Il6 RECENT CAVE-DIGGING IN DERBYSHIRE. 



of the remains of young, as compared with old, teeth of Mastodon 

 is exactly that which is noticeable in the case of calf and adult 

 mammoths in all hyaena dens," he proceeds : 



" It may be concluded that the fragmentary remains at Dove- 

 holes were derived from a den of hyaenas belonging to the 

 Pliocene Age. It is, however, obvious that they were not 

 introduced by those animals into the chambers where they were 

 discovered, but that they were conveyed from a higher level 

 into it by water. My reading of the riddle is simply that they 

 were originally accumulated in a hyaena den open to the surface, 

 and that afterwards they were conveyed into lower chambers, 

 where they were protected by the limestone from the denudation 

 which has destroyed nearly all traces of the original surface." 



Having now discussed the caves generally, it is necessary 

 to give some account of their discovery, and of the animals 

 represented in each of them. 



It is not an uncommon occurrence to find in quarries a joint, 

 or fissure, filled with earth or clay. So that when the men, 

 in the course of their ordinary- duties, broke into the cavern at 

 Victory Quarry, near Doveholes, no special interest seems to 

 have been aroused, nor was it deemed surprising that large 

 bones were embedded in the deposit which filled it. Conse- 

 quently, a great number of them were thrown on the rubbish- 

 tip and were soon buried beneath an immense accumulation of 

 waste matter. The importance of these animal remains was 

 first brought to light by a boy who picked up some teeth of 

 Mastodon, and showed them to Mr. Micah Salt, of Buxton. 

 Mr. Salt at once communicated with Professor Boyd Dawkins, 

 who visited the cave, and, having obtained the permission of 

 the owner of the quarry, secured all the remaining " finds." 



The following is a list of the bones and teeth thus preserved : — 

 Machairodus crenatidens. 



This rare sabre-toothed lion was represented both by teeth 

 and by bones — namely : 



3 canines (2 of them being ver}- fragmentary). 



