ABSTRACT

The Pleasures of Limestone the most peaceful scenery is of limestone. Caves and grottoes, it is true, may be cut in any stone. There are porphyry grottoes, even, near Quito in Ecuador. But as a rule, grottoes are limestone formations. Springs percolate limestone, rivers are fed by this rock. Under certain climatic conditions, limestone is the formation of workmanlike fertility in which agricultural interference not only is, but looks like, a work of art. Conversely, human agency can sometimes transform a wooded limestone district into a desert, and thus change the climate. Parts of Dalmatia are now a moon-like desert. The woods were cut down by Venetians to build ships, with the result that rainfall has decreased and temperature increased. Goats destroyed the young shoots: humus, deprived of trees, was washed through: the thirsty limestone was laid bare. Rain caused huge fissures and funnels, discharged itself into the subterranean streams and lakes of the present Karst country.