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TRANSACTIONS 


DEVONSHIRE  ASSOCIATION 


THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE,  LITERATURE, 
AND  ART. 


1867.186a 


VOL.   II. 


PLYMOUTH: 
WILLIAM    BBENDON    AND    SON, 

26,  OEOBOB  SntSET. 


REPORT  AM)  TRANSACTIONS 


DEVONSHIRE  ASSOCIATION 


THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE,  LITERATURE, 
AND  ART. 


[BABN8TAPLE,    JULY,    1867.] 


VOL  II.     PART  I. 


LONDON: 

TAYLOR  &  FBANCIS,  BED  LION  COTJBT,  PLEET  STREET. 

PLYMOUTH:  W.  BBENDON,  OEOBGE  STKBBT. 

1867. 


cr>wviA-Lww 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
Liflt  of  Officers    ........  v 

List  of  Members  .......        vii 

Bye-Laws  ........         xi 

Eeport  ........       xiv 

Balance  Sheet      ........       xvi 

The  President's  Address  ......  1 

North  Devon  Customs  and  Superstitions.     By  J.  R.  Chanter  .  .        38 

The    Raised  Beaches  in  Banistaple  Bay,  Inorth  Devon.     By  W. 

Penffelly,  f.ils.,  p.o.s.  .  .  .  .43 

The  Early  History  and  Aborigines  of  North  Devon,  and  the  Site  of 

the  supposed  Cimbric  Town  Artavia.     By  J.  R.  Chanter .  .        67 

Devonian  Folk-Lore  Illustrated.     3y  Sir  John  Bowring,  ll.d.,  f.r.s.         70 
On  Prison  Discipline.     By  E.  Vivian,  j.p.        .  .  .86 

Notes  on  the  Priory  of  Saint  Mary,  at  Pilton.     By  Townshend  M. 

Hall,  F.o.s.  .......        93 

On  the  Remains  of  Ancient  Fortifications  in  the  neighbourhood  of 

Bidcford.     By  John  Augustus  Parry  .  .99 

On  the  Longitude  of  Places,  and  on  the  application  of  the  Electric 

Telegraph  to  determine  it.   By  James  Jerwood,  m.a.,  f.o.s.,  m.c.p.s.       106 
On   St.   John's  Church,   Torquay,   Struck  by  Lightning.     By  E. 

Vivian,  f.m.s.  .  .  .  .  .  .111 

St.  Anne's  Chapel — The  Grammar  School,  Barnstaple.    By  Charles 

Johnston,  m.k.c.s.     .......       114 

Notes  on  the  Carboniferous  Beds  a^oining  the  northern  edge  of  the 

Qranite  of  Dartmoor.     By  G.  Wareing  Ormerod,  m.a.,  f.o.s.      .       124 
The  Antiquity  of  Man,  in  the  South -West  of  England.     By  W. 

Pengelly,  f.r.s.,  f.o.s.  ......       129 

On  some  Mammalian  Bones  and  Teeth  found  in  the  Submerged  Forest 
at  Northiun.  By  H.  S.  Ellis,  F.&.A.8.   (Communicated  by  Towns- 
hend M.  HkU,  F.o.s.)  ......       162 

On  the  Deposits  occupying  the  Valley  between  the  Braddons  and 

Haldon  Hills,  Torquay.     By  W.  Pengelly,  f.r.s.,  f.o.s.  .  .       164 

On  the  Distribution  of  the  Devonian  Brachiopoda  of  Devonshire  and 

Cornwall.     Bv  \V.  Pengelly,  f.r.8.,  f.o.s.  .  .  .170 

On  the  Opening  of  an  Ancient  British  Barrow  at  Huntshaw.    By  H. 

Fowler  .  .  .  .  .  .  .187 

The  Silver  Mines  of  Combmartin.     By  Alfred  S.  Kingdon,  m.d.         .       190 
On  the  Source  of  the  Miu-chisonite  Pebbles  and  Boulders  in  the 

Triassic  Conglomerates  of  Devonshire.     By  W.  Vicary,  f.o.s.     .       200 
The  Annelids  of  Devonshire,  with  a  Resum6  of  the  Natuml  History 

of  the  County.     By  Edward  Parfitt,  m.e.8.  .  .203 

A  Catalogue  of  the  Armelids  of  Devonshire,  with  Notes  and  Obser- 
vations.    By  Edward  Parfitt,  m.e.s.  ...  209 

Notes  on  the  Meteoric  Shower  of  November,  1866,  with  Speculations 

Bugj^ested  by  it.     By  W.  Pengelly,  f.r.8.,  f.o.s.    .  .  .       247 

On  the  Parasitism  of  Orobanche  Major.     By  E.  Parfitt,  m.e.s.  .       266 

On  the   Floatation  of   Clouds  and   Fall   of   Rain.     By  W.   Pen- 
gelly, F.R.S.,  F.o.s.    .......       263 

On  ihe  Temperature  of  the  Antient  World.     By  Charles  Daubeny, 

M.D.,  F.R.S.     Professor  of  Botany,  Oxford  .267 

On  the  part  taken  by  North  Devon  in  the  Earliest  Exiglish  Enterprises 

for  the  purpose  of  Colonizing  America.    By  Richard  W.  Cotton      279 
On  a  Cornish  Kjokkenmodding.    By  C.  Spenoe  Bate,  F.R.B.  .    281 


OFFICERS 

1867-68. 


W.  PENOELLT,  Esq.,  f.b.8.,  f.o.s.,  mc 

J.  R.  CHANTER,  E8(». 

R.  FARLEIGH,  Eeo.,  THE  WORSHIPFUL  THE  MAYOR  OF 

BARNSTAPLE. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  EARL  F0RTE8CUE. 

J.  JERWOOD,  Eso.,  M.A.,  F.O.8.,  ftc.  W.  F.  ROCK,  Ebq. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  EARL  RUSSELL. 

Hon.  Cnsfsm. 
E.  VIVIAN,  Esq.,  bjl.,  bt& 

jlon.  ^nttnd  S^tattnuB. 
Ret.  W.  HARPLET,  m.a.,  f.c.p.8.  H.  S.  ELLIS,  Ebq.,  f.b.a.8. 


9on.  Jfond  Sresisitr. 
T.  W.  M.  W.  GUPPY,  Ebq. 

^sbitorf  of 
E.  APPLETON,  Esq.,  f.i.b.a. 


Jlon.  yotal  ^(crdars. 
R.  W.  COTTON,  Esq. 


G.  £.  HEARDER,  Esq. 


APPLETON,  E.  A. 
BARIIAM,  T.  F. 
BATE,  0.  8PENCE 
BOWBING,  SIB  J. 
OANN,  W. 

GHAMPERNOWNE,  A. 
CHANTEB,  J.  B. 
COTTON,  B.  W. 
COTTON,  W. 
DAUBENY,  C. 
DAW,  C.  H. 
ELLIS,  H.  8. 
FARLEIQH,  B. 
FOBTESCUE,  BT.  HON. 

EABL 
FOWLEB,  H. 


Cosncil* 
FOX,  8.  B. 
OAMLEN,  W. 
OUPPY,  T.  W.  M.  W. 
HALL,T.  M. 
HAMILTON,  ▲.  H.  ▲. 
HABPLEY,  W. 
HEABDEB,  J.  N. 
BINE,  J.  E. 
JEBWOOD,  J. 
JOHNSTON,  C. 
KENNAWAY,  SIB  J. 
KIBWAN,  B. 
MACKENZIE,  F. 
OBMEBOD,  O.  W. 
PABFITT,  B. 


PABBY,  J.  A. 
PENQELLY,  W. 
PYCBOFT,  O. 
BISK,  J.  E. 
HOCK,  W.  F. 
BOWE,  J.  B. 
BU88ELL,  BIGHT  HON. 

EABL. 
SCOTT,  W.  B. 
SCOTT,  W.  B. 
8TEWABT,  C. 
TANCOGK,  O.  J. 
THOMPSON,  J. 
VICABY,  W. 
VIVIAN,  B. 


> 


LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 


Appleton,  Edward,  F.i.B.1.9  Co^noold,  Torquay. 

tBabbage,  Charles,  ila.,  f.b.s.,  &o.,  I,  Domet  Square^  Manchester 

Square^  London, 
Barham,  T.  F.,  M.D.,  Highweek^  Newton  Abbot  [Torqitay. 

Barnes,  Rev.  Prebendary,  M.I.,  The  Vicarage^  St,  Mary  Churohf 
Bastard,  S.  S.,  Summerland  Fkice,  Exeter. 
Bate  C.  Spence,  F.R.B.,  F.L.B.,  &o,,  8,  Mulgrave  Place,  Plymouth, 
Bayly,  John,  Btnimtetck  Tenxucy  Plynumth, 
Bayly,  Richard,  Plymouth, 
Berry,  Richard,  Chagford, 
Blackmore,  Humphrey,  Garston^  Torquay. 
Booth,  W.,  LUworney,  Torquay. 
Bom,  Thomas,  Brook  Street,  TaviOoek. 
Bowring,  Sir  John,  LL.D.,  F.R.&,  ko.,  Clarefmont  Hou^e,  Exeter. 
Brent,  R,  M.D.,  Woodbury,  [Tamitock. 

Brooke,  His  Highness  the  Riyah,  Sir  James,  K.aB.,   BwtxUon^ 
Browne,  Joseph,  Tavistock, 

Cann,  William,  West  of  England  Insurance  OJice,  Exeter. 

Carpenter-Gamier,  J.,  Mount  Tavy,  Tavistock. 

Cawdle,  W.,  Union  Street,  Torquay.  ' 

Champemowne,  A.,  Dartington  House,  Totnes. 

Chanter,  J.  R,  Fort  Hill,  Barnstaple. 

Clark,  Henry,  Edgecumbe,  Milton  Abbot,  Tavistock 

CoUey,  J.,  Portland  Square,  Plymouth, 

Collier,  W.  F.,  Wood  Town,  Horrabridge. 

Cooper,  B.  H.,  Clydesdale  Villa,  Paignton  Road,  Torquay, 

Corrie,  A.  J.,  GlenaUon,  Torquay, 

Cotton,  R  W.,  Barnstaple. 

Cotton,  W.,  Pennsylvania,  Exeter. 

Creed,  J.,  Whiddon,  Newton  AbboL 

Cresswell,  C.  H.,  Heavitree,  Exeter. 

Dansey,  George,  m.d.,  Stoke,  Plymouth. 

Daubeny,  C.  W.,  m.d.,  ll.d.,  f.ius.,  Ac.,  Oxford  ViUa,  Torquay. 

Daw,  C.  H.,  Parkwood,  Tavistock. 

t  Honorary  Member. 


VIU 

Dennis,  J.,  juur.,  Tavistock,  [Tracey, 

Divett,  John,  President  of  the  Teign  Naturalut^  Field  Cltw,  Bovey 

Doe,  G.,  TorringUnu 

Donne,  R  J.  M.,  Torcello,  Torquay, 

Drewe,  E.  S.,  T/^e  Grange^  Honilon, 

Durant,  R,  Sharpham,  Totnea, 

Dunstone,  J.  J.,  B.A.,  Barnstaple, 

Eberlein,  Herr,  5,  Elm  Grove,  St  LeonarcPs,  Exeter, 
Elliott,  W.  H.,  M.D.,  Bouvetie  House,  St,  Leonardo's,  Exeter, 
Ellis,  H.  S.,  p.R.A.a,  1,  Fair  Park,  Exeter, 
Evausou,  R  T.,  m.d.,  Homekurst,  Torquay,  ' 

Farleigh,  R,  Barnstaple, 

Finch,  T.,  F.R.A.S.,  m.r.o.8.,  Westville,  St,  Mary  Church,  Torquay, 

Fortesoue,  Right  Hon.  Earl,  Castle  Hill,  Southmoltori, 

Fowler,  H.,  TorringUm, 

Fox,  S.  R,  Soulier nhay,  Exeter, 

Oamlen,  W.  H.,  Bramford  Speke,  Exeter, 

Gill,  H.  S.,  Tiverton, 

Gill,  J.  H.,  The  Bank,  Tavistock, 

Gill,  R  B.  E.,  Endsleigh  Terrace,  Tavistock, 

Gill,  Rev.  W.,  Venn,  Lamerton,  Tavistock, 

Griffith,  Rev.  D.,  24,  Taxham  Villas,  Cheltenham, 

Guppy,  T.  W.  M.  W.,  Barnstaple, 

Gwatkin,  Rev.  R,  B.D.,  f.g.b.,  Bumtwood  Lodge,  Torquay, 

Hall,  Townshend  M.,  p.g.s.,  Pilton,  Barnstaple, 

Hamilton,  A.   H.  A.,  President  of  the  Exeter  Naturalists'  Club, 

Millbrooke,  Exeter, 
Harland,  0.  J.,  F.A.S.L.,  Newholm,  Tm-quay, 
Harness,  T.  B.,  m.d.,  Tavistock, 
Harper,  J.,  Barnstaple, 

Harpley,  Rev.  W.,  m.a.,  F.ap.s.,  Clay  hanger  Rectory,  Tiverton, 
Hoarder,  G.  E.,  Torwood  Street,  Tot^quay, 
Hearder,  J.  N.,  Buckwell  Street,  Plymouth. 
Hoarder,  W.,  Rocombe,  Torquay, 
Hedgeland,  Rev.  J.  W.,  m.a.,  St,  Leonardos,  Exeter, 
Hiem,  J.  G.,  Barnstaple, 

Hine,  J.  K,  f.i.b.a.,  7,  Mulgrave  Place,  Plymouth, 
Hodgson,  \V.  B.,  ll.d.,  4i,  Grove  End  Road,  London,  N,  W, 
Hore,  Rev.  W.  S.,  M.A.,  Barnstaple: 
Home,  T.  B.,  M.R.o.a,  Adwell,  Torquay, 
Hughes,  Rev.  J.  B.,  Grammar  ScJiool,  Tiverton, 

Jerwood,  J.,  M.A.,  f.g.s.,  p.o.p.s.,  1,  Bedford  Circus,  Exeter, 
Johnston,  C,  M.R.O.&,  The  Square,  Barnstaple, 


IX 

Jones,  Window,  St  Loy^s,  Ueavitree,  Exeter. 

Kelly,  A.,  Kelly,  Milton  Abbot ,  Tavistock, 
Kendall,  W.,  j.p.,  Summerland  Place,  Exeter, 
Kennawaj,  Sir  John,  Bart,  Escot,  Honiton. 
Kirwan,  Rev.  R,  Gittisham  Rectoiy,  Honiton. 
Kitson,  W.  H.,  2,  Vaitghan  Faj'ode,  Torquay. 

Ley,  J.  Peard,  BiJeford. 

♦Lyte,  F.  Maxwell,  EastltolmCj  Torquay. 

Mackenzie,  F.,  m.b.o.s.,  Tiverton. 

Mathews,  J.,  Rock  View,  Tavistock. 

Mayjor,  J.,  Abbey  Mead,  TavisUjck. 

Merrifield,  J.,  f.r.a.8.,  Gascoigne  Pkice,  FlymotUh. 

Miles,  W.,  Di£8  Field,  Exeter, 

Mills,  David,  LameHon. 

Moore,  W.  F.,  The  Friary,  Flymouth. 

Morris,  T.,  Abhotsfield,  Tavistock. 

Mules,  Rev.  F.,  m.a.,  Marwood,  Barnstaple. 

Nankivell,  C.  B.,  m.d.,  Layton  HousCy  Torquay. 

Ormerod,  G.  W.,  ila.,  p.g.b.,  Chagiford. 

Palk,  Sir  Lawrence,  Bart.,  m.p.,  Haldon  House,  Torquay. 

ParBtt,  Edward,  m.b.s.,  Devon  and  Exeter  Institution,  ExeUr. 

Parry,  J.  A.,  Bideford. 

Pearse,  W.  C.,  Endsleigh  Teirace,  Tavistock. 

Pengelly,  W.,  f.r.8,,  f.o.s.,  &c.,  Latnama,  Torquay. 

Phillips,  J.,  Devon  Square,  Newton  AbboL 

Pick,  J.  Peyton,  Braunton,  Barnstaple. 

Pigot,  Rev.  J.  T.,  M.A.,  Fremington,  Barnstaple. 

Pollard,  W.,  m.r.c.8..  Southland  House^  Torquay. 

Pratt,  E.,  Barnstaple. 

Prout,  Rev.  E.,  Fairfield,  Torquay. 

Prowse,  A.  P.,  Mannamead,  Flymouth. 

Pycroft,  A.,  m.r.o.8.,  f.g.s.,  Kenton,  Exeter. 

Ridgway,  S.  R,  LL.D.,  M.A.,  Marlborough  House,  Exeter. 

Risk,  Rev.  J.  E.,  m.a.,  St.  Andreufs  Chapelry,  Flymouth. 

Rock,  W.  F.,  Hyde  CVjf,  Wellington  Grove,  Blackheath. 

Rooker,  A.,  Mount  View,  Flymouth. 

Row,  W.  N.,  Cove,  Tiverton. 

Rowe,  J.  Brooking,  f.l.8.,  Lockyer  Street,  Flymouth.  [Sqtiare. 

Russell,  Right  Hon.  Earl,  K.O.,  f.r.8.,  27,  Chesham  Flace,  Belgrave 

Russell,  Arthur,  m.p. ,'2,  Audley  Square,  London. 

Russell,  Hastings,  Endsleigh,  Milton  Abbot,  Tavistock. 

*  Those  members  to  whose  names  an  asterisk  is  prefixed  are  Life  Members. 


Samuda,  J.  D.  A.,  m.p.,  7,  Gloucester  JSquare,  London.   W, 

Scott,  W.  R,  GhudUigh 

Scott,  W.  R,  P.H.D.,  Sl  Leonard!*,  Exeter, 

Shapter,  T.,  m.d.,  Barnfdd,  Exeter. 

♦Sheppard,  A.  R,  The  Hove,  Torquay. 

Shute,  R,  Baring  Crescent,  Exeter. 

Spragge,  F.  H.,  Tmremont,  Torquay. 

Spragge,  W.  K,  T/ie  Quarry,  Paignton. 

Stewart,  C,  m.r.o.8.,  f.l.8..  Princess  Square,  Plymouth. 

Tancock,  Rev.  O.  J.,  d.c.l..  The  Vicarage,  Tavistock. 
Teesdale,  C.  L.,  Sunss  Cottage,  Exeter. 
*Tetley,  J.  m.d.,  Belmont,  Torre,  Torquay. 
Thompson,  J.,  m.d..  Butt-gardens,  Bideford. 
Tinney,  W.  H.,  Snowdenham,  Torquay. 
Troyte,  C.  A.  W.,  ffuntsham  Court,  Tiverton. 
TumbuU,  A.,  Parkwood,  Torquay. 
Turner,  T.,  Manston  Tetrace,  HeavUree,  Exeter. 
Twose,  Francis,  Alfred  Place,  Plymouth, 

Vicary,  W.,  p.g.s.,  The  Priory,  Colleton  Crescent,  Exeter. 
Vivian,  E.,  b.a.,  &c,  Woodfield,  Toi-quay. 
Vivian,  R  H.  D.,  Woodfield,  Torquay. 
Vosper,  J.,  Tavistock. 

♦Weymouth,  R  F.,  m.a.,  Portland  Villas,  Plymouth. 

White,  Richard,  Instow,  Barnstaple. 

White,  T.  J.,  C^xi>ft  Road,  Torquay. 

Widger,  W.,  Union  Street,  Torquay, 

Windeatt,  John,  9,  Brunswick  Terrace,  Plymouth. 

Windeatt,  Thomas,  Tavistock 


The  following  Table  shewi  the  preeent  state  of  the  Aieooiatioa 
with  reepeot  to  the  munber  of  Memben. 


Honoraiy. 

Life. 

Annual. 

Total. 

August  10th,  1866 

i 

3 

1 

130 

26 

2 

13 

1 

133 

28 

2 

13 

1 

Since  elected    

Since  deceased     

Since  withdrawn      

Since  erased     

1 

July  25th,  1867  

1 

4 

140 

145 

BYE-LAWS. 


L  The  Association  shall  be  styled  the  Devonshire  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art 

8.  The  objects  of  the  Association  are — To  give  a  stronger 
impalse  and  a  more  systematic  direction  to  scientific  enquiry 
in  Devonshire ;  and  to  promote  the  intercourse  of  those  who 
cultivate  Science,  Literature,  or  Art,  in  different  parts  of  the 
county. 

3.  The  Association  shall  consist  of  Members,  Honorary 
Members,  and  Corresponding  Members. 

4.  Every  candidate  for  membership,  on  being  nominated 
by  a  Member  to  whom  he  is  personally  known,  shall  be 
admitted  by  the  General  Secretary,  subject  to  the  confirmation 
of  the  General  Meeting  of  the  Members. 

5.  Persons  of  eminence  in  Literature,  Science,  or  Art,  con- 
nected with  the  West  of  England,  but  not  resident  in 
Devonshire,  may,  at  a  General  Meeting  of  the  Members,  be 
elected  Honorary  Members  of  the  Association ;  and  persons 
not  resident  in  the  county,  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  Asso- 
ciation, may  be  elected  Corresponding  Members. 

6.  Every  Meinber  shall  pay  an  Annual  Contribution  of 
ten  shillings,  or  a  Life  Composition  of  five  pounds. 

7.  Associdtes  for  the  Annual  Meeting  only  shall  pay  the 
sum  of  five  shillings ;  and  Ladies  the  sum  of  two  shillings 
and  sixpence. 

8.  Every  Member  shall  be  entitled  gratuitously  to  a  lady's 

ticket. 

9.  The  Association  shall  meet  annually,  at  such  time  and 
place  as  shall  be  decided  on  at  the  previous  Annual  Meeting. 

10.  A  President,  two  or  more  Vice-Presidents,  a  General 
Treasurer,  one  or  more  General  Secretaries,  and  a  Council  shall 
be  elected  at  each  Annual  Meeting. 


Xll 

11.  The  President  shall  not  be  eligible  for  re-election. 

12.  Each  Annual  Meeting  shall  appoint  a  local  Treasarer 
and  Secretary,  who,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number  any 
Members  of  the  Association,  shall  be  a  local  Committee,  to 
assist  in  making  such  local  arrangements  as  may  be  desirable. 

13.  In  the  intervals  of  the  Annual  Meetings^  the  affairs 
of  the  Association  shall  be  managed  by  the  Council;  the 
General  and  Local  Officers,  and  Officers  elect,  being  ex  officio 
Members. 

14.  The  General  Treasurer  and  Secretaries,  and  the  Council, 
shall  enter  on  their  respective  offices  at  the  Meeting  at  which 
they  are  elected;  but  the  President,  Vice-Presidents,  and 
Local  Officers,  not  until  the  Annual  Meeting  next  following. 

15.  All  Members  of  the  Council  must  be  Members  of  the 
Association. 

16.  The  Council  shall  have  power  to  fill  any  Official 
vacancy  which  may  occur  in  the  intervals  of  the  Annual 
Meetings. 

17.  The  Annual  Contributions  shall  be  payable  in  advance, 
and  shall  be  due  in  each  year  on  the  day  of  the  Annual 
Meeting. 

18.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  all  sums  of  money  due  to 
the  Association ;  he  shall  pay  all  accounts  due  by  the  Asso- 
ciation after  they  shall  have  been  examined  and  approved ; 
and  he  shall  report  to  each  Meeting  of  the  Council  the 
balance  he  has  in  hand,  and  the  names  of  such  Members  as 
shall  be  in  arrear,  with  the  sums  due  respectively  by  each. 

19.  Whenever  a  Member,  shall  have  been  three  months  in 
arrear  in  the  payment  of  his  Annual  Contributions,  the 
Treasurer  shall  apply  to  him  for  the  same. 

20.  Whenever,  at  an  Annual  Meeting,  a  Member  shall  be 
two  years  in  arrear  in  the  payment  of  his  Annual  Contribu- 
tions, the  Council  may,  at  its  discretion,  erase  his  name  from 
the  list  of  Members. 

21.  The  General  Secretaries  shall,  at  least  one  month 
before  each  Annual  Meeting,  inform  each  Member,  by  cir- 
cular, of  the  place  and  date  of  the  Meeting. 

22.  Members  who  do  not,  on  or  before  the  day  of  the 
Annual  Meeting,  give  notice,  in  writing  or  personally,  to 
one  of  the  General  Secretaries,  of  their  intention  to  withdraw 
from  the  Association,  shall  be  regai*ded  as  Members  for  the 
ensuing  year. 


XIU 

23.  The  Association  shall,  within  three  months  after  each 
Annual  Meeting,  publish  its  Transactions,  including  the 
Laws,  a  Financial  Statement,  a  List  of  the  Members,  the 
Report  of  the  Council,  the  President's  Address,  and  such 
papers,  in  abstract  or  in  extenso,  read  at  the  Annual  Meeting, 
as  shall  be  decided  by  the  Council 

24.  Every  Member  shall  receive  gratuitously  a  copy  of  the 
Transactions. 

25.  The  Accounts  of  the  Association  shall  be  audited 
annually,  by  Auditors  appointed  at  each  Annual  Meeting, 
but  who  shall  not  be  ex  officio  Members  of  the  Council 


THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COUNCIL, 

At  pr$9mUd  at  th$  General  Meeting,  at  Barmtapk,  /lUff  2Srdf  1867. 


Tub  Council  in  presenting  this,  their  Fifth  Annual  Eeport, 
have  the  gratification  to  announce  that  the  year  which  has 
just  expired  has  been  marked  by  signal  success  to  the  Devon- 
shire Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Literature, 
and  Art;  the  accession  of  new  members  having  been  un- 
usually large,  and  the  number  of  those  who  have  discon- 
tinued their  membership  comparatively  small. 

The  Fifth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  Tavistock,  on  Wed- 
nesday, August  8th,  and  two  following  days,  the  Inaugural 
Address  being  delivered  at  the  Guildhall  by  the  Right 
Honourable  'Eovl  Russell,  the  President  for  the  year,  to  a 
large  assembly. 

On  Thursday,  the  9th,  the  Association  met  at  11  o'clock 
a.m.,  when  the  following  papers  were  read  and  discussed. 
On  account  of  the  great  number  of  papers,  and  the  reading 
being  limited  on  that  occasion  to  one  day  only,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  divide  the  Association  into  two  sections. 

SECnON  A. 
^""^DiS^te  *^  ^^'^  reference  to  the  Devonian  |  ^  .^  j  BowHng,  L.L.D.,  etc. 

On  the  Principles  of  Rhythm,  as  applied  to  En-  )  m  i?  »^-*^ «  ^ 

KlishVeree      ..      ..      ..      ..      ]  T,  F.  Barham,  iL.Ty, 

On  Photographic  Potraiture         Dr.  Seott 

On  the  Poor  Laws,  with  the  effects  in  Devon  of )  «   ir:^^^  „  . 

Union  Rating        ]  ^'  ^^"^"^  ^'*'' 

Archffiological  Notes  of  Tavistock  and  Neigh-  \  „  AvvUtofu  p  i  b  a 

bourhood         )  ppteum^    .... 

St.  Michaers  Chun;h,  Brentor      /.  J7iW,  f.i.b.a. 

On  the  Celtic  Remains  of  Dartmoor John  Kelly. 

On  the  Traces  of  Tin  Streaming  in  the  Vicinity  \  r,    or  n.^^^^  m,  .     ^  r,  o 

of  Chagford .]^'  ^'  ^^^^  *'-^»  ^'^'^• 

SECTION   B. 

On  Raised  Beaches        fF.  Pengelly,  f.r.8.,  etc. 

On  Two  Species  of  Fresh  Water  Polyzoa,  new  to  )  ^  ParMt  m  b  s 

Science J  -^  *    *  '  ' 

On  a  Flint-find  in  a  Submerged  Forest  Bed  of )  jr   e    r/;.-.  »  »  »  o 

Barnstaple  Bay,  near  Westward  Ho !  . .      . .  ^  ^' ^'  ^"*^'  r.R.A.8. 
An  Attempt  to  Approximate  the  Date  of  the  Flint  \  ^  c^^^^  x>^^^  „  „  „    ^♦^ 

FUk«of  Devon ^  C.  Spm>» BaU,  F.R.S.,  ete. 


XV 

On  the  Dependence  of  the  Amount  of  Ozone  on  )  n  n^.4ju— .  »,  ^    ... 

the  Direction  of  the  Wind ]^'  ^^^'"'^^^  «•»•»  '»•»• 

On  the  LithodomouB  Perforations  above  the  Sea  5  nr  i>^„^u,  -  «  «    «♦« 

Level  in  South  Eaatem  Devonshire    . .      ..]*^'  ^^^'tf^  '•»•*•'  ^' 
On  the  Rate  of  Magnetic  Develcmment  in  Iron  \ 

whilst  under  the  Action  of  Electrical  Cur-  >  /.  N.  Hearder. 

rents        ) 

°°  *mt^\^^^'^  Submerged  Foreet  ia  |  ^  p^^^^  ^^.^  ^ 

On  the  Results  of  some  Experiments  in  Hybrid-  )  j.     o^^ 

izing  certain  varieties  of  Pear     ) 

On  the  Triassic  Outliers  of  Devonshire W.  Pmgellyy  F.B.8.y  etc. 

In  the  evening  the  members  dined  together  at  the  Bedford 
Hotel,  and  afterwards  attended  an  Exhibition  of  Works  of 
Art,  which  had  been  prepared  with  great  pains  and  expense 
by  a  Local  Committee,  at  whose  invitation  the  members  of 
the  Association  were  present. 

Excursions  to  Great  Mis  Tor,  and  other  points  of  interest 
on  Dartmoor,  had  been  planned  for  the  10th,  but^  as  in  the 
preceding  year,  they  were  abandoned,  in  consequence  of  the 
weather  being  unfavourable. 

It  was  determined  that  the  next  meeting  should  be  held  at 
Barnstaple,  and  the  following  officers  were  appointed  for  that 
occasion ; — President,  W.  Pengelly,  Esq.,  F.R.8.,  F.G.a,  etc. ; 
Vice-Presidents,  J.  R  Chanter,  Esq.,  R  Farleigh,  Esq. 
(the  Worshipful  the  Mayor  of  Barnstaple),  Eight  Honourable 
Earl  Fortescue,  J.  Jerwood,  Esq.,  W.  F.  Rock,  Esq.,  Eight 
Honourable  Earl  EusseU;  Hon.  Treasurer,  E.  Vivian,  Esq., 
M.A.,  etc.,  Torquay ;  Hon.  Secretaries,  Eev.  W.  Harpley,  m.a., 
F.C.P.S.,  Clayhanger,  Tiverton,  H.  S.  Ellis,  Esq.,  F.R.A.8., 
Exeter;  Hon.  Local  Treasurer,  T.  W.  M.  W.  Guppy,  Esq.; 
Hon.  Local  Secretary,  E.  W.  Cotton,  Esq. 

The  Council  have  published  the  President's  address,  to- 
gether with  papers  and  abstracts  read  before  the  Association  ; 
also  a  financial  statement,  and  the  bye-laws.  Special  atten- 
tion is  called  to  the  bye-laws  as  now  adopted,  as  they  have 
been  entirely  remodelled,  and  considerably  extended. 

Copies  of  the  Transactions  have  been  sent  to  all  the  mem- 
bers, and  to  the  following  societies : — 

The  Eoyal  Society ;  the  Linnsean  Society ;  the  Royal 
Institution,  Albemarle  Street;  the  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  British  Association ; '  the  Exeter  Institution ;  the  Ply- 
mouth Institution ;  the  Torquay  Natural  History  Society ; 
the  Eoyal  Geographical  Society  of  Cornwall,  the  Eoyal 
Institution,  Truro. 


XVI 


I 


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I 


THE  PRESIDENTS  ADDRESS. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Devonshire  Association  :— It  is  some- 
what usual — perhaps  desirable — on  occasions  like  the  present, 
for  the  opening  address  to  contain  a  summary  of  the  pro- 
minent facts  in  the  history  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art 
during  the  preceding  twelve  months.  It  would  be  easy  for 
me  to  follow  this  practice,  for  the  period  since  we  met  last 
has  been  by  no  means  unproductive  of  important  scientific 
events.  Not  only  has  the  problem  of  laying  an  electric  cable 
across  the  Atlantic  been  brilliantly  solved,  but  it  has  been 
shown  that  a  cable  which  has  been  lost  a  year,  in  an  ocean 
upwards  of  two  miles  deep,  can  be  recovered,  carried  to  its 
destination,  and  rendered  perfectly  available  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  originally  intended. 

Less  than  four  centuries  ago  America  was  discovered,  after 
a  voyage  of  seventy  days  from  Europe, — a  voyage,  be  it  re- 
membered, undertaken  by  a  scientific  man  and  an  enthusiast, 
who,  by  almost  all  the  respectabilities,  was  denounced  as  a 
madman  or  a  knave.  Thanks  to  Science,  the  voyage  can  now 
be  performed  in  ten  days,  and  we  can  send  a  thought  across 
the  Atlantic  in  a  few  seconds. 

And  by  what  a  step-by-step  process  have  the  sciences 
which  commercial  enterprise  has  thus  recently  enlisted  in 
her  service  reached  their  lofty  positions !  The  Utilitarian 
may  with  advantage  remember  that  truths  which  he  has 
applied  to  eminently  useful  purposes  have  frequently  had  a 
very  protracted  infancy.  The  Chaldean  shepherd  detected  a 
few  wandering  bodies  amongst  the  stellar  hosts  thousands  of 
years  before  Astronomy  was  capable  of  presenting  to  the 
navigator  the  priceless  gift  of  a  method  of  determining  his 
longitude  by  lunar  distances.  It  was  discovered  in  early 
times  that  a  force  existed  which  was  capable  of  making 
amber  attract  light  substances,  but  a  hundred  generations  of 
men  had  to  pass  away  before  it  was  ascertained  that  this 

VOL.  XL  B 


2  MR.   PENGELLY  S  PRESIDENTIAL   ADDRESS. 

same  force  could  carry  a  message  round  the  world  with  a 
speed  outstripping  that  of  light.  That  steam  could  move  a 
toy  was  known  when  our  British  ancestors  were  savages,  but  it 
was  not  until  the  time  of  our  own  generation  that  it  was  found 
to  be  equal  to  the  propulsion  of  sea-going  ships.  Within  the 
quadrangle  of  the  British  Museum,  there  formerly  lay  a  fine 
example  of  the  ship  of  the  aborigines  of  this  island— the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  hollowed  out  probably  with  the  aid  of  fire 
and  flint  implements :  the  application  of  scientific  principles 
has  transformed  her  into  the  Great  Eastern,  During  their 
growth  and  development,  these  principles  and  truths  were  but 
lightly  esteemed,  and  their  votaries  were  sometimes  allowed 
to  starve  ;  but  without  them  the  Atlantic  cable  would  never 
have  been  heard  of. 

Though  we  ardently  admire,  and  are  eminently  proud  of 
the  application  of  scientific  principles  to  purposes  of  general 
utility,  especially  in  a  world  where,  in  the  vast  majority  of 
cases,  the  business  of  life  is  to  secure  the  means  of  life,  it  is 
probable  that,  notwithstanding  its  fascinating  and  important 
achievements  in  telegraphy,  1866  will  be  chiefly  remembered 
as  the  year  of  the  great  meteoric  shower.  Those  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  witness  the  gorgeous  spectacle  displayed 
on  the  night  of  the  13th- 14th  of  November  must  have 
been  deeply  impressed,  not  only  with  the  splendour  of  the 
scene,  but  with  the  universality  of  law,  the  dignity  of  science, 
and  the  existence  of  faculties,  aspirations,  and  cravings  which 
lie  beyond  the  reach  of  mere  utilitarianism. 

Attractive  as  are  the  topics  I  have  named,  as  well  as  many 
others  contained  in  the  budget  of  the  last  twelve  months,  I 
have  decided  to  give  my  Address  a  completely  local  character, 
and  to  aim  at  nothing  more  than  a  statement  of  the  present 
position  of  opinion  respecting  the  Geology  of  Devonshire.  In 
making  this  decision  I  may  have  been  unwise ;  but  a  people's 
history  depends  so  largely  on  their  mental  development,  and 
this  is  so  closely  connected  with  their  avocations,  which  in 
their  turn  so  distinctly  hinge  on  the  nature  of  the  soil,  that  I 
have  been  unable  to  persuade  myself  that  to  any  one  likely 
to  attend  such  a  meeting  as  the  present,  the  theme  I  have 
selected  would  prove  utterly  uninteresting.  Whether  the 
dwellers  in  a  district  were  to  be  farmers,  miners,  manufac- 
turers, or  caterers  for  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  visitors, 
was  pre-determined  by  the  agents  which,  at  various  periods  of 
the  remote  past,  produced  the  geological  characteristics  by 
which  they  are  surrounded.  To  a  large  extent  their  history 
was  pre-written  on  their  rocks. 


MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address.  3 

It  cannot  be  needful  to  inform  those  interested  in  the 
Natural  History  of  Devonshire,  that  our  county  is  rich  in 
geological  phenomena.  It  includes  numerous  varieties  of 
Aqueous,  Volcanic,  Metamorphic,  and  Plutonic  rocks ;  Silicious, 
Argillaceous,  Calcareous,  and  Carbonaceous  rocks;  Chemical, 
Mechanical,  and  Organic  rocks ;  and  Palaeozoic,  Mesozoic,  and 
Cienozoic  rocks.  Some  of  its  aqueous  deposits,  like  the  lime- 
stones of  South  Devon,  are  little  more  than  aggregates  of 
animal  remains ;  whilst  others,  like  the  red  sandstones  and 
associated  stmta,  covering  hundreds  of  square  miles,  contain 
no  remnant  of  contemporary  organic  existence.  Nowhere, 
probably,  can  the  phenomena  of  contortions,  jointage,  cleavage, 
and  mineral  veins  be  studied  with  greater  advantage;  the 
numerous  ossiferous  caverns  in  our  limestones  are  celebrated 
throughout  the  world ;  our  clifiFs  abound  in  raised  beaches 
and  other  evidences  of  a  general  uphe'aval ;  and  the  retreating 
tide  lays  bare  submerged  forests  on  our  strands. 

In  the  explication  of  phenomena  so  varied,  the  interpreters, 
as  might  have  been  expected,  have  in  several  instances 
differed  so  widely,  that  Devonshire  has  been  the  field  of 
many  a  hard-fought  geological  battle ;  and,  unless  the  omens 
have  been  misunderstood,  future  severe  contests  may  be  ex- 
pected. 

In  determining  the  relative  ages  of  rocks  the  geologist 
relies  on  certain  trustworthy  tests.  Thus,  he  is  confident  that, 
where  he  has  a  clear  case  of  superposed  strata,  every  bed  is 
older  than  those  overlying,  and  more  modem  than  those 
underlying,  it ;  that  a  conglomerate  is  more  recent  than  the 
rocks  which  furnished  the  pebbles  of  which  it  is  made  up ; 
that  the  rocks  which,  in  the  forms  of  dykes  and  veins,  invade 
other  rocks,  are  more  modern  than  those  invaded  ;  and  that 
strata  lithologically  similar,  found  in  localities  not  widely 
separated,  and  charged  with  the  same  species  of  fossils,  are 
geological  contemporaries. 

With  the  aid  of  these  tests  the  rocks  of  Devonshire  are, 
with  few  exceptions,  easily  arranged  as  a  chronological  series. 
The  exceptions  are  some  of  the  Traps,  the  Metamorphic 
schists  forming  the  southern  angle  of  the  county,  and  some 
of  the  Superficial  gravels. 

Omitting  these,  and  taking  the  order  of  history,  the  follow- 
ing is  their  succession  : — 

1st  The  Slates,  Grits,  and  Limestones  lying  between  the 
Bristol  Channel  on  the  north,  and  a  line  drawn  through 
Barnstaple  and  Clayhanger  on  the  south ;  as  well  as  those 
which  occupy  the  greater  part  of  South  Devon,  between  the 

B  2 


4  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

parallel  of  Newton  Bushel  and  Ta\'istock  on  the  north,  and 
that  of  Start  Bay  and  Hope  on  the  south. 

Some  of  the  Greenstones  belong  chronologically  to  this 
group  ;  and,  unless  they  are  of  higher  antiquity,  the  Schists 
of  the  Start  and  Bolt  district,  previously  mentioned,  must  be 
placed  here  also.  With  this  possible  exception,  the  rocks  in 
the  series  here  defined  are  the  oldest  of  the  county. 

2nd.  The  Culmiferous  or  Carbonaceous  rocks  which,  with 
few  exceptions,  occupy  the  whole  of  central  and  west  Devon- 
shire. 

3rd.  The  Dartmoor  Granites. 

4th.  The  Red  Sandstones,  Conglomerates,  and  Marls  which 
occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  county  east  of  a  line  from 
Torbay  to  Loxbere,  and  which  in  one  marked  instance  pene- 
trate as  a  long  narrow  tongue,  westward  of  this  line,  by 
Crediton  to  Jacobstow. 

These  rocks  occur  also,  as  small  outlying  or  detached  por- 
tions, in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

To  this  age  must  be  referred,  at  least,  most  of  the  feldspathic 
Traps,  which  occur  chiefly  near  the  western  verge  of  the  area 
of  the  red  rocks. 

5th.  The  Lias,  found  at  the  base  of  the  cliflf  and  on  the 
tidal  strand  eastward  from  Axmouth. 

6th.  The  Greensands  and  Chalks,  well  seen  at  Beer  Head 
and  in  other  parts  of  south-eastern  Devonshire,  and  of  which 
"  outliers  "  exist  on  the  Haldons  and  elsewhere. 

7th.  The  Lignites,  Clays,  and  Sands  occupying  the  Bovey 
basin,  and  known  as  the  Bovey  deposit. 

Sth.  The  Gravels  which  overlie  the  Bovey  beds,  the  sum- 
mits of  the  Haldons,  and  numerous  other  paits  of  the  county. 

9th.  The  Ossiferous  Caverns,  especially  those  of  Torquay, 
Brixham,  Yealmpton,  and  Oreston. 

10th.  The  Eaised  Beaches  which,  at  about  thirty  feet  above 
mean  tide,  occur  at  various  parts  of  the  coast  on  both  the 
English  and  Bristol  Channels. 

The  evidence  respecting  the  relative  ages  of  the  Caverns 
and  Beaches  is  meagre  and  insufficient. 

11th.  The  Submerged  Forests,  which  at  low  water  are 
frequently  seen  on  the  strand,  and  which  extend  to  con- 
siderable distances  both  seaward  and  landward. 

Just  as  the  historian  divides  the  time  with  which  he  deals 
into  Periods,  defined  by  the  commencements  and  terminations 
of  dynasties;  so  the  geologist  has  found  it  convenient  to  break 
up  the  time  represented  by  the  entire  series  of  fossiliferous 
rocks  into  great  Epochs,  during  which  the  oi^auisms  which 


MR.   PENGELLY  S   PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 


5 


tenanted  the  earth  were,  as  a  whole,  marked  by  well-known 
characters.  These  Epochs,  proceeding  upward  from  the  most 
ancient,  are  the  Palceozoic,  or  Ancient  Life ;  Mesozoic,  or  Middle 
Life ;  and  Ccenazoic,  or  Recent  Life.  The  historian  further 
divides  his  dynastic  Periods  into  Eeigns;  in  like  manner 
the  geologist  has  been  under  the  necessity  of  breaking  up 
his  Epochs  into  Periods,  as  in  the  following  scheme : — 


EPOCHS. 

PERIODS. 

Cffinozoic  •  «=»  Recent  Life. 

Recent 
Post-Pliocene. 
Pliocene,  t 
Miocene. 
Eocene. 

Mesozoic  t=  Middle  Life. 

Cretaceous. 
Jurassic. 
^Triasdc. 

PalflBozoic  »  Ancient  Life. 

Permian. 

Carboniferous. 

Devonian. 

Silurian. 

Cambrian,  f 

Lauruntian. 

The  progress  of  Science  has  rendered  needful  further  di- 
visions and  subdivisions  ;  but  to  these  it  is  not  necessary  to 
call  attention  at  present. 

Still  to  carry  on  the  historical  comparison,  just  as  the 

♦  The  term  "  Caenozoic"  is  used  in  somewbat  different  senses  by  different 
authors.  Professor  Phillips,  by  whom  the  word  was  first  suggested,  uses 
it,  as  in  the  text,  to  include  all  the  deposits  above  the  Cretaceous,  whilst 
Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  most  others  restrict  it  to  the  Eocene,  Miocene,  and 
Plioceue  systems,  giving  to  the  more  modem  deposits  the  general  name  of 
Post-Tertiary —  Tertiarif  being  used  by  them  as  synonvmous  with  Caenozoic. 
^^Quaternary^^  is  sometimes  used  as  synonymous  with  "Post-Tertiary." 

t  Sir  Charles  Lyell  divides  the  Pliocene  deposits  into  '*  Older  and 
Newer;"  but  many  authors  restrict  "Pliocene"  to  the  former,  and  call 
the  latter  "  Pleistocene,"  in  accordance  with  a  proposal  made  by  Sir  C. 
Lyell  when  he  introduced  the  term  in  1839 ;  but  some  confusion  having 
arisen  in  the  use  of  the  latter  word,  its  inventor  has  suggested  in  his 
recent  works  that  it  is  best  to  abstain  from  it  entirely,  and  has  recom- 
mended those  who  still  think  it  convenient,  to  retain  it  as  a  synonym 
for  PostnPliocene.  See  LyelPs  "Antiquity,"  p.  6  (1863),  and  "  Elements," 
ed.  6,  p.  108  (1865). 

X  The  term  "  Neozoic,'*  or  "  New  Life,'*  is  sometimes  used  to  embrace 
all  the  Mesozoic  and  Caenozoic  systems. 

§  Mr.  Page  ("  (Geology  for  Qenerai  Readers,"  p.  12,  1866,)  has  recently 
proposed  the  term  "  Eozoic,"  or  "  Dawn  Life,"  for  the  Cambrian  and  Lau- 
rentian  groups,  which  he  woold  sever  from  the  Palaeozoic  systems. 


6  MR.  PENGEIiLY'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

''Beigns"  of  the  historian  are  of  different  lengths,  so  the 
"  Periods"  of  the  geologist  are  not  to  be  supposed  to  have 
necessarily  a  constant  chronological  value. 

