ON THE PHENOMENA OF STATIONARY TIDES IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. 217 



them. All three sets of bones alike differ from those belonging to the 

 palaeolithic period found here in being, except in a few instances, free 

 from interstitial calcareous deposit, and from marks of gnawing except by- 

 recent rodents. 



In one instance, some human bones were found imbedded in reddish- 

 white breccia. This breccia had been formed in several places along the 

 east wall of the north into masses about 3 feet to 3| feet in height, which 

 stood out against the wall like brackets. One of these, just 15 feet from 

 the north entrance, had embedded on its upper surface, which was about 

 3 feet 10 inches above the natural floor of the cave, the lower ends of 

 two human femora, which thus came to occupy just such a position as 

 they would be likely to do if picked up from the floor by some human 

 inhabitant who was incommoded by their presence and placed on the top 

 of the shelf-like bracket which was in the process of being added to by 

 drip. With these two human bones are concreted some bones of frogs 

 or toads, and at a depth of one foot a humerus of a roe, Cervus capreolus, was 

 found similarly embedded. It is of importance to note that these brackets 

 of breccia do not seem to be remnants of a floor which has disappeared from 

 between the side- walls of the cave ; no corresponding deposits at least ai-e 

 observable along the opposite wall on the west side, and, as is well known, 

 the stalagmite-forming drip, being regulated by the conformation of the 

 limestone, is very often anything but symmetrically arranged. 



Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor Sir William 

 Thomson, Mr. W. Froude, Professor Osborne Reynolds, Captain 

 Douglas G-alton, and Mr. James N. Shoolbred {Secretary), ap- 

 pointed for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the 

 Phenomena of the Stationary Tides in the English Channel and 

 in the North Sea ; and of representing to the Government of 

 Portugal and the Governor of Madeira, that, in the opinion of 

 the British Association, Tidal Observations at Madeira or other 

 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean would be very valuable, 

 ruith the vieiv to the advancement of our knowledge of the tides 

 in the Atlantic Ocean. 



The Committee beg to report that last year the French Association 

 for the Advancement of Science, at their Meeting at Havre, which took 

 place subsequently to that at Plymouth, having had the subject of these 

 simultaneous tidal observations in the English Channel and in the North 

 Sea brought before them by the Secretary of the Committee, cordially 

 approved of the intended action of this Committee, and resolved to urge 

 upon the French Government that any observations required upon the 

 French coast should be undertaken by its engineers. 



At the commencement of the present year, the French Government 

 undertook to do this, in accordance with a programme of simultaneous 

 observations, approved of by the Chairman of the Committee. 



The Belgian Government likewise offered its co-operation at Ostend ; 

 and in Holland the observations were kindly undertaken by the authorities 



