ON Kent's cavern, Devonshire. 19 



of materials closely resembling those which composed the rock-like breccia 

 below the old crystalline stalagmitic floor iu the South-west Chamber and 

 the Water Gallery, described in the Fourth and Fifth Eeports (Norwich and 

 Exeter, 1868 and 1869), but differing from it in being quite incoherent and 

 destitute of fossils, whilst the typical cave-earth, at the same level and adja- 

 cent to the opposite waU (a distance of a very few feet at most), yielded the 

 usual complement and variety of specimens. 



From 57 to 60 feet fi-om the entrance, the deposit below the second foot- 

 level contained no stones of any kind, and consisted of very fine firmly com- 

 pacted earth, having very few fossils. 



At 38 feet from the entrance, where there was no stalagmitic floor, there 

 was a thin band of charcoal about 3 feet long and 2 feet broad, 10 inches 

 below the surface, and midway in the section, so as to leave interspaces 

 of lip wards of 3 feet between its ends and the walls of the cavern. 



The upper sui-face of the deposits was an iucUned plane dipping towards 

 the inner end, where it was lO'o feet lower than at the entrance, wliilst the 

 latter was 13 feet lower than the surface of the cave-earth at the Arched or 

 Southern Entrance of the cavern, at which the Committee commenced theii* 

 investigations. Indeed the extremity of the South Sally-port is at once the 

 most southerly and the lowest point of the cavern which has at present been 

 reached. 



Besides a large number of bones (includiag several of birds and a few of 

 fish) and portions of antlers, the South SaUy-port yielded about 1400 teeth 

 and identifiable fragments of teeth, some of which were in jaws or portions 

 of jaws. The entire series may be thus distributed : — 



per cent. per cent. 



Horse 2^ Deer, including Reindeer 



Hyfena 27 and " Irish Elk " . . 2 



Rhinoceros 11 Lion 2 



Bear 8 Ox 1 



Sheep 7 Wolf "j 



T, ^ o -T. /ON >■ each less than 1 



Fox 3 Dog (?) I 



Rabbit 3 Pig J 



Elephant 2 



In the Table the arrangement is throughout that of descending order. Thus 

 the teeth of Badger, Fox, and Rabbit formed about 3 per cent, each of the 

 entire series ; but the first were rather more, and the third rather less, abun- 

 dant than the second, and so on in other cases. The same arrangement wiU 

 be observed when describing the other Sally-port and the passages con- 

 nected with it. 



From the disturbed state of the deposits in this branch of the cavern, the 

 Committee were prepared for the commingling of bones and teeth having a 

 modern aspect with those bearing all the indications of antiquity. Accord- 

 ingly some remains of the principal extinct Cave-mammals were found in 

 the deposit above the stalagmitic floor where this existed, and on the sur- 

 face where it did not ; and, in like manner, though very few remaias were 

 found in the tunnels, a tooth of Hog was found 2 feet deep in the cave- 

 earth, and skulls, jaws, and teeth of Sheep were met with somewhat fre- 

 quently at all depths. As has been ah'cady stated, the tiumels ceased at 

 about 60 feet from the entrance ; and there also ceased the inosculation of 

 ancient and modern relics ; the latest recorded case of Sheep below the sta- 



c2 