Though,  with  the  exceptions  already  mentioned,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  settle  the  relative  ages  of  the  formations  of  Devon- 
shire, it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  determine  in  all  cases  their 
exact  places  in  the  chronological  scale  of  the  geologist.  Thus 
80  long  ago  as  1802,  Playfair  stated  that  there  wei-e  no  rocks 
more  decidedly  primary  than  those  which  surrounded  Ply- 
mouth ;*  and  during  the  sixty-five  years  which  have  elapsed 
since  that  opinion  was  recorded,  the  age  of  the  group  (1)  to 
which  they  belong  has  been  attempted  to  be  fixed  by  numerous 
geologists,  including  Berger,  De  Luc,  Thomson,  Kidd,  W. 
Smith,  Brande,  W.  Phillips,  Greenough,  Sedgwick,  Conybeare, 
Dufr^noy,  E.  de  Beaumont,  De  la  Beche,  Prideaux,  J.  Phillips, 
Godwin -Austen,  Murchison,  and  others.  Many  of  these 
writers,  as  well  as  otters,  addressed  themselves  also  to  the 
age  of  the  parallel  group  in  North  Devon ;  but  so  far  is  the 
question  ftx)m  being  set  at  rest,  that,  in  April  last,  Mr. 
Etheridge,  Palaeontologist  to  the  Geological  Survey  of  Great 
Britain,  read  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London  an  elaborate 
paper  on  "  The  Physical  Structure  of  North  Devon,"  in  which 
his  aim  was  to  confute  the  opinions,  on  the  same  topic,  ad- 
vanced by  Mr.  Beete  Jukes,  Local  Director  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Ireland,  in  papers  read  to  the  same  society  during 
1866. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  deciding  that  the  rocks  in  ques- 
tion, in  both  the  north  and  south  of  the  county,  belong  to 
the  Palaeozoic  series ;  for,  to  go  no  further,  they  contain 
trilobites — a  form  of  life  exclusively  Palaeozoic.  Indeed, 
the  same  fossils  prove  them  to  be  not  more  modem  than  the 
Carboniferous  period,  as  there  are  no  known  Permian  trilo- 
bites. This,  however,  leaves  a  very  wide  range,  which  seems 
to  have  been  very  freely  used. 

Prior  to  1836,  the  prevalent  opinion  was,  that  not  only 
these  rocks,  but  those  constituting  the  second  group  also  — 
the  culmiferous  series — belonged  to  the  Tmnsition  ( =^  Cam- 
brian +  Silurian)  rocks.  In  the  year  just  mentioned.  Pro- 
fessor Sedgwick  and  Mr.  (now  Sir)  E.  I.  Murchison,  announced 
the  opinion  that  the  culmiferous  series,  occupying  nearly  one- 
half  of  our  county,  were  equivalents  of  the  Carboniferous 
system,  and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  an  unfettered  study  of 

♦  Quoted  by  Lonsdale.  Trans.  Geol.  Sec.  Series  ii.,  vol.  v.,  part  3, 
p.  722. 


MR  pengelly's  presidential  address.  7 

the  underlying,  and,  therefore,  older  strata,  on  the  north  and 
south. 

In  1837,  Mr.  Lonsdale,  having  examined  Mr.  Godwin- 
Austen's  collection  of  fossils  from  the  limestones  of  South 
Devon,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  of  the  62  species  which 
he  determined,  13  were  known  Silurian  forms,  10  were 
Carboniferous,  whilst  the  remaining  39  were,  in  England, 
found  only  in  the  Devonshire  group.  Remembering  that  the 
Old  Red  Sandstone,  so  largely  developed  in  Scotland  and  in 
Herefordshire,  was  intermediate  to  the  Carboniferous  and 
Silurian  systems;  that,  according  to  Murchison,  there  existed 
a  regular  passage  from  it  upwards  into  the  former,  and  down- 
wards into  the  latter;  and  that  the  suites  of  fossils  in  the 
two  systems  are  perfectly  distinct,  Mr.  Lonsdale's  determina- 
tions induced  him  "to  suggest  that  the  South  Devon  lime- 
stones were  of  an  intermediate  age,  between  the  Carboniferous 
and  Silurian  systems,  and  consequently,  of  the  age  of  the 
Old  Red  Sandstone."* 

It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  the  late  Mr.  J.  Prideaux  of 
Plymouth,  speaking  of  the  geology  of  some  parts  of  the 
country  near  that  town,  says,  "Cat-down  and  Teat's-hill  are 
entirely  limestone ;  which  very  soon  after  parting  from  the 
slate  assumes  a  reddish  hue,  from  the  presence  of  siliceous 
matter  of  that  colour.  This  presently  after  appears  in  bulk 
in  the  character  of  the  old  red  sandstone ;  alternating  with 
the  limestone,  south,  though  much  less  strikingly  than  the 
slate  does  northward."!  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
earliest  recognition  of  the  existence  in  Devonshire  of  rocks 
of  the  age  of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone.  It  does  not  appear 
that  Mr.  Prideaux  regarded  the  underlying  limestones  and 
slates  as  equivalents  of  the  same  system,  or  that  the  evidence 
on  which  he  relied  was  anything  more  than  the  unsatisfac- 
tory fact  of  mineral  character.  In  1838,  Dr.  Boase,  in  his 
"Geology  of  Cornwall,"  stated  that  the  strata  of  Cawsand 
Bay  are  generally  believed  to  be  old  red  sandstone.! 

In  1839,  partly  from  a  re-examination  of  portions  of  Devon- 
shire, as  well  as  from  the  palseontological  evidence,  Messrs. 
Sedgwick  and  Murchison  expressed  their  conviction,  in 
harmony  with  the  previous  suggestion  of  Mr.  Lonsdale, 
"  That  the  great  mass  of  the  strata  which  support  and  appear 
to  pass  upwards  into  the  culm  field,  are  the  equivalents  of  the 
Old  Red  system  properly  so-called;"  and  they  proposed  for 

*  Trans.  Geol.  Soc,  London.     Series  ii.,  vol.  v.,  part  3,  page  727. 

t  Trans.  Plymouth  Institution,  page  36^ 

t  Tnins.  Grool.  Soc,  Cornwall,  vol.  iv.,  page  216. 


8  MB.  pengellt's  presidential  address. 

these  older  rocks  of  Devon,  "the  term  'Devonian  System,'  as 
that  of  all  the  great  intermediate  deposits  between  the 
Silurian  and  Carboniferous  Systems."* 

This  decision  was  very  largely  accepted,  and  the  term 
**  Devonian"  found  its  way  into  geological  literature,  in  the 
sense  in  which  its  authors  intended — the  name  of  the  entire 
interval  of  time  between  the  Silurian  and  Carboniferous 
periods,  and  chronologically  exchangeable  for  "Old  Red 
Sandstone." 

Nevertheless,  there  were  some  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its 
unqualified  acceptance:  the  true  old  red  rocks  of  Scotland, 
Herefordshire,  and  elsewhei-e,  are,  as  their  name  implies,  red 
sandstones  and  conglomerates,  having  no  lithological  resem- 
blance to  the  clay  slates,  grey  limestones,  and  brown  sand- 
stones and  flags  of  Devonshire.  The  former,  moreover,  are 
crowded  with  remains  of  fish  and  eurypteridean  crustaceans, 
none  of  which  had  at  that  time  been  found  in  this  county  ; 
whilst  our  rocks  teem  with  sponges,  corals,  encrinites,  trilo- 
bites,  and  shells,  none  of  which  occur  in  the  supposed  con- 
temporary rocks  north  of  the  Bristol  Channel. 

There  is,  probably,  little  or  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for 
the  absence  in  the  Old  Red  rocks  of  the  fossils  of  Devonshire. 
The  colour  to  which  those  deposits  owe  their  name  is  due  to 
the  presence  of  the  red  oxide  of  iron,  a  substance  unfriendly 
to  animal  life,  and  which,  by  its  prevalence  at  and  near  the 
bottom  of  the  old  Scotch  seas  of  deposit,  would  prevent  the 
existence  there  of  corals,  shells,  and  other  dwellers  at  the  sea 
bottom.  It  is  less  easy,  however,  to  account  for  the  absence 
in  Devonshire  of  the  ftee-swimming  fish,  which  swarmed  in 
the  comparatively  tainted  waters  of  the  north,  and  might 
therefore  have  been  looked  for  in  the  purer  ocean  of  the 
south.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  ichthyolites  may  be 
the  remains  oi  fresh-water  fish;  that  the  difficulty  is  removed 
by  supposing  the  southern  area  to  have  been  oceanic,  and  the 
northern  to  have  been  lacustrine  or  estuarine.  This  hypo* 
thesis,  however,  must  at  least  be  received  in  a  qualified 
form ;  for  when  speaking  of  the  geology  of  Russia,  Sir  R  I. 
Murchison  informs  us,  "That  the  same  fossil  fishes,  of  species 
well-known  in  the  middle  and  upper  portions  of  the  Old 
Red  of  Scotland,  and  which  in  large  tracts  of  Russia  lie 
alone  in  sandstone,  are  in  many  other  places  found  inter- 
mixed in  the  same  bed,  with  those  shells  that  characterize  the 
group  in  its  slaty  and  calcareous  form  in  Devonshire.     And 

•  PhiL  Mag.,  April,  1839.  Also,  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.,  LondoD.  Series  ii., 
vol.  y.9  part  3,  pages  688-703. 


MR.  pekqellt's  pkesidentul  address.  9 

he  quotes  his  colleague,  Helmersen,  who  states,  "That  this 
intermixture  is  visible  in  numerous  parts  of  Bussia;  and 
that  any  person  who  may  be  sceptical,  has  only  to  visit  the 
Museum  of  the  Imperial  School  of  Mines,  to  witness  frequent 
examples  of  typical  Devonian  MoUusca  in  the  same  hand 
specimen  with  Old  Eed  ichthy elites  like  those  of  Scotland.'** 
Two  inferences  may  be  drawn  from  this  interesting  and 
important  fact :  1st,  The  fish,  if  fresh- water,  were,  like  the 
salmon  of  the  present  day,  capable  of  visiting  the  sea.  2nd, 
They  must  have  been  contemporaries  of  the  corals  and  other 
Devonshire  organisms.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  how- 
ever, that  the  two  groups  were  coeval  in  either  their  advent 
or  their  withdrawal.  Indeed,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that 
the  specific  life  of  a  lowly  organized  group  is  greater  than 
that  of  one  of  more  complex  structure,  it  becomes  probable 
that  the  invertebrata  of  Devonshire  represent  a  greater 
amount  of  time  than  the  vertebrata  of  Scotland. 

Sir  R  I.  Murehison  has  made  a  three-fold  division  of  the 
Old  Red  of  Scotland,  and  also  of  the  deposits  of  Devon  and 
Cornwall,  and  has  placed  the  upper  division  of  each  on  the 
same  horizon,  and  so  on  with  the  middle  and  lower  divisions 
respectively.  Moreover,  he  has  assigned  characteristic  fossils 
to  each  of  the  six  groups.f  Not  only  when  taken  as  wholes, 
but  in  their  great  sub-divisions,  he  regards  the  Old  Red  Sand- 
stones and  Conglomerates  north  of  the  Bristol  Channel,  and 
the  slates,  limestones,  and  grits  underlying  the  cuhniferous 
beds  south  of  it,  as  strictly  contemporary  systems;  and  he 
holds  that  each  system  completely  fills  the  Siluix)-Carboni- 
ferous  interval 

This  decision*  though  very  generally  adopted  in  continental 
Europe  and  America,  as  well  as  in  Britain,  has  been  objected 
to  from  time  to  time.  Thus,  the  late  Rev.  D.  Williams 
considered  that  the  Devonian  system  "  occupies  an  enormous 
interval  between  the  old  red  sandstone  and  the  mountain 
limestone;"  and  that  the  Foreland  sandstones  "provisionally 
constitute  the  mineralogical  base  of  the  entire  system,"  and 
"are  almost  identical  in  mineral  composition  with  the  old 
red  sandstone  of  Monmouthshire.**  J  The  late  Sir  Henry  De 
la  Beche  regarded  "  the  bulk  of  the  Devonshire  and  Cornish 
rocks  as,  at  least  in  part,  equivalent  to  the  lower  beds  of  the 
Carboniferous  limestone,  to  the  passage-beds  between  the  old 
red  sandstone  and  carboniferous  system  of  Ireland,  South 

♦  "  Siluria,"  3rd  ed.,  page  382.     1859. 

t  Ibid,  page  43a 

X  Trans.  Roy.  QeoL  Soc,  Cornwall,  vol  tL,  page  123.     184a 


10  MR.   PENGELLY'S  PBESIDENtlAL  ADDRESS. 

Wales,  Gloucestershire,  and  Somerset,  and  also  to  some  por* 
tlon  of  the  higher  part  of  the  old  red  sandstone  of  Hereford- 
shire and  adjacent  districts."* 

Professor  Haughton,  still  more  heretical,  says,  "1  do  not 
believe  in  the  lapse  of  a  long  interval  of  time  between  the 
Silurian  and  Carboniferous  deposits — in  fact,  in  a  Devonian 
period.  The  same  blending  of  corals  has  been  found  in 
Ireland,  the  Bas  Boulonnais,  and  in  Devonshire,  where 
Silurian  and  Carboniferous  forms  are  of  common  occurrence 
in  the  same  localities."!  The  truth  of  this  assertion  is, 
perhaps,  more  than  doubtfuL  It  is  known  that  the  eminent 
authorities,  Mr.  Lonsdale  and  M.  Milue  Edwards,  differ 
somewhat  widely  respecting  our  fossil  corals;  they  agree, 
however,  that  there  is  not  a  single  Carboniferous  coral  in  our 
Devonshire  rocks. 

In  1862,  I  ventured  into  this  discussion,  and  stated,  on 
palaeontological  evidence,  that  "there  are  in  Devon  and 
Cornwall  no  representatives  of  the  Lower  and  Middle  Old 
Red  rocks  of  Scotland,  but  that  the  Lowest  beds  of  the 
former  are  on  the  horizon  of  the  Upper  division  of  the 
latter.": 

The  following  is  very  briefly  the  evidence  on  which  this 
opinion  was  based :  Of  the  347  supposed  species  of  inver- 
tebrata  then  found  in  both  North  and  South  Devon  and  in 
Cornwall,  8  were  believed  to  belong  also  to  the  Silurian  system, 
and  58  to  the  Carboniferous;  hence  the  connexion  of  the 
Devonian  with  the  latter  was  more  intimate  than  with  the 
former.  In  addition  to  this,  I  had  recently  found,  between 
Meadfoot  Sands  and  Hope's  Nose,  in  Torbay,  a  scale  of  the  fossil 
fish  Phyllolepis  concentricus — the  only  known  Old  lied  ichthyo- 
lite  yet  met  with  south  of  the  Bristol  Channel.  It  occurred  in 
the  Lowest  Slates  of  Devonshire— known  to  be  so  from  the 
unquestionable  test  of  superposition — where  are  also  found 
specimens  of  the  coral  Plcurodictyum  prohlcmaticum :  that 
is,  a  fossil  characteristic  of  Sir  K.  I.  Murchison*s  Upper  Old 
Red,  in  the  same  group  with  another  fossil  peculiar  to  his 
Lower  Devonian. 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  opinion,  I  suggested,  in 
1863,  that  the  Old  Bed  and  Devonshire  beds  collectively, 
but  not  separately,  fill  the  Siluro- Carboniferous  interval; 
and  that  if  this  interval  were,  in  consequence  of  established 
usage,  to  be  still  called  the  "  Devonian  period,"  it  would  be 

♦  Mom.  Geol.  Survey,  vol.  L,  page  103.     1846. 

t  "  Voyage  of  the  rox."    Appendix,  No.  4,  page  387. 

X  Report  Brit.  Assoc.     1862.    Page  86. 


MR.  pbngelly's  presidential  address. 


11 


convenient  to  divide  it  into  sub-periods — the  Old  Eed,  or 
more  ancient;  and  the  Danmonian,  or  more  modern.  The 
succession  being  as  in  the  following  scheme  :* 


PEIU0D6. 

8UB-PBBIOD6. 

DIYIBIONS. 

LOCAUTIES. 

Carboniferous. 

Deronian. 

Danmonian. 

Upper  Danmonian. 

(a)  Petherwyn,  &c. 

Middle  Danmonian. 

(A)  Bradley  VaUey,&c. 

Lower  Danmonian, 
and  Upper  Old  Red. 

(0  Meadfoot,  &c. 
Dura  Den,  &c. 

Old  Red. 

Middle  Old  Red. 

Caithncaa,  &c. 

Lower  Old  Red. 

Forfar,  &c. 

Silurian. 

In  1866,  Mr.  Page  said,  "We  have  examined  the  strata  of 
Devonshire  from  nortli  to  south  and  from  east  to  west,  and 
instead  of  finding  the  equivalents  of  the  Scottish  Old  Red 
we  discovered  in  the  Northern  division  one  set  of  rocks  that 
should  be  ranked  with  the  lowermost  Carboniferous,  and  in 
the  Southern  another  that  perhaps  was  contemporaneous 
with  portions  of  the  middle  and  upper  Old  Red.  At  all 
events,  the  rocks  of  Devonshire  as  a  whole  do  not  represent 
the  Old  Red  Sandstone  of  Scotland,  of  Northern  Europe, 
and  North  America  as  a  whole." t 

Mr.  Beete  Jukes  has  recently  brought  forward  a  new 
opinion,  which,  from  his  great  experience  as  a  geologist,  and 
from  his  official  position,  has  received  a  large  amount  of 
attention,  and  is  not  unlikely  to  attract  still  more,  for  autho- 
rity has  branded  it  as  a  heresy.  In  order  to  a  clear  idea 
of  this  opinion,  it  may  be  desirable  to  state  that  the  Carbon- 

*  Davidson's  "Devonian  Brachiopoda/'  Pal.  Soa,  pages  44,  46.     1864. 
The  following  are  further  localities  in  Devon  and  Cornwall :  — 

(a)  Baggy  Point,  Pilton,  TiDtagel,  &c. 

(b)  Ilfracombe,  Barton,  Woolborough,  Hope's  Nose,  Babbacombe, 
Dartington,  Berry  Head,  Plymouth,  and  other  limestone  districts. 

(c)  Mudstone,  Linton,  Looe,  Polperro,  Fowey. 

t  *•  Geology  for  General  Readers,"  page  93.    1866. 


12  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

iferous  system  of  deposits  is  frequently  divided  into  three 
groups : — 

The  Upper,  or  Coal  Measures. 

The  Middle,  or  Carboniferous  limestones. 

The  Lower,  or  Carboniferous  Slates. 

The  Slates  are  well  developed  in  the  south-west  of  Ireland, 
where,  Mr.  Jukes  tliinks,  the  readiest  solution  of  the  problem 
of  Devonshire  is  to  be  found.  He  contends  that  "the  Car- 
boniferous Slate  is  absolutely  contemporaneous  with  the 
Carboniferous  Limestone."*  He  admits  that  where,  in  the 
South-west  of  Ireland,  "the  Carboniferous  Slate  and  Carbon- 
iferous Limestone  are  both  present  together,  the  Carboniferous 
Limestone  is  uppermost ;  but  that  where  the  Carboniferous 
Limestone  has  a  thickness  of  2000  feet  or  upwards,  the  dark 
slates  between  it  and  the  Old  Bed  Sandstone  are  very  thin, 
rarely  more  than  200  feet  in  thickness ;  while,  where  these 
dark  slates  thicken  out  to  more  than  2000  feet,  there  is  no 
great  thickness  of  Carboniferous  Limestone  over  them. 
Where  the  Carboniferous  Slate  attains  a  still  greater  tliick- 
ness,  and  swells  out  to  three,  four,  or  five  thousand  feet,  it 
has  never  any  Carboniferous  Limestone  over  it  at  all ;  but 
there  appear  here  and  there  patches  of  black  slate  upon  it, 
which,  both  lithologically  and  palaeontologically,  resemble 
the  Coal-measures.  If  so,  the  Carboniferous  Slate  occupies, 
there,  the  whole  interval  between  the  top  of  the  Old  Ked 
Sandstone  and  the  base  of  the  Coal-measures,  with  a  per- 
fectly conformable  and  continuous  series  of  beds  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  Carboniferous  Limestone.  Dark  grey  mud 
and  sand  were  at  first  deposited  over  the  whole  area,  but 
were  subsequently  restricted  to  a  part  of  it,  where  they 
continued  to  be  deposited  in  great  quantity;  while  in  the 
rest  of  the  area  clear  water  prevaileid,  in  which  limestone 
was  formed  from  the  Crinoids  and  other  animals  that  flourished 
in  that  part.'*t  Mr.  Jukes  has  carried  on  his  studies  of  the 
Devonshire  rocks  almost  exclusively  in  the  northern  division 
of  our  county.  In  his  paper,  read  in  August,  18(50,  he  says, 
"As  I  shall  have  to  maintain  that  all  the  first  geologists  of 
the  day,  includinflf  Professor  Sedgwick,  Sir  R  I.  Murchison, 
Mr.  Weaver,  Sir  H.  De  la  Beche,  and  Professor  Phillips,  have 
misunderstood  the  structure  of  the  country,  let  me  hasten  to 
avow  my  belief  that  nobody,  whose  observations  were  con- 
fined to  Devon  and  Someiset,  could  have  arrived  at  any  other 

•  "  Notes  for  a  Comparison  between  the  Rocks  of  the  South-west  of 
Ireland  and  those  of  North  Devon,"  p.  5.     1865. 
t  Quar.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc,  vol.  xxil,  pages  344-5.     1866. 


f 

MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address.  13 

than  their  conclusions.  I  fully  admit  that  the  rocks  near 
Lynton  appear  to  be  the  lowest,  and  that  there  appears  to  be 
a  regular  ascending  succession  of  rocks  from  Lynton  to  the 
latitude  of  Barnstaple.  I  am,  however,  compelled  to  dispute 
the  reality  of  this  apparent  order  of  succession,  and  to  sup- 
pose that  there  is  either  a  concealed  anticlinal,  with  an 
inversion  to  the  north,  or,  what  I  believe  to  be  much  more 
probable,  a  concealed  fault  running  nearly  east  and  west 
through  the  centre  of  Noi-th  Devon,  with  a  large  downthrow 
to  the  north,  and  that  the  Lynton  beds  are  on  the  same 
general  horizon  as  those  of  Baggy  Point  and  Marwood."* 

After  giving  minute  petralogical,  lithological,  and  palason- 
tological  details  respecting  the  deposits  under  consideration, 
in  various  localities  in  this  and  the  adjacent  county,  Mr. 
Jukes  says,  "The  following  are  the  conclusions,  respecting 
the  Palaeozoic  rocks  of  North  Devon  and  West  Somerset,  to 
which  my  previous  experience  in  Ireland  has  led  me : — 

1st.  "  There  are  three  areas  of  Old  Red  Sandstone — 

(a)  "The  Quantock  Hills. 

(h)  "  The  Porlock,  Minehead,  and  Dunster  area. 

(c)   "  The  Morte  Bay  and  Wiveliscombe  ridge. 

"These  have  an  irregular  anticlinal  form The 

Quantock  Hills  anticlinal  is  partly  concealed  on  the  western 

flank The  Porlock,  Minehead,  and  Dunster  anticlinal 

has  its  south-eastern  termination  tolerably  well  shown  in 
Croydon  Hill,  but  is  obscured  on  the  North  and  North-east. 

The  Morte  Bay  and  Wiveliscombe  anticlinal  has  its 

northern  arm  broken  down  by  a  great  longitudinal  fault 
running  along  its  crest. 

2nd.  "Each  of  these  three  areas  of  Old  Bed  Sandstone 

dips  under  a  great  mass  of  Carboniferous  Slate The 

Carboniferous  Slate  of  the  two  northern  areas,  that  spreading 
S.E.  from  the  Quantock  Hills,  and  that  sti-etching  through 
Exmoor  Forest  to  Morte  Point,  is  thrown  into  numerous 
undulations,  and  thus  spreads  over  wider  spaces  than  it  would 
otherwise  occupy.  The  beds  of  the  southern  area,  running 
from  the  country  south  of  Wiveliscombe  to  Baggy  Point, 
have  a  much  more  steady  strike,  and  dip  at  a  higher  angle  to 
the  south,  ....  and  therefore  soon  become  covered  by  the 
Coal-measures. 

3rd.  "These  three  groups — the  Coal-measures,  the  Car- 
boniferous Slate,  and  the  Old  Bed  Sandstone  to  the  south  of 
the  Bristol   Channel,  are  contemporaneous  with  the  three 

*  Qtiar.  Joum.  G«oL  Soc.,  vol  xxiL,  p.  321.    1866. 


14  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

groups  —the  Coal-measures,  the  Carboniferous  Limestone,  and 
the  Old  Red  Sandstone  to  the  north  of  the  Bristol  Channel."* 

So  far  as  it  affects  our  own  county,  this  new  doctrine,  on 
which  I  have  dwelt  at  some  length,  amounts  to  this :  The 
rocks  at  the  Foreland  Point  are  Old  Red  Sandstones,  having 
over  them  Carboniferous  Slates,  which,  with  numerous  undu- 
lations, are  continued  from  Lynton  to  near  the  central  shores 
of  Morte  Bay.  Here  there  occurs  a  gigantic  fault  running 
a  little  south  of  east  to  Wiveliscombe,  and  bringing  to  the 
surface,  along  that  line,  the  Foreland  Old  Red  Standstones, 
which,  before  reaching  Baggy  Point,  are  again  overlaid  with 
Carboniferous  Slates.  These  Slates,  in  their  turn,  dip,  at 
Barnstaple,  southwards  under  the  Carboniferous  beds  or 
Coal-measures. 

As  previously  stated,  this  unqualified  disbelief  of  accepted 
opinions  has  called  forth  a  reply.  Mr.  Etheridge,  in  April 
last  (1867),  read  to  the  Geological  Society  a  paper  "  On  the 
Physical  Structure  of  North  Devon,  and  on  the  Paloeonto- 
logical  Value  of  Devonian  Fossils,*'  in  which  "the  Lower, 
Middle,  and  Upper  groups  of  sandstones  and  shales  were 
described  as  occurring  in  a  regular  and  unbroken  succession 
from  north  to  south;  namely,  from  the  sandstones  com- 
prising the  promontory  of  the  Foreland  at  the  base,  to  the 
grits  and  slates,  etc.,  overlying  the  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstone 
of  Pickwell  Down  to  the  south.  The  author  was  unable  to 
see  any  traces  of  a  fault  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  invert 
the  order  of  succession,  or  that  would  cause  the  rocks  of  the 
Foreland  at  Lynton  to  be  upon  the  same  horizon  as  those 
south  of  a  line  of  high  ground  that  passes  across  the  county 
from  Morte  Bay  on  the  west,  to  Wiveliscombe  on  the  east. 

Arguments  were  also  brought  forward  to  show  the 

probability  of  the  Carboniferous  Slate  (in  part)  ....  being 
the  equivalent  of  the  English  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstone,  or 
Upper  Devonian,  and  that  the  North  Devon  beds  only  are  to 
be  regarded  as  the  true  type,  to  which  the  Irish  must  be 

compared,  and  not  vice  versd. The  author  compared 

the  whole  of  the  Devonian  fauna  of  Britain  with  that  of  the 

Rhine,  Belgium,  and  France, the  result  being  the 

conclusion  that  the  marine  Devonian  series,  as  a  whole,  con- 
stitutes an  important  and  definite  system.**t 

This  contrariety  of  opinion  manifested  by  two  distinguished 
officers  of  the  Geological  Survey,  very  forcibly  brings  before 

*  ''Additional  Notes  on  the  Groupin^ir  of  the  Rocks  of  North  Devon 
and  West  Somerset,**  ^ges  13,  14.     1867. 
t  Geological  Magazine,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  272-a     1867. 


MR.   PENGELLT'S  PEESIDENTUL  ADDRESS.  15 

US  the  fact  of  the  complexity  of  the  oldest  group  of  rocks  in 
Devonshire,  and  the  consequent  difficulty,  I  had  almost  said 
pleasui-e,  attending  their  study.  We  proceed  now  to  the 
Second  group. 

Those  great  deposits  known  as  the  Culmiferous  beds  of 
Devonshire,  and  which,  with  the  granites,  occupy  almost 
the  entire  county  from  the  parallel  of  Barnstaple  to  that  of 
Tavistock,  are  admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  the  equivalents 
of  the  Coal -Measures;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  mining 
and  manufacturing  aspirations  of  Devonshire,  the  mineral 
fuel  so  richly  stored  up  in  contemporary  deposits  in  South 
Wales  and  other  parts  of  Britain,  does  not  exist  here.  Its 
presence  would  have  changed  our  beautiful  county  into  a 
busy  black  country,  and  would  also  have  changed  our  character 
and  history.  The  economic  value  of  the  culmiferous  beds  is 
probably  not  considerable,  and  cliiefly  consists  of,  what  may 
be  regarded  as  exceptional,  masses  of  limestone,  which  have 
been  worked  under  comparatively  great  disadvantages,  and 
for  a  very  lengthened  period,  as  is  well  seen  in  the  enormous 
quarries,  and  gigantic  accumulations  of  refuse  matter,  at 
South  Tawton,  Bampton,  and  Westleigh. 

Probably  in  none  of  the  Devonshire  formations  are  there 
to  be  seen  contortions  so  numerous  and  on  so  grand  a  scale 
as  in  our  equivalents  of  the  Coal -Measures.  They  are 
strikingly  displayed  in  the  limestone  quarries  just  mentioned, 
but  perhaps  their  grandest  development  occurs  in  the  clitt 
sections  near  Hartland  quay.  "No  words,"  say  Sedgwick 
and  Murchison,  "  can  exaggerate  the  number  and  violence  of 
these  contortions — sometimes  in  regular  undulating  curves — 
sometimes  in  curves  broken  at  their  points  of  contrary  flexure, 
and  exhibiting  a  succession  of  cusps,  like  regular- pointed 
arches — sometimes,  though  more  rarely,  thrown  into  salient 
and  re-entering  angles,  generally  of  local  extent  and  only 
affecting  particular  beds."* 

The  grits  of  this  group  are  traversed  by  numerous  well- 
defined  joints,  giving  them  a  tendency  to  break  up  into 
rhombohedrons,  or,  indeed,  almost  into  cubes.  On  the  sea- 
beach  these  blocks  are  soon  converted  by  the  waves  into  the 
spheroidal  boulders  and  pebbles  which  everywhere  line  the 
cliffs  from  which  they  fell  and  reach  their  most  striking, 
though  by  no  means  an  unusual,  phase  in  the  Pebble  ridge 
at  Northam  Burrows. 

It  is  obvious  that  many  of  our  Greenstone  Traps  are  of 

*  Trans.  GeoL  Soc.    Series  2,  vol  v.,  part  3,  p.  677.     1837. 


16  MR.   PENGELLY*S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

Devonian  and  Carboniferous  age,  since,  either  in  the  form  of 
compact  Greenstone  or  in  that  of  a  Greenstone- Ash,  they  are 
found  in  several  instances  interstratified  with  the  Devonian 
and  Carboniferous  beds.  Moreover,  in  some  cases  the  Ashes 
contain  well-known  Devonian  fossils:  thus  the  Trap  Ash 
flanking  the  Greenstone  of  Knowle's  Hill,  Newton  Bushel, 
contains  a  large  number  of  specimens  of  the  Devonian 
triolobite,  Phacops  (TrimerocepJuUm)  Icevis, — well  known  in 
continental  Europe,  but  not  found  elsewhere  in  Britain.  So 
far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  there  is  but  one  locality  for 
the  fossil,  and  one  fossil  for  the  locality. 

It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  some  of  the  Green- 
stones of  this  county  are  not  considerably  more  modem. 

Until  somewhat  recently,  it  was  difficult  to  determine 
whether  the  Granites  of  Dartmoor,  or  the  Bed  Sandstones, 
Conglomerates,  and  Marls,  which  give  so  marked  a  character 
to  eastern  and  south-eastern  Devonshire,  were  the  more 
modem.  Many  of  us  remember  that  phase  of  opinion  re- 
specting granite,  which  would  have  deterred  many  persons 
from  publicly  asking  a  question  respecting  its  age  in  relation 
to  that  of  other  rocks.  Persons  well  inform^  on  geology 
were  wont  to  speak  of  it  as  the  "backbone  of  the  earth," 
the  "nucleus  of  the  world,"  "the  prime^ry  rock,"  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  first  dawn  of  order,  before  which  was  chaos. 
Happily,  the  question  may  now  be  asked,  and  in  many  cases 
answered. 

Granites  are  neither  necessarily  of  primary  age,  nor  do  the 
different  kinds  belong  as  a  matter  of  course  to  any  one  and 
the  same  period.  Even  within  our  own  Dartmoor  there  are 
three  kinds,  and  they  are  by  no  means  contemporaries. 
Upwards  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  Mr.  Godwin -Austen 
conclusively  showed  that  our  Porphyritic  granite  is  more 
modern  than  that  which  is  Schorlaceous,  and  more  ancient 
than  the  variety  known  as  Elvan :  it  cuts  through  the  first 
in  dyke-like  forms,  and  is  itself  similarly  traversed  by  the 
last.  He  also  pointed  out  that  the  oldest  or  Schorlaceous 
granite  is  more  modem  than  the  Carboniferous  rocks  in  con- 
tact with  it,  since  it  passes  into  them  in  the  form  of  veins.* 

From  what  has  been  already  stated,  it  follows  that  all  our 
granites  are  more  modem  than,  at  least,  many  of  our  Horn- 
blendic  Traps  or  Greenstones.  On  this  point,  moreover,  there 
is  independent  evidence  which,  if  not  in  itself  perfectly  con- 
clusive, is  strongly  confirmatory.     A  glance  at  a  geological 

*  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.    Series  2^  voL  vL,  part  2,  p.  477. 


MR.  pengellt's  pbesidentul  address.  17 

map  of  Devonshire  shows  that  bands  of  Greenstone  skirt^ 
but  do  not  enter,  the  Granites  of  Dartmoor,  and  thus  sucgest 
the  idea  that  they  are  of  higher  antiquity  than,  and  have 
been  cut  ofT  and  thrust  out  of  their  original  position  by,  the 
granitic  mass.* 

Here,  then,  we  are  furnished  with  a  chronological  limit  for 
the  Granites  on  the  side  of  antiquity:  they  are  all  more 
modem  than  the  Carboniferous  period. 

It  is  not  quite  so  easy  to  determine  a  limit  on  the  modern 
side.  The  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  rocks  surrounding 
Dartmoor  are  bent  and  contorted ;  and  where  the  Red  Sand- 
stones and  Conglomerates  rest  on  them,  they  lie  unconform- 
ably  on  the  upturned  ends  of  the  disturbed  beds.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  the  red  rocks  ai*e  more  modern  than 
the  era  of  the  disturbance  of  the  Carboniferous  deposits. 
Now  this  disturbance  is  usually,  and  perhaps  correctly, 
ascribed  to  the  intrusion  of  the  Granite;  hence,  on  this 
hypothesis,  the  Granites  must  be  older  than  the  red  rocks : 
the  age  of  these,  therefore,  is  the  modem  limit  of  the  chro- 
nology of  those.  Some  geologists,  however,  were  by  no  means 
satisfied  with  this  view,  and  argued  that,  whereas  conglom- 
erates are  natural  museums  in  which  specimens  of  all  the 
pre-existing  rocks  of  the  district  may  with  some  confidence 
be  looked  for,  any  rock  now  existing  in  the  locality  may  \m 
regarded  as  more  modern  than  the  conglomerates,  to  which  it 
has  sent  no  fragments  to  ivpresent  it  Applying  this  negative 
test  to  the  case  before  us,  Mr.  Godwin- Austen  remarked,  that 
'*  as  no  granite  pebbles  have  been  found  amongst  the  various 
materials  of  which  the  new  red  conglomerate  is  composed, 
we  may  conclude  that  at  the  period  of  its  accumulation  the 
granite  of  Dartmoor  could  not  have  been  exposed,  particularly 
when  we  be<ir  in  mind  that  the  two  formations  are  at  present 
separated  only  by  the  valley  of  the  Teign.*'f 

This  scepticism,  though  in  a  less  pronounced  form,  was  not 
without  a  place  in  the  mind  of  the  late  Sir  H.  De  la  Beche. 
"The  evidence,"  he  says,  "of  the  Dartmoor  granite  having 
occupied  its  present  relative  position  anterior  to  the  early 
part  of  the  (new)  red  sandstone  is  not  always  so  clear  as 
could  be  desired  ;  for,  among  all  the  pebbles  of  the  red  con- 
glomerate extending  fi*om  Torbay  to  Exeter,  we  have  not 
been  able  to  detect  any  portions  of  it,  though  the  granite 
ranges  so  near  that  part  of  the  red  conglomerate.     In  the 

♦  Seo  Sir  H.  De  1a  Beche's  Report,  p.  122.     1839. 
t  Tnins.  Geol.  Soc.    Series  2,  vol.  vi.,  part  2,  p.  478.     1840. 
VOL.  II.  C 


18  MR.  P£NG£LLY*8  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

tongue  of  red  sandstone  and  conglomerate  which  runs  from 
Crediton  amid  the  Carbonaceous  series  by  North  Tawton  and 
Sampford  Courtney  to  Jacobstow,  we  have,  however,  detected 
pebbles  like  some  varieties  of  Dartmoor  granite.*  In  a  more 
recent  work,  the  same  author,  speaking  of  those  pebbles,  uses 
the  following  more  confident  language :  ''Among  the  pebbles 
of  the  new  red  sandstone  conglomerates  nearest  to  Dartmoor, 
granite  from  it  is  scarce,  some  varieties  having  been  only 
found  on  the  north,  by  Tawton  and  Sampford  Courtney."! 

Before  passing  from  this  subject  it  may  be  well  to  remark, 
that  it  is  by  no  means  inconsistent  to  hold,  on  the  one  hand, 
tliat  the  contortions  in  the  Carboniferous  rocks  were  produced 
by  the  intrusion  of  the  Granite  before  the  era  of  the  Con- 
glomerates ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  the  Granite  was  not  yet 
exposed  at  the  surface,  and  therefore  could  not  contribute  a 
fragment  to  the  mass  of  the  Conglomerates  during  the  era 
when  they  were  in  process  of  being  built  up.  Granite 
having  never  been  formed  at  the  surface,  but  being  a  Plutonic 
or  hypogene  rock,  must  have  come  into  existence  and  pro- 
duced eJl  the  mechanical  and  chemical  changes  of  which  it 
was  capable  very  long  before  denudation,  by  stripping  off 
the  rocks  which  had  necessarily  overlain  it»  had  laid  it  bare 
at  the  earth's  surface. 

The  question  of  the  exposure  of  the  granite  before  the 
commencement  of  the  Sed-rock  era  was  finally  disposed  of, 
howevei,  in  1861,  when  Mr.  Vicary  detected  pebbles  of  each 
of  the  three  kinds  of  granite  in  the  Bed  Conglomerate  at  the 
base  of  Haldon,!  and  thereby  enabled  us  to  state  that  the 
oldest  Granite  of  Dartmoor — the  Schorlaceous  variety — is 
post-Carboniferous ;  that  the  moat  modem — the  Elvan — was 
exposed  to  the  wear  and  tear  of  wave  and  atmosphere  prior 
to  the  formation  of  the  Bed  ixxjks ;  and  that  the  interval  of 
time  separating  the  Sandstones  and  Conglomerates  from  the 
Culmiferous  formation — between  which  there  are  no  stratified 
formations  in  our  county — must  have  been  of  immense  du- 
ration. 

The  last  of  these  statements  will  be  found  to  be  of  great 
service  in  the  attempt  which  next  awaits  us — that  of  endea- 
vouring to  form  an  opinion  respecting  the  place  of  the  Bed 
Sandstones,  Conglomerates,  and  Marls  in  the  chronological 
scheme  of  the  geologist.  In  following  the  fine  cliff  sections  from 
Torbay  to  the  confines  of  Dorsetshire — upwaixis  of  20  miles 

♦  "Report,"  p.  166.     1839. 

t  Mem.  Geol.  Survey,  vol.  L,  p.  288.     1846. 

X  Trans.  Devonshire  ABSociaiion  for  1862,  p.  61. 


MR.  pkngellt's  presidential  address.  19 

— ^the  geologist  encounters  lithological  and  petralogical  phe- 
nomena only:  the  red  rocks  are  not  known  to  have  yielded  a 
single  eonUmporary  fossil.  Many  of  the  incorporated  pebbles 
are  richly  fossiliferous,  but  their  contents  are  the  remains  of 
the  oiganisms  which  tenanted  the  world  in  those  much  earlier 
periods  when  the  parent  rocks  were  formed.  There  is  no 
palseontological  information  respecting  the  age  of  the  red 
deposits.  A  little  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Axe,  however, 
they  are  distinctly  seen  to  underlie,  and  therefore  to  be  older 
than,  the  Lias — ^the  basement  division  of  the  great  Jurassic 
system ;  hence  they  belong  to  the  interval  between  the  close 
of  the  Carboniferous  and  the  commencement  of  the  Jurassic 
periods. 

In  this  enormous  space  of  time  two  great  systems  of 
rocks,  the  Permian  and  Triassic,  were  deposited ;  but  the 
periods  they  represent  by  no  means  filled  the  interval,  since 
the  former  is  separated  by  a  hiatus  from  the  Carboniferous 
rocks  below,  and  by  another  from  the  Triassic  series  above ; — 
these  gaps  being  represented  by  intermediate  denudations, 
stratigraphical  uQconformabilities,  and  such  specific  and  even 
generic  changes  in  the  fossils  as  betoken  great  breaks  in  the 
continuity  of  the  life-history  of  our  planet.  Between  the 
Trias  and  the  formation  next  above  it,  there  is  no  known 
evidence  of  a  physical  break ;  nevertheless,  the  change  in  the 
fossil  contents  of  the  two  systems  is  so  very  marked  and 
decided,  as  to  render  it  highly  probable  that  here  too  there 
was  a  large  amount  of  time,  of  which  there  is  now  no  repre- 
sentative.* 

I  have  thought  it  desirable  thus  to  dwell  on  the  itmount 
of  time  which  certainly  separated  the  Carboniferous  and 
Jurassic  periods,  in  order  to  the  full  appreciation  and  evalua- 
tion of  the  nature  of  the  argument  by  which  it  appears  to 
me  possible  to  answer  the  question,  "  To  which  of  the  two 
intermediate  systems  do  the  red  rocks  of  Devonshire  belong 
— the  Permian  or  the  Trias?'* 

Many  geologists  have  been  struck  with  the  fact,  that  most 
of  the  so-callea  Red  Conglomerates  are  n)ore  correctly  breccias, 
being  made  up  of  angular  and  sub-angular  rather  than  of  well 
rounded  fragments ;  that  they  have  the  aspect  of  the  Per- 
mian rather  than  of  the  Triassic  system  :  but  let  it  bo  borne 
in  mind  that  at  the  close  of  the  Carboniferous  period  there 
was  no  Dartmoor  granite ;  that,  after  this  era,  the  Shorlaceous, 
or  oldest  granite,  was  formed  far  below  the  surface  of  the 

♦  See  Prof.  Ramsay's  Presidential  Addresses  to  the  Geological  Society 
of  LoDdon  in  1863-64.    Qnar.  Joum.  Oeol.  Soc. 

C  2 


20  MR.  pengelly's  pkesidkntial  address. 

earth  —  a  product  of  the  combined  action  of  heat,  water,  and 
pressure ;  that  this,  having  cooled  into  a  firm  coherent  mass, 
—  necessarily  an  extremely  slow  process, — was  riven  in 
different  places ;  that  a  second  mass— the  Porphyritic  granite 
— was  then  elaborated  under  similar  physical  conditions,  and 
portions  of  it  lodged  in  the  fissures  which  had  been  formed 
in  the  first  or  Shorlaceous  variety  ;  that  this  second  Plutonic 
mass  cooled  like  its  predecessor,  and  like  it  became  traversed 
by  fissures  having  firm  and  well-defined  walls ;  and  that  after 
this  the  Elvan  granite  was  formed,  still  under  the  conditions 
essential  to  the  production  of  a  granitoid  rock. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  elaboration,  within  the  same 
area,  of  three  successive  and  dissimilar  Plutonic  formations, 
each  of  which  had,  though  cooling  under  enormous  pressure, 
become  solid  and  coherent  before  its  successor  was  produced, 
must  have  absorbed  an  incalculable  amount  of  time,  and 
must  have  narrowed  by  so  much  that  interval  between  the 
Carboniferous  and  Jurassic  periods  during  which  the  Ked 
Sandstone  and  associated  rocks  were  deposited 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  three  kinds  of  granite  were  not  only 
in  existence,  but  they  were  all  laid  bai*e  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Conglomerate  era.  Granite  can  never  be 
formed  at  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Pressure  is  indispens- 
able for  its  production.  It  is  nether  formed:  elaborated 
under  thick  overlying  masses  of  rock,  which  denudation 
has  to  strip  off  before  its  exposure  is  possible.  This  had 
been  done  in  what  is  now  Devonshire  before  the  accumulation 
of  the  Conglomerates  at  the  base  of  Haldon,  for  in  them 
Mr.  Vicary  found  rolled  fragments  of  the  three  varieties  of 
Dartmoor  granite.  Convulsion  could  have  lent  little  or  no 
assistance  here.  It  did  not  thrust  the  granites  in  a  solid 
state  through  the  surrounding  and  overlying  rocks.  What- 
ever movements  it  underwent,  they  underwent  the  same  ;  for 
the  veins  it  has  sent  into  the  surrounding  strata  are  not 
severed  from,  but  are  prolongations  of,  the  great  central  mass.* 
The  work  was  achieved  by  denudation  only.  The  time  requi- 
site for  it  must  have  been  enormous,  and  drives  us  still  further 
towards  the  Jurassic  mai^n  of  that  interval  in  which  our 
Red  rocks  were  certainly  deposited.  The  more  these  facts  and 
considerations  are  allowed  to  have  a  place  in  the  mind,  the 
more  impossible  does  it  appear  that  our  Red  Sandstones, 
Conglomerates,  and  Marls  can  be  of  higher  than  Triassic 
antiquity. 

*  Sedgwick  and  MarduBon  in  Trans.  GeoL  Soa    Series  2,  vol.  v., 
part  3,  page  686. 


MB.  pengelly's  pbesidential  address.  21 

The  typical  Trias,  as  its  name  implies,  is  divided  into  three 
great  groups,  which  in  descending  order  are : — 

The  Keuper. 

The  Muschelkalk. 

