34 REPORT — 1870. 



a stalagmitic floor 4 iiiclies thick. In this floor, almost at the commence- 

 ment of the passage, there was a rudely circular hole, about 18 inches in 

 diameter. One of the Superintendents, who was present when this was dis- 

 closed, drew himself up through the opening so as to command a view of the 

 space above, when he found, mixed with a small amount of cave-earth, a vast 

 accumulation of bones and teeth, some of which were partially imbedded in 

 the stalagmite. Above this mass of remains was, as has been already stated, 

 another floor of stalagmite, the space between the two being at that point 

 about 20 inches in height. The workmen proceeded to break up both floors ; 

 and the labour was rewarded by the immediate exhumation of 29 teeth of 

 Hysena, 21 of Elephant, 21 of Horse, 18 of Rhinoceros, 7 of Deer, including 

 the " Irish Elk," 2 of Dog (?), 1 of Bear, and such a heap of bones and bone- 

 fragments as to render it necessary to send for a cart for the removal of the 

 " find." The upper floor was about 6 inches thick, and had a considerable 

 space al)ove it, in which there were neither fossils nor deposit. The two 

 floors (the upper one being partially destroyed), with their rich intermediate 

 layer of bones and cave-earth, extended along the entire passage on the 

 south-western side of the "islands," and through the " strait " separating 

 the two largest of them. In short, the fossil treasures there were a con- 

 tinuation of those which had previously been met with on the north-west. 

 Nothing was found in the deposit beneath the lower floor. 



In a considerable recess on the south-east of the " islands," out of which 

 not less than 280 cubic feet of matter was dug, the only things found were 

 a verj'' few bones of birds. In the passages leading from the north-eastern 

 angle of the " islands," fossUs were, with a few exceptions, tolerably abundant, 

 but were most prevalent in the upper levels. 



Of teeth alone, the North Sally-port yielded at least 2600, belonging to the 

 animals and in the proportions stated below : — 



per cent. per cent. 



Hycena 31 Lion 2 



Horse 31 Bear 1 



Ehinoceros 16 Eox ^ 



Deer, including " Irish Beaver j 



Elk"andEeindeer. . 6 Wolf I , , ^, 



Badger 4 Dog (?) ^^^""^ ^^^' ^^^"^ ^ 



Eabbit 2 Cat ! 



Elephant 2 Sheep J 



Ox 2 



Amongst the peciiliarities of this branch of the cavern are the compara- 

 tively large numbers of remains of Badger, Elephant, and Beaver — and, when 

 compared with those in the other Sally-port, the small number of Sheep, of 

 which the only remnant was one tooth. 



The teeth of Elephant are not only relatively more numerous, but some of 

 them exceed in size any that have been found elsewhere in the cavern ; and 

 the plates of a few of them are remarkably thick. 



The number of Beavers' teeth is eight : — three molars in part of a jaw 

 (No. 4789) found December 20, 1869, with two teeth of Horse, in the first 

 foot-level of cave-earth ; a loose molar (No. j-^), foimd the next day, in 

 the same level and the adjoining foot-paraUel ; and an almost perfect left 

 lower jaw (No. t^-^-jj) with three molars and the fang of the incisor in 

 sitti, found on May 3, 1870, in the fourth foot-level, upwards of 50 feet from 

 the former specimens. 



