82 
BONES IN THE ORESTON CAVES. 
over their stalagmitic floors, and after the diluvial 
clay and its contained exuviae were superposed, we 
naturally see afresh deposition of the same calcareous 
mass, and again, on any new substances overlaying 
this, they also will receive a similar envelope. In 
consideration of this continued filtering from the 
rock, it will be possible generally to determine the 
relative ages of the contained bodies. It must how¬ 
ever be recollected, that the capacity of furnishing 
these limy particles varies in different portions of 
the rock, and in some spots no percolation whatever 
takes place, so that, bodies lately introduced may 
be invested by a large amount of stalagmite, and 
vice versa, substances deposited for a very consider¬ 
able space of time may be covered by a shallow 
envelope of the same. Instances to this effect may 
be noticed around Plymouth. 
The four stations at which our fossiliferous caverns 
occur, are Oreston, Yealmpton, Berry Head and 
Torquay. The Oreston caves investigated by Mr. 
Whidby who published their description in the 
Philosophical Transactions, are thought by Dr. 
Buckland to contain the remains of antediluvial 
animals which had perished by falling over the 
precipice of the caverns, whilst hunted in the case 
of the ox, horse, &c. and whilst hunting, as in the 
instance of the tiger, or hyaena ; he thinks their 
carcasses were deposited on the projecting ledges 
of rock, and were afterwards carried by the Flood, 
together with various diluvial matters, deeper into 
the recesses. Dr. Buckland and Mr. Hennah in 
their respective works affirm or imply that no bones 
of the larger mammals occurred in these caves. 
They are however both in error, as I have bones of 
the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus from 
this locality, in my possession. I conceive these 
fragments were washed down amidst the diluvial 
matters. De la Beche observed that the remains 