The  Banter. 
Of  these,  the  first  and  last  only  exist  in  this  country:  Britain 
is  not  known  to  contain  any  rock  of  the  age  of  the  Mus- 
chelkalk. We  have  now  to  consider  to  which  of  these 
divisions  the  Devonshire  beds  belong.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  portion  of  the  formation  extending  from 
Exmouth  eastward  belongs  to  the  Keuper,  or  Upper  Trias. 
The  dip  of  the  beds  continues  in  the  same  direction,  the 
amount  is  no  where  considerable  and  gradually  diminishes 
eastward,  and  there  is  certainly  no  important  fault.  Beyond 
Axmouth  the  red  colours  gradually  fade  out,  and  the  beds 
here  and  there  assume  liassic  hues.  At  length,  capped  with 
the  fiamous  "  Bone  bed  " — a  point  of  departure  as  well  known 
and  as  well  defined  to  the  geologist,  as  is  the  Lizard  Point  to 
the  voyager — tliey  pass  conformably  under  the  Lias.  As  to 
the  age  of  this  portion  of  the  Red  rocks  th(»re  is  no  difficulty 
whatever :  they  are  most  unmistakably  the  Keuper,  or  Upper 
Trias.  Between  Exmouth  and  Torbay  the  characters  are 
different :  Marls  are  much  less,  and  Conglomerates  are  more 
abundant,  and  the  prevalent  opinion,  no  doubt,  is  that  this 
pait  of  the  system  belongs  to  the  Bunter,  or  Lower  Trias.  If 
this  be  so,  there  should  be,  near  Exmouth,  a  physical  break 
in  the  formation,  and  its  proved  absence  would  at  least  go  far 
to  falsify  the  current  belief  It  is  true  that  the  beds  north  of 
the  Exe  dip  more  easterly  than  do  those  south  of  it,  but  it 
appears  to  be  impossible  to  show  where  a  change  begins,  or 
that  it  is  anything  more  than  one  of  a  very  graduated  cha- 
racter. For  myself,  after  a  careful  and  prolonged  study  of  it, 
I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  our  entire  Red  formation  belongs 
to  the  Keuper ;  or,  if  not,  that  all  three  sub-periods  of  the 
Trias  are  represented  in  Devonshira  Though  the  enormous 
thickness  of  the  formation  in  this  county  gives  some  sort  of 
support  to  this  latter  hypothesis,  it  is  undoubtedly  much 
more  unlikely  as  well  as  more  heretical  than  the  former. 

In  1865,  Mr.  Vicary,  calling  attention  to  the  Feldspathic 
Traps  of  Devonshire,  stated,  on  good  evidence,  that  "their 
earliest  eruptions  occurred  between  the  close  of  the  Carbon- 
iferous and  the  commencement  of  the  Triassic  eras,  and  that 
later  outbursts  of  them  were  of  Triassic  age."* 

♦  Trans.  Devonshire  Association,  1865,  page  49. 


22  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

The  lias  occupies  but  a  small  strip  of  our  county,  and 
there  is  so  little  room  for  controversy  respecting  it,  that  it 
requires  no  more  than  a  passing  mention  in  a  general  sketch 
like  the  present. 

The  Cretaceous  System  is  usually  divided  into  two  groups 
— Lower  and  Upper.  The  latter  alone  exists  in  Devonshire, 
and  is  represented  by  the  so-called  Greensands  of  Blackdown 
and  elsewhere,  and  the  Chalk  so  well  developed  in  the  Beer 
district 

The  Blackdown  beds  are  rich  in  fossils,  many  of  which 
have  not  been  found  elsewhere.  Though  these  beds  resemble 
the  "Upper  Greensand"  of  geologists,  the  late  Mr.  D. 
Sharpe  was  of  opinion  that  they  were  somewhat  older,  and 
rather  the  equivalents  of  the  Guult,  of  which  a  good  example 
occurs  at  Folkstone  in  Kent,  and  which  forms  the  lowest 
division  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  group.  Mr.  Sharpe  sug- 
gested "that  the  Blackdown  sand  was  the  littoral  deposit  of 
the  ocean  at  the  time  that  the  Gault  was  formed  at  its  lower 
depths."* 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  all  the  localities  so  represented 
in  the  maps  of  the  Geological  Survey  are  really  true  Green- 
sand  locaUties.  For  example,  it  is,  at  leasts  difficult  to  find 
any  beds  of  this  age  or  character  at  Woodbury  Common, 
near  Exmouth,  or  at  Orleigh  Court,  near  Bideford.  In  each 
of  these  districts  there  is  a  Supracretaceous  gravel,  rich  in 
flint  and  other  Cretaceous  debris,  but  probably  nothing  more. 

The  Chalks  of  our  county  may  be  well  studied  in  the 
fine  cliffs  and  quarries  at  and  near  Beer.  The  latter  must 
have  been  worked  for  both  building  stone  and  for  lime 
during  a  very  long  period. 

The  Devonshire  deposit  next  more  modern  than  the  chalk 
appears  to  be  the  remarkable  formation  which  occupies 
the  basins  of  the  Bovey  and  Teign  rivers,  from  Bovey  Tracey 
to  Newton,  and  extends  thence  to  Aller,  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  north-west  of  Torquay.  It  consists  of  beds  of 
lignite,  clay,  and  sand,  and  has  an  aggregate  thickness  of 
upwards  of  100  feet.  The  Lignite  appears  to  have  been 
worked  for  fuel  as  early  as  about  the  year  1714.  From 
1760,  when  it  first  attracted  the  attention  of  scientific  men, 
to  1856,  it  was  the  theme  of  various  papers  laid  before  the 
principal  scientific  societies  in  the  kingdom,  and  it  occupied 
a  conspicuous  place  in  several  works  of  a  more  general 
character.     Prior  to  1860,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  settled 

♦  Qnar.  Jour.  GooL  Soc.,  vol.  x.,  pp.  186-7.     1863. 


MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address.  23 

conviction  that  the  lignite  was  of  v^table  origin;  that  the 
clays  and  sands  were  furnished  by  the  disintegration  of  the 
granite  on  the  adjacent  heights  of  Dartmoor ;  and  that  the 
deposit  was  of  Caenozoic  age.  It  may  be  added  that  there 
was  a  general  belief  that  the  plants  had  not  grown  on,  but 
bad  been  transported  to,  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  lignite; 
that  the  formation  was  of  very  modern  age,  possibly  post- 
Pliocene  ;  and  that  the  beds  were  singularly  poor  in  fossils — 
no  more,  at  most>  than  two  species  of  plants  having  been  met 
with.  In  1860,  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  formation 
was  undertaken  at  the  instance  of  Miss  Burdeit  Coutts,  who, 
with  characteristic  munificence,  supplied  the  necessary  means. 
At  the  end  of  six  months,  there  had  been  found  an  enonnous 
number  of  fossil  plants,  belonging,  according  to  Professor 
Heer,  of  Zurich,  to  fifty  species,  of  which  forty-nine  were 
new  to  the  fossil  flora  of  this  country,  twenty-six  were  new  to 
science,  nineteen  were  well-known  Miocene  forms  of  conti- 
nental Europe,  five  were  of  doubtful  determination,  but 
probably  Miocene,  and  the  new  species  were  closely  allied  to 
well-known  forms  in  the  same  system.  The  fossils  showed 
not  only  that  the  Bovey  formation  belongs  to  the  Miocene 
series  of  deposits,  but  that  its  place  is  in  the  Lower  of  the 
two  great  divisions  into  which  geologists  find  it  necessary 
to  divide  that  system.  They  showed  also  that  the  Bovey  and 
Teign  rivers  were  in  existence  in  pre-Miocene  times,  and 
were  the  feeders  of  a  considerable  and  deep  lake,  into  which 
tliey  carried  feldspathic  clay  and  quartzose  sand  from  Dart- 
moor, as  well  as  the  prostrated  sub-tropical  trees  which  had 
grown  on  the  surrounding  heights. 

The  determination  of  the  age  of  this  formation  is  the  more 
interesting,  as  before  it  was  arrived  at  our  best  geological 
text  books  either  directly  stated,  or  strongly  inclined  to  the 
opinion,  that  England  contained  no  rock  of  Miocene  aga 
Indeed,  it  still  remains  to  be  a  fact,  that  in  the  British  Isles 
there  are  no  known  Upper  Miocene  deposits. 

It  may  be  stated,  in  passing,  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  partly-destroyed  elytron  of  a  beetle  (Buprestitea  Falconen), 
no  animal  remains  have  been  met  with  in  the  Bovey  beds. 

This  Lignitic  series  is  unconformably  overlain  by  a  thick 
accumulation,  or  "Head"  of  sand,  coarse  clay,  and  stones, 
most  of  which  are  angular  or  sub-angular.  From  the  great 
dissimilarity  of  its  character  to  that  of  the  underlying  beds, 
from  the  unconformability  of  the  two,  and  from  the  facts  that 
the  Lignitic  series  had  been  faulted  to  the  extent  of  at  least 
100  feet,  and  that  the  "Head"  did  not  participate  in,  or 


24  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

contain  any  indication  of  this  dislocation,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  latter  is  much  more  modem  than  the  former.  The 
•'  Head"  is  found  at  heights  considerably  above  that  which  it 
occupies  on  the  Bovey  plain,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  denudation  has,  at  least,  in  some  places  swept  away 
much  of  its  former  voluma  On  its  denuded  surface  there 
are,  here  and  there  on  Bovey  Heathfield,  found  patches  of 
fine  potter's  clay,  in  which  the  clay  diggers  occasionally  meet 
with  stumps  and  roots  of  trees,  the  latter  so  ramifying  as  to 
indicate  that  they  are  in  situ.  In  addition  to  those  remains, 
leaves  have  occasionally  been  met  with,  from  which  the 
dwarf  birch  (Betula  nana)  and  three  species  of  willow  {Salix 
einerea,  S.  repens,  and  S.  amygdalina)  have  been  determined. 
These  plants  betoken  a  climate  much  colder  than  that  which 
at  present  obtains  in  Devonshire.  Indeed,  the  little  birch  is 
an  Arctic  plant,  which  has  at  present  no  British  habitat 
south  of  Scotland,  and  which  occurs  in  mid-Europe  only  on 
mountains  and  sub- Alpine  peat-mosses. 

At  this  point  I  find  myself  in  danger  of  entering  on  a 
discussion  of  the  complex  phenomena  of  the  Superficial 
gravels  of  Devonshire.  I  resist  the  temptation,  because  the 
subject  is  vast  in  itself  as  well  as  in  its  ramifications,  and 
requires  to  be  worked  out  in  great  detail ;  and  also  because 
very  little  is  known  about  it.  It  is  the  work  of  at  least  a 
well-spent  life-time,  and  it  has  scarcely  been  begun.  I  must 
content  myself  with  but  two  remarks : — 1st.  It  almost  seems 
that  geological  phenomena  are  difficult  of  explication  in  pro- 
portion as  they  are  recent  2nd.  It  is  probable  that  the  Super- 
ficial gravels  of  our  county,  though  all  of  them  geologically 
very  modern,  belong  to  widely  different  periods.  Even  the 
alluvial  mass  occupying  the  same  river  plain  is  not  neces- 
sarily one  strictly  contemporary  deposit.  Rivers  are  con- 
stantly changing  their  courses :  here  they  encroach,  and  there 
they  are  encroached  upon ;  rather,  they  shut  themselves 
out. 

An  instructive  instance  of  this  action  was  observed  by  Mr. 
Vicary  and  myself,  during  the  summer  of  1866.  The  little 
river  Lew  flows,  at  Hatherleigh  in  this  county,  through  a 
small  alluvial  plain,  on  which  there  are  several  fine  trees. 
One  of  them,  a  splendid  oak,  fully  three  feet  in  diameter, 
stood  on  the  right  bank  of,  and  very  near  the  river.  Its 
dimensions  proved  that  the  soil  in  which  it  had  grown  had 
remained  undisturbed  for  a  very  lengthened  period.  The 
river,  however,  had  for  some  time  been  slowly  encroaching  on 
its  site,  and  doubtless  had  thereby  diminished  its  stability. 


MR.  FENGELLT'S  PB£SIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  25 

Shortly  before  our  visit,  a  storm  of  great  violence  had  pros- 
trated the  noble  tree,  and  had  thrown  it  obliquely  across  the 
stream,  which  it  had  thei-eby  deflected.  That  part  of  the 
bank  against  which  the  cnrrent  was  thus  directed,  had 
gradually  yielded  until  a  large  bight  was  produced,  and  the 
blackened  tmnk  of  a  fine  oak,  fully  as  large  as  that  just 
mentioned,  was  disclosed.  Its  history,  no  doubt,  was  simply 
this :  It  had  grown  on  the  plain,  had  been  prostrated  into  the 
stream,  and  had  been  silted  up.  The  disinterred  trunk  in  its 
turn  became  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  river,  especially 
when  not  very  full.  Silt  and  other  matter  had  begun  again 
to  accumulate  around  it,  and  amongst  the  materials  lodged 
by  it,  we  found  an  old  tin  kettle  and  part  of  a  black  bottle. 
The  work  of  re-interment  is  probably  completed  ere  this,  and 
unless  the  geologists  who  observe  its  next  exposure  are  fully 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  different  psirts  of  the  same 
alluvial  plain,  and,  indeed,  that  objects  found  in  the  same 
part  of  a  plain,  may  belong  to  different  ages,  they  will  be  in 
danger  of  concluding  that  the  old  oak  was  prostrated  when 
tin  kettles  and  wine  bottles  were  in  use  ;  they  will  assign  too 
modem  an  age  to  the  tree,  or  one  too  ancient  to  the  works  of 
art ;  and  may  be  led  to  speculate  on  the  reasons  which  led  a 
people,  so  advanced  in  the  arts  of  life,  to  neglect  an  article  so 
valuable  as  a  large  oak  tree. 

Raised  Beaches  are  found  here  and  there  along  our  entire 
sea-bord,  and  Submerged  Forests  are  just  as  numerous,  and 
as  widely  distributed.  I  shall  assume,  what  indeed  every 
geologist  admits,  that  changes  of  i-elative  level  of  sea  and 
land  are,  at  least,  mainly  due,  not  to  changes  in  the  level 
of  the  sea,  but  to  movements  in  the  land.  The  facts  pre- 
sented by  the  Raised  Beaches  show  a  wide-spread  elevation 
of  the  land  to  the  amount  of  from  20  to  30  feet,  whilst  the 
forest  phenomena  indicate  an  equally  general  subsidence  to 
the  extent  of  at  least  40  feet.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
determine  the  relative  ages  of  tjie  beaches,  the  Betula  nana 
beds  at  Bovey,  and  the  forests  ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
betula  clay  is  the  most  ancient,  and  the  forests  the  most 
modem  of  the  three.  The  dwarf  birch  takes  us  back  to  a 
climate  much  colder  than  the  present ;  back  apparently  quite 
to  the  modern  verge  of  the  Glacial  era.  This  the  beaches  and 
forests  fail  to  do.  The  former  are  replete  with  shells,  but  all 
of  them  are  the  remains  of  species  still  existing  in  the 
adjacent  waters.  It  is  a  well-established  fact,  however,  that 
during  the  glacial  conditions  our  waters  were  tenanted  by 
moilusks  now  found   only  in   Arctic  seas.     The  vegetable 


26  MR.  pengellt's  presidential  address. 

remains  found  in  the  forests  too,  are  those  of  such  plants  as 
now  occupy  the  adjacent  dry  land. 

The  forests  and  beaches  cannot  be  contemporary.  The 
same  district  cannot  be  thirty  feet  lower  and  forty  feet  higher 
at  one  and  the  same  tima  The  forests  occupy  the  tidal 
strand,  extend  seaward  to  at  least  the  five  fathoms  line,  and 
up  the  valleys  landward  until  they  attcdn  at  least  an  equal 
height  above  meantide.  If  they  had  been  older  than  the 
beaches,  they  must,  during  the  era  of  the  latter,  have  been 
30  feet  lower  still  than  they  are  at  present,  and  much  of 
their  present  sub-aerial  prolongations  must  then  have  been 
submarine,  and,  in  all  probability,  would  have  had  deposited 
on  them  marine  beds  coeval  with  the  beaches;  but  in  no 
instance  are  the  sub-aerial  portions  of  the  forests  overlain  by 
marine  deposits  beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves  at  the  existing 
level  Landward  of  this  line,  the  forests  are  commonly 
covered;  but  it  is  invariably  with  fine  soil,  without  any 
indication  of  the  presence  or  action  of  the  sea. 

There  are,  however,  apparently  two  objections  to  this 
modern  age  of  the  Forests  in  relation  to  the  Beaches.  First, 
The  former  have  yielded  a  considerable  number  of  bones  of 
Mammalia,  of  which  two  are  extinct  species — the  Mammoth 
(JElephas  primigevius),  and  the  Long-fronted  Ox  {Bos  longi- 
frons) ; — whilst,  as  has  been  already  stated,  the  shells  found 
in  the  Beaches  are  the  remains  of  species  still  existing  in 
the  adjacent  sea.  In  other  words,  the  Forests  do,  but  the 
Beaches  do  not,  carry  us  back  to  the  times  of  extinct  animals. 
Second,  From  the  well-known  evidence  found  in  Siberia,  the 
Mammoth  was  adapted  to,  and,  no  doubt,  lived  in,  a  cold 
climate. 

With  regard  to  the  first,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
"  Life  of  a  Species"  is  by  no  means  a  chronological  constant, 
but  that  its  length  appears  to  be  an  inverse  function  of  the 
complexity  of  the  organic  structure :  the  lowlier  the  organi- 
sation, the  greater  the  duration  of  the  species.  We  are 
therefore,  taken  vastly  further  into  antiquity  by  existing 
MoUusks  than  by  existing  Mammals,  and,  consequently,  the 
shells  found  in  the  Beaches  go  far  into  the  period  of  the 
extinct  Mammalia. 

That  the  Mammoths  of  Siberia  were,  by  their  dermal 
covering,  adapted  to  an  arctic  climate,  there  can  be  no 
manner  of  doubt;  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  their 
kindred  were  similarly  clad  at  all  times  and  in  all  stations. 
"In  Siberia,"  says  Dr.  Falconer,  when  speaking  of  the 
Mammoth,  "  he  was  enveloped  in  a  shaggy  thick  covering  of 


MK.  PKKGELLT'S  presidential  ADDIlESa.  27 

fur,  like  the  Mask  Ox,  impenetrable  to  rain  or  cold.  But  we 
are  not  obliged  to  suppose  that  in  his  sonthem  habitat  he 
was  thus  clacL  The  dermal  appendages  are  very  variable 
and  adaptive,  according  to  climate.  The  fine  silky  fleece, 
from  which  the  Gashnieer  shawls  are  wove,  is  abundantly 
devel(^)ed  at  the  roots  of  the  long  hairs  of  the  domestic  Goat 
in  the  plains  of  Tibet,  at,  and  upwards  of  16,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  where  a  highly  rarefied  atmosphere  is 
combined  with  severe  winter  cold.  It  grows  also  on  the 
Kiang,  the  Yak,  Gervm  WalUchii,  the  Brown  Bear  of  high 
elevations  in  the  Himalaya,  and  on  the  Mastiff  Dog  of  Tibet. 
But  it  disappears  entirely  from  the  same  Goat,  and  from  the 
Dog;  in  the  valley  of  Cashmeer.  The  short  crisp  wool  of 
the  Siberian  Mammoth,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  most 
protective  portion  of  his  fur,  may,  in  like  manner,  have  dis- 
appeared from  the  variety  that  lived  in  the  valley  of  the 
liber,  while  the  bristles  and  long  coarse  hair  were  more  or 
less  retained ;  and  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that 
the  species  presented  varieties  of  external  form,  dependent 
on  the  nature  of  the  dermal  clothing,  far  exceeding  those 
which  are  seen  in  existing  elephants."* 

The  limestones  so  largely  developed  in  South  Devon 
abound  in  Ossiferous  Caverns,  of  which  the  most  remarkable 
are  those  at  Oreston  near  Plymouth,  Yealmpton,  and  the 
Torbay  district.  In  the  last-named  locality,  Kent's  Cavnrn, 
about  a  mile  eastward  from  Torquay  harbour,  and  Windmill 
Hill  Cavern  at  Brixham,  on  the  opposite  or  southern  shore 
of  the  bay,  are  the  most  famous.  There  is  no  tradition  even 
of  the  discovery  of  Kent's  Hole,  and  it  seems  to  have  been 
known  from  time  immemorial.  To  say  nothing  of  earlier 
times  at  pi^esent*  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  it  was 
much  used  by  man  during  the  Romano-British  period ;  there 
are  indications  of  his  presence  in  it  in  the  early  part  of  the 
15th  century ;  if  inscriptions  on  an  undisturbed  mass  of 
stalagmite  in  one  of  its  chambers  be  trustworthy,  it  was 
visited  during  the  eventful  year  of  1688;  and  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century  it  was  one  of  the  celebrated  spots 
of  the  district.!  To  the  palaeontologist  it  is  of  the  highest 
interest  on  account  of  the  very  numerous  remains  of  extinct 
mammals,  which  have  been  found  in  the  red  loam  beneath 
the  thick  stalagmite,  which  originally  formed  the  continuous 
floor  of  all  its  chambers  and  galleries.  That,  however,  which 
has  made  it  so  famous,  is  the  fact  that  numerous  human 

♦  Nat  Hist.  Rev.  for  1863,  pages  112-3. 

t  Maion*8  "  Observations  on  the  Western  Counties." 


28  MR.  pengelly's  peesidentul  address. 

iuiplements,  fashioned  in  flint,  have  been  found  mixed  up 
with  the^e  relics  of  extinct  organisms. 

These  discoveries  appear  to  have  been  first  made  by  the  late 
Eev.  J.  M'Enery,  from  1825  to  *29.  They  were  confirmed  by 
the  subseiiuent  researches  of  Mr.  Godwin-Austen  prior  to 
1840,  and  by  those  of  the  Torquay  Natural  History  Society 
in  1846;  but,  notwithstanding  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
these  independent  aiid  competent  observers,  even  the  scientific 
world  was  quite  unprepared  for  the  reception  of  the  fact. 
The  human  origin  of  the  "implements"  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  questioned  by  any  one ;  and  it  was  seen  that  their 
original  inosculation  with  the  bones  amongst  which  they 
were  found  could  not  be  received  as  a  fact,  without  admitting 
also  the  contemporaneity  of  man  and  the  extinct  cave  mam- 
mals. Accordingly,  this  inosculation  was  denied.  It  was 
alleged  that  either  the  explorations  had  not  been  conducted 
with  sufficient  care,  or  that  some  grave  mistake  had  been 
made.  It  is  hoped  that  it  is  not  uncharitable  to  ask,  "Did 
not  the  difficulty  really  arise  from  a  foregone  conclusion  on 
the  question  of  Human  Antiquity  V 

In  1858,  the  Windmill  Hill  Cavern,  at  Brixham,  was  dis- 
covered, and  passed  at  once  and  intact  into  the  hands  of  an 
exploring  committee,  appointed  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Royal  and  Geological  Societies.  The  Cavern,  being  a  small 
one,  was  thoroughly  investigated  in  one  year,  and  the  explo- 
mtion  was  carried  on  with  a  scrupulous  care  that  rendered  it 
impossible  to  decline  the  acceptance  of  whatever  facts  might 
be  discovered.  The  result  of  the  researches  was  the  simple 
confirmation  of  the  Kent*s  Hole  discoveries.  The  flint  tools 
of  man  were  found  unmistakably  mixed  up  with  the  remains 
of  the  cave  mammalia,  and  it  was  generally  admitted  "  that 
scepticism  in  regard  to  the  bearing  of  cave  evidence  in 
favour  of  the  antiquity  of  Man  had  previously  been  pushed 
to  an  extreme."* 

A  desire  was  at  once  awakened  to  explore  such  parts  of 
Kent's  Hole  as  remained  intact,  and  in  1864  the  British 
Association  appointed  a  Committe,  with  ample  means  at 
their  disposal,  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  this 
famous  mausoleum.  The  work  was  begun  in  March  1865, 
it  has  been  carried  on  without  interruption  from  that  time, 
and  it  is  still  in  progress. 

With  two  exceptions  only,  the  discoveries  recently  made 
fully  confirm  all  the  statements  of  the  early  explorers.     The 

♦  Lyell'B  "  Antiquity  of  Mau,"  page  2.     1863. 


MR.  PENGELLY*S   PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  29 

exceptions  are,  that  up  to  the  present  time  the  British 
Association  Committee  have  not  found  the  remains  of  Hippo- 
potamus major  or  Maehairodus  latidens — both  of  which 
were  met  with  by  Mr.  M*  Enery.  To  this  extent  the  modem 
evidence  is  at  present  defective ;  but  there  is  nothing  con- 
flicting. 

Tlie  Committee  are  by  no  means  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that  deposits  and  objects  of  different  ei-as  are  just  as  likely  to 
be  commingled  in  a  cavern  as  in  a  river  plain.  But,  whatever 
anachronisms  may  have  been  potted  up  in  the  red  cave-loam, 
the  most  modem  object  it  contains  must  of  necessity  be  older 
than  the  most  ancient  part  of  the  cake  of  stalagmite  which 
rests  upon  it  and  hermetically  seals  it  up.  This  floor  was 
necessarily  formed  on  the  loam,  and  therefore  after  its  deposi- 
tion. But  both  in  Kent's  and  Brixham  Caverns  the  flint  tools 
occurred  at  all  known  depths  in  the  loam,  whilst  bones  and 
teeth  of  the  extinct  mammals  were  found  not  only  in  the 
loam,  but  also  in  the  stalagmite  floor.  The  only  possible 
mode  of  now  escaping  from  the  conclusion  that  man  was 
the  contemporary  of  animals  no  longer  existing  anywhere  in 
the  world,  is  simply  to  deny  the  human  origin  of  the  so-called 
"  implements." 

Waiving  this  question  at  present,  the  point  we  have  reached 
is  plainly  this :  man  lived  earlier,  or  the  extinct  animals 
later,  than  has  been  commonly  believed,  or  both.  When, 
however,  we  reflect  on  the  probable  causes  of  extinction,  it 
seems  impossible  to  suppose  that  so  uiany  species  of  animals 
should  have  utterly  disappeared  from  the  earth's  surface 
within  anything  but  an  enormous  period  of  time.  Their 
extinction  cannot,  at  least,  in  all  cases  have  been  due  to  man, 
since  some  of  them  are  of  small  size.  The  Lagomys  spelcm, 
or  Cave  Pika,  or  tail-less  hare,  was  scarcely  so  large  as  a  rat, 
in  the  extermination  of  which  man  has  not  been  very  suc- 
cessful. 

The  physical  facts  connected  with  Brixham  Cavern  appear 
to  be  equally  conclusive  on  a  great  lapse  of  time.  In  the 
cave-loam,  mixed  up  with  the  implements  and  bones,  were 
numerous  well-rolled  fragments  of  different  kinds  of  rock, 
which  could  neither  have  been  derived  from  the  insulated 
limestone  hill  in  which  the  cave  occurs,  nor  transported  to  it 
by  natural  causes  with  even  a  distant  approach  to  the  existing 
depths  of  the  adjacent  valleys.  In  short,  the  deposition  of 
the  cavern  materials  is  older  than  the  valley  immediately 
beneath  it.  The  evidence  thus  gTven  by  the  diaracter  of  the 
materials  is  confirmed  by  their  arrangement^  which  was  such 


30  MB.   PENGELLY*S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

as  to  show  that  it  was  due  to  the  action  of  a  small  stream 
flowing  persistently  through  the  cave.  In  other  words,  that 
such  a  stream  as  now  flows  through  the  valley,  then  flowed 
in  the  same  direction  on  what  was  the  bottom  of  the  same 
valley,  but  which  was  at  about  100  feet  higher  leveL 

It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  this  valley,  since  the 
advent  of  man  in  Devonshire,  has  been  deepened  to  the  extent 
just  named,  not  by  a  primary  excavation  through  the  lime- 
stone of  the  district,  but  by  the  removal  of  debris  which  had 
filled  up  a  pre-existing  valley — in  fact  by  a  re-excavation. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  process  of  lowering  the  bed  of  the 
stream  was  obviously  slow,  for  the  cavern  had  been  twice 
filled  with  detritus,  each  of  these  accumulations  had  been 
sealed  up  with  a  thick  floor  of  stalagmite,  and  twice  the 
whole  had  been  broken  up  and  swept  out  by  natural  causes 
before  the  introduction  of  those  deposits  found  in  it  intact 
in  1858.  Yet,  during  all  these  processes  and  changes,  the 
bottom  of  the  adjacent  valley  must  have  retained  the  same 
relative  level.  The  physical  and  palseontological  evidence 
are  independent  and  concurrent :  they  jointly  and  severally 
testify  to  the  long  Antiquity  of  Man  in  Devonshire. 

To  suppose,  however,  that  the  cavern  era  was  separated 
from  the  present  day  by  an  amount  of  time  no  greater  than 
that  required  for  the  re-excavation  of  the  valley — great  as 
that  probably  was — is  to  fall  very  far  short  of  the  truth. 
Until  it  was  excluded  artificially,  the  sea  at  spring-tide 
high -water  flowed  up  this  valley,  the  bottom  of  which  was 
occupied  by  a  portion  of  the  Torbay  Submerged  Forest.  As 
elsewhere,  the  forestial  remains  were  lodged  in  a  thick  mass 
of  blue  clay.  Hence,  since  the  dose  of  the  work  of  excava- 
tion there  were,  Ist,  The  lodgment  of  the  clay;  2nd,  The 
growth  of  the  forest,  the  era  of  which  was  prior  to  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  Mammoth  ;  3rd,  The  subsidence  of  the  entire 
country  to  at  least  the  depth  of  forty  feet;  and  4th,  The 
subsequent  formation  of  a  foreshore,  by  the  retreat  of  the 
cliffs  before  the  breakers,  and  which  in  some  cases  is  fully  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  in  discussions  and  speculations 
respecting  the  flint  evidence  of  human  antiquity,  sufficient 
care  has  at  all  times  been  taken  to  distinguish  between 
"implements"  and  "flakes" — the  articles  intended  to  be 
made,  and  the  chips  produced  in  making  them — the  end  and 
the  means.  This  is  the  more  to  be  regretted,  as,  through  it, 
many  persons  have  been  led  to  suppose  that  the  doctrine  of 
man's  antiquity  would  stand  or  fall  according  as  the  "flakes  " 


Ma.  PENGELLY'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  31 

were  proved  to  be  artificial  or  natural  "  There  is,"  says  Mr. 
Evans, ''  a  considerable  resemblance  between  the  flint  flakes 
apparently  intended  for  arrow  heads  and  knives,  ....  and 
those  which,  when  found  in  this  country,  or  on  the  continent^ 
are  regarded  as  belonging  to  a  period  but  slightly  pre-historia 
The  fact  is^  that  wherever  flint  is  used  as  a  material  from 
which  implements  are  fashioned,  many  of  the  flakes  or 
splinters  arising  from  the  chipping  of  the  flint,  are  certain  to 
present  sharp  points  or  cutting  edges,  which,  by  a  race  of 
men  living  principally  by  the  chase  are  equally  certain  to  be 
regarded  as  fitting  points  for  their  darts  or  arrows,  or  as  useful 
for  cutting  purposes :  they  are  so  readily  formed,  and  are  so 
well  adapted  for  such  uses  without  any  further  fashioning, 
that  they  have  been  employed  in  all  ages  just  as  struck  from 
off  the  flint.  The  very  simplicity  of  their  form  will,  however, 
prevent  those  fabricated  at  the  earliest  period  from  being 
distinguishable  from  those  made  at  the  present  day,  provided 
no  change  has  taken  place  in  the  surface  of  the  Hint  by  long 
exposure  to  some  chemical  influence.  As  also  they  are 
produced  most  frequently  by  a  single  blow,  it  is  at  all  times 
difficult,  among  a  mass  of  flints,  to  distinguish  those  flakes 
formed  accidently  by  natural  causes  from  those  which  are 
made  by  the  hand  of  man ;  an  experienced  eye  will  indeed 
arrive  at  an  approximately  correct  judgment,  but  from  the 
cause  I  have  mentioned,  mere  flakes  of  flint,  however  anala- 
gous  to  what  we  know  to  have  been  made  by  human  art,  can 
never  be  accepted  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the  work  of  man, 
unless  found  in  sufficient  quantities,  or  under  such  circum- 
stances, as  to  prove  design  in  their  formation  by  their  number 
or  position."* 

In  the  spirit  of  the  passage  I  have  just  quoted,  I  should 
have  hesitated  to  commit  myself  to  the  doctrine  of  human 
antiquity  on  the  evidence  of  flint  ''flakes*'  merely;  but  the 
same  spirit  compels  me  to  accept  and  avow  it  when  Lanceo- 
late  and  Ovale  "implements''  are  found  with  remains  of 
extinct  mammals  in  deposits  implying  a  great  lapse  of  time. 
Moreover,  the  " implements "  give  to  the  ''flukes"  a  value  which 
in  their  isolation  they  did  not  possess.  Such  flakes  nmst 
have  been  struck  off  in  making  implements,  and,  consisting 
of  imperishable  material,  it  would  be  surprising  indeed  it 
the  latter  being  found,  the  former  were  not  found  also,  and  in 
very  large  numbera. 

The  state  of  society  shadowed  forth  by  the  implements  of 

*  <*  Archftologia"  voL  xxxTiiL,  psges  10,  11.     18S0. 


32  MR.  pengelly's  peesidential  address. 

the  Palaeolithic  period  was  undoubtedly  savage.  Left  to 
themselves,  men  emerge  from  a  savage  condition  so  very 
slowly  as  to  induce  some  eminent  thinkers  to  hold  that  their, 
emergence  is  impossible.  The  unpolished  implements  alone 
then  may  be  held  to  represent  a  very  protracted  period  of 
tima  In  a  climate  like  ours  a  savage  population  must  be 
necessarily  sparse,  perhaps  scarcely  exceeding  one  person  to 
forty  square  miles.  The  Ovate  implements  are  edged  tools, 
fashioned  by  the  expenditure  of  much  labour  and  time ;  and 
this  edge  must  have  been  essential  to  them,  or  the  labour 
would  not  have  been  expended  in  producing  it.  They  appear 
to  have  been  the  most  important  tools  of  the  time,  and  must 
have  been  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  by  some  of  which, 
at  least,  the  edges  would,  in  no  long  time,  be  injured,  and 
the  tool  would  have  to  be  re-chipped  or  a  new  one  made.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  cutlers  of  the  present  day,  working  in 
metal  and  with  all  the  appliances  of  modern  science,  make  a 
large  number  of  failures  for  every  edge-tool  they  can  warrant. 
It  may  be  concluded,  then,  that  the  Palaeolithic  cutlers, 
having  to  use  one  stone  in  order  to  fashion  another  into  a 
tool,  made  failures  too,  perhaps  in  as  great  numbers  as  do 
their  modem  representatives.  Those  who  have  carefully 
examined  the  ordinary  Ovate  flint  implements  are  aware  that 
on  each  surface  they  present  a  large  number  of  facets,  from 
each  of  which  a  flake  has  been  struck ;  hence  each  such  tool 
represents  at  least  as  many  imperishable  flakes  as  it  bears 
facets. 

Were  we,  from  the  foregoing  considerations,  to  speculate 
on  the  number  of  flakes  which,  discovered  and  undiscovered, 
probably  exist  in  this  country,  we  might  proceed  thus :  Let 
it  be  supposed  that  in  this  island  the  Paheolithic  age  was  of 
1000  years  duration ;  that  the  population  was  no  more  than 
one  person  to  forty  square  miles ;  that,  including  failures  in 
making  as  well  as  lost  and  worn  out  tools,  each  person  re- 
quired one  implement  per  year ;  and  that  each  tool  was  made 
by  striking  off  no  more  than  five  flakes  on  the  average.  What 
would  be  the  total  number  of  flakes  produced  ?  The  area  of 
Great  Britain  is,  in  round  numbers,  about  90,000  square 
miles ;  hence,  on  the  assumed  data,  there  would  be  90,000  x 
1000  X  5  -^  40  =  11,250,000  =  1^  miUion  flakes.  I  may  be 
allowed  to  remark,  that  I  believe  my  assumed  data  are  much 
below  the  truth.  It  is  probable  that  more  than  one  tool  per 
head  per  annum  would  be  required,  that  many  more  than 
five  flakes  would  be  struck  off  from  each  tool,  and  that  the 
Palajolithic  age  vastly  exceeded  one  millennium.     Moreover, 


MR.  pekgelly's  presidential  address.  33 

flakes  were  produced  in,  at  least,  equal  numbers  during  the 
Neolithic  or  Polished  Stone  period:  indeed,  not  until  man 
entirely  discontinued  the  use  of  flint  tools — far  into  the  Age 
of  Metal — could  he  fidl  to  strike  them  off. 

Whilst  the  scientific  world,  with  but  an  exception  here  and 
there,  have  accepted  the  doctrine  of  human  antiquity  on  the 
flint  e>ridence  alone,  it  is  interesting  to  be  able  to  add  that 
Kent's  Cavern  has  yielded  other  proofs.  Many  of  the  bones 
found  in  it  are  split  longitudinally,  as  if  for  the  extinction  of 
the  marrow.  This  was  without  doubt  the  work  of  man,  for 
besides  him  no  animal  is  capable  of  so  splitting  them.  But, 
without  any  known  exception,  every  bone  thus  split  has  been 

gnawed  by  the  hysena,  which  obtained  the  remnants  of  the 
Oman  meaL 

When  Columbus,  on  the  night  of  the  11th  of  October, 
1492,  during  his  first  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  saw  a  few 
transient  gleams  of  light  ahead,  he  "considered  them  as 
certain  signs  of  land,  and,  moreover  that  the  land  was 
inhabited.*'  Though  few  of  his  companions  attached  any 
importance  to  them,  the  sequel  proved  the  correctness  of  the 
great  navigator's  inference;  and  the  reward  promised  to 
whomsoever  discovered  land  was  adjudged  to  him,  not  for 
having  been  the  first  to  see  the  land,  but  "  for  having  per- 
ceived the  light,"*  In  Kent's  Cavern  a  somewhat  considerable 
number  of  burnt  fragments  of  bone  have  been  found,  beneath 
the  stalagmite,  mixed  up  with  the  implements  and  the  bones 
of  the  extinct  mammals.  These  charred  fragments  are  as 
good  a  proof  of  the  existence  of  man  as  was  the  light  seen 
by  the  discoverer  of  America.  For  aught  he  knew,  his  light 
might  have  been  that  of  a  distant  volcano ;  but  man  must 
have  kindled  the  fire  which  burnt  the  bones  in  Kent's  Cavern. 

Becently,  hpwever,  the  explorers  have  been  rewarded  by 
the  discovery,  in  the  same  cavern  and  under  the  same  con- 
ditions,'of  three  or  four  well-formed  bone  implements  having 
such  evident  marks  of  design  as  to  render  further  scepticism 
impossible. 

This  sketch  of  the  structure  of  our  county  suggests  a  few 
topics  to  which  I  will  now  briefly  turn. 

1st  Though  the  geology  of  Devonshire  is  very  varied, 
there  are  many  systems  of  rocks  of  which  no  example  is 
found  within  its  borders.  Thus  we  have  no  Ix)wer  Devonian, 
or  Permian,  or  Oolitic,  or  Lower  Cretaceous,  or  Eocene,  or 
Upper  Miocene,  or  Pliocene  deposits. 

♦Washington  Irving^H  "Life  of  Cohnnlm^,*'  bu*fk  iii.,  iliap.  iv. 
VOL.  II.  D 


34  MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address. 

Tlie  destruction  of  old  rocks  is  a  pre-requisite  of  the  for- 
mation of  new  ones.  The  latter  are  formed  of  the  debris  of 
the  former.  An  universal  stratified  formation  is  impossible. 
Deposition  as  certainly  pre-supposes  denudation  as  masonry 
pre-supposes  quarrying.  To  furnish  material  for  the  Devon- 
shire strata,  rocks  were  destroyed  elsewhere ;  and  in  its  turn 
Devonshire,  instead  of  an  area  of  construction,  has  been  one 
of  waste.  It  is  conceivable  that  the  earth's  surface  may  be 
capable  of  a  threefold  division — areas  of  denudation,  areas 
of  deposition,  and  areas  of  quiescence.  The  first  may  be 
sub-aerial  or  sub-aqueous,  the  second  must  be  sub-aqueous, 
and  if  the  third  exist,  they  must  be  at  the  bottoms  of  pro- 
found seas  only. 

The  absence  of  a  formation  in  a  district  implies  that  it  was 
never  deposited  there,  or  that  it  has  been  completely  destroyed. 
The  former  indicates  that  the  area  was  above  the  sea  level, 
or,  what  is  much  less  probable,  that  it  was  covered  by  a  pro- 
found sea ;  whilst  the  latter  shows  that  it  was  sub-aqueous 
during  the  period  in  question,  and  that  the  deposits,  then 
laid  down  but  now  missing,  were  destroyed  before  the  era  of 
the  next  more  modem  formation  existing  in  the  locality. 
Thus,  for  example,  if  Permian  rocks  ever  existed  in  what  is 
now  Devonshire,  this  country  must  during  that  era  have  been 
sub-aqueous,  and  those  rocks  must  have  been  so  completely 
broken  up  and  removed  before  the  Triassic  period,  as  not  only 
to  leave  no  portion  of  a  bed  in  situ,  but  not  even  any  frag- 
ment to  be  included  in  the  red  conglomemtes :  and  so  on  in 
other  cases. 

2nd.  The  voluminous  and  varied  systems  of  strata  which 
exist  within  this  county  denote  that  the  material  was  supplied 
by  denudation  on  a  very  large  scale.  In  some  instances  it  is 
easy,  in  others  difficult  or  impossible,  to  say  whence  the 
materials  were  derived.  Thus  it  is  easy  and  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  clays  and  sands  of  the  Bovey  Lignite  formation  were 
derived  from  the  Dartmoor  granite;  tliat  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  rock  fragments  found  in  the  Triassic  conglomerates 
were  obtained  from  rocks  very  near  at  hand;  and,  in  like 
manner,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  tracking  to  their  by  no  means 
distant  homes  the  pebbles  composing  the  superficial  gravels 
of  the  county :  but  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  whence  came 
that  remarkable  assemblage  of  pebbles  forming  the  famous 
Budleigh  Salterton  "pebble  bed,'*  and  extending  thence  inland 
for  several  miles.  Perliaps  all  that  can  with  certainty  be 
stated  is,  that  Devonshire  contains  no  rock  which  could  have 
yielded  them,  and  that  there  are  such  rocks  in  France  and  in 


MR.  PENGELLY'S  PKE8IDEMTIAL  ADDRESS.  35 

ComwalL  There  is  a  similar  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the 
flints  which  are  thrown  up  on  almost  every  beacli  in  Devon 
and  Cornwall,  and  which  in  some  instances,  as  at  Slapton,  in 
South  Devon,  form  the  larger  portion  of  the  beach  material. 

No  one  thinks,  of  course,  of  attempting  to  determine  the 
source  of  the  calcareous  matter  forming  our  limestones  and 
chalks.  These  formations  are  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  of 
oiganic  origin — results  of  the  labours  of  countless  moUusks, 
and  myriads  of  polyps  and  other  lowly  forms  of  life,  which 
extracted  from  the  ocean  water  the  carbonate  of  lime  which 
it  held  in  solution.  Nor  is  the  case  of  our  slates  and  fine- 
grained grits  much  more  hopeful.  The  extremely  slow  rate 
at  which  fine  mud  sinks  in  water,  the  depth  of  the  ocean, 
and  the  persistency  and  velocity  of  many  ocean  currents,  are 
sofiicient  to  show  that  the  area  of  construction  may  often  be 
tax  removed  from  that  of  denudation. 

But  the  deposits  of  our  county  are  not  the  only  evidences 
of  denudation  which  it  contains.  It  is  as  emphatically  shown 
by  the  great  vacant  spaces  between  detax^hed  portions  of  what 
was  originally  one  continuous  formation.  For  example,  we 
have  no  Greensand  between  Peake  Hill  near  Sidmouth,  and 
the  Haldons ;  and  thence  again  to  Milber  Down  near  Newton 
Abbot  That  these  great  interspaces  are  natural  quarries  we 
may  be  sure,  but  where  the  excavated  materials  were  carried 
it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  determina  So  again  there  are  in 
Devonshire  several  small  "Outliers"  of  Trias,  as  on  the  shores 
of  Barnstaple,  Start,  and  Bigbur}'^  Bays,  many  miles  from  one 
another  as  well  as  from  the  continuous  formation.  Within 
the  last  few  weeks  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  studying  a 
still  more  distant  patch  of  the  same  rock,  between  the  village 
of  Gawsand  and  lledding  Point,  in  Plymouth  Sound.  The 
denudation  was  obviously  on  a  very  large  scale ;  but  had  it 
been  still  larger,  had  it  destroyed  the  Outliers  too,  there 
would  have  been  no  evidence  that  it  had  ever  taken  place. 

3rd.  When  we  find  that  on  such  a  question  as  the  age  of 
the  oldest  group  of  rocks  in  Devonshire,  the  opinion  of 
Messrs.  Sedgwick  and  Murchison — the  Pi*ofessor  of  Geology 
in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  the  Director-General  of 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Great  Britain — is  pronounced  to  be 
an  error  by  the  i)upil  of  the  former  and  the  colleague  of  tlie 
latter — Mr.  Jukes,  Local  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of 
Ireland — it  is  perhaps  jiot  surprising  that  we  occasionally 
hear  it  disparagingly  stated  that  "  geology  is  in  its  infancy ; " 
that  "its  most  anient  cultivators  are  by  no  means  agreed 
among  themselves;'*  and  that  "  what  is  orthodox  to-day  may 

D  2 


36  MR.  pengelly's  presidentul  address. 

be  heterodox  to-morrow."  On  looking  closely,  however,  it  is 
found,  as  in  others,  that  this  case  does  not  affect  the  great 
principles  of  the  science,  is  mainly  a  matter  of  classification, 
and  in  a  great  degree  arises  from  an  attempt  to  discover  a 
line  where  nature  never  drew  one.  In  hastily  generalizing 
from  somewhat  local  facts,  our  fathers  were  too  prone  to  sup- 
pose that  from  time  to  time  convulsions  had  universally  and 
synchronously  depopulated  the  globe,  and  brought  back  chaos. 
On  the  restoration  of  order,  it  was  supposed  that  by  a  new 
act  of  creation  the  world  was  re-peopled  with  organisms, 
which  in  their  turn  would  be  ejected  by  the  same  rude  pro- 
cess. Had  this  been  the  real  life-history  of  the  earth,  the 
divisions  of  geological  time  would  be  well  defined  and  easily 
determined ;  but  discovery  has  shown  that  it  is  anything  but 
a  true  representation  of  actual  facts ;  that  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  from  the  advent  of  the  first  organism  up  to  the 
present  hour  the  world  has  never  ceased  to  be  the  theatre 
of  life ;  and  that  breaks  in  organic  continuity  arise  entirely 
from  the  imperfection  of  the  geological  record.  It  is  obvious, 
that  in  proportion  as  the  science  approximates  perfection,  the 
chasms  will  be  filled  in,  and  hard  lines  of  demarcation  will 
disappear.  "We  may  be  eventually  compelled  to  resort  to 
sections  of  time  as  arbitrary,  and  as  purely  conventional,  as 
those  which  divide  the  history  of  human  events  into  cen- 
turies."* There  will  always  be  different  systems  of  classi- 
fication, and  debatable  zones  at  the  junction  of  formations. 

