364 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [March 8, 



2. On the Fossil Contents of the Genista Cave, Gibraltar. By 

 G. Busk, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S., and the late Hugh Falconer, 

 M.D., V.P.R.S., For. Sec. G.S. 



[In a Letter to His Excellency General Sir W. J. Codrington, K.C.B., &c. &c. 

 GoTernor of Gibraltar.] 



(Commiinicated by the Secretaiy of State for War.) 



The circumstances which led to our visit to Gibraltar, and the 

 objects we have had in view, are so well known to Your Excellency 

 that it is unnecessary on our part to do more than refer to one or 

 two incidents in the early history of the cave. 



When the interesting objects contained in the upper chambers 

 of the "Genista" cave on Windmill Hill were brought to light by 

 Capt. Brome, Your Excellency addressed a letter to the Secretary- 

 at-War, giving a preliminary rej)ort on the results ; that communi- 

 cation was forwarded from the War Office to the President of the 

 Geological Society of London, with a request for an opinion as to 

 the importance in the interest of science of following up the explo- 

 ration, and for suggestions as to the manner in which it could be best 

 conducted. The reply led to the sanction of the Secretary- at- War 

 for the further exploration of the cavern by means of the labour of 

 the military prisoners, under the able superintendence of Capt. 

 Brome ; and, to pass over minor incidents well known to Your Ex- 

 cellency, the objects discovered were forwarded to us in London 

 for identification and scientific examination. 



Having devoted several months to the study of the cave-col- 

 lections successively transmitted to us, which were so carefully 

 classified, by means of distinctive marks, by Capt. Brome, the 

 Governor of the MiHtary Prison, as to place the main facts clearly 

 before us, we were so strongly impressed with their importance 

 that we determined, on Your Excellency's invitation, to visit 

 Gibraltar and examine the general condition of the cave on the 

 spot ; for the discoveries in the Windmill Hill cave have not only 

 yielded unexpected results regarding the former state and the 

 ancient animal population of the rock itself, but they further point 

 to a land connexion between the southern part of the Iberian penin- 

 sula and the African continent at no very remote geological epoch. 



Capt, Brome's Report, dated 21st August, 1863, with the plan 

 and section which accompany it, so clearly explains the nature of 

 the Windmill Hill cave, that it is unnecessary for us to enter on the 

 present occasion into any detailed description of it. The rock 

 abounds in caves, which are of two classes. 1st. Seaboard caves at 

 various heights above the level of the sea and horizontally excavated 

 in the ancient clifPs by the waves. 2nd. Inland caves descending 

 from the surface and in connexion with great vertical fissures by 

 which the mass of the rock has been rent at remote epochs during 

 disturbances caused by violent acts of upheavement, like the well- 

 known cavern of St. Michael. The " Genista" cave of Windmill 

 Hill belongs to the second class ; it forms part of a great perpendi- 

 cular fissure, which, by the vigorous measures adopted by Capt. 



