88 REPORT— 1870. 



On the Physical Oeohgy of the Bone-caves of the Wye. 

 By the Rev. W. S. Symonds, M.A., F.'G.S. 



Fossil bones of the exinct mammalia have been discovered in " King Arthur's 

 Cave," situate in Great Doward Wood, on the right bank of the Wye, between 

 Whitechurch, near Ross, and Monmouth. They were forwarded to Prof. Owen, 

 and were determined by him to be molar teeth of H. jn-iimr/enms, molar teeth of 

 Mhinoceros tichorhinns, gnawed astragalus and bones of M. tichorhinus, molar teeth 

 and bones of Equus fossiUs, upper molar and astragalus of Bos jJrinu'ffimius, shed 

 antler of Reindeer (Cervns taratidus), right upper canine of Hycena speleea. 



These fossil bones are from a cavern in a locality rich in caves in the mountain 

 limestone, now elevated to a considerable height above the river Wye, but in which 

 fossil bones of the extinct mammalia had not hitherto been found. 



Arthur's Cave has evidently been the den of the gi-eat Cave Hysena, as evinced 

 by the gnawed state of many of the bones, and the remains of that animal itself. 

 The physical geology of the district was described by the author of the paper. 



Qn the Occurrence of Seams of Hard Sandstone in Middle Drift of East Anglia. 



By J. E. Tatloe. 



A Ceiisus of the Marine Invertebrate Fauna of the Lias. 

 By'RAivKTAT-E,F.G.S. 



On the Diamonds of South Africa. By J. Tennant, F.G.S. 



On the Occurrence of Pebbles and Boidders of Granite in Schistose JtocJcs in 

 Islay, Scotland. By James Thomson, F.G.S. 



The author described the different rocks exhibited in a section across Islaj^, from 

 Port Nahaven on the west to Port Askaig on the east, which principally consist of 

 gneiss, chloiite and mica-schist, quartzites and limestone. There is a diversity of 

 opinion as to the proper position of these rocks ; some consider them of Laurentian, 

 •while others think they are of Cambrian age. The author was inclined to think 

 they belonged to the latter period. At Port Askaig there is a precipitous cliff of 

 quartzite about 70 feet in height, made up of about one hundred thin bands varying 

 from 1 to 20 inches in thickness. Underlying this quartzite there is a mass of 

 arenaceous talcose schist, showing faint traces of stratification, containing frag- 

 ments, some angular but mostly rounded, of all sizes, from mere particles to great 

 boulders of granite, resembling the granite of the Island of Mull. Similar rocks 

 do not occur in the Island of Islay ; and Mull being at a considerable distance to 

 the north, with a deep sea between the two islands, he suggested the probability 

 of the granite having been transported by the agency of ice. 



These deposits resemble the boulder drifts of more recent times, in the following 

 respects :— first, in the absence of stratification in one part of the section, which in 

 another shows signs of regular deposition ; secondly, in the close proximity of 

 fragments of far transported rock, varying in size from minute fragments to large 

 boulders ; the origin he ascribed to the mass having been deposited in a tranquil 

 sea of mud, sand, and blocks from melting drift-ice. The absence of stratification 

 in one part of the section while it is present in another, may be accounted for by 

 the disturbing action of icebergs, when stranded in the soft plastic mass, in parts 

 of the sea of limited depth. He also stated that pebbles of granite had long been 

 sought for in the conglomerates of the Old Red Sandstone ; but in no part of Scot- 

 land had it been found in rocks of that age, consequently it was inferred that 

 the gi-anite of Scotland was posterior to the deposition of the rocks belonging 

 to that period. The discovery of fragments and boulders of granite imbedded in 

 these deposits, furnish adequate proof that the age of granite cannot be restricted, 

 and that glacial action was not limited to any special geological period. 