4th.  Amongst  the  besetments  of  the  cultivators,  as  well  as 
the  discouragers  of  science,  is  that  of  trusting  to  negative 
evidence,  even  when  unsupported  by  any  confirmatory  posi- 
tive fact;  of  practically  forgetting  that  ignorance  of  the 
existence  of  a  fact  is  far  from  being  the  same  thing  as  know- 
ledge of  its  non-existence.  The  Kent's  Hole  explorations 
supply  an  instructive  example  of  this.  For  four  years  Mr. 
M'Enery  sedulously  explored  the  Cavern,  and  he  recorded  the 
fact  that  he  found  human  flint  tools.  To  precisely  the  same 
effect  were  the  subsequent  researches  of  Mr.  Godwin- Austen, 
and,  still  later,  of  the  Torquay  Natural  History  Society.  The 
British  Association  Committee  laboured  some  months  without 
advancing  further — the  flint  implements  were  still  the  only 
indication  of  the  presence  of  man.  Before  the  end  of  six 
months,  however,  they  met  with  a  new  class  of  evidence,  and 
in  their  first  Report,  in  1865,  were  able  to  announce  that 
"  several  small  pieces  of  burnt  bone  had  been  met  with  in  the 

♦  Sir  C.  Lyell's  "Elements  of  Geology.*'  Sixth  Edition,  p.  183.   1866. 


MR.  pengelly's  presidential  address.  37 

red  loam."  Before  the  end  of  another  year,  they  observed 
an  additional  tact,  and,  in  1866,  reported  that  "very  many  of 
the  long  bones  had  been  split  longitudinally,''  and  that  "  it 
was  difficult  to  suppose,  either  a  priori,  or  from  an  examina- 
tion of  them,  that  less  than  human  agency  could  have  so 
divided  theuL"  Later  still,  at  the  end  of  twenty  months 
from  the  banning,  the  first  bone  implement  was  found; 
and  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Association,  the  Committee 
will  have  the  pleasure  of  reporting  the  discovery  of,  at  least, 
four  of  this  new  class  of  objects. 

On  taking  a  dispassionate  view  of  all  the  facts,  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  necessary  to  relinquish  the  hope  of  finding  the 
bones  of  the  implement  makers,  or  to  abandon  the  belief  in 
the  high  Antiquity  of  Man,  even  though  Kent's  Cavern  may 
never  yield  any  part  of  his  osseous  system. 

Lastly.  It  must  be  unnecessary  to  remark  that  the  time 
has  by  no  means  arrived  when  the  Devonshire  geologists  can 
suspend  their  labours.  There  remain  many  unsolved  pro- 
blems within  our  borders.  We  still  ask,  "  What  is  the  age  of 
the  Crystalline  Schists  at  the  southern  angle  of  our  county? 
What  is  the  precise  chronology  of  our  Limestones  and  asso- 
ciated rocks?  Is  there,  east  of  Exmouth,  a  break  in  the 
Bed  rocks?  Whence  came  the  Budleigh  Salterton  pebbles? 
Whence  also  the  Porphyritic  Trap  nodules  so  abundant  in 
the  Trias?  Are  our  Greensands  really  of  the  age  of  the 
Gault?  Whence  the  flints  so  numerous  on  our  existing 
beaches  ?  What  is  the  history  of  our  Superficial  Gravels  ? 
Are  there  any  indications  of  Glaciation  in  Devonshire  ?  To 
what  race  did  our  Cave-Men  belong  ?  The  solution  of,  at 
least,^  many  of  these  questions  must  be  reserved  for  another 
generation  of  enquirers ;  and  to  the  young  men  of  the  pre- 
sent day  I  earnestly  commend  them. 


NORTH  DEVON  CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS. 

BY  J.    B.    CHANTBH. 


Devon  in  general,  and  North  Devon  in  particular,  has  been 
very  retentive  of  ancient  customs,  habits,  and  superstitiona 
Its  folk-lore  is  especially  interesting  from  its  local  form  of 
fairy,  the  Devonshire  pixy.  But  the  most  noticeable  fact 
connected  with  North  Devon  is,  not  so  much  the  variety 
or  specially  local  character  of  its  superstitions  and  vulgar 
customs,  as  of  their  being  still  generally  interwoven  with  the 
daily  life  of  the  population.  In  most  parts  of  the  country  it 
is  necessary,  in  order  to  gather  up  local  customs  or  legends, 
to  seek  out  ancient  crones  or  noted  legend-tellers;  but  no  one 
can  live  in  this  district,  and  mix  much  with  the  country  folks, 
without  finding  a  general  belief  in  witchcraft  still  existing, 
and  old  customs  and  superstitions  in  full  sway.  A  great 
many  of  these  are,  or  were,  common  to  all  England,  but 
having  gradually  died  out  in  the  more  busy  parts  of  the 
country,  have  continued  hei*e,  most  probably  from  the  isolated 
nature  of  the  district,  aud  the  stagnant  character  of  the 
agricultural  population. 

It  is  not  even  necessary  to  go  out  of  our  homes  to  have 
very  palpable  proof  of  these  superstitious  practices;  they  are 
brought  into  our  houses  by  domestic  servants,  who  are  mostly 
supplied  from  the  agricultural  districts,  and  who  communicate 
them  to  our  children.  Curious  revelations  frequently  occur 
in  our  Police  and  County  Courts.  The  Judge  of  one  of  them 
very  recently  expressed  his  indignation  at  the  cool  way  in 
which  a  man  spoke  of  his  wife  having  been  '*strook"  seveml 
times ;  and  it  was  necessary  to  be  explained  that  he  did  not 
refer  to  her  having  been  subjected  to  personal  chastisement, 
but  to  her  having  had  proper  medical  treatment  for  some 
ailment,  by  the  part  being  "struck"  with  some  imaginary 
remedy  or  charm. 

The  medical  repute  of  charms  is,  in  fact,  very  prevalent ; 
any  sudden  cure  is  proverbially  said  to  act  like  a  charm.  The 
seventh  son  of  a  seventh  son  is  still  in  great  request  to 
*' touch"  for  fits;   and  a  case  of  this  came  out  on  a  legal 


NORTH  DEVON  CUSTOMS  AND  BUPEBSTITIONS.      39 

enquiry  only  a  week  or  two  since.  Warts  and  swellings  are 
removed  by  various  charms,  such  as  skeins  of  thread  knotted 
with  the  number  of  the  warts  to  be  removed,  and  struck 
across  the  warts  as  many  times,  and  then  buried ;  or  striking 
with  a  witch  elm  wand,  or  a  piece  of  stolen  bacon ;  in  each 
of  which  cases  as  the  buried  article  decays  so  do  the  warts 
gradually  decrease;  or  by  depositing  a  given  number  of 
pebbles  or  peas  in  a  bag,  and  losing  it,  but  in  this  case  the 
unfortunate  finder  gets  the  warts  himself.  But  the  most 
favourite  remedy  for  warts,  and  indeed  all  swellings,  is  to 
have  "words"  said  over  them. 

A  portion  of  a  rope  with  which  a  suicide  has  hanged 
himself  is  a  wondrous  charm  against  all  accidents,  when 
worn  around  the  person. 

The  tooth  ache  is  cured,  and,  what  is  more,  perfect  exemi)- 
tion  from  it  for  the  future  is  supposed  to  be  attained,  by  biting 
out  a  tooth  from  a  corpse  or  skull;  and  very  recently,  a 
skeleton  having  been  discovered  at  Croyde,  the  jaws  were 
quickly  denud^  of  all  their  teeth  by  the  number  of  persons 
who  luwtened  to  the  spot  to  bite  them  out.  Every  old 
woman  has  her  remedy  for  boils,  some  of  them  of  a  very 
ludicrous  nature.  I  was  favoured  with  a  new  and  rather 
ghastly  recipe  this  week  only,  which  I  copy  in  full. 

"To  cure  a  friend  of  Boils. — Go  into  a  churchyard  on  a  dark 
night,  and  to  the  grave  of  a  person  who  has  been  interred  the 
day  previous;  walk  six  times  round  the  grave,  and  crawl 
across  it  three  times.  If  the  sufferer  from  boils  is  a  man,  tliis 
ceremony  must  be  performed  by  a  woman,  and  the  contrary. 
The  charm  will  not  work  unless  the  night  is  quite  dark." 
There  is  an  appended  uota  "This  remedy  was  tried  by  a 
young  woman  in  Georgeham  churchyard,'*  but  with  what  result 
was  not  told;  the  inference  was  that  it  succeeded.  I  should 
add,  that  this  recipe  was  given  in  full  faith  and  belief  of  its 
efiBcacy. 

Accidents,  or  any  obscure  ailments  to  cattle,  are  commonly 
attributed  to  their  being  witched,  or  "overlooked,"  as  the 
term  is,  and  can  only  be  cured  by  a  white  witch ;  and  it  is 
well  known  that  more  than  one  person  in  North  Devon  gains 
his  livelihood  by  acting  professionally  as  a  white  witch,  that 
is,  the  country  people  call  him  the  white  witch,  though  he 
professes  to  be  a  cattle  doctor. 

In  fact,  if  any  one  gets  into  trouble  in  any  way,  it  is  quite 
a  sufficient  explanation  that  he  has  been  "evil- wished  and 
overlooked,"  and  the  white  witch  is  forthwith  called  into 
requisition. 


40      NOBTH  DEVON  CUSTOMS  AND  SUPSBSTITIONa 

Omens,  presentiments,  and  death- warnings,  are  much  be- 
lieved in  hereabouts.  The  bells  in  a  house  ringing,  or  knocks 
heard  at  night;  a  winding  sheet  in  a  candle;  a  dog  howling 
on  a  door-step;  or,  what  is  a  more  local  and  poetic  super- 
stition, the  "wist  bird**  being  heard  twittering, — are  r^arded 
with  dread,  as  the  sure  forerunners  of  a  death,  or  other 
calamity  in  a  housa  Cocks  crowing  at  night  are  signs  of 
sickness;  and  the  most  forced  interpretations  are  put  on 
dreams,  when  any  trivial  matter  occurs,  in  order  that  the 
dreamers  may  say,  "  There,  my  dream  is  out.*' 

Bee-keepers,  almost  without  exception,  are  full  of  super- 
stitions. A  swarm  must  on  no  account  be  sold,  but  given 
away  or  exchanged.  The  bees  must  be  informed,  by  tapping 
on  the  hive  and  whispering,  of  anything  that  takes  place 
in  the  house,  or  if  any  of  the  family  are  ill,  or  going  to,  or 
returning  from,  a  visit.  A  Christmas  handsel  must  be  given 
them  on  New  Year's  Day;  and  the  hives  must  be  turned  if 
a  death  occurs,  or  the  bees  will  forsake  the  hive ;  and  the 
Charivari  of  bells  and  kettles,  when  they  swarm,  is  some- 
times extreme.  These  customs  are  not  exceptional,  but  very 
common.  Some  friends  of  mine  near  the  town,  who  are  bee- 
keepers, and  who  have  given  me  most  of  these  details,  care- 
fully attend  to  all  these  superstitions  on  the  principle  that, 
though  absurd  in  themselves,  it  is  impossible  to  make  the 
people  about  them  think  so,  and  that  their  servants  would 
be  dissatisfied  and  take  no  interest  in  the  bees,  unless  allowed 
to  consult  their  own  prejudices,  and  would  attribute  any 
accident  or  failure  in  the  honey  crop  entirely  to  the  omission 
of  the  accustomed  forms. 

If  any  one  offends  an  old  woman,  the  severest  reply  she 
can  make  is  to  say  she  will  have  him  witched;  and  an 
instance  occurred  only  last  week.  A  sailor  from  a  vessel 
that  put  into  Croyde  Bay  carried  off"  a  rope  belonging  to  a 
singular  character  there  resident,  who  was  heard  to  threaten 
very  earnestly,  that  if  he  had  been  there,  he  would  have 
witched  the  vessel,  and  made  a  spell  by  which  she  should 
never  have  left  the  Bay  again. 

A  great  many  old  English  customs  also  still  linger,  and 
are  frequently  practised  here.  The  groaning  cheese  is  cut  on 
the  birth  of  an  infant ;  a  shoe  is  thrown  after  a  bride  for 
luck ;  and,  in  ca.ses  of  death,  the  common  superstition  of 
opening  every  lock  and  bolt  in  the  house  is  very  generally 
observed,  as  is  also  another  very  curious  local  one.  When 
the  funeral  procession  leaves  the  house,  all  the  doors  are 
carefully  set  open,  and  not  closed  until  after  the  procession 


NORTH  DBVON  CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS.      41 

returns,  the  superstition  running,  *'  Shut  one  corpse  out — three 
corpses  in."  These  last  customs  are  continued  simply  because 
at  these  periods  the  arrangements  are  generally  left  in  the 
hands  of  nurses  and  other  persons  about  the  sick  house,  who 
are  a  class  for  the  most  part  strongly  imbued  with  super- 
stitions feelings. 

The  ashen  faggot  is  burnt  at  Christmas  with  all  formality; 
Lenten  shirds  are  plentifully  thrown  on  Ash  Wednesday; 
even  the  May  Day  and  Midsummer  Eve  ceremonies,  and 
mumming  at  Christmas,  have  not  been  long  discontinued,  as 
I  have  myself  seen  St.  George  and  the  Dragon  acted  by 
parties  who  went  from  house  to  house  on  Christmas  Eve; 
the  old  fashioned  play,  "  Here  come  I,  old  Father  Christmas; 
Here  come  I,  the  great  St.  George;"  iDut  I  believe  the  Waits 
or  Christmas  Carols  are  the  only  ancient  custom  now  in  use, 
and  they  are  still  entertained  at  midnight  on  elder  wine 
and  toasta  Barnstaple  great  fair  is  still  heralded  by  hang- 
ing out  an  immense  glove. 

I  have  here  referred  only  to  a  few  customs  and  super- 
stitions which  have  come  under  my  own  personal  observation. 
No  doubt  the  list  can  be  veiy  largely  increased;  but  my 
object  on  this  occasion  is  to  call  attention  to  a  curious  local 
application  of  a  widely  diffused  vulgar  custom, — that  of 
Skimmington  riding.  The  origin  of  this  custom  is  rather 
obscure,  as  it  appears  to  have  been  practised  under  different 
names  in  most  parts  of  England,  and  in  many  foreign 
countries.  It  consists  of  a  burlesque  procession,  in  ridicule 
of  a  man  whose  wife  has  been  faithless  to  him,  and  likewise 
of  a  tame  husband  submitting  to  be  henpecked  and  beaten 
by  his  wife,  and,  in  fact,  allowing  her  to  wear  the  unmen- 
tionables. 

This  procession  usually  consists  of  two  stuffed  figures  of 
a  man  and  a  woman  on  horseback,  back  to  back,  preceded  by 
a  man  carrying  a  pair  of  ram's  horns  on  a  pole,  or  on  his 
head,  and  followed  by  noisy  music  of  ladles,  pots,  frying- 
pans,  and  cleavers,  all  the  other  persons  in  the  procession 
smacking  whips;  and  in  this  manner  are  paraded  through 
the  parish  into  the  next,  where  the  bonis  are  nailed  up 
sometimes  to  the  Church  porch.  Such  a  procession  is  even 
yet  not  unfrequently  seen  in  this  district,  and  is  intended  as  a 
warning  and  punishment  to  unruly  wives  and  tame  husbands, 
and  to  hold  them  up  to  public  scorn.  But  the  rustics  have 
a  tradition,  that,  by  using  this  ceremony,  they  can  legally 
establish  a  Cattle  Fair;  just  as  they  fancy,  that  if  a  funeral 
passes  through  any  private  property,  it  establishes  for  ever 


42      NORTH  DEVON  CUSTOMS  AND  SUPEESTITIONS. 

after  a  pablic  right  of  way;  or  that  a  wife  can  be  legally 
divorced  by  exposing  her  for  sale  in  Market  Overt,  with  a 
halter  round  her  neck ;  and  I  believe  that  more  than  one 
fair  in  North  Devon  was  first  established  with  this  ceremony. 
One  instance  of  it  came  under  my  personal  notice  some  years 
since,  as  I  was  visiting  at  the  Manor  House,  when  a  depu- 
tation arrived,  bringing  the  following  document,  drawn  up 
with  a  great  pretence  of  legal  form,  and  tendering  the  tolls. 

"  Manor  of  Lynton,  in  the  County  of  Devon. 

"  Whereas  the  Inhabitants  of  Lynton,  having  sent  Notice 
"to  the  Inhabitants  of  Countisbury,  did  ride  Skivetton  on 
"the  12th  day  of  June,  1854 ;  and  having  carried  the  horns, 
"and  having  nailed  and  left  the  horns  in  the  parish  of 
"  Countisbury,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  without  let  or  hin- 
"drance;  and  having  sent  notice  to  the  Churchwardens  of 
"Countisbury,  that  they  should  bring  the  horns,  and  leave 
"the  same  in  the  parish  of  Countisbury,  on  Monday,  June 
"26th,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  Cattle  Fair;  and  the 
"  inhabitants  of  Countisbury  having  received  the  same  with- 
"  out  let  or  hindrance,  a  Cattle  Fair  was  accordingly  held  in 
"the  said  Manor  of  Lynton,  on  Monday,  June  26th,  1854; 
"and  the  tolls  having  been  refused  by  Mr.  Teppee,  the 
"  majority  have  voted  the  same  to  the  Lord  of  the  Manor  of 
"  Lynton,  and  that  the  same  be  sent  to  him  accordingly." 

Then  follows  a  long  list  of  the  sales  effected  at  the  fair, 
and  the  tolls  received. 

The  fair,  thus  commenced,  continued  to  be  held  until  the 
cattle  disease  put  a  stop  to  all  these  local  fairs.  I  know  of 
no  custom  analogous  to  this  anywhere  else  in  England, 
except  the  well-known  Horn  Fair  at  Charlton,  in  Kent, 
which  used  to  be  opened  with  a  procession  somewhat  similar 
to  that  of  the  Skimmington.  But,  in  conclusion,  I  would  call 
attention  to  a  curious  entry  in  the  Churchwardens*  accounts 
of  Pilton— "  1797,  July  10th.  Paid  for  crying  down  the 
"  Whips  and  Horns,  3d.**  I  imagine  this  must  have  some 
reference  to  Skimmington  riding,  which  was  considered  to 
confer  some  legal  rights,  and,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
document  quoted,  that  the  horns  were  taken  into  the  next 
parish,  and  notice  sent  to  the  Churchwardens — probably 
something  of  the  sort  occurred  in  the  case  of  Pilton — and 
the  Churchwardens  thought  it  necessary  to  prevent  any 
assumed  rights  being  acquired  in  their  parish,  by  having  the 
removal  of  the  horns  cried  down. 


THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAY, 
NORTH  DEVON. 

BY   W.   PENQELLY,    F.B.8.,    F.G.B, 


Gbolooists  have,  from  time  to  time,  called  attention  to  the 
existence  of  a  series  of  Baised  Beaches  along  both  the 
northern  and  southern  coasts  of  Devon  and  Cornwall.  In 
December,  1836,  Professor  Sedgwick  and  Sir  R.  I.  Murchison 
first  pointed  out,  and  minutely  described,  what  they  con- 
sidered a  good  example  of  one  of  those  beaches,  on  the 
northern  shore  of  Barnstaple  Bay.  About  three  months 
later,  March,  1837,  the  Kev.  D.  Williams  confirmed  the  state- 
ments and  opinions  of  the  writers  just  mentioned,  and  added 
some  interesting  facts  to  the  description  which  they  had 
given.  In  a  paper  read  before  this  Association  at  the  Meeting 
in  1866,  some  doubt  was  thrown  on  the  conclusion  to  which 
the  earlier  observers  had  been  led,  and  it  was  suggested  that 
perhaps  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  evidence  of  change  of 
level,  along  our  coasts  generally,  should  be  reconsidered  I 
had,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  visited  this  beach,  and  had 
gone  away  unsuspicious  of  their  being  any  flaw  either  in  the 
facts  or  in  the  logic.  Acting  on  the  suggestion  just  men- 
tioned, however,  I  have  twice  re-visited  the  ground,  accom- 
panied on  the  first  occasion  by  Mr.  W.  Jones,  and  on  both  by 
Mr.  W.  Vicary,  f.g.s.,  and,  having  made  a  series  of  careful 
observations  on  the  southern,  as  well  as  the  northern  shore  of 
the  bay,  I  now  beg  to  lay  the  results  before  the  Association. 
At  present,  the  sea  in  some  places  is  occupied  in  grinding 
down  the  rocky  strand  to  one  general  plane,  which  frequently 
dips  so  gently  sea-ward  as  to  appear  sensibly  horizontal ;  and 
in  others,  in  throwing  up  and  lodging  sand,  or  mud,  or 
shingle — results  of  grinding  operations  elsewhere.  In  this 
way  it  must  have  operated  ever  since  rocks  were  first  exposed 
to  its  action.  Denudation  and  Deposition  are  inseparable : 
each  necessarily  supposes  the  other.  Hence  there  are  two 
distinct  evidences  of  change  of  relative  level  of  sea  and 
land — Terraces  of  Denudation,  or  Rock   Platforms;    and 


44      THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAY. 

Terraces  of  Deposition,  or  Raised  Beaches.  I  endeavoured, 
in  a  paper  printed  in  our  Transactions  for  1866,  to  point  out 
that  accumulations  of  sand,  even  when  assuming  a  stratified 
character,  and  at  a  considerable  height  above  the  existing 
strand,  must  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  be  r^arded  as  Baised 
Beaches,  since  they  may  be  masses  of  blown  sand  only.  But 
it  does  not  appear  to  be  possible  to  misinterpret  a  platform  of 
denudation,  or  an  accumulation  of  pebbles  and  lK)ulders,  or 
sand  replete  with  large  shells,  when  either  or  all  of  these 
phenomena  present  themselves  at  heights  above  the  reach  of 
waves  at  the  existing  levela 

Commencing,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  bay,  at  West- 
ward-Ho  hotel,  and  proceeding  westward  towards  Clovelly, 
we  soon  found  in  the  cliff  an  old  terrace  of  denudation,  con- 
sisting of  the  planed-down  outcrop  of  almost  vertical  strata, 
and  about  fifteen  feet  by  careful  measurement  above  the 
existing  strand  of  the  same  kind.  When  measured  at  right 
angles  to  the  coast  line,  it  was  found  to  be  thirty  feet  wide, 
and  on  its  inner  or  landward  margin  there  reposes  a  dis- 
tinct old  beach,  about  five  feet  thick,  and  composed  of  sand 
and  boulders;  the  latter  being  precisely  like,  and  quite  as 
large  as,  those  forming  the  well-known  Pebble  ridge  at 
Northam  Burrows.  As  in  most  of  our  Raised  Beaches, 
there  are  a  few  flints  mixied  with  the  sand  and  pebbles, 
but  perhaps  scarcely  so  many  as  occur  on  the  existing 
adjacent  strata.  Overlying  the  old  beach,  there  is  a  sul^ 
aerial  accumulation,  or  "Head,"  about  12  feet  thick.  At 
this  point  there  are  no  means  of  determining  how  far  into  the 
country  the  platform  and  beach  extend ;  but  in  the  direction 
of  the  coast,  both  are  to  be  seen  as  far  west  as  Abbotsham 
Cliffs,  a  distance  of  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half.  They 
are  most  conspicuous  on  the  numerous  projecting  points  of 
cliff,  or  mimic  headlands.  One  of  these  presents  a  section,  not 
only  in  the  general  line  of  the  coast,  but,  what  is  nmch  more 
important  for  the  purpose  of  disclosing  the  breadth  of  the  plat- 
form and  beach — or  rather  of  what  remain  of  them— a  section 
at  right  angles  to  it  also.  Commencing  at  the  low-water  line 
and  proceeding  landward,  we  have  first  a  bare  rocky  strand, 
600  feet  wide— the  outcrop  of  nearly  vertical  strata.  From  the 
inner  end  of  this,  a  coarse  pebble  beach,  50  feet  broad,  rises 
at  an  angle  of  12°,  and  abuts  against  an  almost  verticsd  cliff 
of  rocks.  This  cliff  rises  to  the  height  of  18  feet,  and  ter- 
minates in  an  old  platform,  sensibly  horizontal,  60  feet  broad, 
and  in  all  respects  similar  to  that  just  mentioned,  which  is 
now  alternately  covered  and  laid  bare  at  every  high  and  low 


THE  RAISED  BEACUE8  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAY.  45 

water  respectively.  This  terrace  is  completely  occupied  by 
an  old  beach,  12  feet  thick,  and  composed  of  lai^ge  well- 
rounded  pebbles,  differing  in  no  respect  from  those  forming 
the  modem  beach  immediately  below.  This,  in  its  turn,  is 
capped  by  a  Head,  inclining  inwards  at  an  angle  of  about  52°, 
and  measuring  47  feet  along  the  slope. 

From  these  facts  we  came  to  the  following  conclusions : — 
Ist  That  on  the  southern  side  of  Barnstaple  bay  there  is 
unmistakable  evidence  of  an  upheaval  to  the  extent  of  at 
least  twenty  feet.  * 

2nd.  That  judging  from  the  width  of  that  portion  of  it 
which  still  remains,  the  platform  represents  a  very  protracted 
period  during  which  the  country  remained  at  the  correspond- 
ingly lower  level. 

3rd.  That  in  height  and  character,  this  platform  so  closely 
resembles  those  so  well-known  along  the  coasts  of  Devon  and 
Ck)rawall  generally,  as  to  betoken  that  it  is  a  result  and  proof 
of  one  and  the  same  general  elevation. 

4th.  That  the  conditions  of  the  old  strand  were  very  much 
the  same  as  those  characterizing  that  at  present  existing 
immediately  below — the  terrace  being  covered  with  large 
pebbles  and  boulders,  with  some  sand  and  a  few  flinta 

5tL  That  unless  there  has  been  a  great  fault  in  very 
modern  times  along  the  line  of  the  Taw,  or  Torridge,  or  both, 
of  which  the  succession  of  strata  gives  no  known  indication, 
the  northern  shore  of  the  bay  must  have  been  similarly 
raised,  and  is  not  unlikely  to  contain  some  evidence  thereof. 

Messrs.  Sedgwick  and  Murchison  did  not  fail  to  notice 
this  Ane  example  of  change  of  level,  as  they  state  that  "  the 
old  line  of  cliffs,  anterior  to  the  elevation,  may  be  traced 
from  Appledore  along  the  south  side  of  Norton'*  (Northam) 
«  Burrows."* 

It  is  due  to  the  eminent  geologists  just  mentioned,  to  give 
here  the  substance  of  their  excellent  description  of  the 
Raised  Beach  on  the  northern  side  of  the  bay.  They  state 
that  it  is  first  seen  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Braunton 
Burrows,  and  is  traceable  round  the  western  end  of  Saunton 
Down  into  Croyde  Bay,  and  thence,  after  some  interruption, 
to  Baggy  Point;  that  it  forms  regular  sea-cliffs,  which  in 
several  parts  are  perfectly  indurated;  that  in  distinctness  of 
stratification  it  yields  to  no  rock;  that  the  bottom  of  the 
deposit  is  chiefly  conii>osed  of  indurated  shingles,  resting  on 
the  ledges  of  the  older  rocks,  and  filling  up  their  inequali- 

♦  Proc  Geul.  Sue.,  vol.  iL  p.  442. 


46  THE  RAISED   BEACHES   IN   BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

ties;  that  these  conglomerates  are  seldom  of  great  thickness, 
but  in  some  places  alternate  two  or  three  times  with  beds  of 
sand  so  as  to  reach  an  elevation  of  eight  or  nine  feet;  that 
over  the  shingles  are  horizontal  beds  of  sand,  occasionally 
indurated,  sometimes  putting  on  a  concretionary  structure 
and  weathering  into  grotesque  forms ;  that  over  these  again, 
are  regular  beds  of  fine  sand  in  a  state  of  imperfect  indura- 
tion, and  sometimes  hardly  differing  from  the  sand  of  the 
actual  beach  between  high  and  low  water  marks;  that  their 
thickness  amounts  in  some  places  to  more* than  seventy  feet; 
that  the  whole  is  frequently  covered  by  terrestrial  materials 
derived  from  the  adjacent  heights;  that  the  sand  contains 
marine  shells,  few  and  badly  preserved  in  the  upper  beds, 
but  more  abundant  and  often  well-preserved  in  the  indurated 
strata;  that  in  their  condition  and  arrangement,  they  resemble 
the  shells  of  a  modern  beach;  that  in  species  they  are  iden- 
tical with  the  living  shells  of  the  coast,  and  have  amongst 
them  Mactra  stiUtorum,  Tellina  fahula,  T.  soliduia,  Gardium 
ediUe,  Ostrea  edtUis,  Mytilus  edtUis,  Mya  margarUaeea,  Pholas, 
Patella  vulgaris,  Naiica  eanrena,  and  Purpura  lapillus;  that 
at  the  north  side  of  Croyde  Bay,  the  shells  are  very  abundant, 
the  lower  shingles  expand  to  the  thickness  of  nineteen  feet^ 
and  are  found  on  the  {ace  of  Baggy  Point  at  various  heights, 
rising  to  sixty  or  seventy  feet  above  high-water  level ;  that 
the  horizontai  beds  cannot  have  been  formed  of  accumu- 
lations of  blown  sand,  but  are  stratified  marine  deposits, 
differing  in  no  respect  from  the  sand  and  coarsest  shingle  of 
the  neighbouring  beach  except  in  the  level;  that  they  per- 
fectly demonstrate  an  elevation  of  the  neighbouring  coast 
during  the  modern  period;  and  that  in  some  places  long 
smooth  water-worn  surfaces,  exactly  like  those  formed  by 
the  existing  breakers  of  a  rocky  shore,  may  be  traced  midway 
in  the  cliff,  at  an  elevation  quite  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
cause  which  formed  them.* 

In  the  subsequent  paper,  the  Rev.  D.  Williams  thus  defined 
the  situation  of  the  beaches:  "The  first  extends  from  Braunton 
Burrows  to  Down-End  Point;  the  other  on  the  N.  coast 
of  Croyde  Bay,  from  near  the  lime  kilns  to  half-way  to 
Baggy  Point."  He  fully  ajcfreed  with  the  conclusions  drawn 
by  Messra  Sedgwick  and  Murchison,  as  to  the  beaches  having 
been  raised.  He  stated  that  he  had  discovered  in  many 
places,  from  five  to  ten  feet  above  the  tidal  level,  and  at  the 
line  of  contact  of  the  beaches  with  the  old  slate  rocks  of  the 

♦  Proc.  Oeol.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  pHges  441-3. 


THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAY.  47 

district^  countless  Balani  attached  to  the  surface  of  the  latter, 
but  so  firmly  entangled  with  the  substance  of  the  former,  as 
to  be  separated  with  its  fragments;  and  he  thought  it  pro- 
bable that  they  extended  to  still  higher  levels  under  the 
sandstone.  He  also  mentioDcd  that  at  the  base  of  the  sand- 
stone, above  high-water  mark,  there  is  a  magnificent  block  of 
flesh-coloured  granite,  likef  much  of  that  of  the  Grampians, 
but  not  like  any  granite  in  Lundy,  Dartmoor,  or  Cornwall.* 

In  his  "Report,'*  in  1839,  Sir.  H.  De  la  Beche  states  that 
the  raised  benches  in  the  district  surrounding  Barnstaple 
Bay  can  leave  little  doubt  that  "  the  sea  once  flowed  up  the 
valleys  of  the  Taw  and  Torridge,  at  an  elevation  of  30  or  40 
feet  higher  than  at  present 'y**  and  he  points  out  that  there 
seems  reason  to  believe  that  in  several  localities  in  Cornwall 
new  sandy  dunes  have  been  accumulated  over  the  old  raised 
dunes  and  beaches,  in  a  manner  to  prevent  any  distinctive 
line  between  them;  and  he  remarks  that  on  the  north  of 
Braunton  Burrows  ''  sandy  accumulations  are  observed  above 
the  raised  beaches  on  the  north  of  them."t 

Subsequent  writers  have,  from  time  to  time,  noticed  this 
beach,  but  without,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  adding  to  the  facts 
already  recorded. 

Last  year,  however,  in  the  paper  already  spoken  of,  Mr. 
Spence  Bate  stated  that  a  near  inspection  showed  that  the 
horizontal  layers  of  sand  are  built  up  of  numerous  thin  strata, 
exhibiting  lines  of  false  bedding  in  various  directions;  that 
80  far  as  his  own  experience  went,  the  embedded  shells  were 
few,  and  consisted  of  dead  valves  of  the  common  mussel 
{MytUus  edulis),  having  the  concave  side  invariably  down- 
wards; that  specimens  of  Balamis  balanoides  remain  in  great 
numbers  attached  to  the  rocks  where  the  so-called  Raised 
Beach  rests  on  them — a  certain  proof  that  they  were  living 
in  the  position  in  which  they  are  found,  before  the  sand  was 
deposited;  that  the  normal  habitat  of  the  species  is  a  belt  of 
rock  between  half  tide  and  high  water;  that  it  is  therefore 
evident  that  the  present  beach  nmst  have  been  at  or  near  its 
present  level  when  the  Balani  were  living;  that  consequently 
there  is  no  evidence  that  any  elevation  of  the  coast  line  has 
taken  place  since  the  so-called  raised  beach  was  formed ;  that 
the  stratification  of  the  beds  is  such  as  cori'esponds  with  no 
sedimentary  deposit;  that  the  false  bedding  is  persistent  in 
any  part,  and  takes  peculiar  forms,  sometimes  those  of  semi- 

♦  Proc.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  page  536. 
t  "Report,"  pages  426-6. 


48       THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

circles  and  short  oblique  lines,  assimilating  to  lines  of 
cleavage;  that  the  entire  structure  conduces  to  the  conviction 
that  the  so-called  raised  beach  is  in  reality  the  uudestroyed 
remnant  of  an  extensive  district  of  wind-borne  sand,  similar 
to  that  which  now  exists  on  Brauntou  Burrows,  and  formerly 
extended  to  Baggy  Point;  and  that  a  study  of  the  stratifi- 
cation of  the  hills  of  drifted  sand  demonstrates  a  series  of 
layers  that  assimilate  to  the  various  modes  of  stratification 
found  in  the  ancient  bed,  and  which,  he  thinks,  can  be 
accounted  for  by  no  other  means  than  the  varying  and  ever- 
changing  direction  of  the  wind.* 

The  visit  to  the  Raised  Beach,  by  Mr.  Vicary  and  myself, 
was  made  at  the  time  of  spring  tide,  almost  immediately 
after  the  vernal  equinox,  and,  fortunately,  when  a  fierce  north- 
westerly gale  was  throwing  a  heavy  sea  into  the  bay.  We 
first  studied  the  facts  which  present  themselves  between 
Baggy  Point  and  the  lodging  house  at  Croyde  Bay.  At  a 
short  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  latter,  there  is  a  rift  or  gully 
in  the  rocks,  running  in  a  N.KW.  direction — obliquely  to 
the  coast  line,— upwards  of  300  feet  in  length,  and  about  four 
yards  wida  The  general  dip  of  the  strand  at  the  bottom  of 
this  fissure,  from  the  inner  to  the  outer  end,  is  3°,  but  the 
innermost  30  yards  are  occupied  with  a  coarse  beach,  the 
slope  of  which  is  13^  From  the  foot  of  this,  to  its  outward 
termination,  the  gorge  is  occupied  with  huge  boulders  and 
blocks  of  rock.  The  upper  surface  of  each  of  its  walls  is  a 
well-defined  platform  or  plane,  dipping  seaward  at  3°,  and 
formed  on  the  outcrop  of  almost  veitical  gritty  strata  By 
careful  measurements,  these  platforms  were  found  to  be  fi*om 
20  to  25  feet  above  the  level  of  the  existing  tidal  strand 
immediately  below. 

Tlie  northern  platform  —  that  on  the  Baggy  side  of  the 
gorge — is  about  12  feet  broad,  and  its  surface  is  studded 
with  orange  and  grey  lichens.  On  its  inner  or  landward 
margin  there  is  a  good  example  of  the  Raised  Beach,  the  base 
of  which  is  a  bed  consisting  of  pebbles,  angular  stones, 
and  shells  of  various  kinds,  and  about  a  foot  thick.  Above 
this  are  horizontal  beds  of  sand,  made  up  of  thin  layers,  and 
firmly  cemented.  In  these  upper  beds  there  are  numerous 
grotesque  folds,  many  of  them  semicircles  from  three  to  six 
inches  in  diameter,  which  in  all  probability  are  of  concre- 
tionary origin,  and  which  reminded  us  of  the  whimsical  forms 
frequently  assumed  by  the  New  Red  Sandstone  near  Dawlish 

*  Tnms.  Dev.  Assoc,  for  1866,  pages  128-136. 


THE  RAISED  BKACHKS  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT.      49 

and  elsewhere.  The  beds  of  sand  are  overlain  by  angnlar 
*'  Head"  from  six  to  eight  feet  thick.  During  our  visit  we 
had  an  opportanity  of  carefully  watching  the  platform  at  the 
highest  tide  of  the  spring,  when,  as  might  have  been  expected 
from  the  presence  of  the  lichens,  even  the  violent  waves  utterly 
fiEdled  to  reach  its  level.  Occasionally,  however,  they  flooded 
it  with  spray. 

On  the  southern  platform  of  the  gorge,  the  character  of  the 
old  beach  is  displayed  still  better.  The  basal  portion  is,  at 
the  inner  or  landward  end,  fully  four  feet  thick,  it  thins  out 
seaward,  terminating  at  a  distance  of  47  feet,  and  is  com- 
posed of  well-rounded  pebbles  and  boulders,  several  of  which 
are  upwards  of  two  feet  in  diameter.  This  is  overlain  by 
sand  firmly  cemented,  rudely  laminated,  and  containing 
broken  shells.  At  the  inner  end  of  the  section,  the  sand  is 
about  two  feet  thick,  but  it  gradually  thickens  seaward,  as 
the  underlying  pebble  bed  thins  out.  They  terminate  at  the 
same  point,  the  sand  being  abruptly  truncated,  and  fully  six 
feet  thick.  At  this  point  its  base  is  23  feet  above  the  bottom 
of  the  gorge  immediately  beneatL  The  whole  is  capped  with 
sub-aerial  matter  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  thick  at  the  inner 
end,  but  thining  out  so  rapidly  as  to  terminate  at  a  distance 
of  39  feet. 

Between  this  gorge  and  the  lodging-house,  the  beach  is  in 
many  places  extremely  well  marked,  and  frequently  contains 
shells,  amongst  which  we  recognized  the  common  cockle, 
Cardium  edule;  the  mussel,  Mytilus  edulis;  the  limpet, 
Paiella  vulgaris;  and  othera  Some  of  them  are  well  pre- 
served, whilst  others  are  much  broken ;  and  they  lie,  just  as 
do  shells  on  a  modem  beach,  with  the  concave  surfaces  either 
upwards  or  downwards. 

The  central  shore  or  head  of  Croyde  Bay  is  occupied  by 
huge  heaps  of  blown  sand,  lying  on  an  accumulation  of  tough 
yellow  clay  with  stones,  not  exclusively  angular,  the  top  of 
which  is  sensibly  horizontal,  and  from  ten  to  twelve  feet 
above  the  existing  strand  of  fine  sand.  The  valleys  between 
the  sand  hills  are  frequently  deep  enough  to  show  that  this 
accumulation  of  clay  and  stones  extends  some  distance  into 
the  interior;  but  there  is  here  no  indication  of  the  Raised 
Beach.  This  mass  of  clay  and  stones  presents  a  problem, 
perhaps,  somewhat  difficult  of  solution. 

On  the  southern  side  of  Croyde  Bay  the  cliffs  are  from  20  to 
30  feet  high,  and  chiefly  consist  of  the  sub-aerial  accumulation ; 
bnt  incoherent  sand  appears  here  and  there  underljring  it 

At  the  end  of  Saunton  Down  —the  southern  horn  of  the 

VOL.   II.  E 


50      THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

bay — the  true  Saised  Beach  is  resumed,  and  extends  thence 
to  Braunton  Burrows,  a  distance  little  short  of  a  mila  The 
first  observation  we  noted  was,  that  the  beach  consisted  of 
a  coarse  conglomerate  from  two  to  three  feet  thick,  overlain 
with  stratified  and  firmly-cemented  sand;  and  that  lichens; 
thrifty  Armeria  maritima;  samphire,  CrUhinum  maritimum; 
rushes,  Juncus;  and  other  terrestrial  plants  were  growing  at 
a  level  below  that  of  the  base  of  the  conglomerate.  A  short 
distance  eastward,  on  an  old  Terrace  of  Denudation,  the 
beach  section  was  first,  or  lowest,  sand  in  horizontal  layers, 
firmly  cemented,  and  having  a  thickness  of  eight  feet;  on 
this  lay  a  three-feet  band  of  angular,  sub-angular,  and  well- 
rounded  stones,  some  of  them  fifteen  inches  in  diameter.  In 
this  band  I  found  a  common  limpet  shell  Above  this  again, 
sand  in  horizontal  layers,  and  fully  30  feet  in  total  thicknesa 
The  whole  was  capped  with  about  five  feet  of  sub -aerial 
angular  matter. 

The  fine  granite  boulder  mentioned  by  Bev.  D.  Williams 
is  beneath  the  beach,  and  has  been  disclosed  by  the  natural 
destruction  and  removal  of  portions  of  the  lower  beds  of  the 
latter,  so  that  it  now  occupies  a  small  cavern  at  the  base  of 
the  beach.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  it  is  unlike  any  granite 
which  exists  in  Devon  or  Cornwall.  Though  it  has  undeigone 
a  laige  amount  of  abrasion,  and  is  worn  beautifully  smooth, 
it  cannot  be  said  to  be  well  rounded.  Indeed,  its  original 
edges  and  angles  are  much  more  pronounced  tluui  is  the  case 
with  many  a  block  of  granite  on  Dartmoor,  which  has  never 
travelled  an  inch,  but  has  taken  its  form  from  weathering 
alone.  Were  a  perfectly  angular  block  lodged  on  a  shingle 
beach,  it  would  probably  in  a  veiy  short  time  be  as  much 
rounded  as  is  this  mass;  so  that  its  present  form  may  have 
been  produced  since  its  lodgment  in  the  spot  it  now  occupies. 
That  portion  of  it  which  is  now  visible  measures  7i  x  6  x  3 
feet;  hence  it  contains  upwaixis  of  135  cubic  feet  of  rock; 
so  that  if  its  specific  gravity  be  taken  at  2643  (the  mean  of 
the  Cornish  and  the  Aberdeen  granites),  its  weight  cannot  be 
less,  and  is  probably  much  more,  than  ten  tons.  It  is  em- 
bedded in  shingle,  apparently  not  above  the  highest  reach  of 
the  waves;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  such  a  posi- 
tion heavy  seas  would  heap  up  pebbles  considerably  above 
their  own  level.  Moreover,  we  found  orange  lichens  growing 
on  adjacent  rocks  below  the  level  of  the  visible  base  of  the 
boulder. 

The  Baiani,  previously  mentioned,  occur  in,  many  places, 
in  widely-spread  patches  attached  to  the  rocks  at  the  base  of 


THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAY.      51 

the  beach;  and,  by  digging  away  the  latter,  specimens  were 
exposed  higher  and  higher  np.  Indeed,  we  failed  to  find  the 
Wj^fer  verge  of  the  Balanus  zone.  In  one  locality,  a  rocky 
aensiMy^l^nzontal  platform  extends  seaward  from  this  zone, 
at  a  somewhat  Immx  level,  for  a  distance  of  fully  100  feet^  and 
is  thickly  studded  with  omg^  and  grey  lichens.  Somewhat 
farther  east,  lichens  were  growing  ai  a  live-feet  lower  level. 
Further  in  the  same  direction,  a  stone  crop,  Sedum,  was 
growing  vigorously  four  feet  below  the  base  of  the  Balanus 
zone,  and  lichens  lower  stilL  At  a  still  more  easterly  station, 
we  noted  the  following  plants  growing  below  the  Balani: 
privet,  Ligustrumvtdgare;  grass;  groundsel,  Senecio  vulgaris; 
thrift,  Armeria  maritima;  spurge,  Euphorbia;  Forget-me- 
not>  Myosotis  scarpiodes;  speedwell,  Veronica;  wild  beet, 
Beta  maritima;  milky  thistle,  SUyhum  viarianum  ;  and  grey 
and  orange  lichens.  Many  of  these  were  abundant,  and  all 
of  them  healthy  and  vigorous.  They  extended  downwards 
to  seven  feet  below  the  cirrepedes,  and  the  lichens  to  a  foot 
still  lower. 

Between  Down-End  and  Braunton  Buitows  we  measured 
the  following  section  of  beach  reposing  on  a  rocky  platform, 
on  which  grew  lichens,  thrift,  and  other  plants.  This  terrace 
is  ten  feet  above  the  existing  strand,  and  projects  seaward 
from  the  cliff  about  ten  feet.  First  or  lowest,  sand  nine  feet 
thick,  in  firmly-cemented  horizontal  layers,  and  containing 
pebbles  in  the  lower  part.  Above  this,  precisely  similar 
sand  ¥dthout  pebbles,  12  feet  thick,  and  made  up  of  curved 
layers,  the  inclination  of  which  sometimes  amounts  to  30''. 
Still  higher,  six  feet  of  similar  sand,  in  horizontal  layers,  and 
lying  unconformably  on  the  second  series.  Capping  the 
whole,  20  feet  of  stony  "  Head." 

