ON Kent's cavern, Devonshire. 203 



tliird and most important, about 30 feet long, lined the entire lower surface of 

 the mass of limestone forming the Bridge, and extended into the chamber 

 beyond. The less ancient, or Granular Floor, -was in some places in contact 

 with it, and in others as much as 8 inches below. Numerous stones and a 

 few fragments of bone (representing the Breccia on which the Old Floor was 

 formed) were found firmly cemented to this, as well as to the first remnant. 

 The progress of the work has not rendered it necessary to remove or diminish 

 either of them. 



The deposit below the Granular Stalagmitic Floor was typical Cave-earth 

 to the depth of at least 4 feet *, from the entrance of the Long Arcade to 

 about 24 feet within it, and contained a considerable number of blocks of 

 limestone, several of them requiring blasting in order to be removed. Beyond 

 the point just specified the deposit was everywhere " Breccia " (the oldest 

 deposit the cavern is known to contain), except at most the uppermost foot, 

 which consisted of Cave-earth. The two deposits lay one on the other with- 

 out, as in the South-west Chamber f, any stalagmite between ; and though 

 they are so very dissimilar in composition — the Cave-earth, or less ancient, 

 being made up of small angular fragments of limestone mixed with light-red 

 clay, whilst the Breccia, or older deposit, consists of rounded and subangular 

 fragments of dark-red grit imbedded in a sandy paste of the same colour — 

 it was not always, or, indeed, frequently, easy to detect a well-defined line of 

 separation. Each, however, was, as elsewhere in the cavern, characterized 

 by its distinct fauna — -the Breccia containing remains of Bears only without 

 any indication of other genera, whilst the Cave-earth yielded bones and teeth 

 of Hyaenas, with their teeth-marks and coprolites, as well as the osseous 

 remnants of the animals usually associated with them. 



At the entrance of the Arcade Mr. MacEnery's diggings were carried to a 

 depth of 3 feet below the bottom of the Granular Stalagmite ; they gradually 

 became less and less deep until at a distance of 15 feet they ceased. They 

 were resumed at 52 feet, and continued at intervals throughout the entire 

 length of the Arcade so far as the Committee have at present explored. They 

 were, however, on a very limited scale, never exceeding 18 inches, and com- 

 monly not more than a foot in depth, did not always extend from wall to wall, 

 and were not continuous. In short, he seems to have contented himself with 

 occasionally digging a small shallow trial pit, and, meeting with no speci- 

 mens, to have i^roceeded elsewhere ; and this is borne out by his own state- 

 ment. " As we advanced in the direction of the Long Corridor," he says, 

 " the bones became less and less numerous until they nearly disappeared, 

 rendering it not worth our while to prosecute our researches further in that 

 line " J. He must, however, in some instances have broken up portions of the 

 Breccia as well as of the thin layer of Cave-earth lying on it ; for, as was his 

 wont, the materials he dislodged were not taken out of the cavern, but merely 

 cast aside ; and these, on being carefully examined by the Committee, were 

 found to contain undoubted fragments of the older deposit, with bones and 

 teeth of Bear firmly imbedded in them. 



The specimens recovered from this broken ground, and which had been 

 neglected or overlooked, belonged mainly to the Cave-earth. They were 72 

 teeth, 4 astragali, 5 ossa calcis, 15 phalanges, 1 claw, 3 portions of jaws, 2 ver- 

 tebraj, 1 portion of skull and 1 of antler, several fragments of bone, and 8 



* The excavation is not carried to a depth exceeding 4 feet below the bottom of the 

 granular stalagmite. 



f See Brit. Assoc. Export, 18G8, pp. 50-52. J See Trans. Devon. Assoc, vol. iii. p. 290, 



