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By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN
w NCLE SAM has set aside
Jfv B another playground lor
h his nieces and nephews —
---Ji or rather lias made them
the gilt of a marvelous
great cavern which seems
w likely to prove as great a
* W natural wonder ns Crater
’ W Lake or the Grand Cnn
— f yon. The magic of Presi
dent Coolidge’s proclamation has
changed I’.at Cave into Carlsbad Na
tional monument.
To be sure, the national park sys
tem has not lacked caves of the first
class. There is the Wind Cave Na
tional park in South Dakota ; this Is a
Wg cavern —just how big nobody
tnows—and handsomely decorated.
There is a smaller cave of delicate
beauty in Sequoia National park. The
Lewis and Clark Cavern in Montana
and the Shoshone Cavern In Wyoming
are national monuments.
Vut Carlsbed Cave seems to be In a
class by Itself, in extent, size of cham
bers and richness of ornamentation.
J’or example, there is one chamber, of
which the length is somewhere be
tween half a mile and a mile. Its
width in places runs to COO feet. Its
wiling'is of unknown height. The
few visitors are cautious about esti
mating distances; they fear the short
and ugly word. Even a hard-boiled
veteran geologist like Dr. Willis T. Lee
of the United States geological survey
prefers to talk in glittering generali
ties. lie says, officially:
I know of no limestone cavern
wlioso chambers approach In size those
*f the Carlsbad Cave, and the internal
decorations rival in variety, beauty,
and magnitude those of any cave here
tofore described. The chambers are
phenomenal in size and the deposits
•f travertine so voluminous and varied
In form as to fc of unusual scientific
an well as scenic Interest. I am con
winced that In many respects It sur
jwsses anything of Its kind heretofore
known in America.
Carlsbad Cave is about thirty miles
southeast of Carlsbad, N. M., the near
est town and railroad point, and about
fen miles from the Texas line. The
cave is in the eastern foothills of the
Guadalupe mountains. The entrance
is on a natural bench on si bare moun
tain slope about 1.000 feet above the
road in the valley.
The cavern was discovered in ltXtl
by J. L. White and Hige Long. They
called it Hat Cave, because it is the
koine of innumerable bats, which liy
•at at evening and return in the morn
tug through u hole 100 feet across and
170 feet deep, where the roof of a
chamber lias fallen in. For several
rears the main concern was to take
out but droppings for fertilizer, which
Industry Is still going on.
The Carlsbad chamber of commerce
ts keel on the idea of exploiting the
saver*. ft talks of a small hydro-
electric plant for lighting; the tapping
of a chamber by a horizontal shaft for
anew entrance; the cutting of steps
and tlie fixing of guide ropes. All are
needed; at this writing a trip into the
cavern, even with an experienced
guide, is for the able-bodied and level
headed only.
The cavern cannot very well be de
scribed at present. There are sexr
eral reasons. Only a small portion of
it has been explored. Measurements
are guesswork and the imagination
gets active in a chamber so large that
a powerful flashlight reveals neither
sides nor roof. There are no fixed
names for the chambers and rooms.
The only name that seems to find gen
eral favor is that of “P.ig Room” for
the largest chamber so far found. Mr.
White is quoted as saying the Dig Room
is approximately 5,000 feet long and
GOO feet wide.
The physical and chemical .action
which has brought about this cavern
and its decorations may be thus briefly
described: The mountain Is composed
of limestone, which consists chiefly of
calcium carbonate. Water, penetrating
the limestone, dissolves the calcium
carbonate, carries it along and de
posits it in the form of stalactites
(pendent roof formations) and stalag
mites (floor formations). The two
unite to form pillars. Stalactites arc
called dripstones. Flowstones is ap
plied to formations caused by water
flowing through a wall.
These formations are almost always
white and the material may be called
travertine or onyx. There Is appar
ently no limit to the variety of form.
The “Twin Domes” In the Big Room
are probably 100 feet high and 200
feet across the base. They rise from
a great dark-green mound. The
“Crow’s Nest” is a chamber so thickly
set with slender stalactites and stalag
mites that one could not pass through
without destroying hundreds of the
delicate formations.