At  the  northern  end  of  Braunton  Burrows,  the  cliff  rises 
like  a  cyclopean  wall,  the  lowermost  11  feet  being  massive 
beds  of  sand,  cemented  into  a  very  hard  sandstone,  having 
no  indication  of  rocky  strand  beneath.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  how  far  this  extends  into  the  country,  as  it  soon  becomes 
complety  concealed  by  the  recent  sand  dunes  forming  part  of 
the  adjacent  Burrows.  Above  the  old  indurated  sand  beds 
the  clMT  consists  of  a  yellowish-drab  clay,  with  from  40  to 
50  per  cent,  of  angular  stones.  By  aneroid,  the  entire  cliff 
measures  114  feet  in  height,  giving  for  the  "Head"  alone  a 
thickness  of  103  feet.  The  upper  surface  of  this  cliff  is  a 
somewhat  broad  plain,  behind  which  is  a  rather  lofty  upland. 
But  for  their  stratification,  the  sandy  beds  at  the  base  of  the 
cliff  might  be  ascribed  to  blown  sand  by  an  observer  who 

E  2 


52       THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

contented  himself  with  the  evidence  obtainable  from  them 
alone.  Thoagh  there  is  nothing  incompatible  with  upheaval, 
there  is  there  nothing  but  the  well-defined  bedding  to  neces- 
sitate, or  even  to  suggest,  the  idea  of  change  of  level.  Under 
any  circumstances,  however,  it  would  be  impossible  to  resist 
the  conviction  that  the  beds  are  of  great  antiquity,  inasmuch 
as  they  must  be  older  than  the  over-lying  sub-aerial  accumu- 
lation, fully  100  feet  thick,  and  which  is  not  a  mere  talus, 
but  an  uniform  continuous  deposit^  at  least,  mainly  derived 
from  the  adjacent  heights. 

At  the  time  of  low  water,  we  walked  for  some  distance  in 
front  of  Braunton  Burrows,  keeping  generally  near  the  high- 
water  mark.  Above  this  line,  pebbles  of  various  kinds  are 
abundant,  both  without  and  between  the  sand  hills,  where 
the  valleys  are  sufficiently  deep  to  disclose  them.  They  lie 
on  sand,  there  being  no  trace  of  such  clay  as  is  seen  under^ 
lying  the  dunes  in  Croyde  Bay.  We  were  not  able  to 
determine  whether  or  not  the  pebbles  pass  under  the  sand 
hills.     There  were  none  on  the  tidal  strand. 

The  day  being  dry,  and  a  strong  on-shore  gale  blowing,  wa 
had  a  good  opportunity  for  studying  the  action  of  the  wind 
on  the  sand  hUls.  The  sand  was  blown  landward  in  clouds, 
and  produced  a  most  desolate  spectacle.  I  ventured  once  or 
twice  for  some  distance  amongst  the  flying  grains,  and  found 
travelling  there  peculiarly  distressing.  The  strand,  though 
consisting  of  fine  dry  sand,  contributed  but  little  to  the  mass 
of  matter  set  in  motion,  which  mainly  consisted  of  the 
materials  of  the  existing  dunes. 

We  saw  here,  as  well  as  in  the  hillocks  in  Croyde  Bay, 
numerous  examples  of  apparent  stratification  in  the  blown 
sand,  some  of  them  so  perfect  in  their  aspect  as  almost  to 
render  it  absurd  to  doubt  their  being  examples  of  genuine 
and,  indeed,  well-defined  bedding;  but  in  every  instance 
they  proved  to  be  counterfeits  only.  Except  where  sand  had 
remained  undisturbed  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  have 
borne  a  crop  of  plants,  which,  on  being  buried  up,  had  decom- 
posed and  produced  a  band  of  vegetable  matter,  we  saw  not 
a  single  instance  of  an  approach  to  a  true  bedded  chai-acter. 
So  far  as  my  experience  goes,  well-marked  stratification  is  the 
result,  and  is  a  proof,  of  sedimentation  from  water  in  motion. 

Nor  did  we  detect  in  the  Raised  Beaches  any  features 
which  were  not  attributable  to  sedimentation  or  to  concre- 
tion— the  beds  and  the  diagonal  layers  being  due  to  the 
former,  whilst  the  grotesque  forms  which  occur  in  some  beds 
were  the  result  of  the  latter. 


THE  KAJBED  BEACHES  IN  BABNSTAPLE  BAT.  53 

Oar  observations  on  the  terrestrial  plants,  growing  at  levels 
beneath  that  of  the  Baiani,  naturally  led  iis  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  latter  occupy  a  zone  from  eight  to  ten  feet  above  the 
reach  of  anything  but  the  spray  of  the  highest  wave&  But 
waiving  this  at  present,  and  assuming  that  they  are  not 
above  the  level  of  ordinary  spring-tide  high-water,  would 
this^  if  a  &ct,  prove  that  there  can  have  h&Qn  no  change  of 
level  t  The  answer  to  this  question  depends,  of  course,  on 
the  habitat  of  the  species,  and  the  vertical  range  of  the  tides 
in  the  district. 

Mr.  Bate,  a  very  competent  authority,  informs  us  that  the 
Balani  belong  to  the  species  Balantcs  balanoides,  of  which 
Mr.  Darwin  says,  in  his  Monograph  on  the  Balanidse,*  "I 
doubt  whether  the  species  ever  lives  below  the  lowest  tides. 
.....  This  species  lives  on  rocks  at  both  the  uppermost 
and  lowest  limits  of  the  tides.  I  am  informed  by  Mr. 
Thompson,"  he  adds,  'Hhat  he  has  seen  specimens  attached 
to  a  spot  not  covered  by  water  during  neap-tides."  From  this 
passage  I  infer : — 

1st.  That  in  ordinary  cases  they  are  covered  by  every 
high-water. 

2nd.  That  cases  of  their  being  left  dry  at  neap-tide  high- 
water  are  so  rare,  that  Mr.  Darwin,  a  gi'eat  traveller  and  a 
student  of  the  Balanidse,  has  never  seen  an  instance  of  it. 

3rd.  That  the  Balani  under  discussion  may  represent  any 
level  from  spring-tide  low-water  to  neap-tide  high-water,  or, 
possibly,  spring-tide  high-water. 

I  learn  from  Mr.  Cox,  Trinity  Agent  at  Appledore,  that 
the  vertical  range  of  the  tide  in  Barnstaple  Bay  is  about 
28  feet  at  spring-tides,  12  feet  at  neap-tides,  and  24  feet  from 
spring-tide  low- water  to  neap-tide  high- water.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  if  the  Balani  are  now  at  the  spring-tide  high- 
water  level,  they  are  not  incompatible  with  an  elevation  of  28 
feet;  and  if  they  are  above  the  reach  of  the  highest  tides, 
there  must  have  been  an  upheaval  equal  at  least  to  the  excess, 
and  possibly  equal  to  that  excess  plus  28  feet. 

In  order,  however,  to  test  the  correctness  of  the  inference 
to  which  the  botanical  facts  had  led  us,  we  re-visited  the 
ground  when  the  tide  was  in,  selecting  the  period  of  half-an- 
hour  after  high- water,  when  we  had  the  pleasure  of  finding 
that  the  level  of  the  lowest  edge  of  the  balauus  zone  was 
fully  ten  feet  vertically  above  the  mark  left  on  the  rocks  by 
the  highest  waves  that  evening. 

♦  **A  Monograph  ou  the  Sub-Class  Cirrepedia.**  By  Charles  Darwin, 
F.R.R,  F.o.a    Published  by  the  Ray.  Society,  p.  272,  1864. 


54      THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

The  evidence  before  us  then  is  this : — 

Ist  That  there  is  a  very  distinct  wave-worn  rocky  terrace, 
above  the  reach  of  the  highest  tides,  and  upwards  of  20  feet 
above  the  existing  corresponding  strand  immediately  below, 

2nd.  That  on  this  terrace  there  is,  in  many  cases,  a  bed, 
sometimes  four  feet  thick,  composed  of  pebbles  and  well- 
worn  boulders,  some  of  which  are  fully  two  feet  in  diameter. 

3rd.  That  overlying  this  conglomerate,  there  is  a  series  of 
sharply-defined  beds  of  indurated  sand,  frequently  containing 
shells,  which,  in  their  condition  and  arrangement,  resemble 
such  as  are  thrown  up  by  the  waves  on  a  tidal  strand. 

4th.  That,  though  by  no  means  of  frequent  occurrence, 
instances  of  beds  of  pebbles  at  higher  levels  than  that  of  the 
basal  bed  sometimes  present  themselves. 

5th.  That  between  Saunton  Down -End  and  Braunton 
Burrows,  a  zone  of  Balani  exists  10  feet  vertically  above  the 
reach  of  heavy  waves  at  equinoctial  spring-tide  high  water. 

6tL  That  over  the  sand  beds  there  is  commonly  an  accu- 
mulation of  sub-aerial  materials,  sometimes  attaining  the 
thickness  of  fully  100  feet. 

From  the  forgoing  evidence,  it  appears  that  the  inference 
is  not  only  safe,  but  is  inevitable,  that  in  times  so  recent  as  to 
be  within  the  advent  of  the  molluscous  fauna  of  the  district, 
there  has  been  an  upheaval  of  the  district  generally,  which 
was  so  uniform  in  its  character  as  to  leave  beds  still  horizontal 
which  were  primarily  so ;  that,  though  geologically  recent,  it 
was  nevertheless  sufficiently  ancient  for  the  adjacent  hills  to 
have  furnished,  through  sub-aerial  action  alone,  the  thick 
mass  of  clay  and  stones  which  now  overlies  the  beach  ;  and 
that  the  change  of  level  was  probably  from  24  to  30  feet 

Though  it  may  be  neither  safe  nor  needful  to  insist  on  it,  I 
incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  huge  boulder  of  granite  already 
mentioned  confirms  the  doctrine  of  upheaved.  Whencesoever 
it  came,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  ice-borne — its 
transportation  required  more  than  wave  power  merely.  Now 
the  specific  gravity  of  ice  is  about  eight-ninths  of  that  of 
water,  hence,  in  floating  ice,  every  foot  in  height  above  the  sea 
level  betokens  eight  feet  in  depth  below;  and  when  freighted 
with  boulders  and  rock  debris,  the  submerged  portion  is,  of 
course,  correspondingly  greater.  An  ice  raft  or  berg  may  drop 
its  burthen  in  deep  water,  through  melting  whilst  afloat,  but 
it  cannot  possibly  carry  it  to  high-water  mark,  since  it  would 
necessarily  be  stranded  in  several  feet  of  water.  But  at 
present,  if  we  may  trust  the  lichens  which  grow  near,  but 
below  it,  the  highest  tides  fail  to  reach  the  level  of  the 


THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT.  55 

boulder.  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  waves  alone, 
though  they  cannot  transport  them  across  deep  channels  and 
seas,  may  be  capable  of  moving  large  blocks  on  a  sea  beach ; 
but  I  know  of  no  instance  of  their  proved  ability  to  move 
such  masses  as  that  under  consideration.  It  has  been  thought 
worthy  of  record,  that  in  very  violent  gales  huge  masses  of 
limestone  have  been  transported  fix>m  the  southern  to  the 
northern  slope  of  Plymouth  breakwater;  but  the  heaviest 
blocks  recorded  to  have  been  moved  there  weighed  fix)m  two 
to  five  tons  each ;  whilst  the  granite  boulder  is  certainly  ten 
tons,  and  probably  much  more. 

But  to  return  to  the  beach.  I  am  not  prepared  to  state 
that  there  is  not,  in  any  instance,  blown  sand  overlying  the 
true  marine  beds,  and  imderlying  the  angular  ''  Head."  There 
is  no  a  priori  improbability  in  such  a  supposition.  Indeed, 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  the  Eaised  Beach,  at  Hope's 
Nose,  Torbay,  such  a  succession  actually  occurs. 

Before  closing  this  paper,  I  will  call  attention  to  a  pheno- 
menon which  occurs  in  the  Baised  Beach  on  the  north  side  of 
Barnstaple  Bay,  but  which  I  have  not  met  with  in  any  of  the 
other  Devonshire  beaches.  In  several  places  there  are  cylin- 
drical or  sliffhtly  conical  shafts  (locally  "chimneys"),  some  ex- 
tending to  the  depth  of  several  feet  in  the  sand  beds,  and  others 
passing  quite  through  them.  They  vary  in  size  from  a  foot  to 
upwards  of  three  feet  across.  Here  and  there  on  the  upper 
surface  of  the  beds,  there  are  depressions  more  or  less  circular, 
several  inches  deep,  and  apparently  shafts  in  the  first  stage  of 
formation.  These,  as  well  as  those  which,  though  much  deeper, 
do  not  pass  through  the  beds,  are  partially  filled  with  loose 
sand  of  precisely  the  same  kind  as  that  of  which  the  beds 
consist;  and  not  imfrequently  similar  sand  lies  below  the 
bottom  or  lower  end  of  such  as  completely  traverse  the  beds. 
Occasionally,  in  consequence  of  the  waste  of  the  cliff,  vertical 
sections  of  some  of  the  shafts  are  exposed,  when  it  is  found 
that,  on  their  concave  walls,  the  horizontal  edges  of  some  of 
the  laminse  of  sand  stand  out  in  slight  relief,  as  if  they  had 
3rielded  to  the  excavating  agent  less  rapidly  than  had  the 
laminae  above  and  below  them.  In  venturing  on  the  follow- 
ing speculation  respecting  their  origin,  I  am  influenced  by 
the  hope  of  inducing  some  one  to  take  up  and  work  out  the 
subject,  rather  than  by  a  settled  conviction  of  its  truth.  I 
incline,  then,  to  the  opinion  that  rain  secures  a  lodgment  in 
such  chance  depressions  on  the  surface  as  may  present  them- 
selves ;  that,  in  virtue  of  carbonic  acid  which  it  contains,  it 
dissolves  the  cement  which  holds  the  grain  of  sand  together 


56  THE  RAISED  BEACHES  IN  BARNSTAPLE  BAT. 

— which  is  probablj^icalcareous  matter  derived  from  de- 
composed shells ;  that^  in  periods  of  continued  drought,  the 
water  evaporates,  the  winds  disperse  much  of  the  dry  loose 
sand,  but  communicate  a  rotary  motion  to  the  residue,  and 
thus  produce  the  cylindrical  or  sub-cylindrical  form  of  the 
shafts ;  and  that  by  repetitions  of  these  processes  the  shaft 
is  gradually  deepened  until  it  passes  completely  through  the 
sand  beds. 

Though  I  am  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  coming  to  the 
same  conclusion  as  my  friend,  Mr.  Bate,  I  can  and  do  thank 
him  very  cordially  for  having  suggested,  may  I  not  say  ne- 
cessitated, a  reconsideration  of  the  phenomena  connected  with 
the  splendid  Baised  Beaches  of  Bc^nstaple  Bay. 


THE 

EAELY  HISTORY  &  ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  DEVON, 

AND  THB  SITE  OF  THE  SUFPOaED  CIMBBIG  TOWN  ABTAYIA. 
BT  J.    B.    CHAITTEB. 


In  a  paper  which  I  recently  read  at  the  Literary  Institution, 
on  the  ancient  roads  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barnstaple,  I 
took  occasion  to  notice  the  very  early  history,  or  rather  the 
absence  of  any  early  history,  of  North  Devon.  Not  only 
do  the  ancient  Geographies  and  Itineraries,  such  as  those  of 
Ptolemy  and  Antonine,  and  the  Commentaries  of  CsBsar, 
ignore  all  distinct  or  special  reference  to  this  portion  of  the 
country,  but  the  Mediaeval  and  Monkish  Chronicles  of  old 
English  History  are  nearly  equally  silent ;  so  that,  with  tlie 
exception  of  a  slight  notice  in  the  Chronicle  of  Eichard  of 
Cirencester,  and  a  passage  or  two  in  the  Saxon  Chronicle, 
Asher's  Life  of  Alfred,  and  the  Acts  of  Stephen,  we  have 
actually  no  written  record  whatever  of  the  early  Topography 
of  this  neighbourhood.  All  the  so-called  Histories  of  Devon 
pass  lightly  over  the  early  history  and  antiquities  of  its 
Northern  portion,  and  are  for  the  most  part  Histories  of  the 
Middle  and  Southern  parts  only.  Polwhele  explicitly  says, 
"  Over  the  Northern  division  of  the  county,  the  glances  of 
the  historian  should  be  very  rapid,  as  the  remains  of  an- 
tiquity attributable  to  earlier  ages  are  of  a  dubious  nature." 

In  the  paper  referred  to,  I  pointed  out  the  remnants  and 
traces  of  many  ancient  roads,  radiating  from  this  town  as 
from  a  centre;  and  where  we  find  such  traces,  there  we 
see  evidences  of  ancient  population;  and  though  we  have 
no  written  record  of  the  people  who  inhabited  this  district 
in  the  anti-historic  period,  still  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive but  that  it  must  not  only  have  been  thickly  popu- 
lated, but  in  a  comparatively  civilized  state,  in  very  early 
times.  The  successive  waves  of  men  that  have  passed  over 
the  land  have  left  traces  as  indelibly  inscribed  beneath  our 


58  THE  EARLY  HISTORY  AND  ABORIGINES 

feet,  as  the  light  ripplfts  of  the  ocean  in  former  eras  of  the 
globe  have  graven  themselves  upon  the  sandstone  shores  of 
the  pre- Adamite  world ;  we  have  thus  preserved  to  us  tokens 
of  the  original  inhabitants.  The  traveller  on  the  lonely 
wildernesses  of  Exmoor  and  Dartmoor  comes  upon  the  circular 
foundations  of  the  huts  of  the  ancient  Britons,  and  the 
marks  of  their  hearths  are  yet  observable,  stained  with  fire 
and  smoke ;  or  descending  into  the  valleys,  he  comes  upon 
ancient  British  roads,  deeply  sunken  chasms  worked  out  of 
the  living  rock,  apparently  by  the  feet  of  thousands  of  men, 
with  their  beasts  and  herds  passing  over  the  same  for  ages. 
And  again  in  Coombs  and  Headlands  adjoining  the  S^t — 
favourite  resorts  of  the  aborigines — ^he  may  find  thickly 
scattered  deposits  of  flint  flakes  and  implements,  relics  of 
their  industry.  Scarcely  any  of  the  Commons  or  Downs,  now 
or  late,  covering  such  large  portions  of  North  Devon,  but 
betray  more  or  less  relics  of  early  cultivation ;  and  scarcely 
a  hill  but  is  crowned  with  an  ancient  fortress — some  of 
immense  extent — Barrow,  or  place  of  Sepulture,  betokening 
an  extent  of  population  in  earlier  eras  totally  unrecorded,  and 
which  can  now  scarcely  be  imagined. 

Before  proceeding  to  trace  the  little  that  has  been  handed 
down  by  record,  tradition,  or  indubitable  remains,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  early  inhabitants  of  North  Devon,  I  would  point 
out  that  our  aborigines  and  early  history  have  marked  lines 
of  difference  from  the  rest  of  the  county  of  Devon.  They 
were  inhabited  by  different  races ;  and  although  the  whole 
district  in  the  Boman  period  passed  imder  the  general  name 
of  Danmonium,  the  series  of  hills,  then  termed  generally 
the  Jugum  Ocrinum,  formed  a  grand  line  of  demarcation 
between  North  and  South,  which  was  never  thoroughly  an- 
nihilated until  after  the  Saxon  Heptarchy ;  and  the  country 
to  the  north  thereof  was  inhabited  by  a  distinct  race  previous 
to,  and  perhaps  for  some  time  subquently  to,  the  time  of 
Athlestan,  who  is  recorded  to  have  driven  the  aboriginal 
British,  or  "  Heathens,"  beyond  the  Tamar,  and  to  have  then 
pushed  on  to  Barnstaple,  and  established  himself  there. 

The  origin  of  the  aborigines  of  North  Devon  is,  of  course, 
involved  in  the  same  darkness  as  the  rest  of  the  country,  and 
without  noticing  the  fabulous  Histories  of  Geoff'ry  of  Mon- 
mouth, Neniiius,  and  others,  attributing  the  first  peopling  of 
Britain  to  the  Trojans,  who  landed  at  Totnes ;  or  the  Phoe- 
nicians, who  traded  with  Devon  and  Cornwall,  and  formed 
settlements  on  our  coasts,  certain  it  is  that  at  the  time  of  the 
Koman  invasion,  England  was  peopled  by  a  variety  of  distinct 


OF  NORTU   DEVON.  59 

tribes,  of  whom  Csesar  in  his  Commeutary  notices  that  he 
found  the  Belgse  inhabiting  the  sea  coast  of  the  Southern 
parts. 

In  the  Geography  of  Rolemy,  who  flourished  about  a.d. 
138,  is  a  general  description  of  the  Western  peninsula,  in 
which  the  whole  is  described  as  inhabited  by  the  Danmonii. 
But  the  only  reference  to  the  North  of  Devon  is  to  Hartland 
pointy  as  the  promontory  of  Hercules;  a  name  given  it  by  the 
Phoenicians,  whose  galleys  must  often  have  passed  along  this 
coast  in  their  explorations  of  the  so-called  Cassiterides ;  and 
as  in  their  voyages  they  rarely  ventxired  out  of  sight  of  land, 
in  sailing  between  the  lofty  Lover's  leap  at  Hartland  point  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  isolated  rock  of  Lundy,  which  early 
writers  called  Herculea,  on  the  other,  they  may  have  attached 
the  names  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  to  those  Headlands, 
from  the  supposed  resemblance  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules 
guarding  the  entrance  to  the  Mediterranean ;  for  both  names. 
Pillars  of  Hercules  and  Promontory,  have,  we  find,  been  given 
to  this  locality  in  early  Chronicles. 

Polwhele  asserts  that  the  Phcsnicians  were  undoubtedly 
carrying  on  a  trade  of  some  consequence  at  Hartland  point ; 
and  he  also  states,  but  without  naming  his  authority,  that 
they  erected  two  pillars  there  in  honour  of  Hercules;  and  he 
attributes  to  the  township  of  Herton  the  most  remote  anti- 
quity. This  neighbourhood  was  undoubtedly  an  imi)ortant 
station  of  the  Eomans,  who  connected  the  sm^  port  Clovelly 
( Vallis  Glausa)  with  the  entrenchments  on  the  hills  above  by 
a  military  road ;  and  this  place  has  also  been  suggested  by 
Polwhele  as  the  site  of  the  lost  British  town  "  Artavia." 

Ptolemy  gives  a  list  of  the  towns  and  stations  of  the 
Danmonii,  but  all  that  he  names  were  in  South  Devon  or 
Cornwall,  and  the  Itinerary  of  Antonine,  which  is  more  parti- 
cular and  exact  as  to  the  roads,  stations,  and  cities  of  Britain 
when  under  Eoman  sway,  is  totally  silent  as  to  this;  and 
though  there  are  two  large  camps,  which  are  undoubtedly 
Koman,  and  appear  to  have  been  permanent  stations,  and 
several  smaller  square  earthworks  on  the  roads  connecting 
them;  yet  there  are  no  grounds  for  believing  that  the  Komans 
ever  gained  a  permanent  footing  in  North  Devon,  nor  ever 
formed  any  settlements  in  the  interior,  as  the  two  Camps 
referred  to,  Hartland  and  Countisbury,  are  at  the  extreme 
ends  of  the  district,  and  both  on  the  sea  coast ;  and  no  ruins 
or  vestiges  of  buildings  have  ever  been  found,  and  but  very 
few  coins,  weapons,  or  other  evidences  of  possession,  so 
frequent  in  other  parts  of  the  county. 


60  THE  EARLY  HISTORY  AND  ABORIGINES 

Among  the  various  monkish  chronicles  or  histories  of 
Britain,  written  during  the  middle  ages,  only  one,  Richard  of 
Cirencester,  who  is  supposed  to  have  lived  about  1350,  has 
left  us  any  record  referring  to  the  aborigines  of  North  Devon. 
In  describing  the  West  Country,  he  says, ''  In  this  Arm  was 
the  region  of  CimbrL  Their  chief  cities  were  Termolus  and 
Artavia.  From  hence,  according  to  the  ancients,  are  seen  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  the  island  Herculea  not  far  distant 
From  the  Uxella  a  chain  of  mountains  called  Ocrinum, 
extends  to  the  promontory  known  by  the  same  name. 

"  Beyond  the  Cimbri,  the  Comabii  inhabited  the  extreme 
angle  of  the  island,  from  whom  this  district  probably  obtained 
its  present  name  of  Comubia  (Cornwall).  Near  the  above 
named  people  on  the  sea  coast  towards  the  south,  and  bor- 
dering on  the  Belgse,  lived  the  Danmonii,  the  most  powerful 
people  of  these  parts,  on  which  account  Ptolemy  assigns  to 
them  all  the  country  extending  into  the  sea  like  an  arm.  Their 
cities  were  Uxella,  Tamara,  Volubia,  Coenia,  and  Isca  the 
mother  of  alL"  He  also  goes  on  to  remark,  as  an  explanation 
of  the  little  notice  by  Ptolemy  and  others  of  the  cities  of  the 
Cimbri,  that»  as  the  Bomans  never  frequented  these  almost 
desert  and  uncultivated  parts  of  Britain,  their  cities  seem  to 
have  been  of  little  consequence,  and  were  therefore  n^lected 
by  historians. 

The  learned  Mr.  Whitaker,  the  historian  of  Manchester,  in 
reviewing  the  ancient  Chronicles,  lays  it  down  that  the 
Danmonii  were  the  Belgic  invaders,  and  that  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  Devonshire  were  the  Cimbri ;  some  of  whom, 
in  consequence  of  these  invasions,  emigrated  to  Ireland, 
while  others  continued  to  occupy  the  North-west  of  Devon ; 
and  it  is  suggested  by  Lysons,  that  the  numerous  remains  of 
fortresses  in  North  Devon  were  probably  formed  by  the 
aboriginal  Britons  as  a  defence  against  the  attacks  of  the 
Belgae  and  other  invaders.  The  situations  of  many  of  these 
earthworks  show  that  this  is  probable,  some  of  the  oldest  and 
most  primitive  character  being  in  close  proximity  to  others  of 
a  different  form,  and  in  positions  showing  them  to  be  the 
works  and  strongholds  of  contending  tribes ;  and  in  a  few 
places,  on  the  line  of  what  are  supposed  to  be  Boman  roads, 
camps  apparently  of  a  later  period,  and  of  more  perfect 
form,  and  therefore  attributed  to  the  Bomans,  are  placed  very 
near  some  of  the  supposed  British  towns  or  stations,  and 
may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  scenes  of  the  later  struggles 
between  the  natives  and  the  invading  Bomans.  An  instance 
of  this  occurs  in  Boborough  camp  near  Barnstaple. 


OP  NORTH  DEVON.  61 

The  Cimbri,  who  appear  to  be  merely  tribes  or  portions  of 
the  wide-spread  Celtic,  or,  as  it  is  now  the  fashion  to  call 
them,  Keltic  nations,  arrived  in  Britain  from  the  Cimbric 
Cheraonesns  or  Holstein,  at  some  pre-historic  period,  and 
established  themselves  in  the  northern  parts  of  England, 
giving  their  names  to  Cumberland  and  Northumberland,  and, 
as  has  also  been  suggested,  to  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Wales 
the  Cwmri  and  Cambria  Hordes  from  thence  pushed  south- 
ward and  westward,  until,  as  we  have  seen,  one  tribe  became 
isolated  in  Cornwall  and  North  Devon ;  and  I  find  in  a  note 
to  a  curious  and  learned  book  by  Gknifery  Higgins,  ''The 
Celtic  Druids,"  a  suggestion  that  the  Umbri  and  Cimmerii  of 
Italy  were  colonies  of  the  same  race,  and  possibly  the  North 
Devon  tribe  gave  name  to  Umberleigh  near  Barnstaple,  as  the 
place  of  residence  of  their  chief.  This  suggestion  is  rendered 
probable  from  the  well-known  extreme  antiquity  of  the 
Manor  of  Umberleigh,  it  being  stated  that  Athelstan,  after 
his  victories  over  the  aboriginal  Cimbri  and  the  Danish  in- 
vaders, pushed  on  to  Barnstaple,  which  our  records  describe 
as  having  been  even  then  a  fortress,  and  there  is  a  tradition 
that  Umberleigh  was  then  taken  as  a  royal  habitation  by 
Athektan,  and  it  continued  an  appendage  of  the  crown  for 
many  centuries. 

Westcote,  in  his  View  of  Devonshire,  describing  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Danmonian  provinces,  and  the  advent  of  the 
Saxons  after  the  retirement  of  the  Komans,  says, "  They  came 
as  loving  friends  to  aid  and  assist  the  Britons,  but  perceiving 
the  fertility  of  the  land  became  tyranising  and  supplanting 
enemies,  seizing  upon  the  best  part  and  expelling  the  natives, 
some  unto  Wales,  others  to  Armorica,  and  driving  the  re- 
mainder unto  the  deserts  of  Danmonia;  then  the  British 
name  began  to  decline." 

Although  the  principal  parts  of  Devon  were  thus  inhabited 
and  held  in  common,  as  it  were,  by  Britons  and  Saxons  during 
several  centuries,  and  were  not  wholly  subdued  by  the  Saxons 
until  at  least  465  years  after  their  first  landing  in  Britain,  the 
northern  portion  of  Devon  appears,  equally  with  Cornwall 
and  Wales,  to  have  been  very  little  if  at  all  intermixed  with 
the  Saxon  invaders,  and  the  dialect  of  the  ancient  Britons 
to  have  prevailed  here.  So  late  as  a.d.  615,  Keynegils, 
king  of  Wessex,  gave  battle  to  and  defeated  the  Britons 
at  Bampton,  driving  them  further  westward;  but  in  the 
year  960,  when  Athelstan  commenced  his  victorious  cam- 
paigns against  the  aborigines,  driving  them,  as  history  in- 
forms us,  across  the  Tamar  and  into  the  deserts,  which,  of 


62  THE  EARLY  HISTORY  AND  ABORIGINES 

course,  can  only  apply  to  the  ranges  of  mountains  and  barren 
downs  still  marking  the  limits  of  North  Devon,  and  which, 
in  Eoman  times,  were  the  boundaries  of  the  Soman  settle- 
ments, although  the  old  British  or  Celtic  element  still  pre- 
dominated in  North  Devon;  yet,  as  we  know  from  actual 
record  that  Athelstan  penetrated  to  Barnstaple,  the  gradual 
fusion  of  the  Saxon  and  British  races  probably  then  com- 
menced, from  whence  the  present  race  of  inhabitants  sprung, 
as  thenceforth  there  is  no  record  of  any  conquests,  betttles, 
or  enmity,  between  the  British  and  Saxons,  or  any  exact 
period  at  which  the  former  name  disappeared  fixjm  history. 

Risdon  specially  alludes  to  the  unconquered  Britons  retain- 
ing a  part  of  Devon,  and  to  their  dukes  or  governors  being 
sometimes  chosen  out  of  Wales,  and  sometimes  out  of  Corn- 
wall, until  about  A.D.  689 ;  and  at  that  period  the  district  of 
North  Devon  must  have  been  the  only  line  of  communication 
and  great  highway  between  these  two  important  branches  of 
the  Keltic  Britons;  and  the  small  Coombs  and  Ports,  of  which 
there  are  so  many  in  North  Devon,  exactly  opposite,  and 
in  sight  of  the  coast  of  South  Wales,  would  have  been 
in  all  respects  suitable  to  the  small  vessels  or  caravels  then 
in  use ;  in  fact,  the  Cornish  Celts  could  have  had  no  other 
means  of  communication,  either  with  Wales  or  Ireland, 
without  launching  out  into  the  open  ocean,  as  the  north  coast 
of  Cornwall  is  bned  with  lofty  cliffs,  and  almost  without 
harbours  or  means  of  access.  We  have  also  the  authority  of 
Risdon,  that  Cornwall  in  the  time  of  the  Heptarchy  included 
all  that  part  of  Devonshire  which  was  possessed  by  the 
unconquered  Britons  to  the  westward  of  Exeter. 

The  number  of  stone  pillars,  kromlechs,  and  other  Druidical 
monuments  which  still  remain,  or  which  there  are  records 
of  having  been  in  existence,  scattered  over  various  parishes  of 
North  Devon,  though  now  mostly  destroyed  or  buried  under 
the  sod,  are  very  great,  and  indicate  a  considerable  Keltic 
population,  and  the  district  was  probably  a  seat  of  their 
religious  ceremonies.  A  large  number  of  supposed  Druidical 
remains,  consisting  of  single  pillars,  stone  circles,  and  lines  of 
upright  stones,  have  been  recorded.  One,  formerly  in  existence 
on  Mattock's  Downs,  has  been  fully  described  by  Westcote,  as 
consisting  of  two  great  stones  or  pillars  about  nine  feet  high, 
with  two  parallel  I'ows  or  ridges  of  twenty-three  other  smaller 
stones ;  but  the  most  striking  Druidical  remains  are  at  the 
Valley  of  Rocks  at  Lynton,  which  Polwhele  says,  he  has  no 
hesitation  in  pronouncing  as  the  favourite  residence  of  Druid- 
ism.      The  learned   antiquaries   Lyttleton  and   Mills  have 


OF  NOETH  DEVON.  63 

attempted  to  trace  these  remains,  believing  them  to  be  the 
seat  of  a  Druid  Grorseddu.  This  Gorseddu  lies  opposite  to  a 
pile  of  rocks  called  the  Cheesering,  and  even  now  lines  of 
stones  forming  very  enigmatical  figures  may  be  traced,  and  in 
the  central  part  are  several  p4ain  circles  of  stone  about  forty 
feet  in  diameter ;  but  every  generation  makes  the  difficulty  of 
arriving  at  any  idea  of  their  primitive  form  and  disposition 
more  difficult.  There  are  large  cumulations  of  stones  on 
various  parts  of  Exmoor,  and  across  the  Downs  on  the  west 
side  thereof,  and  in  North  Molton  are  lines  of  stones  set  in 
the  ground  along  the  summits  of  the  hills.  One  stone  pillar 
still  remains  near  Beunstaple,  in  the  grounds  of  Broadgate 
House,  giving  the  name  to  an  adjoining  estate  Longstone. 

I  have  before  noticed  the  large  number  of  earthworks, 
tumuli,  and  barrows,  scattered  over  the  North  of  Devon  far 
more  thickly  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  county.  The 
barrows  and  cairns  may  be  almost  described  as  innumerable. 
The  generally  received  opinion  is,  that  they  were  intended  to 
mark  the  places  of  sepulture  of  distinguished  chieftains, 
though  others  may  be  merely  beacons  or  landmarks ;  some 
of  them  are  partially  constructed  of  stone,  though  most  are 
mere  earthworks.  Large  numbers  still  remain,  though  many 
more  have  disappeared,  from  the  same  reasons  that  have 
destroyed  so  many  camps.  They  are  not  only  scattered 
singly,  but  also  in  groups.  Lyttleton,  the  antiquarian,  noted 
two  or  three  on  Bratton  Down,  and  so  many  lai^e  ones  on 
Berry  Down  that  he  suspected  they  gave  name  to  the  place. 
Some  of  the  tumuli  occupy  so  large  a  surface  as  to  discoun- 
tenance the  idea  of  their  being  thrown  up  as  a  monument  of 
a  single  individual,  but  would  appear  rather  to  mark  the  site 
of  some  battle,  and  the  interment  of  large  numbers  of  the 
slain  in  one  promiscuous  heap;  and  it  has  been  supposed  that 
the  usual  feature  of  these  large  barrows,  a  depression  in  the 
centre,  may  be  caused  by  the  sinking  that  would  occur  from 
the  gradual  decay  and  absorption  of  the  heap  of  bodies 
buried  beneath. 

The  lines  of  circumvallation,  earthworks,  and  camps,  which 
are  also  numerous,  are,  of  course,  proofs  of  military  jxjssession 
or  military  operations  in  the  districts  where  they  are  found ; 
but  at  what  age,  or  by  what  people,  or  for  what  purpose 
erected  has,  in  modem  times,  been  a  matter  of  dispute  among 
antiquaries.  In  the  absence  of  all  written  records,  it  has  been 
attempted  to  class  them  according  to  their  form,  as  British, 
Boman,  or  Danish.  The  irregular  and  oval  ones  being 
ascribed  to  the  early  British  times,  and  the  r^ular  formed 


64  THE  SARLY  HISTORY  AND  ABORIGINES 

ones,  with  square  ramparts,  to  the  Bomans;  but,  from  the 
want  oT  records  or  credible  authority,  we  are  as  much  in  the 
dark  about  the  authors  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  earth- 
works and  tumuli  with  which  the  district  is  studded,  as 
we  are  with  those  discovered  in  the  remote  parts  of  North 
America.  Popular  and  local  traditions  are  also  equally  mis- 
leading, as  in  some  localities  all  these  earthworks  are  commonly 
called  Danes'  Castles,  in  others  Boman  Camps,  in  others, 
more  superstitious,  Pixies'  Houses.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  Eomans  frequently  repaired  and  adopted  the  old  forts  of 
the  Britons,  so  that  many  are  of  a  mixed  and  irr^ular 
character.  Some  of  these  encampments — castles  as  they  are 
locally  called — have  been  identified  with  some  approach  to 
certainty,  but  by  far  the  larger  number  are  enveloped  in 
impervious  obscurity ;  and  the  progress  of  agriculture  of  late 
years,  which  has  led  to  the  enclosure  of  commons,  the  removal 
of  the  old  banks  and  fences,  and  the  levelling  of  rough  surfaces 
of  land  for  the  plough,  has  obscured  almost  all,  and  totally 
obliterated  many,  of  these  monuments  of  our  predecessors. 

There  is,  however,  one  other  subject  connected  with  North 
Devon  which  I  wish  now  to  discuss, — the  site  of  the  lost 
Cimbric  town  of  Artavia.  The  most  distinct  notice  we  have 
of  this  town  is  in  the  Geography  of  Bichard  of  Cirencester 
before  referred  to.  In  describing  the  different  tribes  which 
inhabited  Britain,  he  named  their  principal  cities,  and  among 
them  Termolus  and  Artavia,  as  cities  of  the  Cimbri  in  North 
Devon.  "  Urbes  illis  prcecipuos  Termolus  et  Artavia,'*  He 
also  gives  a  map  of  the  tribes  and  cities.  I  am  aware  that 
doubts  have  recently  been  raised  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
work  ascribed  to  Bichard ;  but  these  doubts  are  mostly  of  a 
critical  character,  arising  from  the  suspicious  circumstances 
under  which  the  work  first  came  before  the  public,  and  some 
discrepancies  in  the  text  itself.  Such  discrepancies  are  not 
only  common  in  ancient  chronicles, .  but  are  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  admitted  accuracy  of  the  local  de- 
scriptions, whenever  susceptible  of  proof  by  local  investi- 
gations, and  by  the  majority  of  his  statements  being  confirmed 
by  older  or  contemporary  chronicles.  In  this  case  the  actual 
existence  of  the  Cimbric  towns  is  confirmed  by  the  anony- 
mous geographer  Bavennas,  who  names  "Termonin"  and 
"  Mostevia"  as  two  towns  in  the  western  peninsula,  not  far 
distant  from  Isca.  The  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  in  endeavouring  to 
explain  this  difference  in  names,  adverts  to  the  fact  that 
Bavennas  composed  his  work  from  a  Greek  map,  and  that  the 
Latin  Greeks  always  disfigured  foreign  names  and  places,  of 


OF  NORTH  DEVON.  65 

which  he  gives  several  instances  analogous  to  the  present;  he 
therefore  concludes  that  Termolus  and  Artavia  were  certainly 
ancient  cities  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Folwhele  says, 
that  undoubtedly  these  places  are  to  be  considered  as  flourish- 
ing towns  before  the  Bomans  arrived;  and  in  reference  to  the 
imaginary  claim  of  Hartland,  he  says,  ''There  are  some 
towns  in  the  North  oi  Devon,  which  doubtless  existed  in  very 
early  times,  connected  by  Soman  ways,  such  as  Holland,  the 
Termolus,  and  Hartland,  the  Artavia  of  Eichard,  where  the 
high  northern  road  is  supposed  to  terminate." 

The  identity  of  Holland  Bottreaux  with  Termolus  has  been 
admitted  by  aU.  The  Bishop  of  Cloyne  says,  "I  have  no 
hesitation  in  fixing  it  there  from  its  general  local  features,  and 
the  number  of  roads  pointing  to  it  on  all  sides.  The  two 
encampments  two  miles  distant,  one  square  and  the  other 
oblong,  still  mark  the  site  of  a  station,  near  which  is  an 
evident  proof  of  a  raised  road.''  These  latter  reasons,  how- 
ever, would  scarcely  apply  to  the  identifying  an  old  Cimbric 
or  British  town,  but  rather  to  its  being  also  a  Boman  station, 
which  was  the  case,  the  Boman  road  to  Countisbury  meeting 
and  crossing  the  British  road  at  that  point 

The  locality,  however,  of  Artavia  is  not  so  easily  settled. 
Dr.  Giles,  the  latest  translator  of  Bichard,  while  he  suggests 
the  sites  of  almost  all  the  other  British  towns,  leaves  Artavia 
a  blank,  with  the  note  ''  imcertaiu,"  probably  in  Devonshire. 

The  Bishop  says,  ''That  while  he  has  no  hesitation  as  to 
Termolus,  he  cannot  speak  with  so  much  confidence  as  to 
Artavia.  It  has  been  supposed  from  the  resemblance  of 
name  only  to  have  been  near  Hartland  Point ;  but  besides 
that,  the  British  town  in  Bichard's  map  seems  to  be  much 
more  inland,  no  coins  have  been  found,  no  roads  traced,  or 
fortifications  known,  except  Clovelly  Dykes,  which  are  nearly 
four  miles  from  Hartland  Point." 

There  are,  however,  other  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  site 
of  Artavia  is  not  to  be  sought  near  Hartland  Point  We  may 
suppose  that  the  early  Britons  chose  their  places  of  residence, 
and  gathered  into  clusters,  thus  forming  towns,  in  places 
centred  as  to  situation,  easy  of  access,  or  with  some  reference 
to  the  pursuits  of  the  inhabitants — trading,  mining,  or  agri- 
culture— just  as  other  people  ancient  or  modem  are  influenced. 
Now  the  situation  of  Hartland  at  the  extremity  of  a  promon- 
tory, and  surrounded  by  bleak  and  exposed  tracts  of  country, 
with  no  actual  productions,  and  not  in  the  line  of  the  traffic 
anywhere,  could  only  have  been  occupied  for  the  convenience 
of  proximity  to  the  sea,  or  what  may  now  be  termed  mercan- 

VOL.  II.  F 


66  THE   EARLY   HISTORY  AND   ABORIGINES 

tile  pursuits.  But  even  in  this  view,  almost  any  point  within 
the  bay  would  have  been  preferable,  as  this  iron-bound  coast 
is  only  approachable  at  two  points,  Clovelly  and  Hartland 
Quay,  both  requiring  the  protection  of  Quays  or  Breakwaters 
to  enable  even  small  vessels  to  approach.  But  had  any  town 
of  the  then  importance  Artavia  must  have  possessed,  from 
there  being  only  two  cities  recorded  in  this  extensive  district 
inhabited  by  the  Cimbri,  surely  it  would  have  been  known  to, 
and  named  by,  the  early  geographers,  who  frequently  referred 
by  name  to  the  promontory  of  Hercules.  But  my  theory  is, 
that  this  district  retained  its  aboriginal  inhabitants,  and 
remained  unconquered  and  almost  unknown,  up  to  the  time  of 
Athelstan,  and  that  the  utmost  gained  by  the  Somans  was  a 
passage  through  the  land,  from  Countisbury  by  way  of 
Holland,  and  thence  by  the  supposed  Roman  road  through 
the  Landkey  valley  to  Clovelly,  where  alone  we  find  any 
extensive  military  works,  and  that  the  few  undoubted  Soman 
camps  in  North  Devon  were  mere  garrisons  to  keep  this 
road  open. 

Where,  then,  are  we  to  look  for  Artavia  ?  Bichard's  map,  if 
worth  anything  at  all,  shows  it  several  miles  in  the  interior, 
and  to  the  south  of  the  promontory  of  Hercules.  But  this 
map  is  very  incorrect  in  its  outline,  omitting  the  deep  inlet  of 
Barnstaple  Bay  altogether,  and  showing  a  smaller  indentation 
to  the  south  of  HarUand  Point  instead*  Richard  adds,  how* 
ever,  one  most  important  description :  "  From  hence,  according 
to  the  ancients,  are  seen  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  the  island 
of  Herculea  not  far  distant"  "  Visuntur  hie  ArUiquts  sic 
dicioe,  Hercvlis  Columnoe,  et  non  prociU  hinc,  insula  fferculea." 
Here  we  have  an  important  help  to  ascertain  the  locality,  and 
the  choice  is  limited  to  the  points  from  which  Hartland  Point 
and  the  island  of  Lundy,  which  has  been  identified  with 
Herculea,  can  be  seen.  The  view  of  these  two  points  can  be 
.had  from  the  coasts  of  Barnstaple  Bay,  and  from  many  of  the 
high  grounds  for  some  miles  inland ;  but  as  there  is  neither 
history,  tradition,  nor  any  indubitable  relics  to  help  us,  the 
only  other  means  of  fixing  the  exact  spot  are  probabilities, 
from  convenience  of  situation,  analogy  of  name,  or  evidences 
of  ancient  traffic  or  roads.  This  probability  of  situation  has 
been  mainly  used  in  fixing  MoUand  as  the  site  of  Termolus, 
and  an  imaginary  resemblance  of  name  was  the  only  ground 
for  ever  suggesting  Hartland  as  the  site  of  Artavia. 

I  have  now  to  offer  the  theory  that  Barnstaple  is  the  site 
of  the  town  or  city  of  Artavia  of  the  Cimbri  It  appears 
to  unite,  more  than  any  other  locality,  the  various  arguments 


OP  NOBTH  DEVON.  67 

and  oonsiderations  which  have  been  brought  to  bear  in  fixing 
the  sites  of  other  ancient  towns.  Its  extreme  antiquity  has 
always  been  recognized,  though  for  various  reasons  which  I 
have  dwelt  on  on  former  occasions,  we  have  no  historical 
notioe  previous  to  the  time  of  Athelstan,  who  conquered  and 
took  possession  of  it  The  probability  arising  from  situation 
18  considerable ;  placed  in  the  centre  of  a  lai^e  district,  rich, 
not  only  in  its  agricultural  produce,  but  in  mines  of  silver, 
lead,  iron,  and  copper,  which  there  are  grounds  for  believing 
were  worked  in  very  early  times,  and  probably  known  to  the 
PhcBnicians  and  trading  Greeks,  easily  accessible  by  water, 
which  formerly  were  the  only  means  of  transpoi*ting  such 
produce. 

