302 REPOET — 1887. 



F.G.S., R. H. Tiddeman, P.G.S., Clement Reid, F.G.S., A. O. "Walker, 

 F.L.S., H. 0. Beasley, and others. 



It was found necessary to remove much of the timber placed last year 

 to support the face in front of the entrance, so that the section might be 

 clearly exposed, and the cutting was widened here sufficiently to show a 

 vertical face of undisturbed deposits. The timber supporting the north- 

 east face of the catting was allowed to remain, as that portion had been 

 well exposed last year, and it was thought that the excavation in front 

 and to the south-west would yield all necessary evidence without incur- 

 ring that additional trouble and expense. The cutting was carried in a 

 south-south-west direction from the mouth of the cavern, and beyond 

 the dip in the field supposed to indicate the line of an old fence ; 

 the length from the timber on the north-east face to the commence- 

 ment of the dip in the field being about 30 feet and the width varying 

 from 5 to 10 feet ; the narrowest part being at the furthest point 

 from the cavern. In the face exposed in front of the entrance, and for a 

 distance in the cutting from there of about 25 feet, the soil varied in 

 depth from 18 inches to 2 feet, but at the slope supposed to indicate the 

 line of the old fence it thickened considerably. Underlying this 

 throughout the whole length of the cutting and in the field beyond this 

 point, a boulder clay of a reddish-brown colour was exposed. This 

 boulder clay contained thin seams of sand, which were traceable generally 

 at the same horizon along the whole section. 



At a depth of about 7 feet from the surface, in a continuous band of 

 reddish sandy clay, numerous fi'agments of marine shells and some per- 

 fect ones were met with, and these have been recognised by Mrs. McKenny 

 Huo'hes to belong to the following species, viz. Ostrea sp.,Mytilus up., Nucula 

 nucleus, Gardmm echinahim, G. edule, Gyprina idcuidica, Astarte borea- 

 lis, Artemis exoleta, Vemis gallina ? Tellina halthica, Fsam mobia ferro- 

 ensis, Donax ? Mya truncata, Littornia sp., Turritella terehra, Buccinum 

 undatum. Below the boulder clay, at a depth of about 9 feet from the 

 surface, there was exposed some sandy gravel and fine banded sand with 

 a total thickness of over 6 feet, and under the latter a well-defined band 

 of finely laminated reddish clay. 



Below the laminated clay the brecciated bone earth was found to ex- 

 tend as far as the cutting was made in front of the entrance, and also for 

 a distance of 7 feet in a southerly direction from the entrance. This 

 year only a few fragments of bone and bits of stalagmite were obtained 

 from this earth, though it will be remembered that last year it yielded 

 many teeth as well as the flint flake which was discovered near the 

 entrance. The limestone floor under the bone earth was found to rise 

 gradually outwards from the mouth of the cavern for some distance, form- 

 ing a shallow basin-shaped space in front of the entrance. In the bone 

 earth in this space there were several large angular blocks of limestone. 



It was not thought necessary to dig down to the floor along the whole 

 leno-th of the cutting, but it was traced for 7 feet in that direction by 

 the side of the cliff against which the deposits abutted. Beyond that 

 point the cutting was made deep enough to i-each the sandy gravel under 

 the boulder clay, and at different parts test-holes were sunk still deeper 

 into the gravel and sand. One hole was also sunk in the field in front of 

 the cuttino- at a distance of over 35 feet from the entrance to the cavern. 

 The deposits here were found to be similar to those in the cutting and in 

 front of the cavern, but the depth of soil over the boulder clay was only 



