of the Island qfCerigo and its Dependencies, 269 



wards proved to be only 50°. From experiments made, it would 

 appear that the heat of this cave in winter is much greater 

 than that of the atmosphere. The average annual temperature 

 of the atmosphere for six years was 65°.3'. Shepherds and goat- 

 herds avail themselves of the unusual heat, by sheltering their 

 flocks in the outer chamber of the cave at night, which circum- 

 stance may assist in making the temperature greater than it 

 would naturally be. The other cave is in a cliff overhanging 

 the sea, near the village of Milopotamo, but nothing so remark- 

 able presented itself in it as to be worthy of notice. The floors 

 of both were covered by a dark-coloured earth, but no fossil re- 

 mains were observed. 



Many of the fissures are filled up by an indurated clay of a 

 reddish-brown colour, containing angular pieces of the lime- 

 stone, and imbedded in it pieces of bones of various animals ; 

 among others we observed teeth and bones of oxen, deer, sheep 

 or goats, and birds, also several bones belonging apparently to 

 the Rodentia, but none of the order Carnivora could be detected. 

 The most important bone fissure is situated at Vrulea on the 

 south coast, a few feet above the water"'s edge, and about three 

 or four miles to the cast of Port Kapsali, where we find the 

 clay everywhere thickly studded with pieces of bones, and ifi 

 a few places shells of the genus Helix were noticed ; the clay is 

 so hard and tough, that specimens could only be obtained by 

 blasting. There is another considerable deposit of osseous brec- 

 cia in fissures on the west side of a hill a little to the north of 

 the town called Turcovano, where Spalanzani says, " Che un^ 

 intera montagna e piena d''ossa umane e belvene impietrite ;*" how 

 far he is right, will be evident from the above remarks. As to 

 the occurrence of these remains in the crevices, and how depo- 

 sited, Dr Buckland has given ample explanations in his work : 

 at present, however, in many of the fissures, hawks, pigeon?, 

 rabbits, &c. nestle, and I may remark that often they are so co- 

 vered by brushwood, as to be dangerous not only for quadru- 

 peds but also for travellers. 



In the limestone, fossil organic remains are of rare occurrence, 

 and what we met with were chiefly trochites. 



The coasts and highest lands of the south and middle divi* 



VOL. XXI. NO. XLII.— OCTOBER 1836. T 