The  argument  arising  from  roads,  used  in  identifying 
Termolus  with  Holland,  applies  equally  here,  there  having 
been  a  great  number  of  ancient  roads  or  tracks  radiating 
firom  Barnstaple,  of  which  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne  laid  down 
one  as  an  indisputable  British  road  connecting  Barnstaple 
with  MoUand. 

Polwhele  remarks  on  the  fact  of  there  being  a  regular  chain 
of  earthworks  running  from  Barnstaple  to  the  north-east,  the 
date  or  purpose  of  which  he  could  not  fix ;  there  are  also,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  numerous  similar  relics  in  the  large 
and  almost  peninsular  district  of  which  Barnstaple  may  be 
called  the  key,  and  almost  the  only  means  of  approach  to. 

I  do  not  place  much  reliance  on  the  map  of  ancient  Britain 
attached  to  the  early  editions  of  Richard;  but  it  is  curious  to 
notice  in  it,  that  while  Barnstaple  Bay  is  altogether  omitted, 
the  island  of  Herculea  or  Lundy  is  delineated  considerably  to 
the  south  of  Hartland  Point,  but  in  the  same  relative  position 
to  Artavia  as  Lundy  is  to  Barnstaple ;  so  that  assuming  the 
oonstructer  of  that  map  to  have  made  an  error  in  placing 
Barnstaple  Bay  to  the  south  instead  of  the  north  of  the 
promontory  of  Hercules,  in  such  case  the  situation  there 
given  to  both  Herculea  and  Artavia  would  be  almost  exactly 
the  actual  relative  situations  of  Lundy  and  Barnstaple. 

Lastly,  analogy  of  nama  Richard,  writing  in  Latin,  would 
naturally  Latinize  the  names  of  places,  at  least  in  termination ; 
Termolus  and  Artavia  are  clearly  Latinized  words,  not 
British ;  but  in  the  last  syllable  we  have  almost  indubitably 
the  old  British  name  for  river— water,  and  particularly  the 
river  which  flows  by  Barnstaple — Taw;  and  would  appear  by 
the  name  itself  to  mean  a  town  situated  by  a  river.  Taw, 
Tavy,  Tawridge,  TafF,  are  all  variations  of  the  same  Celtic 
word.     But  take  the  full  name  itself,  without  the   Latin 

F  2 


68  "  THE  EARLY  HISTOBY  AND  ABOBIOINES 

terminal,  Artavia,  Artav  or  Artaw ;  here  we  have  at  once  an 
extraordinary  coincidence  with  the  ancient  name  of  Barn- 
staple, Abertaw.  This  Leland  derives  from  the  British  Aber, 
mouth,  and  Taw,  Tav,  river.  But  Barnstaple  is  not  at  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  but  rather  the  head  of  an  estuary  or  navi- 
gable portion  of  the  river ;  and,  therefore,  Leland's  derivative 
has  no  foundation.  A  local  writer  some  years  since,  noticing 
this  obscurity,  made  a  suggestion  that  Appledore  was  the 
ancient  Abertaw;  but  it  is  sufficient  in  answer  to  this  to 
point  out  that  Appledore  had  no  existence  three  centuries 
since,  it  having  arisen  at  the  period  when  Bideford  entered 
so  largely  into  the  trade  with  the  newly  discovered  American 
Colonies,  and  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  seaport,  in  consequence 
of  the  shipping  being  obliged  to  lie  there  when  the  tide  was 
low.  Westcote,  writing  about  1600,  states,  that  before  his 
time  there  were  but  two  poor  houses  there. 

It  is  strange  that  no  one  has  heretofore  noticed  the  remark- 
able coincidence  of  the  old  name  of  Barnstaple  with  Artavia, 
as  it  is  equally  probable  that  Abertaw,  as  spelt  by  Leland  and 
Westcote,  was  a  corruption  of  Artaw,  and  that  the  derivative 
from  Aber  is  imaginary,  as  that  Artavia  was  a  Latinized  form 
of  the  old  British  name  which  Leland  gives.  In  either  case 
the  analogy  and  resemblance  is  far  closer  than  has  been  as- 
sumed in  numerous  other  cases  of  supposed  indentity  of  places. 

Such  are  the  grounds  on  which  I  base  the  theory  that 
Barnstaple  is  "  the  lost  city  of  Artavia  of  the  CimbrL" 

These  several  silent  records  of  the  early  importance  of 
North  Devon  refer  to  the  pre-historic  age.  I  would,  in  con- 
clusion, name  a  few  others,  which  show  that  within  the 
historic  periods  there  have  been  local  features  which,  although 
scarcely  referred  to  in  the  existing  histories  of  Devon,  show 
that  it  continued  to  possess  considerable  importance  and  a 
large  population. 

One  of  the  most  decisive  defeats  ever  sustained  by  the 
Danes,  and  which  led  to  most  important  results  in  the  resto- 
ration of  Alfred,  occurred  near  Kenwith  Castle,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Taw,  in  878,  with  a  slaughter  of  1200  of  the  invaders, 
and  the  capture  of  the  celebrated  Haven  Standard;  and 
several  other  encounters  with  the  Danes  took  place  in  this 
neighbourhood. 

Although  the  Phoenicians  are  only  recorded  to  have  traded 
with  Devonshire  for  tin,  yet  it  is  well  known  that  they  also 
visited  the  northern  coasts,  and  had  probably  settlements 
here ;  and  we  find  that  from  an  unknown  period  mines  of 
iron,  silver,  and  lead,  have  been  worked  in  North  Devon. 


OF  NORTH  DEVON.  60 

The  silver  mines  of  Combmartin  are  recorded  as  being 
wrought^  and  producing  immense  sums  in  the  reigns  of 
Edward  L,  Edward  III,  and  Henry  V.  Polwhele  asserts  that 
mines  were  worked  by  the  Somans  in  North  Devon  for  iron. 

Very  considerable  remains  of  ancient  mining  are  to  be 
found  at  North  Molton.  In  Eisdon's  time  mounds  of  earth 
and  deep  works  of  unknown  antiquity  were  to  be  seen.  On 
Ezmoor  also  are  still  visible  deep  rugged  ravines,  shafts,  and 
heaps  of  cinders,  now  thickly  covered  with  turf,  called  locally 
the  Danes'  works ;  and  there  is  a  local  tradition  that  the  trees 
on  Ezmoor  (still  called  the  Forest,  although  centuries  since  it 
was  a  treeless  waste  as  it  is  now,)  were  cut  down  and  used  to 
smelt  the  iron. 

An  important  evidence  in  favour  of  the  ancient  importance 
of  the  North  of  Devon,  is  the  historical  fact  that  at  the 
extension  of  the  local  Episcopates  to  the  western  provinces, 
just  1000  years  since,  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at  the 
command  of  the  king,  erected  three  new  cathedral  churches: 
one  at  Wells,  for  the  county  of  Somerset ;  one  at  Bodmin,  for 
Cornwall;  and  one  at  Tawton,  for  the  county  of  Devon. 
Hooker  thus  states  it :  "  Werstanus  was  the  first  bishop,  who 
fixed  the  Episcopal  chair  at  Tawton,  a  small  village  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  to  the  south  of  Barnstaple,  which  from  thence 
retaineth  the  name  of  Bishop's  Tawton  to  this  day.  At  a 
provincial  synod,  holden  in  Wessex  A.D.  905,  he  was  conse- 
crated bishop  of  Devon,  and  had  his  See  at  Tawton  aforesaid, 
where  having  sat  one  year  he  died,  and  was  buried  in  his  own 
church  there.  His  successor  was  Putta,  who  also  resided  at 
Tawton ;  but  as  he  was  on  his  journey  to  Crediton,  to  visit 
Uflfc  the  king's  lieutenant  there,  he  was  by  some  of  UfFa's 
servants  barlwirously  slain  on  his  way  thither.  This  proved 
the  occasion  of  removing  the  Episcopal  chair  from  thence 
unto  Crediton." 

I  have  only  glanced  at  some  few  of  the  historical  facts 
tending  to  show  the  continued  importance  of  this  district ; 
the  remote  and  isolated  position  of  which,  however,  appears 
to  have  been  the  cause  of  its  being  so  seldom  referred  to  in 
the  chronicles  of  England,  and  this  applies  to  the  compara- 
tively modem  as  well  as  ancient  periods ;  of  which  Kichard 
says,  that  as  the  Bomans  did  not  frequent  these  almost  desert 
and  uncultivated  parts  of  Britain,  their  cities  were  n^lected 
by  historians.  But  the  facts  which  have  at  various  times  been 
brought  together  concerning  North  Devon,  tend  to  show  that 
its  history  deserves  more  attention  than  has  heretofore  been 
paid  it 


DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

BT  STR  jomr  BOWBnrO,   LL.D.,  T.&.8. 


The  recollections  of  Pixy,  Witch  and  Ghost  Stories  are 
associated  in  my  mind  with  those  of  an  old  servant,  whose 
name  was  Mary  Tapp.  She  was  my  nurse ;  and  I  remember 
she  used  to  sing  over  my  crib  at  evening — 

«  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
Bless  the  bed  tiiat  I  lies  on : 
Four  angels  bless  the  bed. 
Two  at  me  fbot,  and  two  at  the  head." 

She,  like  most  of  the  domestic  servants  of  those  days,  was 
unable  to  read  or  write,  and  I,  a  little  boy,  was  the  depositary 
of  her  love -secrets,  and  was  chosen  for  her  amanuensis  in 
her  correspondence  with  her  lovers.  She  always  steurted  with 
the  same  words,  "This  comes  with  my  kind  love  to  you, 
hoping  to  find  you  in  good  health,  as  it  leaves  me  at  present ;" 
and  then  came  the  perplexities  as  to  what  she  ought  and 
ought  not  to  say.  She  had  several  pretenders,  as  she  was 
rather  pretty  in  her  youth,  stately  in  her  walk ;  indeed,  I  have 
heard  her  called  "Pasteboard"  by  critical  observers.  Among 
her  lovers  were  a  blacksmith  and  a  tucker  (the  name  and  the 
trade  have  departed  now  from  Exeter).  In  favour  of  the 
latter  it  was  alleged  that  he  wore  a  beautiful  green  apron 
with  scarlet  strings;  while  the  former  had  a  dirty  leather 
apron.  But  the  blacksmith,  when  washed,  was  the  better 
looking  of  the  two.  And  I  arranged  more  than  one  walk  at 
early  mom,  when  a  string  was  put  out  of  the  window,  which 
was  attached  to  Mary's  great  toe,  and  which  the  blacksmith 
was  gently  to  pull,  in  order  to  announce  his  coining.  Mary 
had  amassed  a  little  money,  and  when  it  was  suggested  that 
one  of  her  admirers  might  be  looking  to  her  purse  instead  of 
her  person,  she  answered, "  She  did*n  know  why  she  should'n 
be  courted  for  her  money,  as  gentlefolks  was."  There  was  a 
standing  joke  in  the  family,  that  when,  after  taking  opinions 
as  to  the  merits  of  one  of  her  suitors,  she  said,  "  His  legs  was 
a  little  crooked ;"  she  was  answered  and  comforted  with  the 


DEVONIAN  FOLK-LOBE  1LLU8TBATED.  71 

lemark,  "Never  mind  that,  Maiy;  a  friend  in-(k)need  is  a 
Mend  indeed."  Characteristic  of  the  position  in  those  days 
whicli  servants  held  in  the  household  of  their  masters,  in 
which  thej  considered  themselves  to  possess  rights  of  domicile 
almost  equal  to  those  of  the  serfs  {adscripti  glebce)  on  the 
land,  I  remember  she  returned  "home"  to  the  kitchen  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  where  my  mother  found  her  seated 
on  a  chair,  and  she  said, ''  Here  I  be,  missis,  come  back  to 
the  old  place."  She  was  dreadfully  afraid  of  sperrUs;  and 
when  she  went  into  the  garden  in  the  dark,  used  to  make  me 
her  companion,  and  tell  me  the  current  stories  of  the  Devil's 
doings ;  of  the  Wise  Men  (of  whom  there  were  several  profes- 
sion^ in  Exeter);  the  Witches,  who  mostly  lived  in  the 
country;  the  Pixies,  whose  kingdom  was  Dartmoor;  and  the 
other  marvels  picked  up  at  market  or  in  colloquies  with  other 
servants.  Maiy  was  a  character  for  study.  Blest  with  a 
saving  knowledge,  she  always  drank,  that  they  might  not  be 
wasted,  the  dregs  of  all  sorts  left  of  the  bottles  of  medicine 
{trade  was  the  (ud  Devonian  name),  and  picked  up  the  apples 
that  were  thrown  away,  as  they  were  often  too  good,  she  said, 
to  be  lost.  I  learnt  firom  Mary  many  of  the  nursery  songs 
which  have  been  since  collected,  illustrated,  decorated,  and 
form  a  part  of  our  national  literature.  I  never  saw  a  magi)ie 
or  magpies  without  counting  whether  they  were  one,  two, 
three,  or  four,  always  remembering  the  legend : "  One  for  soitow, 
two  for  mirth,  three  for  a  wedding  and  four  for  death ;"  and 
my  mind  was  afterwaixis  relieved  by  a  line  of  Wordsworth, 
who  sings  of  <me  auspicious  magpie  that  crossed  his  way.  To 
find  a  horse-shoe,  to  carry  about  a  crooked  sixpence,  were 
tokens  of  luck ;  but  the  tickings  of  the  death-watch  and  the 
howlings  of  a  dog  at  the  door  were  certain  prognostications  of 
eviL  She  loved  to  revel  in  horrors.  There  was  an  old  edition 
of  the  PUgrinCa  Progress,  with  a  dreadful  picture  of  ApoUyon, 
which  I  stabbed  witii  a  fork  in  my  indignant  hatred,  and  she 
talked  to  me  of  the  terrors  of  hell,  presenting  to  me  a  highly- 
coloured  engraving  with  the  true  efiOgies  of  the  ''  screeching  " 
sinners  in  the  burning  sulphurous  lake,  whose  agonized 
bodies  the  devils  were  turning  over  with  red-hot  pitchforks. 
There  was  a  story  of  Satan  having  knocked  down  with  a 
Bible  the  keeper  of  the  Exeter  Gaol,  who  had  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  his  infernal  majesty;  and  another  story  of  his  said 
majesty  having  ridden  all  the  way  from  St.  Thomas's  to 
Moretonhampstead  behind  a  farmer,  who  fainted  with  firight 
when  he  reached  his  door.  Ghost  tales  were  multitudinous. 
Jeremy  Bentham  told  me,  that  he  in  his  childhood  had  been 


72  DEVONIAN   FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

80  terrified  by  the  descriptions  his  nurse  had  given  him  of 
these  visitations,  that  he  was  never  to  the  end  of  his  days 
in  the  dark  without  requiring  a  mental  effort  to  get  rid  of 
the  delusions  which  had  been  so  deeply  engraved  on  his 
earliest  memories;  and  I  may  own,  that  such  impressions 
tormented  me  long  after  my  reason  had  taught  me  their 
absurdity. 

I  recollect  seeing  Mary — she  had  got  old,  and  looked  very 
like  a  witch — with  a  live  cat  round  her  neck,  which  she  used 
for  a  tippet  in  winter  to  warm  herself,  and  held  the  four  1^ 
in  front  The  parish  in  which  I  was  bom  was  full  of  legen- 
dary lore.  A  female  saint  had  lived  in  the  churchyard.  In 
those  days  the  church,  now  one  of  the  ugliest  that  architec- 
tural aberration  has  ever  erected,  was  charming  for  its  pic- 
torial beauty — ivy-covered,  "with  Gothic  arches  peeping 
through  the  green;"  it  was  frequently  sketched,  and  I  re- 
member to  have  seen  more  than  one  engraving  of  the 
venerable  edifice.  The  churchyard  was  the  receptacle  for 
persons  of  all  opinions.  In  it  was  buried  the  famous  heretic 
James  Peirce.  The  incumbent  of  the  day  would  not  allow 
a  laudatory  inscription.  He  should  not  be  "  reverend,"  for  he 
was  a  Dissenter ;  he  could  not  be  "  learned,"  for  he  did  not 
believe  in  the  39  Articles ;  he  could  not  be  "  pious,"  for  he 
denied  the  Trinity;  so  the  name  only  of  "  Mr.  James  Peirce" 
was  inscribed  on  the  tombstone,  and  his  virtues  were  recorded 
in  a  flattering  tribute,  to  be  seen  in  the  vestry  of  the  Pres- 
byterian meeting-house,  in  South  Street,  Exeter.  Near  the 
St.  Leonard's  Chapel  is  Parker's  Well,  once  believed  to  possess 
miraculous  virtue,  and  even  in  my  remembrance  the  well  was 
crowded  at  early  mom  on  account  of  its  healing  water.  There 
was  a  stone  in  one  of  the  waUs  of  Mount  Radford  which  was 
thought  to  be  the  petrifaction  of  a  human  face,  and  there 
were  some  dreadful  tales  about  its  being  the  hiding-place  of 
a  sperrit  that  sometimes  stopped  passengers,  and  seized 
children.  The  nursery-maids  used  to  hurry  by  as  fast  as  they 
could  with  their  charge.  Few  are  now  living  who  even 
remember  the  tradition,  but  it  was  recalled  not  long  ago  to 
my  recollection  by  a  lady  who  has  passed  her  eightieth  year. 
In  a  field  near  Matford  Lane,  in  the  same  parish,  was  a  ruined 
house,  which  had  the  reputation  of  being  haunted.  I  believe 
it  was  the  resort  of  smugglera,  who  availed  themselves  of  the 
horrors  which  the  evil  reputation  of  the  place  inspired  to 
carry  on  their  deeds  of  darkness.  Supernatural  sounds  were 
frequently  heard — shrieks  and  the  clanking  of  chains,  and  as 
nothing  is  so  prudential  as  prudence,  people  generally  deter- 


DEVOmAK  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED.         73 

mined  to  keep  out  of  danger's  way.  In  those  days  a  ghost, 
clad  in  white,  was  reported  to  come  out  of  the  graves  in  the 
churchyard  opposite  the  Devon  County  Hospital,  and  to  look 
over  the  gate,  which  opened  upon  what  was  then  called 
Narrow  Southemhay  Lana  Passengers  avoided  the  spot; 
and  it  was  only  after  a  drunken  man  had  seized  the  ghost 
by  the  beard — it  was  an  old  goat,  that  had  been  trained  by 
some  mischievous  wag  to  stand  on  his  hind  legs  and  put  his 
head  over  the  gate — that  the  way  became  frequented  again. 

With  most  reverential  respect  for  my  guide,  but  with  a 
certain  amount  of  terror,  I,  when  quite  a  child,  accompanied 
in  his  walks  a  man  (his  name  was  Cox)  who  had  the  repu- 
tation of  superhuman  knowledge.  I  never  heard  him  called 
a  wizard,  but  he  was  universally  believed  to  be  marvellously 
wisa  He  generally  spoke  in  solemn  tones,  and  looked  some- 
what scornfully  and  proudly  even  upon  those  whom  he  hon- 
oured with  his  notice.  The  book  which  he  studied  was  some 
obscure  Albertus,  (not  Magnus,)  who  had  brought  into  the 
vegetable  world  the  alchemy  which  the  greater  Albert  had 
applied  to  the  mineral.  He  took  me  to  the  fields  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  "Old  Abbey"  and  the  "Ducks'  Pond," 
where  he  sought  in  the  ditches  the  plants  from  which  he  was 
to  make  the  "Elixir  Vitte,"  the  water  of  life,  whicli,  he  assured 
me,  if  it  did  not  give  immortality,  would  prolong  existence 
to  an  indefinite  period.  He  had  prepared  several  bottles  of 
the  precious  beverage,  but  by  some  mishap  he  failed  of  suc- 
cess in  his  own  case,  and  took  his  secret  with  him  to  the 
grave,  having  lived,  as  far  as  I  recollect,  less  than  half  a 
century. 

I  remember  being  seated  with  the  justices  at  Ashburton, 
when  two  men  were  brought  before  them  charged  with  steal- 
ing books  from  the  music-loft  of  a  village  church.  The 
churchwarden  declared  that  he  had  consulted  a  wise  woman, 
who,  on  a  former  occasion,  had  enabled  him  to  recover  a 
silver  coflfee-pot,  and  she  had  described  the  accused.  Being 
sent  for,  the  woman  boldly  declared  that  she  "  knowed  they 
was  the  dheeves."  She  had  "  shuvvill'd  the  cards,"  and  found 
the  initial  letters  of  their  names,  and  sure  enough,  she  re- 
peated, "they  be  they."  Murmurs  of  applause  filled  the 
room,  as  if  the  auditory  were  the  guardians  of  her  reputation, 
and  delighted  at  the  earnestness  with  which  she  asserted  her 
daims  to  supernatural  knowledge.  She  was  remonstrated 
with  by  the  magistrates ;  told  she  would  be  brought  up  as  an 
imposter,  and  probably  treated  as  a  rogue  and  vagabond ;  but 
she  smiled  complacency  on  the  audience,  nodded  her  head  as 


74  DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORB  ILLUSTRATED. 

if  in  triumph,  and  left  the  room,  having  by  her  courage  added 
new  strength  to  the  credulity  of  her  neighbours. 

I  knew  an  instance  where  a  body  of  miners,  in  consequence 
of  the  loss  of  a  jacket  belonging  to  one  of  them,  went  to 
consult  a  "wise  man,"  who  pointed  out  one  of  their  number 
as  the  thief,  and,  though  there  was  not  a  shadow  of  evidence 
against  him,  they  demanded  his  dismissal,  refused  to  work 
with  him,  and  made  his  existence  so  uncomfortable  that  he 
bowed  to  the  storm  and  left  the  locality. 

Astrologers,  reckoners  of  nativities,  sellers  of  love-philters, 
herbalists,  supposed  to  be  acquainted  with  the  mysterious 
powers  of  plants,  both  creative,  curative  and  destructive, 
exist  in  many  parts  of  this  county,  and  to  this  hour  are  con- 
sulted by  the  peasantry,  of  which  now  and  then  evidence  is 
brought  before  the  magistracy.  The  palmistry  of  the  gypsies 
has  still  a  hold  upon  our  rustic  population. 

The  fading  away  of  these  ancient  memories  belongs  not 
only  to  our  generation:  it  is  lamented  by  the  father  of  English 
poetry,  by  Chaucer  himself,  who,  after  speaking  of  the 

"  Olde  dayea  of  the  king  Artour, 
Of  which,  that  Britona  speken  gret  honour, 
AU  was  the  land  fiilfillM  ot  faerie  ; 
The  elf  queene,  with  hire  joly  compagnie, 
Danced  rail  oft  on  many  a  grene  mede.*' 

And  then  he  sorrowfully  says  : 

'*  This  was  the  old  opinion,  as  I  rede — 
I  speke  of  many  hundred  years  ago, 
But  now  can  no  man  see  non  elves  mo." 

Wife  of  Bath,  v.  6439,  66. 

Shakspeare  however,  and  assuredly  he  caught  his  inspiration 
from  our  western  regions,  re-creat^  and  re-peopled  the  fairy 
kingdom,  and  under  his  magic  sway,  to  use  his  own  words, 

«*  Every  elf^  and  £Eury  sprite, 
Hopped  as  light  as  bird  from  brier." 

Midsummer  Nighfe  Dreamy  v.  2. 

Ariel  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  original  creations  of 
Shakspeare's  wonderful  genius.  Delicate,  cUtinty  Ariel  is,  in 
fact, 

"A  spirit  finelv  wrought, 
And  to  fine  issues ; 

but  wrought  out  of  such  rude  materials  as  are  found  in  pixy 
land.  "Bodied  forth"  by  the  pictured  imaginings  of  that 
mighty  mind,  the  airy  nothings  are  work^  into  images 
which  are  almost  palpable  to  the  senses,  and  of  which  we 


DSYONIAK  FOLK-LOBB  ILLUSTRATED.  75 

fed,  that  if  they  are  not^  they  might  well  have  been.  A 
Magyar  poet  asLi,  that  in  the  cosmogony  of  thought  our 
great  drainatist  was  a  central  sun,  whose  brightness,  the  more 
and  more  studied,  will  be  the  more  and  more  recognized  and 
teverenoed. 

With  what  charms  of  poetry  he  invests  the  services  which 
Ariel  renders  to  his  master ! 

"To  fly, 
To  Bwim,  to  dive  into  the  fire,  to  ride 
On  the  onrl'd  clouds.*' 

"  To  tread  the  ooze  of  the  salt  deep.*' 

"  To  run  upon  the  sharp  wind  of  the  north, 
To  do  our  business  in  the  veins  of  the  earth 
When  it  is  bak'd  with  fix)st." 

And  so  the  power  of  Puck  to 

"  Put  a  girdle  round 
The  earth  in  forty  minutes." 

Shakspeare's  fancy  revels  in  his  descriptions  of  &iryland, 
whose  iidiabitants 

"  "Wander  everywhere, 
Swifter  than  the  moone's  sphere ; 
Swing  about  the  fairy  queen. 
Dewing  her  orbs*  upon  the  green." 

"  With  fair,  blessed  beams. 
Turning  to  yellow  gold  her  salt  green  streams." 

Singing  the  favoured  ones  to  sleep  with  divine  music, 
looking  for  dewdrops,  hanging  pearls  upon  the  cowslip's  ear ; 
the  cowslip, 

«  The  queen's  pensioner  in  gulden  ooat. 
Spotted  with  rubies." 

And  I  would  notice  by  the  way,  that  there  are  many 
pretty  poetical  associations  with  flowers  among  our  Devonian 
peasants,  who  explain  the  name  of  the  larger  celandine 
{Chdidaniv/m  majtts)  swaHow-wort,  by  saying  it  is  because  the 
swallows  brighten  the  eyes  of  their  young  by  anointing  them 
with  the  juice ;  and  lamb*8  lettuce  (corn-salad — Fedia  olitorid), 
which  they  suppose  to  be  created  for  the  use  of  the  tender 
youth  of  the  flock. 

Nor  are  the  comic  features  wanting  where  the  goblin  fairies, 
of  whom  Puck  is  one  of  the  busiest — "Puck,  whom  most 
men  call  Hobgoblin,"  plays  his  mischievous  tricks,  hurrying 

•*  Over  hill,  over  dale, 

'  Thorough  bush,  thorough  brier, 
Over  park,  over  vale. 
Thorough  flood,  thorough  fire ;" 

♦  Fairy  rings. 


76  DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

frightening  the  maidens,  skimming  the  milk,  stopping  the 
grindstone,  bewitching  the  chum,  not  allowing  the  beer  to 
ferment,  breaking  the  threads  of  the  spinsters,  and  playing 
hundreds  of  fantastic  tricks. 

Even  the  delicate  Ariel,  in  the  service  of  Prospero,  con- 
descends to  torment  the  wicked  and  drunken  sailors,  leading 
them  while  they,  "  calf-like,  followed"  through 

'*  Tooth'd  briers,  sharp  fiirzes,  pricking  gorse  and  thorn. 
Which  entered  their  frail  shins.    At  last  we  left  them 
In  the  filthy-mantled  pool  beyond  your  cell, 
There  dancmg  up  to  the  chins  that  the  foul  lake 
Outstretched  their  feet" 

He  even  brings  elves  and  fairies  into  comparison  with 
witches, 

'*  Who  round  the  cauldrons  sing, 
Like  elves  and  furies  in  a  ring." 

And  Milton  makes  Queen  Mab  herself  condescend  to  eat  the 
farmers'  junkets,  while  the  girl  tells  of  being  "  pinched  and 
pulled,"  and  the  lad  is  misled  by  the  friar's  lantern.  Drayton 
is  more  elaborate  in  his  detcdls  of  what  happens  to  the  un- 
fortunate who  fall  into  the  clutches  of  these  fim-enjoyiug 
imps;  for 

*'  Once  the  circle  got  within. 
The  charms  to  work  do  straight  begin, 
And  he  was  caught  as  in  a  g^ ; 
For  as  he  thus  was  busy, 
A  pain  he  in  his  headpiece  feels. 
Against  a  stubbed-tree  he  reels, 
And  up  went  poor  Hobgoblin's  heels : 

Alas !  his  brain  was  dizzy. 
At  length  upon  his  feet  he  ^ts ; 
Hobgoblin  fumes,  Hobgoblm  frets ; 
And  as  again  he  forward  gets, 

And  thro*  the  bushes  scrambles, 
A  stump  doth  hit  him  in  his  feice ; 
Down  comes  poor  Hob  upon  his  fece. 
And  lamentably  tore  his  case, 

Among  the  briers  and  brambles." 

NymphiduB. 

Though  the  many-coloured  descriptions  of  the  lands  of 
enchantment  much  resemble  one  another,  and  are  genendly 
pictures  of  what  this  world  might  be  if  we  would  separate 
its  joys  from  its  sorrows,  its  harmonies  from  its  discords,  its 
beauties  from  its  deformities,  and  divest  our  humanity  of 
those  conditions  which  make  us  mortal,  I  will,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparison,  introduce  a  poetical  sketch  of  the  elf- 
country  from  eastern  Europe,  which  I  have  translated  from  a 
Magyar  romance : 


DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE   ILLUSTRATED.  77 

*'  Winter  oomes  not  there,  the  frnitB  and  flowerets  blasting ; 
But  there  reigns  a  spring  of  beauty  everlasting : 
There  no  sons  are  seen  ascending  and  descending, 
Bnt  a  gentle  light — a  dawn-time  never  ending ; 
There  they  fly  about  on  never  wearied  pinions, 
Death  was  never  known  in  those  divine  dominions ; 
There  no  thoughts  are  found  of  idle  earthier  blisses, 
But  they  live  a  life  of  loves  and  joys  and  kisses ; 
Grief  has  there  no  tears,  if  tears  are  ever  fi&lling. 
They  are  only  tears,  hope,  happiness  recalling ; 
And  when  tears  are  droppied,  m  marvellous  transformations, 
All  the  tears  are  turned  to  diamond  constellations ; 
And  the  Uxty  children,  midst  their  songs  and  dances. 
Heavenly  rambows  spin  of  the  gay  light  that  glances 
From  those  radiant  eyes,  and  warp  them  in  the  fringes 
Of  the  evening  clouds,  like  those  whic^  sunset  tinges. 
There  are  beds  of  flowers — sweet  violets,  scarlet  roses — 
Where  they  lay  them  down,  and  when  the  eyelid  closes, 
Odorous  zephyrs  fan  the  senses,  and  romances 
Other  than  their  own  awake  their  playful  fancies ; 
Emerald  fields  are  spread,  which,  uoto.  the  mom  to  even, 
Washed  by  ftagrant  dews,  refreehing  dews  from  heaven. 
Never  lose  their  leaves,  and  never  drop  their  flowers — 
Withered  not  by  cold,  nor  crushed  by  tropic  showers. 
These  are  dreams — all  dreams,  from  fS&iry  land  ideal." 

Fetdji, 

Most  of  ihe  operations  of  the  pixies,  like  those  of  the 
fiedries,  are  carried  on  in  the  night.  Butler  compared  their 
proceeding  with  the  unforeseen  visitations  of  fortune,  that 

"  Does  all  men's  drudgery  and  work. 
Like  fairies,  for  them  in  the  dark." 

But  the  hours  of  moonlight  are  chosen  for  the  revels  and 
dances  of  the  pixies,  who  are  supposed  to  seek  retired  and 
shady  spots  in  the  sunshining  hours,  either  to  rest  or  to  con- 
trive their  plots  of  mischief,  to  be  carried  out  after  the  sun 
has  gone  down. 

Milton  attributes  to  the  goblin  some  of  the  tricks  practised 
by  the  pixies,  and  makes  his  "  fairy  strength  "  serve  the  pur- 
poses accomplished  by  their  agility : 

•*  The  drudging  goblin  sweat 
To  earn  the  cream-bowl,  duly  set, 
When  in  our  night,  ere  glimpse  of  mom, 
The  shadowy  flail  had  threshed  the  com 
That  ton-day  labours  could  not  ond ; 
Then  lies  him  down,  the  lubber  fiend. 
And,  stretehed  out  all  the  chimney*  s  length, 
Basks  at  the  fire  bis  fairy  strength. 
Then,  cropfiil,  out  of  doors  he  flings. 
Ere  the  first  cock  his  matin  sings. 

A  farmer,  living  in  the  north  of  Dartmoor,  told  my  in- 
formant that  his  brother  had  caught  a  pixy,  and  kept  him 


78         DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

for  some  time  in  a  lanthom.  Threshing  wheat  for  those  whom 
the  pixies  favour  with  their  auspices  is  one  of  their  wonted 
amusements.  And  on  one  occasion  the  favoured  farmer, 
having  entered  his  bam,  found  a  whole  troop  of  pixies  busied 
with  their  flails.  "  Niver/*  he  said,  "  did  I  see  such  drashers 
as  they  was."  He  looked  on  for  some  time,  and  at  last  one 
said  to  the  other,  "  I  twit;  don't  you  twit  (sweat)  ?"  and  per- 
ceiving they  were  intruded  on,  they  all  ran  away,  except  one, 
who  stumbled  and  fell.  The  farmer  caught  him,  and  put 
him  into  his  lanthom,  where  he  lived  for  some  time ;  but  one 
night  the  farmer  left  open  the  door  of  the  lanthom,  and  just 
as  the  mistake  was  about  to  be  repaired,  out  jumped  the 
pixy,  saying,  "Here  I  goes;  here  I  goes;"  and  the  farmer 
never  saw  him  again. 

A  story  not  less  amusing  is  recorded  in  the  curious  collec- 
tion of  the  Folk-Lore  of  I^ncashire,  where  rabbits'  holes  are 
commonly  called  fairy  houses,  and  are  believed  to  be  places 
of  retreat  for  the  little  community  when  suddenly  surprised. 

It  is  said  that  some  poachers,  who  had  covered  the  mouth 
of  the  hole  with  their  bags,  fancied  they  had  secured  their 
prey,  and  ranning  away  with  their  bags  on  their  back,  were 
alarmed  at  hearing, 

"  Dick !  Dick !  tell  me  quick, 
Where  art  thou?" 

And  the  answer  was, 

'*  In  a  sack. 
On  aback. 
Biding  up  Bushy  Brow." 

It  may  well  be  believed  that  the  sack  was  soon  dropped. 
The  poachers  took  to  their  heels,  and  we  are  assured  they 
poached  never  again. 

The  pixies  ill-disposed  towards  the  peasantry  employed 
themselves  in  entangling  the  long  manes  and  tails  of  the 
horses  on  the  moor,  the  combing  of  which  was  not  only  very 
difficult,  but  brought  evil  to  those  who  interfered  with  their 
impish  work.  These  are  the  horse-hags  described  by  Shak- 
speare: 

"That  very  Mab 
That  plats  the  manes  of  horses  in  the  night, 
And  bakes  the  elf-locks  in  foul  sluttish  hairs, 
Which,  once  entangled,  much  misfortune  bodes." 

Momeo  and  Juliet, 

This  superstition  has  not  died  out.  Mr.  Pulman  says,  that 
only  a  short  time  ago  a  veterinary  surgeon  of  Crewkeme  was 
sent  for  to  prescribe  for  a  valuable  horse  belonging  to  a 
gentleman  of  a  neighbouring  villaga     On  his  arrival  at  the 


DEVONIAN  FOLK-LOBE  ILLUSTRATED.  79 

stable,  he  was  assuTed  by  the  groom,  with  much  solemnity, 
that  the  animal  was  saffering,  not  from  any  disease  within 
the  reach  of  medicine,  but  from  the  baneful  effects  of  "  horse- 
haes."  The  proof  of  this  the  groom  pointed  out  in  the 
animal's  mane,  which  had  evidently,  as  he  averred,  been 
twisted  into  the  usual  knot-ladders,  by  means  of  which,  it 
wonld  appear,  the  **  hags "  are  in  the  habit  of  mounting  to 
the  head  of  their  victims,  for  the  purpose  of  worrying  them. 
He  could  account  for  the  mysterious  knots  in  no  other  way, 
and  was  much  disappointed  in  being  imable  to  persuade  his 
master  to  "  throw  physic  to  the  dogs,''  and  to  employ  what 
he  believed  to  be  the  more  appropriate  agency  of  the  white 
witch. 

The  pixies  were  said  to  have  their  tribunals :  their  rewards 
were  to  be  chaiged  with  amusing  missions,  and  the  perform- 
ance of  tricks  among  the  rustics.  One  of  their  punishments 
was  to  make  up  bundles  of  sand,  and  to  bind  them  with 
ropes  of  the  same.  The  traditions  not  only  speak  of  the 
courts  held  by  the  pixy  king  and  queen,  of  the  songs  and 
dances,  the  baths  in  the  granite  fountains,  their  sudden 
migrations  when  interrupted,  their  vengeance  upon  those 
who  doubted  their  existence  or  disturbed  their  revelries,  but 
they  are  reported  to  have  held  their  regular  markets  and 
their  fairs,  particularly  on  Blackdown,  near  Taunton,  return- 
ing from  which  town  they  were  often  seen  by  the  farmers 
and  their  wives,  who  avoided  going  too  near,  as  they  inflicted 
grievous  diseases  on  those  who  had  the  boldness  to  approach 
tiie  place  of  their  resort* 

A  lady  writes  to  me: — "An  acquaintance  of  mine  was 
some  years  ago  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newton,  in  this 
county.  She  there  met  an  old  farmer,  who  related  to  her  the 
following  anecdote  from  his  own  experience.  He  had  kept 
his  bed  for  some  time,  and  his  illness  had  quite  baffled  the 
doctors ;  in  fact,  he  was  thought  to  be  dying.  Those  about 
him  advised  that  he  should  be  laid  in  a  grave  newly  dug  for 
a  young  woman.  [I  believe  the  proper  time  for  the  ceremonial 
is  the  midnight  hour.]  An  opportunity  occurring,  he  was 
taken  from  his  bed  to  the  churchyard,  and  placed  for  a  short 
time  in  this  melancholy  receptacle.  Strange  to  say,  from  the 
time  he  was  taken  out  he  began  to  revive,  and  was  a  hale  old 
man  at  the  time  he  related  the  story." 

A  few  days  ago  I  made  an  exploration  on  the  skirts  of 
Dartmoor,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  remains  of 

*  Keightl67*8  Fairy  Mythology. 


80  DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

pixy  lore.     I  will  give  the  answers  from  two  men  and  two 
women,  which  may  be  taken  as  specimens  of  the  state  of  the 
peasant  mind.  ''  Have  you  any  pixies  in  this  neighbourhood  ?" 
"  I've  yerd  tell  on  'em,  but  they  be  all  gone  now."    "  Well, 
what  have  you  heard  about  them  ?"  "  Why  they  used  to  play 
all  sorts  of  tricks,  and  trouble  and  carry  away  the  childreiL'' 
"How  many  children  have  you?"     "Ten;  but  they  never 
meddled  with  mine.    I  believe  they  have  all  left  the  country 
now.  There  was  a  great  many  about  here  vormerly."   2.  "  The 
pixies,  I  believe,  is  all  gone  away  now."    "  Did  you  ever  see 
one?"    "Well,"  the  old  woman  said  with  a  smile,  as  if  she 
were  entrusting  me  with  a  great  secret,  "  I  did  zee  one  once, 
when  I  was  a  little  maid — I  did  zee  a  pixy  man,"     "  How 
big  was  he  ?"   "  Jist  so  high,"  said  she,  putting  her  right  hand 
about  eighteen  inches  from  the  ground.     "And  how  was  he 
dressed  ?"  "  He  had  a  little  odd  hat,  and  a  pipe  in  his  mouth, 
and  he  had  an  old  jug  in  his  hand — not  like  the  jugs  us  uses 
now.    They  gived  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  plague,  as  I've 
yerd  tell  on.     I  never  zeed  but  that  one,  and  I  du  think 
they've  gone  to  some  other  part  of  the  world."     3.  A  rustic, 
who  hesitated  at  first,  shook  his  head,  and  said  he  "didn' 
think  any  ov  'em  was  left  now,"  induced  a  woman  standing  by 
to  say,  "£es  there  was;"  and  she  pointed  to  a  high  ground 
covered  with  granite  boulders  (the  scene  was  at  Lustleigh), 
and  said,  "You  may  go  and  zee  the  pixy  holes  for  yourself  up 
there.  They  comes  there  be  nighit,  and  people  goes  to  zee  'em; 
but  they  don't  come  out  by  day."    "  Did  you  ever  go  ?  did 
you  ever  see  them  ?"     She  did  not  like  to  go  there  by  night, 
but  she  had  herself  seen  the  "  pixy  holes,"  and  she  "  knaw'd 
that  volks  did  go  there,  and  (fid  zee  'em  in  the  moonlight." 
One  of  the  company  asked  what  they  could  find  to  eat  in 
that  wild  place  ?  and  the  answer  was,  "  Perhaps  'twas  mush- 
rooms."    "  Oh,"  said  one  of  the  listeners,  "  then  they  did  not 
get  any  thing  to  eat  for  more  than  six  weeks  of  the  whole 
year,"  when  a  rustic  wit  responded, "  Perhaps  they  lam'd  how 
to  pickle  'em."     We  got  now  into  the  subject,  and  a  middle- 
aged  man  broke  out  that  he  "knaw'd"  something  about  two 
pixies  that  was  caught  in  a  bam  "drashing  the  com,  and  that 
wan  was  caught,  and  t'other  hum'd  away;  but  he'd  tell  me 
what  he  knaw'd,  for  twam't  only  dree  yers  agone,  when  he 
zeed  how  the  pixies  did  tangle  the  manes  of  the  horses,  in  a 
way  that  no  mortal  hand  and  no  machine  could  do,  and  that 
once  he  drived  thirty-five  colts  from  the  moor,  and  that  vive 
ov  'em  had  their  manes  traced  (tressed),  and  won  tum'd  into 
a  horchard,  and  his  mane  was  cort  in  the  branch  of  a  happle 


DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED.  81 

tree,  and  he  tared  hissdf  away,  and  left  the  mane,  and  most 
bativulTit  was,  and  he  took  it  and  gived  it  to  his  master,  and 
he  was  sorry  for  it ;  for  if  he  had  it  now  he  wid'n  sell  it  for 
▼ive  shillings." 

There  were  a  good  many  pei'sons  present,  and  most  of  them 
agreed  that  the  pixies  did  still  tangle  and  tress  the  manes  of 
the  horses  on  the  moor,  so  that  there  was  no  combing  it 
smooth  again,  and  that  the  knots  must  be  cut  away. 

One  of  the  old  Devonian  superstitions,  that  it  always  rains 
on  a  Friday  when  the  other  days  are  dry,  and  that  it  will  be 
dry  on  Friday  when  it  rains  on  other  days,  is  preserved  in 
the  proverb, 

**  Friday  and  the  week 
Never  aleek  (alike)." 

To  which  an  addition  is  sometimes  made,  traceable  to 
Catholic  times, 

'*  Bain  Sunday  before  mass, 
Bain  aU  the  week,  more  or  lass  (less)." 

Another  is,  that  the  study  of  the  milky- way  will  enable 
the  observer  to  foretell  the  state  of  the  weather.  Mr.  Pulman 
tells  me  he  has  heard  that  portion  of  the  heavens  called  the 
rishe.  He  reminds  me  of  the  veneration  for  bees  among  the 
Devonian  peasantry,  adding,  "At  a  funeral  their  hives  are 
turned;  and  it  would  be  considered  prolific  of  evil  if  their 
inmates  were  not  immediately  informed  of  the  death  of  any 
members  of  their  owner's  household — a  person  carefully 
whispering  the  news  at  their  hives."  In  turning  their  hives 
at  Hawkchurch,  some  years  since,  and  also  near  Colyton,  the 
bees  resented  the  intrusion  by  attacking  the  funeral  proces- 
sion, and  putting  it  to  flight.  In  one  case  the  parson  was  so 
stung  as  to  be  laid  up  for  a  week.  The  nailing  of  a  horse- 
shoe over  the  stable  door  and  elsewhere  is  still  regarded  as  a 
security  for  "  luck."    . 

I  have  seen  no  collection  of  traditions  associated  with  the 
Yeth-hounds,  the  wild  dogs  of  the  heather,  who  are  engaged 
in  hunting  the  spirits  of  unbaptized  infants,  so  that  they  can 
find  no  resting-place  in  their  graves.  Their  bowlings  have 
been  reported  as  frequently  heard — naturally  enough  in 
stormy  weather — and  their  presence  witnessed  always  after 
the  setting  of  the  sun.  They  are  represented  as  headless, 
which,  though  not  very  consistent  with  their  bowlings,  may 
have  added  to  their  mysterious  character.  The  gallitraps,  or 
feyed-lands,  on  which  if  a  criminal  placed  his  foot  he  could 
not  be  released  till  the  priest  removed  the  charm  which  held 

VOL.   II.  G 


82  DEVONIAN  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED. 

him,  and  the  justice  sentenced  him  to  be  hanged;  the  curatiye 
powers  possessed  by  adders  and  by  witches*  blood  when  the 
vein  was  opened  by  a  rusty  nail ;  the  wicked  workings  of  the 
evil  eye;  and  the  many  devices  by  which  the  plottings  of 
the  infernal  one  might  be  counteracted,  would  afford  subjects 
for  diligent  investigation,  and  many  contributions  might  be 
made  to  Mrs.  Bray's  Traditions,  and  to  the  curious  notes 
which  Mr.  Baring  Gould  has  lately  furnished  to  Henderson's 
Folk-Lore  of  the  Northern  Counties, 

I  am  afraid  the  credulity  and  ignorance  of  our  peasantry 
will  not  be  deemed  very  creditable  to  the  Devonian  repu- 
tation, though  they  afford  materials  for  amusing  and  instruc- 
tive speculations;  yet  every  body  must  have  been  struck  with 
outbreaks  of  sagacity;  and  the  sharp  and  original  sayings 
even  of  some  of  our  "town  arabs"  and  "rural  bom"  might 
be  worth  preserving.  The  other  day  I  was  going  near  a  street 
crossing,  where  a  dirty,  ragged  boy  was  vigorously  using  his 
broom.  Another  boy,  somewhat  better  clad — he  could  scarcely 
be  worse — was  passing.  "Gimmer  a  hapney?"  said  the 
sweeper.  "A  hapney !"  was  the  reply;  "  I  han't  got  nort  but 
vive  pun  notes  in  my  pocket" 

The  poetical  spirit  of  the  Greek  and  Soman  mythology  is 
visible  in  the  very  names  and  attributes  of  those  fanciful 
creations,  to  which  the  grosser  minds  of  less  civilized  nature 
gave  ruder  forms  and  characters.  They  had  the  Dryades  for 
the  woods,  the  Kereides  for  the  ocean,  the  Naiades  for  the 
mountains  and  the  streams,  the  Orcades  for  the  mountcdns ; 
but  they  were  all  subordinate  to  the  supreme  authorities,  and 
not  like  the  ancient  independent  deities  of  the  Chinese, 
supreme  gods  of  the  harvest,  of  the  seasons,  of  the  rain,  of 
the  winds,  and  of  the  various  elements  of  heaven  and  earth. 
The  Lamice,  whose  habits  resemble  those  of  the  fouler  imps, 
hags,  and  hobgoblins  of  the  north,  occupy  but  little  space  in 
classical  pages.  These  she-devils  sucked  the  blood  and  de- 
voured the  corpses  of  children ;  but  there  is  no  grandeur  in 
their  history  such  as  attaches  to  that  of  Saturn,  whose  canni- 
balism, even  though  sacrificing  his  sons,  is  made  poeticaL 
While  among  the  Greeks,  Echo  was  the  plaintive  voice  of  a 
woman, 

"  Pinmg  midst  solitudes  in  secret  love," 

the  Scandinavians  had  fancies  of  their  own,  and  attributed 
Echo  to  imps  who  mocked  the  utterances  of  mortals. 

