His theory was, that
the dense covering of trees and shrubs protected the soil and the
surface-water from the rays of the sun, and so the cold which was stored
up in the cave was enabled to withstand the attacks of the heat of
summer.[175] In the case of many of the glacieres, there can be no
doubt that this idea of winter cold being so preserved, by natural
means, as to resist the encroachments of the hotter seasons, is the true
explanation of the phenomenon of underground ice.
The next account of this glaciere is found in the History of the Royal
Academy of Sciences (French), under the year 1686,[176] but no theory is
there suggested. The writer of the account states that in his time the
floor of the cave was covered with ice, and that ice hung from the roof
in festoons. In winter the cave was full of thick vapours, and a stream
of water ran through it. The ice had for long been less abundant than in
former times, in consequence of the felling of some trees which had
stood near the entrance.
The Academy received in the same year another letter on this subject,
confirming the previous account, and adding some particulars.
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