444 
TirR r,Eoi,of;iPT. 
Whetliov that, part of tlic voof whicli liad bocu destroyed before my first visit 
was unbroken roek or breccia, cannot now be determined, but its removal had 
exposed tlie surface of tiie wall of a nearly vertical fissure throughout the en- 
tire length of the cavern, which by its soil-stained surface distinctly showed 
that water, plentifully charged with mud, had had free access into the cavern 
from the surface ; or, in other words, that at least a line of fracture had ex- 
tended from the cavern upwards to the surface throughout the entire length 
of that portion which is not known to have had a breeciated roof — that is, to 
have once been an open fissure. My own opinion is that there is ample reason 
for beUeviiig that the cavern originally communicated with the surface by an 
opening sufhcicntly wide to allow the passage of aU its contents, and that it was 
thus filled ; but whether animals fcU, or were dragged in, or whether the bones 
found there were wholly or partially the disjoined remnants of dead animals 
washed in, I wiU not undertake to say. There seems nothing to prevent our 
supposing that some of tlw bones were introduced by one of these modes, and 
some by another. I camiot but think that some of the bones appear to 
have been roUed, as if they had been washed in ; whilst if, as Sir Henry de la 
Beclie supposed, the loam, or clay, is really impregnated with animal-matter, 
it seems reasonable to infer that, at least in some cases, something more than 
mere portions of the osseous system was introduced. 
The workmen state that from the southern extremity of the cavern, just 
described, a low narrow passage or gallery leads mto another cavern, which they 
say is "about the size of a room;" not a very definite unit of measure, but 
judging from their account, it nnist be rudely a cube of about twelve feet in 
tiie side. It does not seem to contain any fossils. Ever since my acquaintance 
with the locality commenced, the entrance to this gallery has been completely 
blocked up with the ordinary quarry-refuse, but this I hope wiU shortly be 
removed, so that it may be explored. 
My object in tliis paper has Dcen to endeavour to keep the subject of caverns 
somewhat prominently before geologists, for, unless it is believed that further 
cavern-researclies would be superfluous ; that we now know all that caves are 
capable of teaching ; and that whether they are left uudisturbed, are ransacked 
and rifled, or systematically explored, science will in no way be affected 
thereby, I cannot but think it desirable to organize some scheme for the pur- 
pose of explormg and reporting on our British caves. Oreston has slipped 
through our fingers ; the workmen have had the cave under their management, 
or rather mismanagement ; the specimens have been badly exhumed ; they have 
been dispersed beyond the power of science to recover them ; the materials in 
which they were deposited have been carted away without examination, whether 
they contained any of the articles known as " flint-knives," or any other of the 
supposed indications of human existence is not known, and never can be kuo^vn. 
Oreston is altogether silent on the question of "Man among the Mam- 
moths;" and this, too, will be the fate of the caverns at Buckfastleigh, at 
Yeahnpton, at Ogwell, and at Chudleigh, unless science puts forth her hand to 
save them. A recent visit to the celebrated " Kent's Hole" convinced me that 
there is much virgin-ground yet to be broken there. 
Without the pale of plulosophy exists a many-motived curiosity ontliis sub- 
ject, quite as powerful, if not so intelligent or manageable, as that which leads, 
yet is under the guidance of, science. Recent discoveries and discussions have 
made it not a question of exploration now, or at some future time ; the alterna- 
tives are prompt systematic ijivestigation, or the abandoning of our caverns to 
be ransacked by fossil-dcalcrs. 
