346 ANJJUA-L OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



whittle. It does not matter whether they occur under unexpected circum- 

 stances or not. The question i^, Is there reason to believe that flints are 

 ever so fashioned by natural processes? Certainly, flints moulded by " mo- 

 tion in water " assume forms quite the reverse of implements made by man, 

 or even of flints fractured by any mere blow, or by the action of the weather. 

 The action of running water, or of waves on a beach, is to remove all asper- 

 ities, and other accidental marks, on stones of every description. So thor- 

 oughly is this the case, that stones that have been simply scratched by the 

 onward motion of a glacier, lose not only their finer structures, but all their 

 jingles get rubbed off, and they become rounded and walc-r-icorn by attrition, 

 as they rattle on each other in their passage down the stream. This result 

 is universal, not only in brooks and rivers, but also on sea-shores, like the 

 Chesil Bank, for instance, where all the stones, instead of being sharply 

 fractured, are water-worn and rounded. Atmospheric influences often pro- 

 duce angularity in stones ; but these weather-broken fragments never possess 

 those repeated small fractures at the edge, the result of many taps, and that 

 peculiar artificial symmetry so evident in the presumed flint hatchets of 

 Abbeville. 



With respect to their position in the Drift, we have the testimony of vari- 

 ous independent observers, both French and English. I accept this part of 

 the evidence from Mr. Prestwich alone, as I would accept the evidence of 

 the existence of the planet Neptune from Prof. Adams. Mr. Adams's peers 

 know his value, and all British, and most Continental geologists are aware 

 that Mr. Prestwich is not only a man of long-tried experience, but is alike 

 skilful and cautious in all his determinations. 



Observations on the Ossfferoits Caves near Palermo, Sicily. The following 

 is an abstract of a communication on the above subject, made to the Geo- 

 logical Society (London) by Dr. Falconer, June 22d, 1859. 



Dr. F. first described the physical geography of that portion of the north- 

 ern coast of Sicily in which the ossiferous caves abound, namely, between 

 Termini on the cast, and Trapani on the west. Along the Bay of Palermo, 

 and again at Carini, the hippurite limestone presents inland vertical cliff's, 

 from the base of which stretch slightly inclined plains of pliocene deposits, 

 usually about a mile and a half broad, towards the sea. The majority of 

 fossil shells in these tertiary beds belong to recent species. At the base of 

 those inland cliffs, but sometimes fifty feet above the level of the plain, and 

 upwards of two hundred feet above the sea, the ossiferous caves occur. One 

 of the best known of these is the Grotto di Santo Giro, in the Monte Griffone, 

 about two miles from Palermo. This cave has been often described. Like 

 many others, it contains a mass of bone breccia, on its floor, extending also 

 beyond its mouth, and overlying the pliocene beds outside, where great blocks 

 of limestone are mixed with the superficial soil. The bones from this cave 

 had long been known, and were formerly thought to be those of giants. 

 Some years since, bones were here excavated for exportation; and M. Chris- 

 tol, at Marseilles, was surprised to recognize the vast majority of remains of 

 two species of hippopotami amongst bones brought there, and counted 

 about three hundred astragli. Besides the Hippopotamus, remains of Ele- 

 phas also occur. Professor Ferrara suggested that the latter were due to 

 Carthaginian elephants, and the former to the animals imported by the 

 Saracens for sport. The government of Palermo having ordered a correct 

 survey of this cave and its contents, it was found that beneath the bone brec- 

 cia was a marine bed, with shells, and continuous with the external tertiary 



