104 Transactions. 
that each visit to the cave assists in choking up the lower part of the cave 
with this impalpable dust, which will yet have to be carefully removed and 
examined. Groping in this dust with my hands I found several bones and 
rolls of what I imagined to be the inner bark of a tree. I put a small piece 
of this in my pocket for examination, and on coming to daylight I was 
surprised to tind that what I took for bark was reddish-brown Moa skin. 
Observing a lateral passage, through which the wind was blowing freely, 
my son followed it in the hopes of finding an exit in the face of the gully. 
This horizontal passage led into the solid rock, and at right angles to the 
cave. My son was absent so long that I ceased to hear his voice. On his 
return he reported to me that he saw no bones, the floor of the passage being 
hard rock. 
From the junction of this passage the cave descended at a very steep 
gradient, and at one place a wedge-shaped narrow rock compelled us to creep 
underneath, which was not difficult, as the floor was well covered with the 
fine dust which followed us as we advanced, filling up all interstices, and no 
doubt hiding many interesting objects from our view. 
Soon afterwards we found ourselves at the bottom of the cave, and here I 
much regretted that I was not provided with a few inches of magnesium wire, 
as not only sound but light was absorbed in this den, so that I could hardly 
see a yard from the lamp. 
My son, who was fossicking about with a piece of totara which he picked 
up in the cave, suddenly exclaimed, “ I have found a nest,” and, true enough, 
from under a ledge he drew out grass and the remains of the eggs and birds, 
which are at present in the Museum on exhibition. 
I remarked several pieces of totara in the cave, which would lead one to 
suppose that the totara tree grew on the platform, before the original mouth of 
the cave was closed by the rock which forms the roof of the present landing- 
place. 
The neck of the Moa was found in that part of the cave above the junction 
with the lateral passage, and as there was always a current of dry air there, 
it may account for the neck being so well preserved, 
On leaving the cave we proceeded to search the gully face of the rock for 
the ventilator. We were not long in finding a weather-worn funnel-shaped 
cave ; the back orifice of this funnel was six inches in diameter 3 there was a 
strong in-draught through this aperture, which carried grass and light objects 
into the cave. We found a sound stick of totara in this cave, which is at 
least forty feet below the level of the platform. Above the ventilator, and on 
an inaccessible ledge of the rock, we saw a large piece of totara which had 
been left there since the parent tree had crashed in its fall against the face of 
the rock. With some difficulty we dislodged it by throwing large stones on it 
