128 



PEOr. T. M 'KENNY HUGHES 



section facing the observer, looking a little east of north along the 

 length of the pit, showed this surface-soil about 4 feet deep, moved 

 drift 4 feet deep, red clay a few inches ; this red clay was very 

 irregular and consisted chiefly of the earthy residuum of the decom- 

 posed limestone, corresponding to some of the clay with flints of the 

 Chalk districts. The surface-soil and moved drift thinned off against 

 the rock a little farther east, as shown in the diagram, fig. 6. The 



Fig. 6. — Diagram-section^ showing the loojping-down of the deposits 

 into the siualloiv-hole before the Section was cut hack as far as 

 represented in fig. 5. Index as in fig. 5. (Scale about 11 ft. 

 to 1 inch.) 



core of the principal swallow-hole has, of course, long gone ; it was 

 where the earth fell in in the winter of 1886 (see fig. 6), just over 

 where, according to my view, the water soaked first through the 

 jointed, fissured, and funnelled rock into the cave, and afterwards 

 through the great angular masses of limestone derived from the 

 breaking down of the wall and roof of the cave. Some of the super- 

 ficial deposit was of so late a date that the marks of plough and 

 harrow were found on the included stones. I produced specimens 

 so scored, and the evidence seemed satisfactory, as I thought, to the 

 Fellows of the Society ; but these specimens were claimed by Dr. 

 Hicks as stones marked by the picks of the excavators. I now 

 exhibit, as further evidence upon this point, an artificially perforated 

 stone found in the surface-soil from the part of the section above 

 referred to, which is scored all over by similar accidental marks of 

 agricultural implements. 



The cave had been filled in the usual way with material from 

 superficial deposits washed in through openings, or from the decay 

 of the rock, or carried in by beasts. The sand that occurred all 

 along it was such as would be derived from the running sand 

 of the drift outside, which was stiU being carried in in wet weather 



