|
|
|
Page 264:-
up, and after running perhaps a mile underground, make their
appearance once again in the surrounding vales, and then wind in
various courses to the Lune or the Ribble, which empty themselves
into the Irish Sea.
A naturalist cannot but observe a number of conical holes, with
their vertexes downwards, not only all over the base of
Ingleborough, but particularly a row near the summit. They are
from two to four or five yards in diameter, and from two to three
or four yards deep, except Barefoot-wives-hole
(hereafter-mentioned) which is much larger. They resemble those
pits about Mount AEtna, Vesuvius, and the various parts of Sicily
and Calabria, as described by Hamilton and other writers. What
may have been the cause of them, is left for the determination of
the ingenious naturalist.
The other stones and fossils on and about Ingleborough, are black
and brown marbles, abounding with white sea-shells, sparks of
spar, and flakes of entrochi; spars of various sorts, the
stalactical and icicle in the caves; slates, pale and brown, and
near Ingleton blue; black shiver, Tripoli or rotten stone, blood
stone, and lead ore. The soil on the base and sides of
Ingleborough (where there is any) is chiefly peat-moss, which the
country people get up and burn for fuel: the cover is in general
ling or heath: other vegetables are ferns of various kinds;
reindeer moss, and various other mosses: heleborines, white and
red; the different sorts of sedums, crane's bills, scurvy-grass.
bird's-eyes, various liver-worts, orchises, rose-wort, lily of
the valley, mountain columbines, the hurtle-berry or bill-berry,
knout-berry, cran-berry, cloud-berry, and cow-berry. The shrubs
are mountain-vine, bird-cherry, mountain-ash, gelder-rose,
burnet-rose, stone-bramble, red and black-currants. In the
Foal-foot, which is the north-west corner of this mountain, are
found the vivaperous-grass, and the rose-of-the-root, which has a
yellow flower, and is like house-leek. Near Ingleton, as was
before observed, are the lady's-slipper and fly-orchis. The chief
animals found on and about Ingle-
|
