506 
NATURE 
[ Oct. 20, 1870 
upwards of 100 of these ornamented in a very high order of art, 
with various circles, curves, ornamental puncturings, &c., of 
which no description could give an adequate idea, On one was 
found the representation of an antlered stag : but what may have 
been the uses to which these bore flakes were applied, Dr. Conwell 
expressed himself unable to come to any conclusion. As the 
accounts are very meagre of any articles of ‘‘ historical value,” 
having ever been extracted from cairns, the collection now brought 
under notice is probably the most curious and remarkable which 
has ever been found joined together under similar circumstances. 
On some forms of Ancient Interment in County Antrim.—Dr. 
Sinclair Holden. 
On a Discovery of Platycnemic Men in Denbighshire.—Mr. 
Boyd Dawkins and Prof. Busk. Mr. Dawkins explained that 
the remains to which he referred were found at a place in 
Denbighshire which rejoiced in the name of Perthi Chwaren. 
They were in a cave in the mountain limestone, and the 
explorers found from twenty to twenty-five human skeletons, 
and a large quantity of the remains of animals. The skele- 
tons were interred differently from those of modern times, in 
that they were lying in confused heaps, which clearly showed that 
the people had been buried in a sitting posture. The cave (he 
said) was inadequate to contain such a large number of human 
corpses at one time, so it followed that it was used at different 
times, probably as a family mausoleum. There were also found 
bear’s bones, fragments of mussel shell, a specimen of cockle, and a 
tusk, one of the largest he (Mr. Dawkins) had ever seen. There 
was likewise discovered some pottery, fragments of coal, anda 
splinter of iron which was not oxydised. The only evidence as to 
the antiquity of the cave was a fragment of flint. Flint was used 
by the Romans and Egyptians, and the discovery pointed to the 
fact that at one time flint was the only material in use, but it 
did not show that this deposit was of the date when no metals 
were known. Mr. Dawkins thought all the evidence went to 
show that the cave was of the Neolithic age.—Prof. Busk next 
gave his conclusions with regard to the skulls which were found 
in the cave. He said that the people whose remains had been 
discovered were of low stature, the skeletons being only from 5 
feet to 5 feet 6 inches in height. 
On Carved Stones recently Discovered at Nithsdale, Scotland,— 
Dr. Grierson. 
On a Quartz Implement from St. George's Sound. — Mr. 
H. Woodward. This crystal of quartz (having its terminal 
lanes preserved at both ends) was found by his colleague, Mr. 
Davis among a number of other minerals in the British Museum, 
forming part of the Old Sloane Collection, On examination it 
was found to have written on it in ink, “ St. George’s Sound, 
N.W. coast of America, Captain Cook.” The crystal had been 
used as a flint implement, one end being sharp and the other 
notched. It had an attachment for a wooden handle, which 
would admirably fit it for picking holes in the ice, through which 
the Esquimaux might fish. 
On a Flint-flake Core from the River-gravel of the Irwell, 
Salford, Manchester.—Mr. John Plant. The upper valley of 
the Irwell, the author said, was overspread with silt and sandy 
layers. ‘Terraces of above 200 feet in elevation were very dis- 
tinct in places. The river now flowed over the beds of New Red 
sandstone, having contracted its bed for at least a mile to about 
sixty yards. The upper terrace was composed of sand and gravel 
of older age than the silts which fringe the banks. The pebbles 
of gravel were mainly derived from the pebble beds and eroded 
silt, others were flattened pebbles from the coal measures. 
Throughout these pebbles there were no flints, but bits of chert 
only from mountain limestone. The weapons of Lancashire 
were neolithic in character, so that the occurrence of a flint- 
flake was remarkable from its site in the barren desert of gravel 
and sand in the Irwell. Mr. Plant thought the specimen he 
exhibited belonged to the time when the east of England 
was in the occupation of the early palzolithic people of 
Europe. 
Remarks on Stone Implements from Western Africa. 
Lubbock, Bart. 
Sir John 
SEcTION E.—GEOGRAPHY 
The Lines for Ship Canals across the Isthmus of Panama.—Gen. 
