. 
Stowe.—Lffect of Wind-driven Sand as a Cutting Agent. 105 
from above. It was so hard and tough that we could not break off the 
smallest piece of it. 
As I could not divest my mind of the impression that the original entrance 
to the cave was in the face of the gully, I narrowly examined the ground 
opposite to what I judged to be the bottom of the cave, and found that a vast 
detritus had fallen from above which might well have crushed in the mouth of 
the cave and buried it from view. I have shown that a long slope leads up to 
the cave, which is bounded on the other side by the deep gully. Storm-water 
coming from the mountain would naturally run down the slope or into the 
gully. It certainly could not come on the platform bearing Moa bones with it. 
The platform could never have been the camping ground of anything 
living, as the wind blows so fiercely across it as to tear up large sheets of 
mica schist from the exposed edge of the gully. 
On returning from the cave we examined what we considered, on our 
ascent, might be the entrance to another cave. The aperture was narrow, 
and choked up with growing scrub, Having broken this down, and tied our 
bridles-together, my son dropped into the darkness and struck the ground at 
about twelve feet. Having no light he could not explore the cave, which 
appeared to be of considerable size, and dangerously precipitous. He sent up 
by means of the bridle a large pelvis of a Moa, which I left on the rock to 
mark the cave. 
Art. VL—On the Effect of Wind-driven Sand as a Cutting Agent. 
By Epwin Sr 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 25th September, 1872.] 
Ir may be interesting to those who are acquainted with the sand-worn stones 
of Lyall Bay, either from personal observation, or from Plate XVII., in 
the second volume of the Transactions, and the description there given by 
Mr. W. T. L. Travers, to know that on another part of our coast effects similar 
to those thus far observed are being produced by somewhat similar action. 
The southern bank of the Waikato river for the last few miles of its 
course is formed by a range of sandstone, for the most part still covered by 
the natural vegetation of the district. But northwards from the point where 
this range, meeting the sea, forms a line of abrupt cliff making away to the 
south, there extends for a distance of about a mile, up to the actual river 
mouth, a long bank of considerable elevation, composed of fine sea-sand. 
This is entirely devoid of the vegetation usually found upon sand-dunes, and 
lies fully exposed to the action of the S.W. gales, which blow with such force 
on this part of the coast. The landward, or eastern slope of this sandy 
elevation, is for the most part exceedingly abrupt—as abrupt as it is possible 
for loose sand to be—so much so, indeed, that at a distance it appears to be a 
Í me 
