OF THE ORGANIC FOSSILS. 449 



reous stalactites. This is the sufficient geological de- 

 scription ; unless I add that they prevail in the 

 mountain limestone ; very naturally, since this rock 

 abounds in caverns. 



But their chief interest is with zoology, existing, 

 or extinct as to the countries in which they occur ; 

 since they have not yet produced animals demon- 

 strably extinct as to the whole earth, though this has 

 been said of certain bears. If I refer, as before, for 

 the zoological particulars, I may name, without dis- 

 tinction of place, in Germany, the lion, tiger, dog or 

 wolf, polecat, hyena, rhinoceros ; and, in England, 

 since the insular situation demands this distinction, 

 the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, horse, ox, 

 stag, hyena, bear, hog, fox, weasel, rabbit, water rat, 

 mouse, raven, pigeon and more, together with human 

 bones in two instances, the whole comprising animals, 

 extinct as to Britain, and also existing. 



The solution as to the simple presence of those re- 

 mains is not very different from that of the former 

 case. The caverns were the retreats, or the volun- 

 tary graves, of some, and in some of the cases ; and, 

 in others, the bones were deposited by the hyaena, in 

 its residence, as is easily inferred from the circum- 

 stances attending this particular animal. And this, 

 as a further question of zoology alone, is all that 

 I need here say on that part of the subject in these 

 cases. 



In strictness, the case of these caverns has no other 

 geological bearings, and, as to Geology therefore, it 

 should be terminated ; inasmuch as their interior 

 alluvia must be explained on the same grounds as the 

 exterior ones, as that will also be a future question in 

 this work. But having already noticed the imagi- 

 nary arguments for the Mosaic deluge, drawn from 



VOJL, I, G G 



