1 28 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



There -was only about one foot of soft clay under the bones, and in some 

 places the bottom was quite hard. 



Even allowing that it was possible for some of the first birds that got in to 

 stick in that thin layer of clay, when the bottom became covered and firmly 

 packed in with bones to the thickness of one foot upwards, their feet could not 

 settle down in the mud. This layer of bones of all sizes would be the same as 

 if small pieces of wood and brush had been firmly packed in together, thus a 

 solid bottom would have been formed, and I cannot see how it would be 

 possible for any more to stick fast. 



Again, there was a large number of goose bones in the deposit, and w^hich 

 appeared to be most plentiful near the top, and for geese to get bogged in a 

 waterhole with a solid bottom of bones is something that needs a more intel- 

 lectual comprehension than my own to understand. Then, again, the lay of 

 the bones would, to a great extent, indicate the way in which they wei-o 

 deposited. 



We cannot help supposing that if birds of this immense size and weight had 

 been stuck fast in the mud, the lower end of the long thigh bones, as well as 

 of the feet bones, would, as a rule, have been pressed deepest in the mud, and 

 as the flesh rotted away they Avould have remained so. They would have to 

 be pressed in very deep and firm to hold a bird, which was, perhaps, as strong 

 as a horse. 



For information on this point I took the lay of a number of bones, in a 

 space of about 4 feet, from top to bottom, with the following result: — 



Thigh Bones {Tibia). 



Laid horizontal ... ... ... ... ... 30 



Ankle end lowest ... ... ... ... ... 26 



Ankle end highest ... ... ... ... ... 15 



Total ... .. ... ... ... 71 



Feet Bones {Metatarsus). 



Horizontal ... ... ... ... ... 14 



Claw end lowest ... ... ... ... ... 13 



Claw end highest ... ... ... ... ..•. 11 



Total ... ... ... ... ... 38 



The difference, you will observe, is so trifling that no basis for a calculation 

 can be formed. 



Then, again, supposing them to have been bogged, it would have been a 

 natural result for some of them to have got in this trap when in a state of 

 gestation, and egg-shells would liave been mixed with the bones. I instituted 

 the most scrutinizing search for them, and told the boy that I would cover 



