GBEOLOGY OF SOMERSET. 131 
animals, and of birds.. In Hutton cavern have been 
found bones of elephant, tiger, hysena, bear, wolf, 
horse, hare, rabbit, fox, rat, mouse and birds. In 
Banwell cavern,—buffalo, deer, wolf, bear, fox, mouse 
or bat. We see in these vestiges that formidable 
creatures once inhabited our beautiful country, but 
doubtless at so remote a period, that we may believe 
the highest order ofinhabitants,—man, had little or 
no possession here; and that therefore the beasts 
had to strive for supremacy only amongst them- 
selves. | 
In the Mendip hills are some good examples of 
trap or volcanic rock. At the eastern side of the 
railway cutting at Bleadon, there is an interesting 
example ofadownward bend of lias strata, running 
apparently under mountain limestone, which has 
been disturbed by the trap.—Lead, calamine, and 
other metals have from distant time been obtained 
in the Mendip hills, but mining operations have not 
been carried on, on a grand scale, at any period. 
The coal formation comes next in geological 
order. All the coal fields of Somersetshire are 
north of the Mendip range. —Mr. Rutter in his 
“ Delineations of the north western division of the 
county of Somerset,” remarks that “the seams of 
coal, throughout this district, are comparatively 
very thin, their aggregate thickness in any single 
coal pit scarcely exceeding that of one of the 
ordinary seams in the principal coal fields in Eng- 
land. The distriet may however be considered rich 
38 