Photographs of the Carlsbad Cave
to date are unsatisfactory for obvious
reasons. Of the two here reproduced
the lower gives a suggestion of some
of the fantastic stalagmite formations
in a chamber called by some the “City
of the Gods.” This chamber is com
paratively small and the camera has
caught a suggestion of one of tiie walls
in the background.
The upper picture shows some of
tiie formations In the Pig lloom—part
of a group of stalagmites known as the
“Totem Poles.” Some of these, only
a few feet in diameter, rise to a height
of fifty feet or more. In the back
ground is the Stygian blackness Of this
great chamber. There is a glimpse of
the stalactites -which at tills spot hang
in thousands, some so slender that
they break at a touch and others so
massive that It is hard to understand
how they cling to the ceiling. Drip
stone and flowstone formations at the
THE DANIELSVILLE MONITOR, DANIELSVILLE, GEORGIA.
shaft the visitors pass under the natu
ral entrance; here the national monu
ment begins.
For the first mile the passage,
which always descends, varies greatly
in width ; sometimes the walls are not
more than 100 feet apart. Often there
are large chambers on either side. The
decorations are noteworthy, but are
mediocre compared with those far
ther on.
Then a pit, about 150 feet deep,
yawns Hear across the passage. The
way then leads through a succession
of large chambers, of which the ceil
ings are of unknown height. Under
foot there is a tangle of enormous
limestone blocks.
Considerably farther on, at a point
700 feet below the surface at the en
trance, three great chambers oprn off
the main hall. The first has not been
measured; It Is larger than the sec
ond, which is three times the size of
the third, which is 100 by 140 feet.
The stalactites hang in thousands and
In every imaginable shape, some
reaching to the floor; the stalagmites
are not so numerous.
Half an hour of hard traveling
brings the visitors to the Big Room,
which is as remarkable for its decora
tions as for its size. At the farther
end of the Big Room the floor drops
abruptly for about 100 feet into a
hole about 200 feet across. Tills Is
the Jumping-off place; no man has ex
plored farther. Its possibilities are
suggested by a small hole in the floor
of ttie Big Room, into which Mr. White
was once lowered 200 feet. Fie found
chambers and hallways seemingly
without end and a stream of clear
water.
Hitherto Mammoth Cave in Ken
tucky has been known as the lnrgest
cave in tiie world. For that reason
there is a bill In this congress to make
it a national park. Its passages and
chambers are said to extend for nine
miles. Carlsbad Cave is apparently
more extensive. Apparently it Is also
much more richly ornamented. Cer
tainly some of its chambers are much
larger, with higher ceilings.
Nature has taken plenty of time to
do a good job in Carlsbad Cave. Geol
ogists estimate the age of some of the
larger formations at more than 500,<XW
i years.
riglit of' tlie pho
tograph suggest
draperies of many
kinds fringed
shawls, lace cur
tains, stage cur
tains, heavy tapes
tries, canopies.
Putting together
several stories of
trips into the cav
ern, a sample ex
ploration with a
guide is something
like thjs;
The visitors are
lowered two by
two in a guano
bucket to the bot
tom, . 170 feet be
low. The bats live
(o the east; the
scenic chambers
lie to the west.
The passageway
is down hill and
rough witli fallen
debris, said to he
several hundred
feet deep. Half a
mile from the
Modified Dutch Colonial Plan
Offers Home of Real Comfort
By WILLIAM A. RADFORD
Mr. William A. Radford will answer
questions and give advice FREE OF
COST on all subjects pertaining to the
subject of building, for the readers of
this paper. On account of his wide
experience as. Editor, Author and
Manufacturer, he is, without doubt,
the highest authority on all these sub
jects. Address all inquiries to William
A. Radford, No, 1827 Prairie ' avenue,
Chicago, 111., and only Inclose two-cent
stamp for reply
Utility is the real test of the desir
ability in a house plan, just as-it is
the real basis for good taste and pleas
ant appearance In building.
