were formerly hewn in the rock, and at the top was a chapel dedicated to St. John, on the feast of whose nativity there was a solemn offering." Further particulars respecting the chapel are given. It is proved that it was a chapelry of the Abbey of Evesham, and the Winnington family were once in possession of an alms-dish found on the site of the chapel with very remarkable inscriptions. Mr. Noake continues:"Geologists tell us that the rock is the largest mass of travertine hitherto discovered in Great Britain, the surface extending over half an acre. At the northern extremity it terminates in a bluff precipice from 50 to 60 feet high, faced with gigantic botryoidal stalactites, which hang over the dingle; and the mass being full of cavities, some of the interior passages lead by winding paths from the base to the summit. This rock has been entirely deposited by the spring which gushes out on the east side of the cornstone, and daily forms a fresh incrustation upon the edges of plants and stones ;" and then, quoting Sir Roderick Murchison, he proceeds, "We hardly know how to estimate the antiquity of this rock, so modern as respects geological monuments, and yet perhaps of such high antiquity in relation to man." It would not, however, be presumptuous to affirm that the spring which formed it has deposited similar matter without interruption ever since the substrata were first exposed to the atmosphere, and far back indeed must we recede to account for the commencement of this massive production. Southstone Rock possesses to me a peculiar interest, for, when my Church was being restored, I found great difficulty in procuring a supply of travertine for the needful work. I got two waggon loads from Depple Wood, where its formation may now be observed, and through the great kindness of the late Sir Thomas Winnington, I was enabled to obtain several truck loads from Southstone Rock, near Clifton-on-Teme. It is supposed, I believe, that a considerable part of the groined roof of Worcester Cathedral was obtained from the same source; of course in a stone roof its lightness would be a great recommendation.

A very peculiar phenomenon connected with the deposition of travertine has been observed in the Walker mine, near Newcastle, of which the particulars have been furnished by Mr. Moore. It duly registers its own age, forming a singular chronometer or calendar of time, and from its inscription of lines has been called the "Sunday or Walker Almanack." It occurs in this manner :During the operations of mining, the water is rendered dark and turbid, and the laminæ there deposited are of a dark hue, the streaks of a light hue are nocturnal depositions, when the miners cease from working. The double space of a light colour distinguishes the Sunday, and thus curiously indicates the several weeks, a diminution in the dark lines which denote the working day, and corresponding increase of light space exhibits "occasional holidays," with the miner's cessation from work. Twenty weeks are enrolled in a deposition of 4 inches in a specimen under examination, and taking the popularly received date of the creation up to the year 1891, it would have reared during that period a mountain nearly 6,000 feet high (5,895). The calculation here made by the writer who observed this

curious phenomenon, points to a special interest which attaches to this rock of travertine. We are in the presence, I may say, of a rock building force in action, a force acting continuously, one calling to its aid chemical and even botanical transformations, and we are permitted to examine the operation of nature from day to day, and from year to year. Geology has been called the testimony of the rocks. The stratified rocks, one may name more particularly the Chalk and Oolite formations, both containing lime in abundance, have required, it is estimated, for their deposition, a period which defies calculation, that deposition being supposed to be uniform. But in the formation of travertine, we find that the deposition is not uniform. It is sometimes deposited rapidly, sometimes slowly. We find the power in actual operation, and so calculations made as regards the stratified rocks, on the supposition that they are deposited at a uniform rate, may be misleading. The bastard limestone or Cornstone which is met with in our Old Red Sandstone throughout this district is dissolved only to re-appear in the rock which we are now examining. The carbonate of lime in the cornstone is dissolved by water, and again appears in a solid form in the travertine. The process is thus explained by Professor Fownes (Elements of Chemistry, p. 255):--" Although carbonate of lime is not sensibly soluble in pure water, it is freely taken up when carbonic acid happens at the same time to be present. If a little lime water (which is the hydrate of lime obtained by slaking quicklime) be poured into a vessel of that gas, the turbidity first produced disappears on agitation, and a transparent solution of carbonate of lime in excess of carbonic acid is obtained. Since all natural waters contain carbonic acid, it is expected that lime in this condition should be of very frequent occurrence, and such is really found to be the fact, river, and more especially spring, water almost invariably containing carbonate of lime thus dissolved. In limestone districts this is often the case to a great extent. The beautiful stalactitic incrustations of limestone caverns, and the deposits of calcsinter or travertine upon various objects and upon the ground in many places are thus explained."

