628 
NATURE 
[ April 21, 1870 
Cambridge Examinations leads me erroneously to think that the 
proofs are expected to be given in the same order. In drawing 
this personal statement to a close, I may say that Iam not 
singular in the view I took, as I learn from several gentlemen 
-who have spoken to me on the point, and indeed, had it not 
been that the authorities* of University College School thought 
I had some ground for my views, I should have kept silence 
altogether. I believe the matter will come under the considera- 
tion of the proper authorities, and in their hands I am perfectly 
willing to leave the settlement of the question, if there be any 
need for a change. 
R. TUCKER 
University College School 
Science and the University of Cambridge 
ONE of the last sentences in your paragraph concerning the 
report of the Syndicate for providing better opportunities for the 
study of physical science in the University of Cambridge, though 
founded upon a partial misconception of the state of affairs, 
suggests what is probably the best solution of the difficulty. The 
colleges, if polled upon the simple question, ‘Shall we aid in 
promoting the study of physical science?” would, I believe, 
reply by a considerable majority in the affirmative. It is upon 
the best mode of contributing that there is so much division of 
opinion ; and this has caused the apparently ‘‘lame and impo- 
tent conclusion.” 
The question of taxing the college revenues is one of 
considerable difficulty ; some colleges already support out 
of their corporate funds teachers of natural science, some have 
recently taxed themselves heavily to improve their buildings. 
Most would think that non-resident fellows who do little for the 
college should be taxed more heavily than those who reside to 
do much work for no great amount of pay ; but to bring about 
this would require much alteration of statutes. The question, 
therefore, being so complicated, and there being, as I believe, a 
general willingness to contribute, if only a just and equitable 
mode of raising the funds can be devised, and proper control 
retained over them (for the University is not generallys considered 
to manage its property so well as the colleges), I believe that the 
difficulties would be most simply solved by the appointment ofa 
commission composed of a few well-qualified persons, thoroughly 
acquainted with the University, to devise a scheme and to draw 
up an act for carrying it into effect. T. G. BonNEY 
St. John’s College, Cambridge 
EXPLORATION OF CAVES AT SETTLE, 
YORKSHIRE 
ie the mountain limestone of the West Riding are 
many caves, some of which are empty, some tra- 
versed by water, which is silting up their lower chambers, 
while others are full up to the very roof with débris of 
various kinds. All have been, at some time or other, 
subterranean watercourses, and have been formed, partly 
by the friction of the substances set in motion by the 
current, but principally by the chemical action of the 
carbonic acid of the rain-water by which the insoluble car- 
bonate of lime in the rock isconverted into the soluble bicar- 
bonate. Some have been inhabited, at various times, by 
man, and by wild beasts, and therefore may be expected to 
furnish valuable evidence of a condition of things that 
has now passed away. The last recorded case of their 
being used by man as a place of refuge was during the 
rebellion of 1745, when the eldest son of one of the 
gentlemen in the neighbourhood was hidden in a large 
cave, in the fear that the Scotch would pass southwards 
in that direction instead of by the Preston route. 
The gentlemen of the West Riding have formed a com- 
mittee for the systematic exploration of these caves, and will 
doubtless obtain from them evidence of the very highest 
archeological value, relating to a time of which we know 
next to nothing,—that begins with the disappearance of 
the mammoth, hyzena, and lion from Northern Europe, 
_* What strong views in favour of the modern methods are held by Prof. 
Key, may be seen from Prof. Hirst’s preface to our Geometry. 
and extends as far down as the dawn of history in 
Britain, during which the neolithic and bronze-using 
races spread over Europe from the south-east. The 
older caves have been explored in many parts of Britain, 
while the pre-historic of the later have only been sys- 
tematically examined in Somersetshire and Denbighshire 
by myself and Mr. Sanford. That the work in Yorkshire 
is planned well is clear from the following extracts from 
the Resolutions :— 
That the following scheme, proposed by Sir James Kay- 
Shuttleworth (chairman), be adopted, viz. :— 
1. To examine the ground around the mouth of the caves for 
signs of fire, implements, utensils, remnants of food, or traces 
of sepulture. 
2. To make a survey of the caves in order to provide a plan 
of the interior drawn to scale, and of a sufficient size to enable 
a record to be made on it of the situation in which each thing is 
found. 
3. To ascertain by one or more vertical excavations of limited 
extent what are the deposits chronologically arranged. 
4. Then to proceed to examine these strata from the mouth 
of the cave inwards, so as to secure the discovery of all remains 
throwing any light on the history of each stratum, 
5. Tokeep a record of the things discovered. * 
The first cave chosen by the committee is that found 
by Mr. Jackson, high up in a limestone cliff near Settle, 
on the coronation-day of our Queen, and which is therefore 
known as “ the Victoria cave.” It consists of a series of 
large chambers and passages, which are nearly filled to 
the roof with a reddish grey clay and stones. It must 
at one time have been of wonderful beauty, for there are 
the remains of massive stalactites, and of thick stalag- 
mitic pavements ; but now these are so decomposed by 
the carbonic acid that they are reduced to the condition 
of very soft mortar. Curiosity-hunters have also been 
doing their usual ruthless mischief. When it was first 
opened, Mr. Jackson obtained from a chamber at the 
original entrance a large series of ornaments and imple- 
ments of bronze, iron, and bone, along with pottery and 
remains of animals. There are in his collection bronze 
fibulae, iron spear-heads, iron nails, bone spoons, spindle 
whorls of stone and pottery, fragments of Samian ware, 
and other pottery turned in a lathe, cockle-shells, flint 
flakes, whetstones and stone balls: The remains found 
with these belong to the red deer, roebuck, pig, horse, and 
Celtic short-horn (Gos longifrons), sheep or goat, badger, 
fox, otter, and dog. There are aiso Roman _ coins 
of bronze and silver. All these were derived from a 
superficial deposit, and could not be assigned to an earlier 
date than that of the Roman occupation. The pottery was 
of the same kind as that so commonly found in the refuse 
heaps near Roman villas. It is worthy of note that the 
two domestic animals, the Celtic short-horn and the sheep 
or goat, were those that had been most abundantly used ~ 
for food. The exploration committee resolved to follow 
up this discovery by a thorough examination of the cave, 
which they are able to undertake by the courteous per- 
mission of the owner, Mr. Stackhouse. a 
Outside the entrance of the cave, and at a lower level, 
is a small plateau composed of dédrzs, which occupies the 
exact point where daylight could be seen through chinks, 
from the inside of one of the large chambers. As both 
the plateau and the chamber were undisturbed, the com- 
mittee determined to begin work by removing the débris 
and making a new entrance into the cave. While this 
was being done, the following section was exposed. On 
the surface there was a layer of fragments of limestone 
that had fallen from the cliff above, two feetan, thickness. 
Underneath was a layer of dark earth with Stones about 
eighteen inches in thickness. It furnished large quanti- 
ties of bones, nearly all of which had been used for food, 
and several articles of bronze, iron, or bone of the same 
kind and age as those I have already mentioned. The / 
pottery is also of the same Roman character. Fragments, & 
of charcoal were also abundant, and stones bearing the 
rahe 
