122 PROCEEDINGS OP THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 22, 



soluble bicarbonate, and conveyed away atom by atom. It probably 

 was the main trunk fed hj numerous tributaries, now represented 

 by caverns, all of which are dry, with the exception of that at the 

 head of the ravine, through which the drainage still passes, though 

 not to the same degree as formerly. 



On measuring the cave, we found that the maximum height of the 

 entrance was 8 feet and the width 36 feet ; in the interior the max- 

 imum height was 9 feet. 



Organic Remains. — I will now proceed to a description of the 

 organic remains found, selecting out of my descriptive catalogue 

 those which present points of the greatest interest. 



To begin with the Perissodactyles. The remains of Equus by far 

 predominate over the rest : 4 astragali, os calcis of colt, metatarsals 

 and carpals, a distal end of tibia, more than 70 molars, 7 in- 

 cisors, and one canine attest how numerous Horses were at this 

 period in the West of England. And here let me remark that 

 the vast preponderance of the teeth of Bos in the Kirkdale Cave 

 over those of Equus seems to indicate that the Ox preponderated 

 over the Horse in Yorkshire, at the same time that Horses were 

 more abundant than Oxen in the plains of Somerset. The remains 

 show that Equus was of the ordinary size. Of the Wiinoceros ti- 

 cliorhinus also 14 lower and 10 upper molars, and 2 molars in the 

 possession of "Williamson, also the proximal ends of 3 ulnas, frac- 

 tui'ed exactly in the same place, a metacarpal, astragalus, and 2 

 phalanges rewarded our search. And one upper -jaw deciduous molar, 

 of the right side, presents this difficulty — that, while the posterior 

 island of enamel in its depth, and the shape of the valley advancing 

 obliquely outwards, approximate closely to the typical species {R. 

 ticJiorJdnus)* , the broad entrance of the valley, and the presence of 

 a small cusp in it, at first sight appear to be referable to Rhinoceros 

 leptorliinus. The absorbed fangs and the small size indicate a 

 deciduous tooth. In another upper molar of the left side, according 

 in every other respect with this, the cusp is absent. 



The Artiodactyle division of Herbivores is represented by the re- 

 mains both of Bovidce and Cervidce. Of the remains of Bos jprimi- 

 genius,0Tie os calcis was far larger than any in the Oxford Museum, and 

 about twice the size of an average recent Ox; another was of the same 

 size as those from Wirksworth, Kirkdale, Banwell, and Plymouth ; a 

 right astragalus was larger than three out of four specimens from 

 Xirkdale, but was identical with one from Caswell Bay near Swansea. 

 A phalanx larger than any which I have seen, a scapho-cuboid of the 

 same size as those from Kirkdale, a fragment of left femur, identi- 

 cal in size with those found at Banwell, and three molar teeth were 

 also found. Of the remains of the Cervidce, I regret to say that I 

 have been unable to identify more than three species : — 1. Megaceros 

 Hihernicus ; four premolars, and one molar of the upper jaw, four 

 molars of the lower jaw, and two fragments of the lower jaw con- 

 taining respectively P. M. 2-3| and JM. l-2-3t. 



* Comp. Owen's British Foes. Mam. p. 374. 



t In identifying teeth and bones, I have found that a concise mode of distin- 

 guishing right from left was extremely useful, as it adds great precision to the 