The formation, therefore, of travertine depends on the property which spring water in which carbonic acid is present in considerable quantity possesses, of dissolving the carbonate of lime in calcareous districts; then, by exposure to the air, the excess of carbonic acid is driven off, and the carbonate of lime reverts to the solid form. The rapid formation of travertine in volcanic districts is due to the presence of carbonic acid in large quantities in the spring water, thus rendering it capable of dissolving a larger percentage of the carbonate of lime which it meets with than in less favoured localities, resulting in a larger deposit of the rock called travertine. Thus we learn that tons of solid lime rock are being conveyed, not by busy gnomes, or by elaborate engineering appliances, but by a spring of bubbling water to re-appear miles from their original position on the hill-side where the stratified rock is found. There are many mysteries no doubt yet unsolved connected with the formation of this interesting stone. I have endeavoured to search out some of them. The lover of solitude, mentioned by the poet, may, indeed, while observing these curious transformations, confess that here in the most direct manner he discovers

Sermons in stones,

Books in the running brooks,

And, as always where these studies are pursued-
Good in everything.

DISCOVERY OF A SUPPOSED BURIED WELL, OR
MASONRY STRUCTURE OF FIVE STEPS, IN THE
GROUNDS OF THE NEW WEIR, KENCHESTER.
By H. C. Moore.

IN the month of August, 1891, owing to the continued dry weather, the spring of water ceased to supply the hydraulic ram connected with the Hon. Mrs. Griffiths' house, the New Weir, Kenchester, five miles from Hereford. Mr. Godsell, architect, of Hereford, was consulted to give advice upon this serious matter, and engaged to discover, if possible, another source of supply whereby the deficiency could be remedied.

An examination of the surroundings disclosed to Mr. Godsell that an abundant supply of water was running to waste into the Wye a few yards lower down. He caused an excavation to be made running parallel with the river, and entrusted the conduct of this part of the work to Mr. Hilo Davies, contractor, whilst he placed the fittings of the galvanised iron connections under the charge of Mr. J. S. Bridgwater, of Whitecross Street, fitter to Mr. Morley. In the process of the work of excavation, an apparently favourable water supply was intercepted, and in following the course of its stream, the workmen found their operations when at a depth of from four feet to nine feet, obstructed by enormous stones, which were broken and otherwise got out of the way, until their attention was drawn to the fact that these stones were carefully hewn, dressed, and of an unusual shape. As soon as it became evident that they had come across some artificial structure, thenceforward the excavations were proceeded with more carefully, until what remained undisturbed of a buried mass of masonry exposed to view a structure about seven feet in diameter, forming a series of steps conducting, in gradually diminishing diameter, to a single large stone at the bottom, perforated by a circular hole six inches in diameter. When this hole was cleared out numerous tessera were brought out of it in handfuls. The position of the circular hole was found to be in the course of a streamlet, issuing from the high grounds above, the overflow of which was conducted to the river along a shallow stone channel or trough. A plugging of this trough would cause the water to rise in the well-shaped basin, provided that the basin was rendered water-tight by mortar and cement.

A photograph of the well, taken by Mr. Walter Pilley shortly after the discovery, shows its shape, and its size can be estimated by comparison with the spade and workmen's tools, and the figure of myself taken as I was sketching its plan, which was found to be not quite, but only approaching, circular in form, it being octagonal. Commencing at the bottom, the base was formed of one large stone exposing a diameter of 20 inches, with a circular hole of 6 inches diameter in the centre. The thickness of this stone was not measured, it was probably 6 or 8 inches thick.