ON Kent's cavern, Devonshire. 



9 



tion here and there, a brecciated mass composed of large and small pieces of 

 limestone and blocks of the well-known old crystalline stalagmite, all ce- 

 mented together and covered with a sheet of the cementing material. 



Near the upper part of the slope, and on its southern margin, a space about 

 14 feet long and varying from 3 to 12 feet broad was without any trace of 

 floor, but occupied with large loose pieces of limestone. Elsewhere the sheet 

 was perfectly continuous until reaching the area in which Mr. M'Enery had 

 dug his shaft. The Floor commonly measured from 12 to 30 inches in thick- 

 ness, but adjacent to the southern wall it was fuUy 3 feet, and contained few 

 or no stones. 



On being broken into small pieces and carefully examined, it was found 

 to contain 2 teeth of Horse, a portion of a jaw, 2 bones, and half of a frac- 

 tured flint nodule. About 30 feet down the slope, a series of dark parallel 

 lines were observed in the Floor, the uppermost being about 2 inches below 

 the upper surface. On the advance of the work, they proved to be continuous 

 downward, and to have a greater and greater thickness of stalagmite over 

 them. On careful examination, it was found that each represented what for 

 a time had been the upper surface of the Stalagmitic Floor of the Chamber, 

 and was due to the presence of comminuted charcoal and other dark-coloured 

 extraneous matter. Such a " charcoal streak " also occurred, according to 

 Mr. M'Enery, in the " Long Arcade," within a few feet of the same spot*. 

 The workmen were directed to detach a specimen of the Floor where the 

 streaks were well displayed, and in doing so were so fortunate as to make 

 their fracture at a place where a large cockle-shell lay firmly imbedded in 

 the lowest streak, at a depth of about 8 inches below the surface. Whilst 

 splitting up the Stalagmite on May 16th, 1871, two specimens of well-marked 

 iern-impressions were found in it, about 3 inches below the surface. Nothing 

 of the kind had ever been noticed before. 



Below the Stalagmite, as iisual, lay the Cave-earth, in which, as was an- 

 ticipated, pieces of limestone were unusually abundant. Some of them 

 "leasured several feet in length and breadth, and were fully 2 feet thick. 

 There were also numerous blocks of the old crystalline stalagmite, measuring 

 in some instances upwards of 4 cubic yards, and not unfrequently projecting 

 from the Cave-earth into the overlying granular floor. Though they were 

 carefully broken up, nothing was found in them. 



In that portion of the Cave-earth which was found intact, there occurred, 

 as usual, remains of the ordinary Cave-mammals, including about 550 teeth, 

 which may be apportioned as in the following Ust : — 



Hyaena 39 per cent. 



Horse 28-5 „ 



Rhinoceros 14 „ 



Deer 4 „ 



"Irish Elk" 2-5 



Bear 2-5 „ 



Reindeer 2 per cent. 



Ox 2 



Elephant 1-5 „ 



Lion 1 „ 



Wolf 1 



Dog (?) only one tooth. 



It is, perhaps, worthy of remark that though wild animals still frequent 

 Kent's Hole, and there is reason to believe that some of them have in recent 

 times carried in the bones of others on which they preyed, though the Sloping 

 Chamber is near and between the two high-level Entrances, though the 

 Floor was broken up and thus gave the readiest access to the Cave-earth, and 

 though Mr. M'Enery discontinued his labours upwards of 40 years ago, of 

 which more than 30 were years of quietude in the Cavern, there is in the 



* See Trans. Devon. Assoc, vol. iii. pp. 236, 261, 262 (1869). 