W. Heine. The author said that in his various explorations, ex- 
tending over twenty years, he had often found the reports made by 
other explorers differed from existing facts. In cases where eleva- 
tions of only 150 feet had been reported, 900 feet were found to 
exist ; and few explorers seemed to have taken into consideration 
the geological formation, which often consisted entirely of porphyry 
and basalt, and was almost as hard as cast steel. After giving 
an account of the line proposed across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
Honduras, Nicaragua, and nine lines proposed across the Isthmus 
of Darien, he came to the conclusion that only two lines were of 
a kind to deserve consideration, because the expense of con- 
structing and working the canal would not be out of proportion 
to the benefit derived from it. 
These two lines are—1. From Aspinwall along the line of the 
railway to Panama, with an extreme elevation of 269 feet, a 
length of thirty-five miles, through rocks of porphyry and basalt, 
and with but middling ports of entry. 2. From the Gulf of 
Darien through the rivers Atrato, Casarica, Paya, and Tingra, 
to the Gulf of San Miguel, with an extreme elevation of 186 
feet, length 52 miles, through a soil composed of alluvial deposit 
with some thin ranges of greyish sandstone or schist, and with 
very good ports of entry. 
The survey of the first line was very perfect, that of the second 
line less so, and a more exact level was desirable. Of the nine- 
teen expeditions undertaken, twelve were of American origin, 
four were undertaken by Frenchmen, one bya native Columbian, 
and only two by Englishmen, Considering the vast interests 
England had at stake in shortening a marine passage to Australia, 
the west coast of America, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, 
including Japan, he was astonished at the lack of energy, 
especially as the very moderate expense of 1,000/, to 1,500/. 
would suffice for all necessary exploring purposes. 
SrEcTIon G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE 
Hydraulic Bucketting Engine for Graving Docks and Sewerage. 
—Mr. Percy Westmacott, C.E. This was a short paper de- 
scribing the mechanical appliances devised by Mr. Westmacott, 
at the suggestion of Mr. George Fosbery Lyster, dock engineer, 
for the purpose of emptying the Herculaneum Graving Docks, 
Liverpool. They were devised with the view of working in 
conjunction with the system that the dock engineer had re 
solved to adopt for working the gates, capstans, &c., and thus 
save the erection of another steam engine and plant for the special 
purpose of emptying the docks. The system adopted was the 
hydraulic system. The essential feature of Mr, Westmacott’s 
engine is a sccop-shaj ed Lucket, ccnstiucted of wrovght ircn, 
and capable of lifting 144 tons of water. Itis undesirable to 
give the constructive details of the engine without the drawings 
by which the paper was illustrated ; but the following facts may 
be mentioned :—The minimum lift at the high level discharge is 
7 feet, and the maximum 23 feet, andabout 5 feet more stroke 
is required for tipping up the bucket. About 3 feet per second 
is the usual average speed of the bucket in plunging or lifting. 
The filling is effected in 5 seconds, but the emptying occupies from 
about 12 to 15 seconds, owing to a contraction that had to be 
made at the front end of the bucket to suit the existing masonry 
in the well. This latter operation, with a free mouth to the 
bucket, should not require any more time than the filling, if even 
somuch. The coefficient of effect obtained by this engine is as 
follows :--At 7 feet (minimum) lift, “4; at 23 feet (minimum) 
lift, “6—average, *54 ; which will be found to compare not un- 
favourably with other appliances under the same conditions of 
working ; but the loss occasioned by the choking of passages and 
gagging of valves or paddles is altogether avoided by this system, 
which, for this reason, is peculiarly well adapted for sewerage 
purposes. 
‘The President, Mr. R. B. Grantham, C.E., and Mr. Oldham ex- 
pressedapprovaloftheengine. Mr. J. F. Bramwell, C.E., F.R.S., 
said that for short lifts the engine would be economical, but for 
very high lifts he thought it would be inapplicable. In reply 
Mr. Westmacott said there would be no difficulty in making a 
40-feet lift, while beyond that height there might be two or three 
buckets each above the other. 
On Appliances for the Production of Heavy Forgings.—Lieut.- 
Colonel Clay. In this short paper the author mentioned, under the 
following three heads, the improvements recently introduced 
into the manufacture of large forgings, as illustrated by his expe- 
rience at the Birkenhead Forge :—1. Improved heating by the 
use of Siemens’s regenerative gas furnaces. 2. Facilities for 
handling and removing large masses of wrought ivon from the 
