638 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 46. 



they range from the size of a caimau to 

 that of a lizard. 



II. On a New Variable of Peculiar Char- 

 acter : S. C. Chandler. This paper relates 

 to the discovery of a new variable which 

 appears, from a study of its characteristics, 

 not to belong to either of the two recog- 

 nized types of variables of short period. 

 It fluctuates between the magnitudes 8.9 

 and 9.7 in the singularly short period of 

 five hours thirty-one minutes and nine sec- 

 onds. It is distinctly not of the Algol-ty^%, 

 being in continuous variation during its 

 whole period. Its light-curve is also quite 

 unlike that of the other known class of 

 short-period stars, exemplified by -/j Aquilse 

 and o Cephei, in which the duration of in- 

 crease and decrease have the ratio of about 

 one to three ; since the increase and de- 

 crease of this star occupy nearly equal 

 times, the increase being indeed rather the 

 slower. The variations are very rapid, and 

 maxima and minima are equally and 

 sharply marked, both being observable with 

 the same precision with which we are fa- 

 m^iliar in the stars of the Algol-iyg^, namely, 

 within a very few minutes. 



III. On a Bone Cave at Port Kennedy, Pa.: 

 E. D. Cope. Prof. Cope reported that the 

 cave seems to be in a fissure of limestone, 

 overlaid with red sandstone. It was dis- 

 covered in 1870, when, after a blasting, a 

 portion of its contents was exposed and ex- 

 amined by Prof. Cope, who then described 

 40 species of animals found in it. 



About 30 feet have so far been examined, 

 and the bottom is not yet in sight. The 

 further down the diggings are made, the 

 richer the find. On a base of clay, strata 

 of vegetable matter, charred earth, wood 

 and leaves, lie strata of crushed bones, 

 powdered very fine, forming almost a meal. 



The number of species so far discovered 

 is 43, some of which have not been pre- 

 viously determined. The bones are those 

 of tortoise, snake, birds, sloths, hoofed 



mammals and carnivora. Among the last 

 are found the skunk, bear, and four species of 

 the cat familjr, including allies of the jaguar 

 and tiger. The teeth of several mastodons 

 were found, but no traces of elephant. 

 Very many specimens of jaws of the tapir 

 were discovered, as were also the remains 

 of extinct species of horses, differing con- 

 siderably from the present horse. 



Two specimens of teeth of a peccary, and 

 one of an animal probably resembling the 

 South American llama, were likewise taken 

 from the cave. The tiger tooth is very in- 

 teresting from the fact that, while the genus 

 appears in the caves of America, it has not 

 been found in Europe. 



One of the species of bear resembles the 

 existing black bear, while the other is simi- 

 lar to a rare species found in the Andes and 

 California caves, and is not related to any 

 form now existing in North America. 



No remains of man have thus far been 

 found, and the cave is probably the best ex- 

 ample of the older caves existing prior to 

 the Champlain epoch, or period of sub- 

 mergence, and after the glacial period. 

 The great problem to be solved is, did man 

 exist in North America prior to the Cham- 

 plain period? If the remains of human 

 beings are found here it will be of great 

 importance, as the geologic time of this 

 cave seems to be well known. 



A stone quarry occupies the site of the 

 cave, and blasting was done by Mr. Kennedy 

 in 1840, but fossil bones were first noted in 

 1870. The bottom of the quarry is now 45 

 feet below the top of the hill. The bones lie 

 in red clay, and are finely ground up, with 

 here and there a lai-ger mass. The en- 

 trance must have been overhead, and the 

 debris brought from a distance and i^oured 

 in from the top. No marine shells or other 

 evidences of oceanic life have been found. 

 G-reat blocks of wood, some of it retaining 

 the bark, and nuts, seeds, grasses and leaves 

 were discovered in the cave. 



