272 The I? ish Naturalist. November, 



Prof. P. P\ Kendaix (Yorkshire College) said a challenge had been 

 given on that subject year after year, and were it not that Professor 

 Dawkins had gone out to attend another meeting, he would have seen it 

 fought out to the end. Marine organisms were always found in the 

 Boulder clay associated with transmarine erratics. This was the one 

 thing in favour of the glacial origin of the Boulder clay, but a weightier 

 argument was the fact that in those beds they found fragments of various 

 formations, which could not possibly have been there had they been a 

 later marine deposit. 



Mr. H. W. MoNCKTON wished to know if such delicate fossils as the 

 organisms found in Boulder clay could travel long distances without 

 being damaged. 



Mr. LoMAS said it was more reasonable to believe that the Boulder 

 clay was an ice deposit than to believe that it was formed by marine 

 action. 



A member of the audience replied to Mr. Monckton's question. He 

 said in the mammal beds near Cambridge he had got Chalk Forminifera 

 which were in excellent condition, although they had been denuded 

 from the surrounding hills. Mr. Wii,i,iam Gray said those were siliceous 

 Foraminifera. The member who had giventhe reply did not think Mr. 

 Gray was right. Mr. WrighT briefly replied, maintaining the view he 

 had taken in his paper. 



REPORT OF THB COMMITTBE^ 

 APPOINTED TO EXPLORE IRISH CAVES. 



This Report, illustrated by lantern slides, was brought before the Section 



by Mr. R. J. USSHER. 



In 1901, the Committee directed their energies to exploring a series of 

 caves situated on the slope of Keishcorran Mountain, fifteen miles south 

 of Sligo. The caves occur along the foot of a range of low cliffs, with a 

 steep talus below them. The first cave explored (Coffey cave) showed a 

 surface layer with remains of Red Deer and of man similar to those 

 found in raths and crannogs, under which was a breccia with bones of 

 small mammals, among which the Arctic Lemming, hitherto unknown 

 as an Irish species, was abundant. This bed overlay clay which also 

 yielded bones of Lemming. A second cave (Plunkett cave) was dug ; 

 the upper stratum yielded a stone celt, iron saw, two bronze pins, 

 mussel and oyster shells, and abundant remains of domestic animals ; 

 also a metatarsus of Reindeer, associated with charcoal, and many bones 

 of Brown Bear and Frog. Under this was a thick bed of clay, almost 

 devoid of remains of domestic animals, but full of Brown Bear remains, 

 with Fox, Red Deer, Rabbit, Wolf, and Lemming, Frog and Field- 



I Dr. SCHARFF (Chairman), R. Li«. Praeger, G. Cofeey, Prof. Coi.E, 

 Prot. Cunningham, G. W. Lampi^ugh, A. McHenry, and R. J. Ussh^R. 



