EEPOET ON THE EXPLOEATION OE BEIXIIAM CAVE. 
493 
Table III. presents the following prominent facts : — 
(a) More than half of the fossils referred to the third bed were found lying on its 
surface ; that is, either immediately beneath the stalagmite when this existed, or without 
any covering where it did not. 
(b) All those found south of the Crystal Gorge lay on the surface. There was no 
stalagmite in this branch of the cavern. 
(c) Excepting one only, no bones were met with either on the surface or in the upper- 
most 3 feet of the bed in the West Chamber. 
(cl) With the exception of one instance only, in which three small bones were found 
near the bottom of the “ funnel-shaped pipe” between the North Entrance and the 
Steep Slide Hole, all the fossils which occupied depths exceeding 5 feet Avere met Avitli 
in the West Chamber and the contiguous portion of the Flint-knife Gallery; in fact in 
the basin-shaped holloAv (cl, fig. 2, Plate XLIII.) formerly described. 
The two last facts (c and d) show that in their arrangement the bones folloAved the 
contour of the loAver rather than the upper surface of the bed ; and thus support the 
suggestion already made, that the materials which rose above the normal leA'el of the 
third bed Avere not really a portion of it. 
The solitary bone found on the surface in the West Chamber had one of its ends cut 
off, apparently Avith some sharp instrument. 
The fossils in the southern division of the Peindeer Gallery Avere the remains of 
young small rodents ; they lay in three separate heaps, one of which contained as many 
as 425 bones, comprising probably the elements of complete skeletons. 
Omitting these, the remaining 1112 specimens exhumed in other parts of the cavern 
Avere found in 124 localities, giving in Avhole numbers an average of nine for each 
locality. In a considerable number of cases, however, they Avere met Avith singly, Avhilst 
in a feAV others the numbers Avere large ; and in one instance as many as 21 Avere lying 
together. Many of them Avere mere fragments, having no palaeontological value. Bones 
representing distinct species of animals, and differing much in colour and other indica- 
tions of exposure, occasionally lay confusedly together ; Avhilst, Avith probably no more 
than one exception, those belonging to the same animal never Avere found lying in their 
true anatomical connexion*. 
I It appears from Table II. that, omitting the exceptional case of the south division of 
the Peindeer Gallery, the Flint-knife Gallery surpassed all other parts of the cavern in 
the number of bones it contained; but their different areas being considered, the West 
Chamber, the Flint-knife, and Peindeer Galleries yielded fossils in about the ratios of 
ten, five, and tAvo respectively. 
* The specimen referred to was the leg of a Bear. Mr. Pexgelly says, he had the entire mass (bones and 
loam) carefully extracted, and that immediately beneath were found subsequently several vertebrae and ribs of 
Cave-Bear (see ante, p. 47S). On further examination Mr. Busk found it necessary to introduce some correc- 
tions into the original statement (see Mr. Busk's Eeport, p. 533). 
