248 



the market at Shrewsbury, and sell. These berries are black or purple in colour. 

 They are also called, in Shropshire, " whimberries," and in the North and in Scot- 

 land, " blaeberries," or "blueberries." The berries of the Cowberry f Faccmtfnii 

 Vitis Idcea) and of the Cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccos) are both red. 



The descent from the hill was made by the Light Spout Waterfall, and by 

 the Carding Mill valley, and after a very agreeable ramble amongst the paths 

 and rocks, where some wild plants and ferns were collected, the party assembled 

 at Church Stretton Hotel for dinner, under the presidency of Mr. Evan Pateshall, 

 acting in the absence of Mr. J. H. Knight. 



After dinner, the following paper, by Mr. Curley, was read (in his absence) 

 by Mr. James Davies. 



EXTINCT ANIMALS AND BRITISH FOSSIL OXEN 



DISCOVERED IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 



[By Mr. T. Cdrlkt, C.E., F.G.S.— Read August 24th, 1880.] 



In excavating for the arterial drainage of the Berrington estate, about half a 

 mile north of Leominster, I found in the alluvium, about five feet below the 

 surface, the skull of the Bos longifrons, and in the river gravel below this alluvium 

 was found the horn of the red deer (Cephas eUphas), now almost extinct in Great 

 Britain. 



These fossils I have presented to the Hereford Museum, and they are now 

 to be seen there. I also found in the ballast pit, about half a mile south of Din- 

 more station, the tooth of the woolley-haired rhinoceros (Rhinoceros tichorinus) in 

 river gravel, and it appeared to have been rolled with the gravel in which it was 

 deposited. 



Numerous remains of extinct animals have been discovered by my friend, 

 the Rev. W. Symonds, F.G.S., in the caves of Doward, a notice of which ap- 

 peared in the scientific journals at the time of discovery. 



During the tertiary and later epochs England has been joined to the main- 

 land of the Continent, and this is proved by the mammalia that migrated hither 

 after each successive emergence. 



There is good reason to think that England and Ireland formed part of the 

 mainland of the Continent for these extinct animals to have migrated (for they 

 could only travel on dry land), and it is obvious that St. George's Channel was 

 formed long before the Straits of Dover were excavated. 



In Ireland there are only five species of reptiles ; in England there are 

 eleven ; and in Belgium twenty-two. So that only five species got to Ireland 

 before St. George's Channel was formed, and it would be a considerable time 



