1814.] Philosophical Transactions, Pari II. lSV;i. 879 



bones, and teeth of the deer, besides snail shells and shells of 

 river fish. The fifth bed contains the teeth and bones of both the 

 African and x^siatic elephant, the teetii of the hippopotamus, and 

 bones, horns, and teeth of the ox. In the clay the animal remains 

 are all marine, except some specimens of fruit and petrified wood. 

 The other fossils are nautili, oysters, pinnae marinae, crabs, teeth 

 and bones of fish, and a great variety of small marine shells. 



The second field lies about a mile west from the first, and a 

 quarter of a mile from the river Brent. It is 40 feet above the 

 Thames at low water. Its beds are 



Thickness. 



1 . Sandy loam 8 or 9 feet 



2. Sand becoming coarser towards the lower part . . 3 to 8 feet 



3. Sandy loam, highly calcareous 1 inch to 9 feet 



4. Gravel containing water unknown 



, 5. Londo4i clay unknown 



The first bed contains no animal remains. In the second, but 

 always within two feet of the third bed, have been found tiie bones 

 and teeth of the hippopotamus, the teeth and bones of the ele- 

 phant ; the horns, bones, and teeth of several species of deer ; the 

 horns, bones, and teeth of the ox, and the shells of river fish. 

 These bones must have been deposited in the state of detached 

 bone. The gravel shows no marks of having been rounded by 

 attrition. The third bed contains the horns, bones, and teeth of 

 the deer, the bones and teeth of the ox, together with snail shells 

 and the shells of river fish. 



2. On a new Construction of a Condenser and Air Pump. By 

 the Rev. Gilbert Austin, This is a very ingenious instrument; but 

 it would be impossible without the assistance of plates to make ifr 

 intelligible to the reader. The most important improvement intro- 

 duced by Mr. Austin is fitting two pieces of glass to each other 

 by plain surfaces, instead of making the one piece enter into the 

 other. It is a method which I have frequently employed, and I 

 always found it much more convenient than the common way of 

 making glass vessels air tight. 



3, On the Formation of Fat in the Intestines of living Animals. 

 By Sir Evergid Home, Bart. This hypothesis, that after the 

 chyle has been separated from the food in the smaller intestines,, it 

 undergoes a further change in the lower intestines, being partly 

 converted into fat, which is carried ofl' by unknown channels, is 

 founded on the following data: I. Unless fat be formed in the 

 lower intestines, no other source of it can be pointed out. This 

 the author states as one of the strongest arguments in favour of his 

 hypothesis. 2. Those birds which are but scantily supplied with 

 food, have a ])rodigious length of colon, conijjared with those that 

 have a copious supply. 3. The situation of the food in the colon 

 is similar to that of muscular flesh in a stream of water, wiiich is 

 well known in such a situation to be converted into adipocire. 



