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''”' ' ' i - t ' , ’^i i J ''' 'Ccfyr/g/tf £y 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 Is I 3=7-2 Ci O CM S § *?j2 I 1 t ? t; w° pi i -Vfef I I Sn i feJJLsa 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