286 
same mixed assemblage of mountain limestone, Silurian and Devo- 
nian, or peculiar fossils, as in the province of Liege and in Devon- 
shire. 
A note ‘‘On the Bone Caves of Devonshire,” by R. A. C. Aus- 
ten, Esq., F.G.S., was then read. 
Mr. Austen commences by noticing the two theories which have 
been proposed to account for the introduction of the bones of ani- 
mals into caves—one, which accounts for their presence on the belief 
that they were dragged in by hyzenas or bears inhabiting the caves ; 
the other, which supposes that the bones were drifted in by diluvial 
waters. He then proceeds to give his own explanation of the phe- 
nomena presented by Kent’s Cave and Yealmpton Cavern; but he 
says it is not his intention, by doing so, to propose a general theory 
for ossiferous caves. 
‘In the Devonshire caverns, mentioned above, remains of the Ele- 
phant, Hog, Rhinoceros, Horse, Ox, Bear, Hyena, and Cat, gene- 
rally bearing marks of teeth, are intermingled. With reference to the 
means by which they were collected, Mr. Austen observes, the habits 
of the Hyzena are now better known than formerly, and there is 
little in them to warrant the conclusion that the fossil bones were 
collected by that animal. He says, on the authority of Cuvier, that 
hyeenas “‘se tiennent solitaires dans les parties montagneuses,”’ (last 
Edit. Oss. Foss.) least of all do they inhabit caves; that they have 
not the courage to attack any formidable animal, preferring the pu- 
trid flesh and bones, which they find in their nightly prowlings : 
that they never drag away their prey, but devour it greedily on the 
spot: and he adds, on the authority of M. Marcel de Serres, who 
has observed the habits of the Hyzena in Africa, ‘“‘ that its gluttony is 
equalled only by its cowardice.” 
The Lion, on the other hand, seeks solely for living prey, which it 
prostrates at one spring, and then conveys to its lair. The Afri- 
can lion has been known to carry off a bullock, and its constant 
abode is in chasms, caves, or on overhanging ledges of rock. 
Mr. Austen is therefore induced to believe that the cavern bones 
were in the first instance the prey of the larger feline animals, and 
that during their absence the hyzenas visited the caves to feed upon 
the fragments of the partially consumed prey ; and in support of this 
view he quotes the passage from Johnson’s Field Sports, given in the 
Reliquie Diluviane (p. 22): “ they feed on small animals and carrion, 
and often come in for the prey left by tigers and leopards after their 
appetites have been satiated.” 
What the large feline animals were, Mr. Austen says, is not im- 
portant, as they resemble each other in their habits. The remains 
of a Felis as large or larger than any now known, have been found 
in the Plymouth and Hutton caves, and the canine and molar figured 
by Dr. Buckland from Kirkdale, are said by Cuvier to differ im no 
respect from those of a lion. (Oss. Foss. IV. 151.) 
The remains of a fossil lion have been also found in the caves of 
Gailenreuth, the province of Liege, Mialet and Jobertas (Dép. du 