Though  most  nations  have  their  imps,  elves,  fairies,  goblins, 
pixies,  and  other  super-human  or  ultra-human  entities,  who 


DRVONIAN  FOLK-LORB  ILLUSTRATED.  83 

have  more  or  less  to  do  with  mortal  concerns,  and  possess 
more  or  less  of  the  attributes  of  mortal  men,  they  are  usually 
divided  into  two  classes — the  benignant  and  the  malignant ; 
but  tibey  have  caprices  and  courses  of  their  own,  not  to  be 
measured  by  our  standard.  The  Duende  of  the  Spaniards, 
though  generally  hostile  to  our  race,  is  sometimes  well-dis- 
posed; the  IhiendecUlo,  though  frisky,  is  almost  always 
amiabla  The  Fada  of  the  Portuguese  is  synonymous  with 
the  F4e  of  the  French ;  but  the  word  when  used  by  the 
Castilians  ordinarily  means  witch.  In  Italian  the  Fata  is 
supposed  to  possess  powers  of  enchantment ;  in  fact,  Incan- 
iairiee  is  often  used  as  a  word  of  corresponding  meaning. 
Aristotle  gives  a  melancholy  report  from  the  lips  of  one  of  the 
fairies,  that,  doomed  to  every  other  suffering,  they  are  saved 
from  that  of  death — 

*<Dellefate 
lo  sono  una :  ed  il  fatale  stato, 
Per  &rtd  ancor  saper,  ch'  importe ; 
Nascemmo  a  un  punto  chi  d'ogni  otro  male, 
Siamo  capaci  fuorche  deUa  morte." 

One  of  ihe  fates  I  am,  whose  destiny 
I  wiU  revesd,  if  it  concern  thee.    We 
Were  bom  to  every  other  misery. 
To  every  misery;  but  not  to  die ! 

The  Germans  have  adopted  F^e  from  the  French  (using  the 
feminine  gender);  but  they  have  their  Kdbold  (hobgoblin), 
for  which  the  French  word  is  Farfadet,  who  is  as  often  a 
humorous  as  a  mischievous  elf.  The  Spack  is  a  mysterious 
spectre — the  SpogeUe  of  the  Danes — the  Spoke  of  the  Swedes, 
though  both  have  introduced  Fe,  from  Faerie,  an  old  Norman 
word  which  has  come  down  to  us,  and  which  in  French  has 
the  form  of  a  verb  {f^er — refier)  as  well  as  a  noun. 

The  Dutch  call  fairies  nimf,  or  toavemimf  (nymph,  magic 
n3rmph).  The  Eussians,  though  they  have  adopted  the  word 
Fea,  have  a  Slavonic  designation  of  their  own — Tohhebnitza, 
which  nearly  corresponds  to  our  sorceress.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  local  word  Bogie,  Bogle  (Scotch),  Boggart  (Lan- 
cashire), is  derived  from  the  Celtic  Baogh — a  femcJe  devil, 
dwelling  in  rivers,  with  attributes  resembling  the  classical 
Lamia.  The  Celts  believed  in  a  more  amiable  elf,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Sith,  or  Sithich ;  but  it  is  not  difficult 
to  trace  the  affinity  of  the  Danish  Spogel,  the  Spog  of  the 
Norman,  the  Spuck  of  the  Germans,  with  our  own  Fuck  and 
Picksie,  and  the  Fuke  of  the  Icelanders. 

A  very  charming  fancy  is  that  which  has  given  personality 

G  2 


84  DEVONIAN  FOLK-LOBE  ILLUSTRATED. 

to  the  Fata  Morgana;  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the 
beautiful  appearances  of  this  remarkable  phenomenon  have 
been  turned  to  account  by  the  imaginative  mind.  I  have 
seen  the  mirage  on  the  AMcan  desert — a  many-coloured  pic- 
ture outrolled  over  the  burning  sands.  The  Magyar  peasant 
has  a  hundred  traditions  connected  with  the  visits  of  the 
Delibab,  the  guardian  spirit  of  the  Hungarian  Puszta — the 
wide,  wild  plains  on  the  Dauubian  banks.  There  is  a  moigana 
of  the  water,  another  of  the  air,  another  of  the  land.  MiJiasi, 
who  describes  its  appearance  on  the  Italian  lakes,  gives  pic- 
tures which  it  would  requii-e  the  skill  of  a  Claude  to  realize. 
When  its  vision  dawns,  he  says  the  people  are  transported 
with  delight,  and  run  towards  the  sea,  shouting,  "Moigana! 
morgana!"  Fata,  as  we  have  seen,  means  fairy;  and  the 
Sicilians  call  the  exhibition,  castles  of  the  morgana  fairy. 

Many  theories  there  are  as  to  the  causes  of  this  curious 
display,  which  is  sometimes  coloured  with  all  the  tints  of 
the  rainbow — a  theatrical  exhibition  of  passing  shadows  of 
castles,  and  palaces,  and  fields,  and  forests,  and  even  armies 
of  men.  "Aerial  moving  pictures,"  they  are  called  by  M. 
Hoel. 

I  mention  these  as  evidence  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
human  intellect  is  captivated  by  all  mysterious  beauty,  and 
how  easily  superstition  creates  its  idols  out  of  the  wonders 
which  common  observation  cannot  explain.  Our  fairy-rings, 
our  Jack-in-the-Lanthorn,  the  Aurora  Borealis — whose  early 
appearances  in  England  are  described  by  historians  as  battles 
of  fierce  heavenly  warriors — the  shooting -stars,  the  stones 
from  heaven,  and  all  not  understood  phenomena,  have  afforded 
abundant  materials  for  credulity  to  work  on,  while  they  have 
been  deemed  worthy  of  the  investigation  of  some  of  our  most 
eminent  philosophers,  and  have  furnished  imagery  for  many 
a  popular  poet. 

It  is  the  habit  to  trace  back  to  classical  antiquity  most  of 
the  superstitions  which  exist  among  us ;  so  the  Persian  Peri 
and  the  Arabian  Djin  are  the  fancied  progenitors  of  the  fairy 
and  the  pixy  races.  But  these  creations  are  only  varioxis 
forms  of  a  universal  element — the  desire  to  discover  agencies 
which  may  account  for  phenomena  obscure  or  unintelligible 
to  the  ordinary  sense.  The  Chinese  certainly  have  adopted 
none  of  the  traditions  of  the  West ;  yet  their  books  are  full 
of  kweiy  or  spiritual  agents,  some  friendly,  some  unfriendly 
to  man.  Superhuman  forms,  the  personification  of  good  and 
evil  attributes,  are  among  the  fictions  and  the  fancies  adopted 
by  the  human  race  as  soon  as  it  emerges  from  the  lowest 


DEVOKIAK  FOLK-LORE  ILLUSTRATED.  85 

^pnuie  of  barbarism ;  and  if  they  assimilate  to  one  another, 
it  is  not  so  much  becaase  they  emanate  from  a  common 
origin,  as  that  they  represent  the  tendencies  of  a  common 
natoia  They  accommodate  themselves  to  local  conditions 
and  dicnmstancea  I  had  once  a  black  guide,  who  conducted 
me  through  the  tracks  among  those  huge  granite  boulders, 
covered  with  mysterious  inscriptions,  which  separate  Upper 
Egypt  from  ancient  Ethiopia — the  country  probably  of  the 
Esaenes.  (Assouan  is  the  modem  name  of  the  principal  town.) 
No  region  can  afford  grander  materials  for  tradition  and  imagi- 
nation to  illustrate.  On  the  adjacent  Nile  are  the  beautiful 
ruins  of  the  marble  temples  of  Isis  and  Osiris ;  in  the  desert 
magnificent  rocks  and  wild  recesses,  peopled  with  ghosts  and 
genii ;  and  at  every  step  my  companion  had  some  wondrous 
tale  to  teU  of  what  he  himself  knew  to  have  happened,  or 
what  he  had  heard  from  undoubted  authority.  So  in  the 
Holy  Land,  I  was  provided  with  a  Mascara,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  relieve  the  tediousness  of  the  journey  by  narrating 
stories  such  as  those  which  may  be  read  in  the  Arabian  Nights, 
but  which  were  usually  associated  with  the  history  of  the 
district  through  which  we  travelled.  Sir  Walter  Scott  was 
in  the  habit  of  entertaining  his  guests  with  the  romantic 
l^[ends  of  the  hills  and  the  vales  and  the  rivers  in  the  dis- 
tricts through  which  he  conducted  them.  In  truth,  man  is 
everywhere  man,  and  everywhere  fond  of  the  marvellous. 


ON  PRISON  DISCIPLINE 

BT  E.    VrTIAW,    J.P. 


As  a  committee  was  appointed  at  the  last  quarter  sessions 
of  this  connty,  on  the  motion  of  our  first  President  to 
investimte  and  report  upon  the  whole  question  of  prison 
disciplme^  and  the  introduction  of  industrial  labour  into  our 
prisons,  it  misht  seem  premature  to  bring  the  subject  before 
this  Association ;  but  as  a  member  of  that  committee,  I  am 
very  desirous  of  obtaining  an  expression  of  opinion  in  this 
town,  and  amongst  the  agriculturists  of  North  Devon,  who 
are  supposed  to  be  mainly  affected  by  the  proposed  changes. 

I  may  assume  that  punishment  should  not  be  vindictiye, 
or  simply  retributive ;  it  remains,  therefore  to  consider  it  as 
either  reformatory  or  deterrent. 

The  formation  of  habits,  either  good  or  bad,  is  in  some 
measure  simply  the  jMissive  result  of  a  train  of  thought  or 
action ;  but  it  is  expedited  and  confirmed  by  the  development 
of  right  motives,  and  the  proposal  of  suitable  objects  for 
attainment.  Occupation,  both  of  mind  and  body,  is  essential 
to  their  health.  In  the  language  of  Dryden,  we  may  thus 
apostrophise  even  the  "  hard  labour"  of  our  jails : — 

**  Offispriiig  of  woe,  and  parent  of  our  ease, 

The  toil  which  teaches  pleasure's  self  to  please, 
'    Allays  the  rtief  which  spurns  direct  control, 
And  stills  the  raging  tempest  of  the  soul." 

Imprisonment  without  labour  of  some  kind  should  be  alto- 
gether banished  from  our  prison  system.  Idleness  is  a  habit 
more  readily  acquired  than  industry,  and,  paradoxical  as  it 
may  appear,  is  at  first  even  more  irksome  than  compulsory 
labour.  In  the  instance  which  I  referred  to  at  the  sessions, 
a  hard  working,  industrious  man,  committed  for  four  months, 
without  hard  labour,  assured  me  that  he  would  not  only  have 
preferred  the  treadmill,  but  that,  however  much  against  his 
will,  he  was  acquiring  habits  of  idleness  of  body  and  reck- 
lessness of  mind,  which  would,  if  continued,  unfit  him  for 


ON  PRISON  DISCIPLINE.  87 

his  former  occupation.  He  obtained  speedy  permission  to 
work  in  the  governor's  garden,  or  I  believe  his  anticipations 
would  have  proved  too  trua  An  idle  "  rogue  and  vagabond  " 
would  not  have  felt  this;  so  that  imprisonment  without 
labour  has  the  additional  evil  of  being  inversely  proportioned 
in  its  severity  to  the  deserts  of  those  upon  whom  it  is  im- 
posed. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  making  industrial  labour  suffi- 
ciently onerous ;  indeed,  beyond  a  certain  amount  it  ceases  to 
have  a  beneficial  effect,  and  can  only  be  advocated  as  being 
deterrent  Hood  thus  moralises  in  one  of  his  humorous 
sketches : — 

"  Poor  P^gy  hawks  roses  from  street  to  street, 
Tfll — tlunk  of  that  to  whom  life's  so  sweet — 
She  hates  the  smeU  of  roses." 

The  middy  who  passes  his  examination,  after  hard  cramming, 
nails  up  his  Euclid,  and  consigns  it  to  the  deep ;  but  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  second  nature  of  industrious  habit 
does  not  always  rise  again  in  after  Ufa  The  material  at 
least  is  there  accumulated  ready  for  use. 

The  question  now  immediately  under  consideration  is, 
whether  penal  labour  should  be  reformcUory  or  deterrent.  In 
the  Devon  County  Prisons  hitherto,  the  latter  has  been  prin- 
cipally adopted.  Labour  is  made  degrading  by  the  unpro- 
ductive use  of  the  cranks ;  and  a  treadmill  is  now  ordered, 
'wjtdch,  will  not  be  applied,  even  as  at  first  proposed,  for 
grinding  com.  Labour  without  production  is  doubly  irksome 
to  those  who  retain  any  feeling  of  industry,  whilst  the  con- 
sciousness that  they  are  a  mere  burden  to  those  who  impose 
the  punishment,  instead  of  earning  the  cost  of  maintenance, 
affords  a  malicious  satisfaction  to  the  depraved.  The  ex- 
posure on  the  treadmill,  especially  to  visitors,  is  also  an 
aggravation  of  punishment,  felt  most  by  those  who  retain  a 
sense  of  shame ;  it  is  therefore  open  to  the  objections  which 
have  led  to  the  discontinuance  of  the  pillory  and  stocks,  or 
the  moral  penalty  which,  in  the  use  of  the  lash,  is  superadded 
to  corporal  suffering.  Self-respect —  Verecundia  custos  omnium 
virtutum — cannot  be  too  carefully  husbanded. 

Solitary  confinement  and  the  silent  system  alone  are  objec- 
tionable, on  the  ground  that  the  reality  is  greater  than  the 
terror  which  they  inspire ;  they  are  therefore  only  deterrent  to 
those  who  have  actually  undergone  them,  not  to  the  outer 
criminal  world.  If  unaccompanied  with  labour,  they  aggravate 
the  evils  of  compulsory  idleness,  and  deteriorate  both  the 
intellectual  and  the  moral  faculties. 


88  ON   PRISON   DISCIPLINB. 

Under  our  present  system  punishment  is  continued  even 
during  the  night.  For  six  weeks  prisoners  are  compeDed  to 
sleep  upon  plank  beds.  If  we  analyze  this,  the  d&comfort 
must  be  felt  either  whilst  awake  or  asleep.  If  the  former,  it 
would  surely  be  preferable  that  the  time  in  bed  should  be 
shortened ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  punishment  can 
be  operative  during  sleep,  even  in  prison  dreams.  I  fear  the 
truth  is,  that  broken  rest  adds  weariness  to  the  daily  task,  with 
an  aching  back,  especially  in  women,  and  in  some  cases  bed- 
sores, which  doubly  incapacitate  for  the  resumption  of  honest 
industry.  If  corporal  punishment  is  ever  necessary,  it  would 
be  far  better  to  allow  wholesome  sleep,  followed  by  some 
dozen  lashes. 

Industrial  labour  is,  I  believe,  in  all  respects,  preferable. 
It  forms  or  confirms  habits  of  industry,  and  is  most  severely 
felt  by  the  idle  and  profligate.  It  also  compels  the  criminal 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood,  instead  of  burdening  the  county 
rates.  Under  both  these  aspects  prisoners  may  be  advan- 
tageously committed  for  longer  terms  than  at  present^  so  as 
more  effectually  to  break  evil  associations,  and  enable  them, 
under  suitable  regulations,  to  accumulate  a  small  fund,  which 
may  facilitate  the  resumption  of  their  former  position  on 
leaving  prison,  instead  of  relapsing  into  crime. 

On  the  Continent,  especially  in  Switzerland  and  Belgium, 
and  in  America,  and  in  some  of  our  own  prisons,  the  indus- 
trial system  has  been  tried  with  very  great  success.  The 
most  encouraging  of  these  is  the  Bedford  County  Jail,  where 
the  whole  of  the  dietary  is  paid  for  by  the  prisoners'  labour. 

The  following  is  from  a  summary  of  the  results  recently 
published  in  Meliora : — 

BEDFORD   PRISON. 

Sale  of  manufactured  goods  and  other  work  done  for  the 
year  ending 

JS  9.         d. 

Michaehnas  1864 1166  15     8 

„  1865 1552  16   11 

„  1866 1675     9     2 

In  addition  to  this,  the  whole  of  the  tailoring,  shoemaking, 
and  repairs  of  the  establishment,  including  the  officers' 
uniform,  is  done  within  the  prison. 

The  amount  of  cash  paid  to  the  county  treasurer  as  profits 
for 

1864  £350 

1865  450 

1866  500 


ON  PRISON  DISCIPLINE.  89 

From  Michaelmas  1853  to  Michaelmas  1866,  sale  of  articles 
manufactured  in  the  prison  d£12,415  168.  3d.,  yielding  a  profit 
of  £4286  Is.  9d,  exclusive  of  work  done  in  and  about  the 
prison,  for  which  no  charge  is  made  to  the  county. 

The  average  number  of  committals  for  1848  to  1852  in- 
clusive was  677,  and  of  re-committals  213 ;  but  during  the 
five  years  from  1858  to  1862,  the  industrial  system  being 
then  in  full  working,  the  committals  have  averaged  only  503, 
and  the  re-committals  158. 

The  same  principle  has  already  been  introduced,  with  much 
success,  into  our  reformatories  and  industrial  schools.  The 
Devon  Eeformatory  for  Boys,  at  Brampford  Speke,  contains 
on  an  average  26  inmates,  and  the  Devon  and  Exeter  Refuge 
for  Girls  43.  In  addition  to  these  for  young  persons  con- 
victed of  criminal  offences,  there  is  an  admirably-conducted 
Home  for  N^lected  Children  in  St.  Thomas,  to  which,  at 
the  last  sessions,  a  capitation  grant  of  2s.  was  voted.  In  each 
of  these  industrial  labour  is  enforced,  and  the  proceeds  de- 
fray a  considerable  portion  of  the  expenses. 

The  objections  which  have  been  raised  against  the  indus- 
taial  system  are — 1.  That  it  competes  injuriously  with  free 
labour.  2.  That  it  offers  a  premium  to  vice,  by  enabling 
criminals  to  acquire  a  trade,  thus  raising  them  above  the 
honest  labourer. 

Th&  first  of  these  objections  offends  against  the  most 
elementary  principles  of  political  economy.  Whatever  is 
expended  in  the  improductive  maintenance  of  criminals  must 
be  withdrawn  from  the  wages  fund  for  free  labour, — every 
additional  prisoner  therefore  throws  some  industrious  man 
out  of  employment,  or  adds  an  equivalent  burden  to  the 
ratepayer.  If  instead  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  population  being 
in  confinement  99  per  cent,  were  dependent  on  the  rates,  it 
would  be  apparent  to  all,  that  the  one  man  out  of  100  who 
had  to  maintain  the  other  99  would  no  longer  object  to«their 
earning  their  own  maintenance,  although  competing  with  him 
in  the  industrial  market.  The  principle  is  the  same  when  the 
proportion  is  reversed. 

The  second  objection  is  more  plausible ;  it  was  urged  at 
the  last  sessions,  and  has  been  supported  by  the  Press  in  the 
supposed  interest  of  the  agricultural  labourer.  Unquestion- 
ably, if  lucrative  trades  were  taught  in  our  prisons,  so  as  to 
enable  the  criminals  to  earn  better  wages  on  their  discharge, 
there  would  be  an  injustice  done  to  the  honest  labourer ;  but 
this  is  not  proposed.  Tlie  only  branches  of  industry  which 
can  be  acquired  by  adult  prisoners  (as  mat-making  and  some 


90  ON  PRISON   DISCIPLINK 

small  handicrafts)  ai'e  merely  such  as  would  be  quite  com- 
patible with  their  former  pursuits,  and  would  enable  them  to 
employ  their  leisure  hours.  If  beyond  this  some  of  the  more 
profligieite  characters  amongst  the  village  poor  were  to  be 
draughted  off  to  the  maniLfacturing  towns,  or  were  enabled 
to  emigrate,  the  agricultural  labour  market  would  be  relieved 
of  a  burden,  and  the  utmost  evil  that  could  result  would  be 
a  rise  in  wages  above  their  present  miserable  level,  with  a 
more  than  equivalent  reduction  in  the  poor  and  county  rates. 

So  far  indeed  from  this  being  an  evil,  every  inducement 
should  be  offered  to  divert  the  growing  population  of  the 
rural  districts  to  more  remimerative  occupationa  The  phe- 
nomenon of  9s.  a-week  in  the  coimtry,  and  strikes  in  the 
manufacturing  towns  for  30s.,  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
the  preference  of  the  agriculturists  for  their  healthful  pui^ 
suits  and  old  associations.  On  the  same  principle  the  countiy 
S(|[uire  might  double  or  treble  his  rental,  if  he  were  to  invest 
his  capitsd  in  manufacturing  industry. 

The  character  of  industrisd  labour  which  I  should  advocate 
would  be  that  to  which  the  prisoners  had  already  been 
accustomed.  The  agricultural  labourer  should  be  sentenced 
to  work  on  Dartmoor ;  the  mechanic,  in  addition  to  supplying 
the  wants  of  the  prison,  should  make  shoes  or  coats.  The 
simplest  mode  of  effecting  this  would  be  by  taking  contracts 
for  the  army  and  navy;  but  political  economists  would  be 
under  no  apprehension  of  the  labour  market  being  injuriously 
affected  if  a  shop  were  opened  at  the  prison  gates.  We  have 
got  over  the  dread  of  the  foreigner,  and  free  trade  is  a  prin- 
ciple which  will  not  break  down  under  the  feeble  competition 
of  a  few  convicts. 

In  the  reformed  l^islation  of  the  future,  I  look  forward  to 
changes  which,  without  undue  centralization,  will  greatly 
improve  our  local  administration.  For  the  industrial  system 
to  he  fully  developed,  it  will  be  necessary  to  have  trade 
prisons  to  which  convicts  from  all  the  neighbouring  counties 
can  be  sent,  so  as  at  once  to  be  set  at  work  in  their  respective 
callings,  for  even  the  shortest  terms. 

If  in  addition  to  these  a  Eefuge  were  open  for  discharged 
prisoners,  in  which  they  could  earn  their  living  and  accumu- 
late a  small  fund,  by  means  of  which  they  might  regain 
employment,  I  believe  a  great  number  of  the  unfortunate, 
and  not  wholly  vicious,  would  avail  themselves  of  it.  I 
mentioned  a  case  at  the  last  sessions  in  which  this  might 
have  saved  life  as  well  as  character.  A  wretched  criminal 
who  had  robbed  a  trades'  union  was  cast  upon  the  world 


ON  PRISON  DISCIPLINE.  91 

without  any  possible  means  to  support  his  wife  and  family. 
MasteiB  would  not  employ  him,  men  would  not  work  with 
him.  I  had  to  commit  hun  to  what  is  called  "  hard  labour" 
fiyr  leaving  them  chaigeable  to  the  parish.  He  was  only 
sentenced  for  fourteen  days,  and  I  warned  the  guardians  of 
our  union  that  when  he  came  out  he  must  lapse  into  crime. 
Within  a  few  days  after  his  release,  reckless  and  drunken,  he 
set  fire  to  a  relative's  housa  He  was  committed  for  trial,  but 
cut  short  his  life-long  crime -bill  by  committing  suicide  in 
his  celL    The  union  now  supports  his  family. 

Not  the  least  practical  advantage  of  a  better  system  would 
be  the  lengthening  of  terms  of  imprisonment  In  the  case 
to  which  I  have  referred,  I  should  have  certainly  given  nearly 
the  extreme  sentence.  Drinking  habits,  which  in  this  and 
almost  eveiy  similar  case,  lay  the  foundation  of  pauperism 
and  crime,  might  have  been  broken  by  a  long  residence  in 
the  great  teetotal  establishments  which  ornament  our  coimty 
towna 

Time  only  can  change  habits;  but  with  the  careful  de- 
velopment of  higher  motives,  and  by  Hope  aroused  by  the 
prospect  of  restoration,  I  believe  that  even  the  most  degraded 
may  yet  be  saved.  The  treadmill,  like  the  task  of  Sisyphus, 
can  never  effect  this.  In  the  latest  version  of  that  classic 
myth,  Despair  is  excluded  even  from  Hades — 


" Fool !  said  the  GhoBt, 

Then  mine  at  least  is  everlafiting  hope : 
Again  upheaved  the  stone." 

On  the  highest  motives  I  earnestly  commend  this  subject 
to  your  consideration.  "  Law  and  terrors  do  but  harden,"  is 
the  professed  creed  of  Christendom.  What  is  our  practice  ? 
The  treadmill  and  plank  beds,  discharge  without  resource  or 
hope.  In  proportion  as  our  Criminal  Code  has  been  mitigated 
crime  has  diminished.  Let  us  introduce  the  better  spirit 
within  our  jails,  and  I  have  great  faith  in  its  civilizing 
influence. 

Skilled  white  slaves,  consigned  to  an  energetic  contractor, 
could  at  least  be  made  to  earn  their  maintenance.  **  If  a  man 
will  not  labour,  neither  let  him  eat,"  should  be  written  over 
the  prison  wards.  Let  us  convert  this  into,  "  The  labourer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire."  It  has  been  done  in  Bedfordshire,  why 
cannot  it  be  done  in  Devon  ? 

In  conclusion,  I  may  be  permitted  to  add,  that  the  same 
remarks  apply  with  aggravated  force  to  small  municipal 
prisons.     In  this  borough  I  find  that  you  have  an  average  of 


92  ON  PRISON  DI8CIPLINK. 

four  males  and  thiee  females ;  or  more  exactly,  seven  prisoners 
and  three-quarters,  in  your  town  jaiL  It  would  puzzle  the 
ablest  of  my  opponents,  if  there  be  any,  to  devise  profitable 
labour  for  such  an  establishment  as  this.  Although  the 
dietary  is  only  Is.  11^.  per  head,  the  total  cost  is  £151  ISs. 
7d.  per  annum.  In  return  for  this  the  municipality  is 
benefitted  to  the  extent  of  from  12,000  to  15,000  turns  of 
the  crank;  and  the  muscles  of  the  prisoners  are  strengthened, 
their  intellect  enlightened,  and  their  morals  reformed,  by  the 
noble  art  of  oakum-picking. 

In  criticising  the  system,  I  would  not  be  understood  as  in, 
any  d^ree  disparaging  the  praiseworthy  exertions  of  our 
visiting  justices  or  your  borough  magistrates.  Through  their 
efforts  the  present  administration  is  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  old  absence  of  all  system,  when  prisons  were  Utble 
better  than  normal  schools  of  crima 


NOTES  ON  THE  PRIORY  OF  SAINT  MARY, 
AT  PILTON. 

BT  TOWNSHSKD   M.    HALL,    F.O.S.,    ETC. 


Ths  Priory  at  Pilton  appears  to  have  been  in  former  times 
one  of  the  most  important^  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  ancient, 
ecclesiastical  establishments  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barn- 
staple, and  a  few  notes  on  its  history  may,  therefore,  be  of 
some  little  interest  to  the  members  of  this  Association. 

History  and  tradition  are  so  much  intermixed  that  it  is 
always  more  or  less  difficult  to  separate  between  them,  and  to 
fix  with  any  degree  of  certainty  the  date  of  the  foundation  of 
any  building  which  lays  claim  to  great  antiquity.  The 
assertions  of  Leland,  Speed,  and  other  historians,  that  Pilton 
Priory  was  founded  by  king  Athelstan,  might  almost,  therefore, 
be  looked  upon  with  distrust,  were  it  not  for  the  strong  and 
independent  testimony  afforded  us  by  the  official  seal  of  the 
Priory,  impressions  of  which  are  still  in  existence.  This  seal 
bears  on  one  side  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  whom 
the  Priory  was  dedicated,  and  on  the  other  is  a  figure  of  a 
man  wearing  a  crown,  and  carrying  in  his  right  hand  a 
sceptre,  whilst  the  orb,  another  symbol  of  sovereignty,  is  borne 
in  his  left  hand.  That  this  figure  is  intended  to  represent 
king  Athelstan  is  proved  beyond  doubt  by  the  inscription 
which  surrounds  it : — 

"  HOC  •  ATHBLSTANUS  •  AGO  •  QUOD  •  PRESENS  •  SIONAT  •  niAGO." 

The  Priory  belonged  to  the  Benedictines,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  orders  of  monks,  who,  even  as  early  as  the  year  1354, 
are  said  to  have  possessed  37,000  monasteries  in  different 
parts  of  Europe,  and  could  boast  of  having  numbered  amongst 
their  followers  no  less  than  24  popes,  200  cardinals,  7,000 
archbishops,  and  15,000  bishops.  The  monks  are  described  as 
wearing  a  long  black  robe,  with  a  hood  or  cowl  of  the  same 
colour;  and  hence  they  were  frequently  styled  the  "black 
monks."    It  was  usually  the  custom  for  a  priory  to  be  de- 


94  NOTES  ON  THE  PRIOEY  OF  ST.  MARY,  AT  PILTON. 

pendent  upon  some  abbey,  and  to  be  subject  in  a  certain 
d^ree  to  its  jurisdiction.  That  at  Pilton  is  mentioned  by 
Leland  as  forming  a  cell,  or  appendage,  to  the  Abbey  of 
Malmesbury,  in  Wiltshire;  and  the  records  of  this  priory 
show,  that  on  two  occasions  priors  of  Pilton  were  thoiight 
worthy  of  being  selected  to'  fill  the  high  and  responsible 
position  of  abbots  of  Malmesbury,  which  then  ranked  as  the 
principal  Benedictine  establishment  in  England. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  relics  connected  with  the  Priory 
at  present  in  existence,  and  one  which  belongs  to  a  very  early 
period  in  its  history,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  John  R. 
Chanter,  Esq.,  vice-president  of  the  Association.  *  It  is  a  ring 
of  gold  found  a  few  years  ago  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
which  is  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  the  prior.  It  bears 
two  inscriptions :  that  on  the  back  or  inside  of  the  ring  is 
in  Latin, 

"  N0BI8CVM  •  BIT  •  IHESV  •  ADONAI." 

Whilst  the  fi*ont  bears  an  inscription  to  the  same  effect  in 
ancient  Hebrew : 

In  the  centre  is  a  large  sapphire^  fastened,  for  the  sake  of 
additional  security,  with  a  pin  or  rivet  of  gold,  which  passes 
through  a  hole  drilled  in  the  stona  I  believe  this  ring  has 
been  pronounced  by  a  good  authority  at  the  British  Museum 
to  date  about  the  early  part  of  the  tenth  century. 

A  list  of  the  priors  of  Piiton  was  collected  from  different 
documents  by  the  late  Dr.  Oliver  of  Exeter,  and  was  published 
in  his  Monasticon,  It  begins,  however,  only  with  the  year 
1200,  or  nearly  three  centuries  after  the  Priory  was  founded. 
Most  of  Dr.  Olivers  data  wei^e  taken  from  the  scattered 
entries  contained  in  the  registers  of  Bronescombe,  Stapledon, 
Grandisson,  Lacy,  and  other  bishops  of  Exeter;  for  none  of 
the  actual  records  of  the  monks  are  known  to  exist.  They 
were  probably  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
monasteries. 

Until  the  middle  of  the  15th  century,  the  town  of  Pilton 
was  separated  from  Barnstaple  by  an  almost  impassable 
marsh,  and  no  direct  communication  could  be  carried  on 
between  the  two  places  except  by  a  dangerous  ford,  which 
oould  only  be  crossed  at  low  water.  Pilton,  therefore,  had  to 
maintain  a  kind  of  separate  independence,  and  had  its  own 
special  market  days  and  fairs.  The  monks,  however,  are 
supposed  to  have  possessed  a  private  means  of  holding  com- 


NOTES  ON  THE  PRIORY  OF  ST.  MARY,  AT  PILTON.  95 

mnnication  with  this  town.  Tradition  says  that  an  under- 
ground passage  still  exists  between  Bull-house,  which  is  close 
to  Pilton  church,  and  the  Sack-tield  in  Barnstaple,  on  which 
stood  the  Barnstaple  Priory.  No  attempt  has,  I  believe,  ever 
been  made  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  tradition ;  although 
in  1819  a  subterranean  passage  was  discovered  in  making  the 
tan-yard  at  the  end  of  Pilton  bridge,  it  was  never  explored^ 
and  as  recently  as  30  or  40  years  ago  the  supposed  entrance 
under  Bull-house  was  still  to  be  seen  choked  up  with  rubbish. 

I  should  add  that  Bull-house  was  formerly  an  ecclesiatical 
establishment  where  papal  indulgences  were  sold.  The  house 
evidently  derived  its  name  from  the  Bidla,  or  seal,  attached  to 
these  documents,  some  of  which,  for  the  same  reason,  are 
known  at  the  present  day  by  the  name  of  the  Pope's  Bulls. 

The  landed  property  of  the  Pilton  Priory  was  not  extensive, 
whilst  the  monks  of  Barnstaple  possessed,  on  the  other  hand, 
several  valuable  estates  at  Puntyngdon  (now  called  Potting- 
don),  Bradford,  Yemewood,  and  other  places  on  the  Pilton 
side  of  the  river.  This  fact  led  to  several  disputes  between 
the  two  communities  about  their  respective  boundaries,  and 
the  contest  was  not  finally  settled  until  1435,  when  Bishop 
Lacy  being  on  a  visitation  at  Pilton.  it  was  agreed  to  lay  the 
matter  before  him,  and  to  leave  it  to  him  to  decide  which  of 
the  two  parties  was  in  the  wrong.  We  are  told  that  the 
bishop  examined  sixteen  witnesses,  and,  after  taking  nearly 
three  months  to  consider  the  subject,  he  gave  judgment  in 
favour  of  the  monks  of  Pilton,  and  confirmed  their  ancient 
boundaries.  The  historian  further  adds,  that  the  worthy 
bishop,  in  his  generosity,  presented  ten  marks  to  each  of  the 
priories,  "to  keep  them  in  good  humour  with  each  otlier." 
This,  perhaps,  was  not  altogether  an  unnecessary  expedient  on 
the  part  of  the  bishop ;  for  the  two  priories  were  to  a  certain 
degree  rivals,  the  priory  of  St.  Mary  Magdelene  at  Barnstaple 
being  not  only  of  a  comparatively  recent  foundation,  but  it 
was  also  an  alien  establishment,  belonging  to  a  different  order 
of  monks,  dependent  upon  the  abbey  of  St.  Martin's-in-the- 
Fields,  at  Paris;  its  estates  were  therefore  liable  to  confis- 
cation whenever  war  broke  out  with  France. 

At  the  time  of  the  suppression  of  religious  houses,  by 
Henry  VIII.  Pilton  Priory  was  inhabited  by  only  three 
monks  besides  the  prior.  The  latter  (John  Eoss  by  name), 
subscribed  to  the  king's  supremacy  on  the  third  of  September, 
1533,  and  to  this  deed  was  attached  the  splendid  seal  of  king 
Athelstan,  which  I  have  before  noticed.  The  revenue  of  the 
establishment  at  the  time  of  its  dissolution,  amounted  to  £56 


96  NOTES  ON  THE  PRIORY  OF  ST.  BIARY,  AT  PILTON. 

128.  8d.  The  "temporal"  possessions  (such  as  the  manor, 
&a,)  being  returned  as  yielding  JE22  18s.  8d.,  and  the  "spirit- 
ual" possessions,  which  consisted  principally  of  tythes  and 
oblations,  amounted  to  £33  14s.  Of  these  a  few  items  are 
worthy  of  notice,  as  showing  the  customs  of  that  period: — 

8.      d. 
Exitos  decimarum  lane  (tythe  of  wool) xxx.    — 

„     agnellorom  (of  lambs) xxj.     — 

„     Yitallorum  (of  calves) yj.       iij. 

„     porcellorom  (of  pigs)  ij.        y}. 

„     porii  (of  leeks) —      xx. 

„     le  hympe  (hemp)  —        ij. 

„     pomorom  (of  apples)    —      xx. 

„     feni  (of  hay) xxiL  iiij. 

„     oblacionibas xxxij.  — 

The  actual  history  of  the  priory  would  naturally  terminate 
with  the  expulsion  of  the  monks  in  the  year  1533,  when  the 
building  and  adjoining  estates  were  leased  by  the  king.  The 
principal  part  of  the  monastic  buildings  were,  no  doubt, 
destroyed,  either  at  this  period  or  shortly  afterwards.  The 
church  and  acyoining  chapelries  appear  to  have  undergone 
but  little  alteration  until  the  civil  war,  when  the  tower  was 
partially  demolished,  and  all  the  northern  and  eastern  parts 
were  laid  in  ruins.  It  has  been  popularly  supposed  that  this 
work  of  demolition  was  carried  on  by  the  soldiers  of  Fairfax 
during  the  time  they  were  entrenched  at  Fort-hill,  which  is 
situated  on  the  other  side  of  Barnstaple,  and  that  Pilton 
Tower  was  cannonaded  by  them, "  merely  because  it  happened 
to  stand  a  conspicuous  mark  within  range  of  their  shot."* 
Fort-hill  is  nearly  one  mile  in  a  straight  line  from  the  church, 
and  I  believe  that  no  cannon  balls  have  ever  been  found  in 
this  neighbourhood  of  a  weight  exceeding  51bs.  Considering 
also  the  imperfection  of  the  artillery  of  that  period,  I  think 
it  very  doubtful  that  any  amount  of  cannonading  would,  at 
that  distance,  have  sufficed  to  knock  down  walls  of  such 
thickness.  It  is  well  known  that  Barnstaple  was  re-taken  by 
the  Royalists  after  its  first  capture  by  the  Cromwellians,  and 
it  was  one  of  the  last  places  which  remained  faithful  to  the 
king.  The  Roundheads,  however,  after  they  had  taken 
possession  of  Exeter  in  1646,  again  came  back  to  Barnstaple, 
and  the  Royalist  garrison  held  out  till  the  10th  of  April  in 
that  year,  when  they  were  obliged  to  surrender.  As  Pilton 
Tower  overlooked  the  Castle  of  Barnstaple,  it  would  most 
likely  be  destroyed  by  the  victorous  Cromwellians  at  the  close 
of  the  contest,  in  order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  such  a 
*  Memorials  of  Barnstaple,  page  461. 


NOTES  ON  THE  PBIOBY  OF  ST.  BiARY,  AT  PILTON.     *       97 

commanding  situation  being  occupied  by  a  hostile  force, 
should  any  future  disturbances  occur. 

Amidst  the  general  wreck  of  the  church  the  parish  rasters 
fortunately  escaped  destruction;  they  commence  with  the 
year  1569,  and  in  some  of  the  very  first  entries  made  after 
the  partial  demolition  of  the  church,  we  can  trace  the  com- 
mencement of  the  plague,  which  lasted  for  ten  months,  and 
carried  oflf  about  300  persons  in  Klton,  and  five  times  that 
number  in  Barnstaple.  The  tower  was  rebuilt  fifty  years 
afterwards,  but  all  the  ruins  of  the  north  and  east  parts  of  the 
church  have  been  removed.  Bows  of  dripstones  on  two  sides 
of  the  tower  still  remain,  to  show  the  original  height  of  the 
buildings;  and  the  north  wall  of  the  church  bears  also  marks 
of  having  formerly  had  a  series  of  cloisters  attached  to  it 

The  principal  objects  of  interest  contained  in  the  church  at 
present,  are  a  pulpit  of  stone,  with  an  iron  arm  attached  to  it 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  an  hour  glass;  the  font,  sur- 
mounted by  a  singular  carved  canopy;  two  oak  screens  and 
monuments  to  the  memory  of  the  ancient  family  of  Chichester 
(one  of  which  contains  six  life-sized  eflSgies).  Thei-e  are  also 
three  monumental  inscriptions  of  considerable  antiquity.  The 
oldest  of  these,  in. Latin,  requests  the  reader  to  pray  for  the 
'soul  of  Bichard  Chichester,  who  died  in  December;  1498.  The 
others  are  brasses  bearing  date  1536  and  1540  respectively; 
but  as  I  have  already  described  them  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries,*  I  will  not  trespass  upon  your 
time  by  alluding  to  them  further. 

*  P»>oeedlDgs  of  the  Society  of  Antiqaarians,  voL  iil,  page  320. 


VOL.  II. 


ON  THE  REMAINS  OF  ANCIENT  FORTIFICATIONS 

IN  THE  NEIGHBOUEHOOD  OP  BIDEPORD. 


BT  JOHN   AUGUSTUS   PARBT. 


Thx  time  which  can  be  allotted  to  each  paper  read  at  this 
meeting  is  of  necessity  ao  limited  that  piefatory  remarks 
should  be  dispensed  with.  Still,  in  this  instance,  it  is  essen- 
tial to  call  to  notice  the  characteristic  features  of  the  country 
around  the  quaint  old  town  of  Bideford,  and  its  very  peculiar 
adaptation  for  the  purposes  of  safety  and  defence  as  carried 
out  by  our  Celtic  ancestors.  The  Britons,  and  indeed  most 
savages,  seem  by  the  same  instinct  to  have  adopted  similar 
modes  of  defensive  warfare,  fixing  generally  on  bold  promon- 
tories and  isolated  positions  at  the  termination  of  lines  of 
elevated  land  for  their  fastnesses ;  and  such  situations  being 
here  found  in  abundance,  the  remains  of  ancient  entrench- 
ments and  camps  are  accordingly  scattered  in  many  directions. 

The  solution  of  the  interesting  question  as  to  the  original 
constructors  of  these  fortified  camps  it  would  be  almost  vain 
to  attempt ;  but  dim  and  misty  conjecture  points  to  bygone 
ages,  in  which  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great  estuary  of  the 
two  important  rivers  Taw  and  Torridge  was,  perhaps,  more 
thickly  populated  than  it  is  even  in  our  own  time ;  and  some 
modem  researches,  carrying  a  tolerable  balance  of  probability, 
lead  to  the  belief,  that  these  encampments  existed  so  long 
anterior  to  the  Boman  conquest,  that  all  traces  of  the  time  of 
their  construction  were  lost  even  at  that  period.  The  most 
plausible  conjecture  seems  to  be,  that  many  successive  races, 
following  that  which  raised  these  works,  used  them  for  pur^ 
poses  of  warlike  observation  and  defence;  and  that  these 
identical  sites  have  been  successively  attacked  and  defended 
by  different  peoples. 

It  is  believed,  that  long  before  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era,  incessant  warfare  had  been  waged  along  the 
southern  portion  of  England  by  the  Belgic  branch  of  the 

H  2 


100  ON  THB  REMAINS  OP  ANCIENT  FORTIFICATIONS 

Cimbri  coining  across  from  Gaul,  on  the  Celtic  branch,  which 
had  ages  before  immigrated  into  Britain,  probably  from  more 
northern  parts  of  Europe;  and  as  the  latter  were  slowly 
but  gradually  driven  from  their  fortified  positions,  these 
positions  were  occupied  by  the  conquerors,  as  they  fought 
their  way  northward.  As  the  opposing  forces  thus  respec- 
tively progressed  and  retreated,  they  erected  mutual  defences, 
and  buried  their  dead  along  the  whole  range  of  hills  running 
east  and  west.  The  various  defences  of  the  Celt  would,  as 
they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Belgse,  be  appropriated  and 
altered  by  the  latter  for  their  own  use.  The  Romans  probably 
turned  the  same  sites  to  their  account;  afterwards  the  Saxon 
and  Dane  did  the  same ;  and  each  people,  it  is  probable,  left 
behind  them  some  slight  trace  of  their  own  individuality,  so 
that  this  confusion  will  account  in  some  measure  for  the 
numberless  theories  that  have  been  from  time  to  time  advanced 
on  this  subject. 

There  is  an  unspeakable  charm  attendant  on  the  recoUeo- 
tion  of  ages  long  past  by,  and,  to  reflective  minds,  there  is  an 
intense  interest  wound  round  even  trivial  circumstances,  when 
found  connected  with  the  history  of  generations  which  the 
mighty  hand  of  time  has  long  since  swept  away.  But^ 
fascinating  as  is  that  part  of  me  subject,  I  must  proceed 
with  a  description  of  some  two  or  three,  as  I  believe,  ancient 
British  fortifications  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bideford. 

It  will  naturally  be  surmised  that  i*eference  will  be  first 
made  to  those  immense  and  ancient  earthworks  known 
familiarly  as  the  •'Clovelly  Dykes,"  a  short  description  of 
which  was  given  in  this  very  room  only  a  few  months  since 
by  one  of  the  most  talented  members  of  the  institution,  but 
so  graphic  withal  that  I  have  some  diffidence  in  even  following 
his  footsteps.  These  huge  and  wondrous  memorials  of  remote 
antiquity  stand  at  a  distance  of  between  9  and  10  miles  from 
Bidelbrd,  on  the  turnpike  road  leading  to  Stratton  and  Hart- 
land,  just  beyond  another  road  which,  turning  to  the  right, 
leads  to  Clovelly.  They  abut  on,  and  are  close  to,  both  sides 
of  the  angle  formed  by  the  two  roads,  and  can  scarcely  be 
looked  at  without  awe  and  admiration.  They  consist  of  three 
distinct  and  almost  concentric  entrenchments,  each  having  its 
agger  or  embankment,  and  vallum  or  ditch  ;  the  embankment 
varying  from  15  to  25  feet  in  height,  and  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  being  nearly  level,  and  from  20  to  30  paces  in  width. 
The  inner  of  these  entrenchments  is  of  nearly  oblong  fonn, 
and  is  130  paces  long  and  100  in  width  at  its  northern 
extremity,  tapering  away  to  75  only  at  its  southern  end.    The 


IN  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD   OF  BIDEFORD. 


