should also be remembered that there was evidence to show that at one time 
there were large forests in that neighbourhood, and the decaying vegetation 
would supply a large amount of carbonic acid which would act as a solvent, 
and produce stalagmitic matter at a very rapid rate. But the same condi- 
tions did not exist now, and it was not to be argued, because it now took 
200 years to form a deposit one-eighth of an inch thick, that the formation 
of every other eighth of an inch had also taken 200 years. As to the bone 
needle which had been referred to, that was found near the surface, among 
some coins, and nobody imagined the coins were thousands of years old. 
He was not sure whether even the evidence of extinct mammalia should 
permanent tenants of Kent’s Hole at a time when its lower chambers were 
still filled with water. Next above the breccia is a floor of stalagmite, 
or stony carbonate of lime, deposited from the drippings of the roof, and 
in some places three feet thick. This also contains bones of the cave-bear, 
deposited when there was less access of water to the cavern. Mr. Penge y 
infers the existence of man at this time from a single flint flake and a single 
flint chip found in these beds ; but mere flakes and chips of fimt are too 
often natural to warrant such a conclusion. 
“After the old stalagmite floor above mentioned was formed, the cave again 
received deposits of muddy water and stones ; but now a change occurs m 
the remains embedded. This stony clay or ‘ cave-earth,’ has yielded an 
immense quantity of teeth and bones, including those of the elephant, 
rhinoceros, horse, hyena, cave-bear, reindeer, and Irish elk. With these 
were found weapons of chip flint, and harpoons, needles, and bodkins of 
bone, precisely similar to those of the North American Indians and other 
rude races. The ‘ cave-earth ’ is four feet or more in thickness . It is not 
stratified, and contains many fallen fragments of rock, rounded stones, and 
broken pieces of stalagmite. It also has patches of the excrement of hy&mas, 
which the explorers suppose to iudicate the temporary residence of these 
animals ; and in one spot, near the top, is a limited layer of burnt wood 
with remains which indicate the cooking and eating of repasts of animal food 
by man. It is clear that when this bed was formed the cavern was liable 
to be inundated with muddy water, carrying stones and other heavy objects, 
and breaking up in places the old stalagmite floor. One of the most puz- 
zling features, especially to those who take an exclusively uniformitarian 
view, is, that the entrance of water-borne mud and stones implies a level oi 
the bottom of the water in the neighbouring valleys of about 100 feet above its 
present height. The cave-earth is covered by a second crust of stalagmite, less 
dense and thick than that below, and containing only a few bones, which 
are of the same general character with those below, but include a fragment 
of the human jaw with teeth. Evidently, when this stalagmite was formed, 
the influx of water-borne materials had ceased, or nearly so ; but whether 
the animals previously occupying the country still continued m it, or only 
accidental bones, &c , were introduced into the c^ve or lifted from the bed 
below, does net appear. „ _ . . u * 
“The next bed marks a new change. It is a layer of black mould from 
three to ten inches thick. Its microscopic structure does not seem to ha ve 
been examined ; but it is probably a forest soil, introduced by growth, by 
water, by wind, and by ingress of animals, at a time when the cave was nearly 
in its present state, and the surrounding country densely wooded, i his bed 
contains bones of animals, all of them modern, and works of art ranging from 
VOL. VIII. S 