It is the pleasing appearance, found
ed on a basis of convenience which
has gained and kept for the Dutch
Colonial type of residence construction
its increasing popularity among
American families.
The modified Dutch Colonial plan
shown in the accompanying Illustra
tion is notable for the fact that It
will make a real home, a place to be
lived in and preferred to other spots,
not merely a refuge when there is
“no place to go.”
The solid, brick construction, with
the projecting roof lines, gives an im
pression of sturdy comfort which can
not fail to bring a glow of pride and
appreciation to the owner. Note the
decorative effect of the white trim
mings and of the solid shutters shown
on the windows of the second story.
The interior arrangement of the
first floor provides for the central hall,
which is always a desirable feature.
The reception hall offers the decora
tive possibilities of the open stair
way while it separates the living room
effectively from the kitchen and the
dining room.
The living room, from Its dimen
sions and arrangements, is essentially
what its name denotes, a room to live
in and a place for the life of the fam
ily to center. It is large enough for
all moderate entertainment purposes,
particularly when, through the wide
French doors, it is combined into what
is practically 'one room with the com
modious sun porch.
One of the unique features of this
home is the two fireplaces, one open
ing into the living room and the other,
directly opposite the first and using
the same chimney, opening on the sun
porch. This porch, which may be
made so attractive, can be utilized
in comfort the year round by proper
auxiliary glazing.
Tlie dining room, with its pleasing
views through ample windows, is of
sufficient size to accommodate the
family and guests nicely.' Comfort
able protection against heat in sum
mer is insured by the open porch
opening off this room.
The arrangement of the kitchen is
oarticularly convenient. The sink is
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First Floor Plan.
directly under a window, allowing the
one working in tiie room to see some
thing of the outside world while at
work. The commodious pantry, with
iis built-in feutures will appeal to
housewives, as will the entry hall to
rhe rear, with provision for delivery
of ice without the ice man entering
!immaculate kitchen.
The design of the bedrooms Is
t. and. with cross ventilation provided
in each one and with proper wall
space and arrangement for the con
venient placing of beds. Each of the
rooms is provided liberally with closet
room, with an additional closet in the
hall which will be appreciated fot
the storage of household linens. The
bath is located to give a maximum of
service to the four rooms.
Freight rates on materials and dif
ferences in prices of labor in various
localities make It Impossible to ap
li
0 ;'2 and C£o
jj
Second Floor Plan.
proximate the cost of building this
home for the entire country. Tills in
formation can be gained best from
your local architect, contractor or
building material dealer, who is con
stantly In touch with building costs in
your community.
Errors in Illumination
Compel Use of Glasses
Most people really know very little
about good light. Illumination is a
science, and as yet we have not been
educated to understand this fact and
act upon It.
This important matter of illumm •
tion has been left to manufacturers
of chandeliers— successors to gas na
ture makers—who depend upon de
sign of fixtures instead of quality
light. They have largely failed
keep pace with the development of
the lighting unit from gas and
- carbon fiiament electrl l ,
to the modern incandescent
unit of a thousand times the bril
-1 The two standards by which the
average person judges llghtlng
brilliancy of illumination or beau y
fixtures These two false star
ards are the basis of the condit
which now confronts us-the alar
imr increase in the wearing o. glass
prevalence of hedac ®
per cent of which specialists say
Sue ,0 poor Hsht. There Is the W
cause—wrong llluminatlo .
people know that the ; up .
ard for Judging light is eff * J
on the eyes, then we will
Illumination. When they
that the eye is an c p e f 0 ‘ en
cate organ, that its nerves a so
sltlve that even a small a noun
excessive light will Injure
few hours of work unde ' ina .
light do great damage, a * tl)0
tion will be based primarily u,
eye and its needs.
Concrete Steps
The many advantages In ooncr
steps make their construct'on
hie wherever possible. n.< n{
but slightly more than for - ;
loss permanent material. W nen
erly built, they are rigid an,
clently gritty to assure a firm
hold, easy to keep clean* " ■ ve
! from upkeep expense, wj . ~m i
: information for making tne '
for proportioning the matt-’ •
crete steps are easy to bui. t