101 


outer  circumvallation,  embracing,  of  course,  the  other  two  in 
its  circuit,  is  more  than  400  yards  from  side  to  side,  north  to 


OloTeUy  Dykes. 

south,  and  encloses  above  20  acres  of  land.  But  this  outer 
work,  as  also  the  middle  one,  is  of  irregular  form,  being  in 
some  places  straight,  then  with  corners  slightly  rounded  off, 
and  so  curvilinear  in  others,  that  the  somewhat  oblong  form 
I  have  said  the  inner  work  bears,  becomes  in  the  others 


102  ON  THE  REMAINS  OF  ANCIENT  FORTIFICATIONS 

entirely  lost.  The  space  interveniug  between  the  inner  work 
or  entrenchment  and  the  second  or  middle  one  varies  from 
20  to  30,  and  in  some  few  places  extends  to  35  or  40  paces, 
while  the  space  between  the  second  or  middle  embankment 
and  the  outer  one  is  in  certain  parts  nearly  as  wide  as  the 
former,  but  it  is  in  other  portions  more  contracted.  Besides 
these  three  almost  perfect  lines  of  circumvallation,  there  is 
on  the  east  side  an  extensive  outwork,  with  double  bank  and 
fosse,  the  inner  of  its  embankments  being  from  15  to  20  feet 
in  height,  with  good  wide  ditch.  This  outwork  is  of  a  per- 
fectly ci*escent  shape,  and  is  only  cut  off  from  the  main  works 
by  the  road  to  Clovelly,  which  passes  through  both  its  horns, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  principal  entrance  was  at 
this  spot. 

Again,  a  little  westward  of  the  main  encampment  are  two 
stupendous  outworks  of  the  same  character,  which,  though 
now  isolated,  were  possibly  in  former  times  connected  with  the 
whole.  This  camp  or  town,  taken  together,  is  of  much  greater 
magnitude  than  any  other  in  the  vicinity,  and  with  its  triple 
line  of  defence,  its  outworks  and  covered  approaches,  was, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  a  military  camp  of  the  first  order ; 
but,  although  the  gentleman  to  whom  I  have  alluded  has 
followed  Polwhele  in  describing  it  as  "retaining  a  noble 
impression  of  Boman  castrametation,"  I  am,  for  the  reasons 
I  have  already  mentioned,  inclined  to  think  it  is  more  prob- 
ably an  adaptation  of  an  old  British  work  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  Somans  during  their  occupation  of  this  district ; 
and  I  am  confirmed  in  that  opinion,  as  the  true  Boman 
camps  are  described  by  Polybius  and  other  writers  as  in- 
variably quadrangular  and  uniform  in  their  construction. 

At  Hartland,  westward  of  the  Clovelly  dichens,  are  vestiges 
of  another,  but  much  less  important,  entrenchment.  And  at 
a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles  east,  bearing  south  of  Clovelly, 
in  the  parish  of  Buckland  Brewer,  there  are  two  ancient 
fortifications  on  opposite  hills,  like  some  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Dartmoor;  that  towards  the  north  in  the  midst  of  a  wood, 
still  surrounded  by  its  aggeres  and  double  fosse,  is  of  con- 
siderable extent  and  tolerably  perfect.  Still  more  to  the  south, 
but  in  the  same  parish,  stands  one  of  the  most  distinct 
specimens  we  have  of  these  aboriginal  fastnesses,  and  what 
was,  doubtless,  a  British  fortification;  for,  with  those  last 
alluded  to,  they  fulfil  all  the  conditions  of  a  British  camp  as 
described  by  Caesar  in  his  Commentaries,  and  those  other 
authors  who  wrote  more  fully  after  the  Romans  had  become 
masters  of  the  island. 


IN  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD   OF  BIDEFORD.  103 

This  fine  remain  I  speak  of,  called  Henbury  Fort,  is  about 
seven  miles  from  the  town  of  Bideford.     On  the  top  of  a  hill, 


Honbiuy  Fort. 

whose  sides  are  precipitous  and  thickly  wooded  on  the  south 
and  east,  and  whose  foot  on  those,  sides  is  watered  by  two 
small  streams,  is  a  small  piece  of  table  land,  somewhat  of 
oblong  form,  and  about  five  acres  in  extent,  which  is  now 
cultivated.  Around  this  elevated  plain  an  escarpment  was 
made  by  digging,  probably,  some  eight  or  ten  feet  perpen- 
dicularly, and  throwing  the  earth  outwards  to  a  distance  of  15 
or  18  feet,  thus  forming  an  agger  or  rampart  on  the  outside  of 
the  ditch. 

There  are  also  fainter  remains  of  an  inferior  earthwork  and 
ditch  on  the  north-west,  in  the  shape  of  a  half-moon,  forming 
a  junction  at  each  extremity  with  the  main  fastness,  and 
thrown  up  probably  as  a  protection  on  that  its  most  assailable 
point.  In  the  ditches  have  been  found  quantities  of  charred 
wood,  and  a  few  years  since  two  cannon  balls  were  dug  out  of 
the  embankment,  one  weighing  5ilbs.  and  the  other  7^1bs. 
There  being  a  mound  at  the  western  end  of  the  level  piece  of 
ground  I  have  described  as  circumvallated  by  the  escarpment, 
the  owner,  some  30  years  ago,  set  a  labourer  to  level  and  spread 
this  mound;  after  digging  some  three  feet  deep,  he  all  at  once 
sank  into  a  pit  up  to  his  armpits,  and,  on  being  extricated,  a, 
quantity  of  skulls  and  human  bones  were  found  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pit.    There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  were  the 


104        ON  THE  REMAINS  OP  ANCIENT  FOBTIFICATIONS. 

remains  of  those  who  fell  in  the  skirmish  during  the  hurried 
retreat  of  the  RoyaKsts  in  the  civil  wars,  after  the  sun-ender 
of  Torrington,  as  tradition  reports  that  on  evacuating  that 
town  on  the  night  of  the  16th  February,  1646,  their  first  halt 
in  their  harassed  march  into  Cornwall,  which  still  held  out 
against  the  Parliamentarians,  was  at  this  place;  a  supposition 
considerably  strengthened  by  numbers  of  smaller  shot  having 
been  at  times  found  on  the  opposite  hills,  by  which  the  enemy 
made  their  approach. 

Almost  due  south  of  Henbury  Fort  lies  the  parish  of 
Shebbear,  in  which  is  found  another  of  these  ancient  camps, 
stiU  known  as  Durpley  Castle.    It  is  about  ten  miles  from 

Bideford,  and,  like  the 

others,  situated  on  a  hill, 

— in  this  instance  nearly 

^MFM'j^^^^iJSFk^^^^kX^     conical    in    shape,   and 

fi^^m^St^^^^^^^M     w^ose  apex  is  surrounded 

^m  ^ffsE^^fa^^^itsn  8  a  by  an  escarpment,  with 

_^  1|  ditch  and  outer  rampart, 

"W   ^  H^^^^t^^Sc^Ji^^^SiKi^*    formed  probably  in  the 
'^  "     same  manner  as  that  at 

Henbury  Fort.  The  space 
enclosed  does  not  much 
exceed  an  acre,  but  the 
Durpley  caatie.  escarpmcutis  higher  than 

that  of  the  last-described  encampment,  and  the  ditch  of  con- 
sequence wider.  The  inner  rampart  is  also  protected  on  its 
western  face  by  an  outwork  consisting  of  an  outer  bank  and 
ditch  forming  an  entrenchment  in  the  shape  of  a  half-moon, 
extending  round  for  about  half  the  circuit  of  the  inner  ditch, 
and  joining  or  gunning  into  the  latter  at  each  extremity.  The 
base  of  the  hill  is  easily  approachable  on  the  west  side,  the 
ground  up  to  it  being  nearly  level,  while  on  the  other  points 
it  is  almost  inaccessible,  from  wood  and  the  steepness  and 
irregularity  of  the  surface.  Hence  the  apparent  necessity  for 
the  additional  defence  I  have  just  noticed.  I  may  observe,  that 
near  the  centre  of  the  enclosed  apex  is  a  circular  excavation 
of  nearly  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
in  depth ;  for  what  purpose  made  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture, 
fl'ough  a  suggestion  may  be  offered  that  it  was  one  of  those 
subterranean  receptacles  in  which,  as  some  ancient  authors 
relate,  the  Britons  were  accustomed  to  store  up  their  com  in 
the  ear. 

Risdon,  in  his  Survey,  notices  this  place  in  the  following 
words : — "At  Durpley  is  a  castle  containing  a  small  circuit 


ON  THE  RElfAIKS  OF  AKCIENT  FORTIFICATIONS.  105 

of  land  within  it,  serving  it  should  seem  for  some  quartering 
place  in  the  Danish  deluge ;"  but  upon  what  authority  it  is 
difiBcult  to  conceiva  Its  character  is  precisely  similar  to  the 
other  ancient  fortresses  around,  and  from  its  circumscribed 
space  it  was  probably  constructed  as  much  for  observation 
as  defence,  the  neighbourhood  for  some  considerable  distance 
being  commanded  by  the  eye,  and  the  approach  of  an  enemy 
discernible  in  time  for  preparation. 

Some  eight  or  nine  miles  further  to  the  east,  and  at  about 
the  same  distance  from  Bideford  as  Durpley  Castle,  is  another 
of  these  ancient  remains.  It  lies  in  the  parish  of  Boborough, 
and  is  called  Ten  Oaks.  It  is  circular;  in  the  midst  of  a 
wood;  has  its  rampart  and  ditch,  with  agger  outside  very 
perfect ;  300  paces  in  circuit ;  and  likewise  with  an  outwork 
embracing  two-thirds  of  its  extent  on  its  north-west  face 
(through  which  probably  the  main  entrance  originally  ran) ; 
and  it  is  so  similar  in  character  to  the  others  already 
described,  that  it  would  be  wasting  time  to  say  more  in 
relation  thereto.  These  hill  fortresses  are  continued  on  at 
intervals  from  that  last  alluded  to  towards  the  south,  till 
they  reach  Dartmoor,  on  which  are  found  like  remains ;  and, 
as  the  (still  living)  author  of  a  learned  Soman  history  has 
observed, "  the  camps  on  the  opposing  mountains  by  Fingle 
Bridge,  and  the  gorge  of  the  Teign,  mark  the  last  conflicts 
between  the  Romans  and  the  native  Danmonii ;"  and  it  was 
somewhere  thereabouts  that  Titus  saved  the  life  of  his  father 
Vespasian,  then  Roman  general  in  Britain,  an  incident  which 
took  place  during  the  reign  of  Claudius,  and  which  is  related 
by  Diodorus  Siculus.  As  a  proof  of  the  obstinate  resistance 
made  by  our  Celtic  ancestors  to  the  occupation  of  their 
country,  it  may  be  remarked,  on  the  authority  of  Suetonius, 
that  Vespasian  alone  fought  thirty  battles  with  the  Britons 
before  he  could  reduce  even  part  of  the  island  to  subjection. 

Though  not  strictly  a  portion  of  my  subject,  still,  as  I  have 
made  allusion  to  the  capture  of  Torrington  during  the  civil 
war,  it  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  entrenchments 
thrown  up  by  Lord  Hopton  for  the  defence  of  that  town,  at 
a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  near  Stevenstone  Park,  are 
still  plainly  to  be  recognized ;  and  a  little  stretch  of  fancy 
alone  is  needed  to  picture  the  gallant  cavaliers  driven  pell- 
mell,  by  Fairfax's  victorious  troops,  across  the  intervening 
moor,  into  the  ill-fated  town ;  but  only  to  continue  their 
flight,  without  delay,  on  the  disastrous  night  before  alluded 
to,  till  they  reached,  as  already  mentioned,  the  temporary 
shelter  of  "  Henbury  Fort" 


ON  THE  LONGITUDE  OF  PLACES, 

AND  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OP  THE  ELEOTRIO  TELEGRAPH 
TO  DETERMINE  IT. 

BT  JAMXa  JBBWOOD,    X.A.,    F.O.S.,    X.G.P.8., 
BttrritUfHtt'Law,  and  f'ic§'FrMidmt  of  ike  Jhwm  AMOcMUm. 


Ik  answer  to  a  circular  from  the  Treasury,  some  time  ago, 
respecting  the  Scale  for  the  Ordnance  Map,  I  remarked  that, 
to  a  maritime  coimtry  like  Great  Britain,  it  is  of  high  impor- 
tance that  the  longitude  and  latitude  of  places  on  the  coouis 
should  be  accurately  determined.  One  of  the  attendant 
advantages  is,  that  when  a  ship  begins  its  voyage  from  a 
port  of  which  the  latitude  and  longitude  are  accurately 
known,  one  end  of  the  ship's  course  is  a  fixed  point,  and  the 
beginning  of  its  reckoning  free  from  error — an  object  of  no 
small  consequence  to  the  sailor. 

The  latitude  of  a  place  can  be  easily  determined  by  well 
known  methods ;  to  find  its  longitude  is  a  problem  of  some- 
what greater  difficulty.  There  are  several  modes  of  solving 
it  with  much  precision;  still,  the  methods  chiefly  adopted 
depend  on  geodetic  admeasurements,  or  on  astronomical 
observations.  In  finding  the  longitude  of  a  place  by  the 
geodetical  method,  it  is  assumed  that  the  earth  is  an  exact 
spheriod,  the  axes  of  which  are  known,  and  that  the  earth's 
figure  is  perfectly  regular.  The  discrepancies  which  have 
been  found  in  difiTerent  meridian  arcs  prove  that  this  latter 
assumption  is  not  founded  on  fact,  and  that,  therefore,  it 
may  be  an  element  of  error  in  the  longitude  of  a  place 
determined  in  that  manner. 

In  several  of  the  astronomical  methods,  the  figure  of  the 
earth  does  not  enter  into  the  process,  and  the  difierence  of 
longitude  between  two  places  is  ascertained  with  equal  exact- 
ness, whether  that  figure  be  regular  or  irregular.  These 
methods  depend  principally  on  the  difference  of  apparent 
time  between  the  two  places:  a  difference  of  four  minutes 
in  time  gives  one  degree  of  longituda     Hence,  perhaps,  one 


ON  THE  LONGITUDE  OF  PLACES*  107 

of  the  siinplest  methods  of  solving  this  important  problem 
is  by  chronometers,  and  that  simplicity,  it  is  thought,  gains 
its  maximum  state  when  the  electric  telegraph  is  employed 
to  convey  the  chronometric  time  from  one  meridian  to  another. 
It  is  supposed  that  a  brief  discussion  on  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  the  method  may  not  be  unprofitable  or  uninteresting, 
especially  as  it  is  not  generally  found  in  our  elementary 
treatises  on  astronomy.  The  chronometric  method,  up  to  a 
recent  period,  was  simply  this:  A  chronometer,  well  regu- 
lated, was  set  to  indicate  the  true  time  at  a  known  meridian — 
for  instance,  Greenwich;  then,  if  that  chronometer  be  care^ 
fully  carried  to  a  different  meridian,  it  will  continue  to  show 
Greenwich  time;  and  therefore,  if  the  time  at  the  latter 
meridian  be  accurately  determined,  the  difiference  between 
the  time  so  ascertained,  and  that  shown  by  the  Greenwich 
chronometer,  will  indicate  the  difference  of  longitude  of  the 
place  of  observation  from  that  of  Greenwich  in  time,  which, 
converted  into  degrees  at  the  rate  of  IS"*  to  an  hour,  will 
show  the  longitude  from  Greenwich.  If  the  time  at  the 
place  of  observation  is  before  that  at  Greenwich,  its  longitude 
is  east  of  Greenwich;  if  the  time  be  later  than  that  at  Green- 
wich, the  longitude  is  west  of  Greenwich.  (See  Vine^s 
Astronomy,  vol.  i.,  chap,  xxviii)  There  are  many  advantages 
attending  the  employment  of  several  chronometers  in  this 
method;  they  are  clearly  pointed  out  in  Woodhotis£s  As- 
tronemy. 

Chronometers  have  been  employed  in  two  noted  cases  in 
England.  First.  Dr.  Tiark's  was  engaged  by  the  Board  of 
Longitude  to  determine  the  difference  of  longitude  between 
the  island  of  Madeira  and  Falmouth,  and  also  the  differences 
between  Falmouth  and  Portsmouth,  and  Falmouth  and  Dover. 
The  Doctor  published  an  account  of  the  proceedings  in  these 
cases  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions.  He  has  also  pub- 
lished a  report  of  his  chronometrical  observations,  which 
may  be  had  at  Mr.  Murray's. 

Secondly.  The  longitude  of  the  Cambridge  Observatory 
was  determined  by  chronometrical  observations  by  the  present 
Astronomer  Eoyal,  who  was  then  the  Plumian  p]X)fessor  of 
astronomy  at  Cambridge.  He  published  an  account  of  the 
process  in  the  Cawhridge  Philo8ophi4xU  Transactions,  voL  iii. 
The  longitude  of  the  Cambridge  Observatory  was  found  to 
be  23"'54  east  of  Greenwich.  The  longitude  of  the  Obser- 
vatory, deduced  geodetically,  was  24'''6  east,  differing  by  V-OH 
or  16"  in  space  from  that  determined  by  the  chronometer, 
which  would  imply  an  error  of  300  yards. 


108  ON  THE  LONGrrUDE  OF  PLACES. 

The  above  cases,  as  before  remarked,  are,  it  is  believed, 
the  only  ones  in  which  chronometers  have  been  applied  to 
determine  the  longitude  of  places  in  England.  It  appears, 
however,  from  the  TraiU  Elementaire  cTAstronomiqiu  Phy- 
sique, par  Biot,  tome  iiL,  p.  375,  that  the  method  has  been 
employed  in  Bussia  as  far  baek  as  1843,  under  the  direction 
of  the  celebrated  astronomer  F.  6.  W.  Struve,  and  directly 
under  the  imperial  patronage  of  the  Czar  himself.  The  Czar  s 
royal  patronage  of  this  and  other  scientific  matters  makes  large 
amends  for  his  alleged  short-coming  in  other  subjects.  It  is 
a  glorious  example,  which  other  sovereigns,  who  would  fain 
be  considered  less  tyrannical  and  more  refined,  might  follow 
with  great  advantage  to  their  country.  At  all  events,  the 
munificent  encourager  of  science  can  hardly  be,  at  the  same 
time,  a  deadly  foe  to  rational  liberty  and  genuine  civilization. 

In  the  two  cases  which  have  been  discussed  above,  it  must 
be  obvious  that  the  labour  of  ascertaining  the  time  at  each 
place  of  observation,  and  the  journey  to  and  from,  must  have 
made  the  operation  in  a  high  degree  toilsome.  Dr.  Tiark's 
chronometers  were  transported  from  the  one  place  to  the 
other  by  ship,  a  mode  of  conveyance  which,  at  first  sight,  one 
might  siq>pose  would  be  likely  to  afiect  the  accuracy  of  the 
result.  In  the  other  case,  the  chronometers  were  sent  from 
Greenwich  to  Cambridge  on  a  coach.  It  speaks  highly  for 
the  caution  and  practical  foresight  of  all  the  parties  con- 
cerned, when  sueh  accurate  and  reliable  determinations  were 
made  under  such  casualties  and  difiBculties,  wliich,  we  think, 
will  be  more  apparent  by-and-by,  when  we  have  shown  a 
method  by  which  the  same  objects  may  be  obtained  without 
any  risk  or  much  trouble. 

Dr.  Tiarks,  having  satisfied  himself  that  there  are  errors 
in  the  longitudes  of  places  as  determined  by  the  Trigono- 
metrical Survey,  next  enters  into  an  investigation  of  the 
cause  of  the  mistake,  and  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion,  that 
the  longitudes  laid  down  in  the  survey  will  deviate  from  the 
truth  in  the  same  proportion  in  which  the  parallel  of  lati- 
tude of  a  spheroid,  having  the  degree  of  the  meridian  in 
latitude  51"*  41',  diflfers  from  those  of  the  terrestrial  spheriod, 
the  compression  of  which  is  nearly  y|^. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Astronomer  Boyal,  in  the  Cambridge 
case,  ascribes  the  difference  to  some  peculiarity  in  the  earth's 
figure;  but  it  should  be  remarked,  that  Dr.  Tiarks  concludes 
that  the  longitudes  in  the  trigonometrical  survey  are  less  than 
those  found  by  chronometrical  observations;  whereas  the 
Astronomer  Boyal  has  made  the  difference  the  other  way. 


ON  THE  LONGITUDE  OF  PLACES.  109 

that  is,  the  longitude  of  the  Cambridge  Observatory  by  the 
survey  is  greater  than  that  which  he  obtained  by  chrono- 
metrical  observations.  The  Professor  gives  an  opinion  with 
regard  to  the  discrepance  between, his  result  and  that  of  the 
survey;  but  he  makes  no  remark  on  the  difference  of  another 
kind  which  Dr.  Tiarks  had  found  and  commented  upon.  I 
only  name  the  fact,  that  those  two  celebrated  and  experienced 
authors  disagree  in  their  results;  the  one  making  tiie  differ- 
ence between  the  longitudes  on  the  survey  and  those  ascer- 
tained by  chronometers  less,  the  other  greater,  there  is  an 
obvious  error  somewhere;  whether  it  may  be  found  to  exist 
in  the  employment  of  different  fractional  values  of  the  com- 
pression, or  to  the  error  discussed  by  Captain  Eater,  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions  sometime  ago,  is  a  matter  for  com- 
petent persons  to  determine.  All  that  I  now  say  is,  that  the 
Cambridge  case  appears  to  disprove  the  law  enunciated  by 
Dr.  Tiarks. 

I  have  discussed  this  point  at  such  length,  because  it  is 
generally  considered  that  the  longitude  of  nearly  all  the 
places  in  England,  as  given  in  most  recent  treatises,  are  taken 
from  the  trigonometrical  survey;  and  consequently,  whether 
Dr.  Tiarks  or  the  Astronomer  Eoyal  be  correct,  they  require 
to  be  recalculated,  and  their  fundamental  errors  eliminated; 
for  it  would  appear  that  the  error  pervades  the  system,  and 
therefore  the  whole  should  be  revised.  The  most  feasible 
method  of  affecting  this  public  desideratum  is  unquestionably 
by  ascertaining  the  time  at  a  known  meridian ;  for  instance, 
Greenwich,  and  also  the  time  at  the  same  moment  at  any 
other  meridian,  by  telegraphic  signal;  this  would  at  once,  as 
we  have  already  shown,  indicate  the  difference  of  longitude 
in  time. 

All  the  principal  towns  in  England  are  now  connected 
with  London  or  Greenwich  by  electric  telegraphs,  and  for 
scientific  purposes  they  are  all  under  the  able  superintendence 
of  the  Astronomer  Royal.  "Whenever,"  says  Sir  John 
Herschel,  (Astronomy,  p.  172,)  "an  unbroken  line  of  electric 
telegraph  connection  has  been  established,  tfie  means  exist  of 
making  as  complete  a  comparison  of  clocks  or  watches  as  if  they 
stood  side  hy  side,  so  that  no  method  more  complete  for  the 
determination  of  the  difference  of  longitude  can  be  desired." 
The  difference  of  longitude  between  the  Observatories  of 
Greenwich  and  Paris  was  ascertained  by  this  method  some- 
time ago;  the  greatest  possible  error  did  not  amount  to  a 
quarter  of  a  second.  Perhaps  the  first  attempt  to  determine 
the  difference  of  longitude  by  this  method  was  made  by 


110  OK  THE  LOKGITUDE  OF  PLACES. 

Captain  Wilkes,  in  1844,  between  Washington  and  Baltimore, 
in  the  United  States  of  America.  An  interesting  account  of 
the  process  adopted  and  followed  is  given  in  Professor 
Lomis's  instructive  volume,  entitled  The  Beeent  Progress 
of  Astronomy,  The  chapter  on  electric  telegraphs  is  espe- 
(nally  deserving  any  one's  attention,  who  takes  an  interest  in 
the  subject  of  this  paper. 

From  these  remarks  I  think  it  will  appear  that»  although 
our  tables  of  longitude  are  not  strictly  to  be  relied  upon,  we 
have  ready  at  our  hands  the  best  means  of  rendering  them 
accurate.  I  have  ventured  briefly,  and  I  feel  inadequately,  to 
call  your  notice  to  the  subject^  in  the  hope  that  some  of  the 
members  of  this  Association,  especially  our  talented  and 
accomplished  President^  who  have  the  requisite  influence^  and 
the  necessary  esteem  for  the  scientific  credit  of  their  country, 
will  call  the  attention  of  the  Astronomer  Boyal  to  the  subject 
Such  a  truly  national  undertakiug  falls  entirely  and  most 
appropriately  within  his  official  duties ;  and  there  is  no  man 
in  existence  better  qualified  to  devise  such  a  scheme,  and  to 
superintend  its  working,  so  that  it  may  completely  accomplish 
the  object  aimed  at,  than  he  is.  Under  the  Astronomer  Boyal's 
official  superintendence,  it  may  be  hoped  that  England  will 
hereafter  make  up  for  its  lost  and  neglected  ground  in  this 
unique  application  of  the  electric  fluid;  and  that  it  will  also, 
to  some  extent,  make  amends  for  the  outrage  which  sometime 
ago  it  permitted  King  Hudson  to  perpetrate  on  English 
science,  by  enforcing  his  royal  order  that  the  same  time 
should  be  kept  at  all  places;  that  philosophical  monarch 
practically  annihilated  th^  difference  of  longitude  between  all 
places,  and  made  every  clock  east  or  west  of  Greenwich  tell 
a  lie  every  time  it  strikes.  This  may  be  termed  the  Hudsoniau 
l^slation  on  English  science;  it  has  a  depressir^g  operation 
in  discussing  the  difference  of  longitudes  of  places,  and  may, 
perhaps,  account  for  the  many  defects  of  this  article. 

It  may  prevent  erroneous  inferences,  if,  in  conclusion,  I 
remark,  that  I  have,  more  than  once,  made  attempts  to  ciEtU 
attention  to  the  subject  of  this  article;  one  of  these  is 
mentioned  above,  which  alludes  to  others.  I  believe,  how- 
ever, that  the  preceding  aigument  is  my  own.  When,  there- 
,^  lore,  the  national  importance  of  the  matter  is  considered,  I 
trust  I  shall  be  foigiven  for  again  bringing  it  before  the 
public,  and  that  seeming  iteration  will  be  treated  indulgently. 


ON  ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  TOEQUAY,  STRUCK  BY 
LIGHTNING. 


BT   S.    YIYIAN,    F.X.8. 


On  Tuesday,  the  16th  instant,  the  Church  of  St.  John's, 
Torquay,  was  struck  by  lightning.  The  day  had  been  fine, 
with  heavy  showers,  and  light  wind  from  the  south-west 
Distant  thunder  had  been  heard  several  times,  from  isolated 
clouds  at  a  low  altitude,  for  several  hours  previously. 

Between  three  and  four  o'clock,  a  small  dark  cloud,  which 
had  given  not  more  than  two  or  three  discharges  as  it  rose 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay,  passed  over  the  town.  A 
tremendous  explosion,  terminating  in  a  peal  of  thunder,  and 
immediately  accompanied  by  a  vivid  flash,  was  heard  over 
St  John's  Church.  This  was  followed  by  a  shower  of  stones, 
many  of  which  were  hurled  to  a  distance  of  from  200  to 
800  yards.  The  roof  of  Lawrence  Place,  on  the  Strand, 
where  I  was  at  the  time,  was  broken  through,  and  several 
heavy  fragments  struck  the  fronts  of  the  houses.  At  first, 
it  seemed  as  if  an  aerolite  had  burst;  but,  on  picking  up  a 
portion  of  the  stone,  several  pounds  in  weight,  I  found  that 
it  was  evidently  Ham  Hill  oolite — not  very  likely  to  have 
come  from  the  moon,  or  the  meteor  belt  It  was  then 
observed  that  St  John's  Church  had  been  struck,  the  dressings 
of  the  handsome  new  chancel  of  which  consisted  of  this 
stona 

On  carefrQly  examining  the  building,  I  found  that  the 
cross,  weighing  2^  cwt.,  on  the  summit  of  the  chancel  arch, 
the  highest  point  of  the  fabric,  had  been  first  struck.  The 
lightning  appeared  to  have  entered  at  the  summit,  where 
several  sxnsJl  holes  had  been  fused,  and  the  fractures  were 
marked  with  a  dark  ochreous  stain.  Portions  of  the  cross  were 
picked  up  on  each  side  of  the  Church.  The  current  then 
divided,  passing  down  the  copings  of  the  gable,  massive 
fragments  of  which  were  dispersed  in  every  directioa  On  the 
north,  it  passed  away  into  the  a4Joining  cliff;  on  the  south, 
it  leaped  across  to  the  flying  buttress,  whence  it  must  have 


112         ON  ST.  JOHN'S  CHUBCH,  TORQUAY, 

diffused  itself  over  the  roofs  of  the  houses  below,  the  deluge 
of  rain  causing  their  wet  surfaces  to  act  as  a  conductor. 
Some  have  supposed  that  it  passed  down  by  an  iron  shute 
into  the  ground.  This  could  not»  I  think,  have  been  the 
case,  as  the  pipe  does  not  reach  to  the  ground,  and  there  was 
no  disturbance  of  the  surface,  or  any  marks  upon  the  wall. 
The  upper  end  of  the  shute  reaches  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
coping,  proving,  as  Mr.  Hoarder  remarked  in  a  paper  pub- 
lished in  our  Transactions,  that  even  a  lightning-rod  is  not 
an  attractor  at  any  considerable  distance,  but  simply  a  con- 
ductor, and  should  therefore  extend  to  every  elevated  point. 

The  entire  building  must  have  been  violently  shaken,  as 
plaster  was  dislodged  from  the  chancel  wall,  and  strewn 
around  the  communion  tabla  Two  of  the  handsome  marble 
pillars  on  either  side  are  slightly  injured,  although  the  light- 
ning did  not  enter  the  Church,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  the  gas 
pipes  not  being  fused,  or  the  metallic  ornaments  discoloured. 
Had  the  copings  and  roof  not  been  wet,  the  electricity  would, 
doubtless,  have  fissured  the  waUs,  and  caused  much  greater 
damage.  The  principal  injury  is  now  the  destruction  of  the 
cross  and  copings,  a  dangerous  shake  to  the  gable  separating 
the  two  faces  of  the  wall,  and  the  fractures  in  the  roof  from 
falling  stones. 

Evidence  more  or  less  reliable  seems  to  show  that  the 
electric  current  in  a  concentrated  form  was  felt  at  points 
many  hundred  yards  distant  from  the  Church,  where  the 
main  stroke  felL  In  the  shipwrights*  yard  near  Beacon  Hill, 
three  men,  who  were  sheltering  under  a  shed  immediately 
adjoining,  affirm  that  a  mass  of  limestone  lying  on  the  beach 
was  struck,  and  fragments  thrown  across  the  yard.  I  have 
examined  the  spot,  and  heard  their  statement,  but  have  much 
doubt  as  to  the  inferences.  The  fracture  of  the  rock  appears  to 
have  been  caused  by  mechanical  blows  from  above;  and  the 
fragments  said  to  have  been  thrown  across  the  yard  were  not 
seen,  but  only  heard,  to  fall.  As  Beacon  Terrace  intervenes 
between  this  spot  and  the  Church,  it  seems  impossible  that 
the  current  should  have  passed  over  it  without  striking  the 
elevated  points.  It  might  have  been  a  back-stroke  passing 
upwards  from  the  earth ;  upon  this  point  I  am  very  desirous 
of  having  the  opinion  of  electricians.  At  the  residence  of 
Sir  Thomas  Symonds,  on  the  hill  above  the  Church,  a  chimney 
top  was  struck  off,  and  picture-frames  blackened  in  the 
drawing-room.  A  ball  of  fire  is  reported  to  have  fallen,  or 
possibly  risen,  in  Geoige  Street;  and  a  numbing  shock  of 
electricity  was  felt  for  some  distance  in  every  direction. 


STRUCK   BY  LIGHTNING.  113 

The  phenomena  of  thunderstorms  are  so  extremely  varied, 
that  I  might  extend  this  paper  to  any  length  by  a  comparison 
which,  if  carefully  pursued,  might  throw  much  light  upon 
the  trae  action  of  electricity  on  the  grand  scale  of  nature. 
I  will  only  briefly  advert  to  two  of  strongly  contrasted 
characters.  From  the  summit  of  Lustleigh  Gleve,  on  a  calm 
•August  day,  I  saw  a  heavy  bank  of  cloud  rising  over  Exeter. 
On  the  opposite  horizon,  a  small  detached  cloud  was  moving 
from  the  south-west.  As  it  passed  with  increasing  speed 
over  Hounds  Tor,  it  fired  a  single  shot,  as  if  finding  its  range 
before  coming  into  action.  The  two  clouds  met  immediately 
over  our  heads,  and,  as  their  edges  approached,  a  fringe  dart^ 
forward,  and  a  brilliant  sheet  of  flame  illumined  the  whole 
space  between  them.  In  a  moment  a  shower  of  soft  hail 
fell  around  us,  followed  by  rain.  The  lightning,  which  was, 
doubtless,  in  the  opposite  conditions  of  electricity,  merely 
passed  from  cloud  to  cloud  without  striking  the  earth,  and 
equilibrium  was  restored;  for  no  further  dischai^ges  occurred 
after  the  clouds  collapsed  and  moved  slowly  across  the  moor. 
I  observed  the  same  phenomena  during  a  clear  night  from 
Box  Hill,  in  Surrey,  when  the  effects  were  most  brilliant, 
several  small  clouds  being  successively  in  collision  and 
collapsing.  At  Axminster  a  heavy  mass  of  cloud  rose  over 
the  sea  with  almost  continuous  discharges  of  sheet  lightning. 
As  it  approached,  I  observed  that  long  serpentine  flashes  were 
passing  through  the  body  of  the  cloud  in  all  directions  with- 
out any  reaching  the  ground.  Two  heavy  strata  must  have 
been  firing  into  each  other;  but  it  is  inexplicable  why  they 
did  not  sooner  collapse.  The  storm  passed  away  to  the 
north-east  without  any  cessation  in  the  discharges.  The  hail 
which  fell  along  its  course  was  as  large  as  pigeons'  eggs. 
Great  injury  was  done  to  crops  and  glass ;  and  a  countryman, 
who  described  what  seemed  to  be  at  least  a  fall  of  aerolites, 
took  us  to  a  hollow  lane,  where  he  had  been  sheltering  under 
the  bank,  and  we  found  it  was  a  herd  of  cattle  which  had 
leaped  over  him ! 

The  exemption  of  Torquay  from  thunderstorms  or  hail, 
ordinarily,  is  very  remarkable.  During  more  than  30  years, 
in  wh^ph  I  have  recorded  meteorologicS  observations,  I  have 
never  known  a  plane  of  glass  broken,  or  heard  thunder  follow 
a  flash  within  less  than  five  seconds;  so  that,  probably,  light- 
ning had  never  before  fallen  in  the  parish.  The  course  of 
storms  is  from  the  high  land  of  Cornwall  over  Dartmoor;  or 
from  the  Start  Point  across  to  Beer  Head.  The  prevalence 
of  rainfall  follows  the  same  lines  of  attraction. 

VOL.   II,  I 


ST.  ANNE'S  CHAPEL-THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL, 

BARNSTAPLE. 

BT   CHAJELLE8  JOHKSTOK,    M.S.C.S. 


A  VERY  ancient  looking  Chapel,  now  used  as  a  Grammar 
School,  in  the  churchyard  of  Barnstaple  Old  Church,  is 
described  in  Oliver's  Manasticon  Uxonienais  as  being  dedicated 
to  St.  Anne,  and  built  over  the  chamel  house  of  the  parish 
cemetery.  Beference  is  also  made  to  the  antiquary  Leland's 
account,  which  states  that  one  Holman,  a  former  vicar,  was 
its  founder;  but,  as  Dr.  Oliver  remarks,  "this  admits  of 
doubt;  for  Mr.  John  Holman  did  not  become  vicar  until 
December,  1461,  and  died  a  few  months  after,  whilst  there 
was  certainly  a  chapel  of  St.  Anne  here  in  1444 ;  for  Bishop 
Lacy  in  that  year  granted  an  indulgence  of  forty  days  to  all 
sincere  penitents  who  would  contribute  towards  its  main- 
tenance." This  meagre  information  is  all  that  can  be  obtained 
upon  the  subject  in  Barnstaple,  and  carries  us  to  a  time  the 
architectural  evidences  of  which,  in  some  parts  of  the  build- 
ing, point  no  further  back  than  to  the  beginning  or  middle  of 
the  15th  century,  coincidental  certainly,  so  far,  with  the 
period  of  its  foundation  as  described  by  Leland,  and  not 
conflicting  with  the  earlier  proclamation  of  Bishop  Lacy. 
When  we  come,  however,  to  examine  the  structure  as  a  whole, 
a  very  great  difference  is  immediately  detected,  not  only  in 
the  material  employed  and  the  workmanship  displayed,  but 
also  in  the  design  and  style  of  what  may  be  described  as  joi 
earlier  edifice,  for  whatever  purpose  raLsed,  and  additions 
which  have  evidently  been  made  to  adapt  it  to  a  new  and 
special  object,  as  the  chapel  in  modern  times  known  to  have 
been  dedicated  to  St  Anne.  This  admission,  as  regards 
the  latter,  concludes,  therefore,  that  part  of  the  question 
historically,  and  leaves  to  be  chiefly  considered  in  this  paper 
the  age  and  designation  of  the  first  building,  and  which  1  have 
good  reason  to  believe  is  the  original  chapel  of  St.  Sabinus, 
mentioned  in  the  charter  of  Joel  the  founder  of  the  Priory  of 
St.  Mary  Magdalene,  to  which  it  was  given  with  the  church 
of  St.  Peter,  Barnstaple,  with  all  dues  and  offerings,  in  part 
support  of  the  new  community.     I  have  been  fortunate  in 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL,  BARNSTAPLE.        115 

obtaining  from  oar  talented  borough  Surveyor,  and  his  son 
Mr.  John  Grould,  the  loan  of  a  plan  of  the  chapel  made  some 
years  ago,  and  in  which  the  older  is  distinguished  from  the 
later  parts  by  being  shaded.  A  reference  to  this  will  materially 
assist  in  forming  an  opinion  upon  the  subject,  and  for  which 
purpose  it  will  lie  upon  the  table  of  the  Lecture-room  of  the 
Institution  during  the  meeting  of  the  Association.  The 
original  building  is  quadrangular  in  form,  measuring  forty-four 
feet  in  length,  by  twenty-three  feet  in  width,  and  which,  I 
may  observe  in  passing,  is  singularly  correspondent  with  the 
size  of  several  small  early  churches  in  Ireland;  such,  for 
instance,  as  that  of  St.  Mochua,  near  Dublin,  the  erection  of 
which  (see  Petrie's  Round  Taivers  of  Ireland,  page  397,)  is 
ascribed  to  St  Patrick  himself  The  walls  are  2^  feet  thick, 
and  rise  to  a  present  height  of  twenty  feet  to  the  wall  plate, 
although  appearances  indicate  that  the  last  three  feet  are  a 
more  modem  addition,  to  suit  altered  ciixjumstances  and 
requirements.  The  height  of  the  vertex  of  the  roof  from  the 
floor  in  Mr.  Gould's  plan  is  35  feet,  though  there  is  reason  to 
suppose  the  true  level  should  be  that  of  the  natural  surface 
of  the  ground,  before  any  burials  in  or  around  had  taken  place, 
which  would  add  at  least  one  foot  more  to  the  height.  The 
entrance  was  in  the  west  wall,  by  a  doorway  three  feet  wide, 
with  a  plane  moulding  at  the  external  angles,  where  the  walls 
are  champered  ofif  on  each  side  for  about  six  inches,  and  lined 
in  the  most  primitive  manner  by  light  slabs  of  freestone, 
inserted  for  the  purpose.  Six  narrow  apertures,  tliree  in  each 
wall,  north  and  south,  splayed  internally  from  1^  foot  outside 
to  8  feet  within,  admitted  light  into  the  interior  of  the  chapeL 
The  material  which  enters  into  the  construction  of  the 
building  is  such  as  might  be  obtained  from  any  road-side 
quarry  at  the  present  day,  and  the  masonary  is  of  the  rudest 
and  coarsest  kind.  The  stones  are  of  all  sizes  and  shapes, 
laid  out  without  any  regard  to  regular  courses,  in  what  is 
graphically  described  as  sprawled  rubble  masonry.  On  the 
west  gable,  at  present,  a  small  open  belfry  of  brick  still,  perhaps, 
preserves  the  form  of  that  usual  appendage  to  cliapels  of  the 
character  and  age  to  which  I  refer  the  one  under  consideration; 
and  to  illustrate  which  I  have  also  placed  upon  the  table  a 
reduced  copy  of  a  mural  painting,  found  on  the  wall  of  the 
nave  of  Cowsmouth  Church,  Cheshire,  which  reproduces  in  a 
most  interesting  manner  every  prominent  circumstance — the 
chapel,  the  anchor  or  recluse,  with  a  lanthom,  and  the  guide 
— historically  connected  with  the  origin  and  name  of  Barum, 
as  a  fire-bear  or  public  light,  so  placed  as  to  assist  travellers 

I  2 


116  ST.  anne's  chapel — 

and  pilgrims  in  crossing  the  river  Taw  in  a  dangerous  but 
most  convenient  place,  on  what  has  always  been  a  much  used 
thoroughfare,  the  great  road  between  CornwaU  and  the  north 
of  England. 

Having  thus  briefly  reviewed  the  chief  features  of  the 
original  chapel,  I  shall  now  direct  attention  to  those  alterations 
which  have  been  made  to  adapt  it  to  more  modem  purposes. 
In  the  first  place,  it  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Mr.  Grould's 
plan,  that  a  quadrangular  tower,  12  feet  by  9  feet,  has  been 
added  on  to  the  west  end  of  the  south  wall  In  this  the 
masonry,  in  unequal  but  regular  stony  courses,  makes  a 
striking  contrast  with  the  older  work,  and  considerable  dif- 
ference is  also  to  be  observed  in  the  mortars  used  in  the  two 
constructions.  The  tower,  which  is  not  more  than  30  feet 
high,  is  divided  into  three  stories,  the  second  one  of  which 
serves  and  evidently  was  intended  to  be  the  entrance  hall  or 
vestibule  to  a  large  room  extending  the  whole  length  of  the 
building,  and  the  floor  of  which  is  of  wood  resting  upon 
tran verse  joists  from  side  to  side;  all  supported  on  an  immense 
central  beam,  to  receive  the  ends  of  which,  two  large  holes 
were  made  in  the  east  and  west  walls.  From  a  stone  arched 
doorway,  on  the  western  face  of  this  entrance  story,  a  sweep 
of  ten  steps,  in  a  considerable  curve,  leads  to  the  ordinary 
pathway  through  the  churchyard.  The  apartment  beneath 
must  be  very  low  and  contracted,  and  could  only  have  been 
used  as  a  store  or  tool -house,  whilst  that  under  the  roof, 
with  two  imposing  windows,  especially  the  one  on  the  south 
front,  may  have  been  a  cell  or  dormitory  for  an  oflBciating 
priest,  or  a  room  for  his  vestments  and  books.  Upon  exami- 
nation it  will  be  found  that  there  is  no  regular  bonding  of  the 
masonry  of  this  tower  with  the  earlier  work,  and  the  elabo- 
rately grotesque  giirgoiles  placed  at  the  angles  evidently  prove 
the  great  care  that  was  taken  to  prevent  the  admission  of 
moisture  at  the  junction  of  the  two.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note 
that  the  grey  sandstone  which  enters  into  the  structure  of  the 
tower,  differs  very  considerably  from  the  soft  red  sandstone 
of  the  two  windows  in  the  east  and  south  walls  yet  to  be 
described,  as  also  from  the  dark  coloured  gritty  siliceous 
stones  used  in  the  original  building.  To  what  cause  this  may 
be  due  it  is  impossible  now  to  say,  but  the  inconsistency  to  be 
observed  in  Leland's  reference  to  Vicar  Holman,  as  the 
foimder  of  the  chapel  in  Barnstaple  churchyard,  and  the  prior 
claims,  at  all  events,  of  the  devotees  appealed  to  for  assistance 
towards  the  maintenance  of  St.  Anne's  chapel,  in  Bishop 
Lacy*8  brief,  point,  I  think,  to  two  different  periods  of  altera- 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL,   BARNSTAPLfi.  117 

tions,  and  veiy  probably,  as  Dr.  Oliver  supposes,  Vicar  Holman 
was  a  munificent  contributor,  and  subsequently  added,  at  his 
own  expense,  the  certainly  elegant  tower  to  some  previous 
work  of  restoration.  It  remains  to  direct  attention  to  the 
two  inserted  windows  before  alluded  to.  Both  are  well  shown 
and  their  details  brought  out  on  an  enlarged  scale  in  Mr. 
Grould's  plan,  and,  in  his  opinion,  belong  to  a  type  very 
prevalent  in  the  Gothic  architecture  of  the  14th  century,  to 
which  accordingly  he  is  inclined  to  refer  them.  The  one  in  the 
east  wall  is  twelve  feet  in  height  by  six  wide,  and  consists  of 
three  lights  with  a  remarkable  plane  circular  one  within  the 
arch.  The  one  in  the  south  wall,  three  feet  by  seven  feet,  is 
olf  two  lights,  and  possesses  the  same  circular  head  light  as  the 
former,  presenting  together  a  consistency  of  efifect  which 
unites  the  two  as  belonging  to  the  same  design.  Both  betray 
strong  proofs  of  insertion  at  a  late  period,  not  only  in  the 
evident  dislocation  of  disturbed  masonry,  but  also  in  the 
marked  whiteness  of  the  lime  employed  in  the  alterations. 

If,  from  these  specimens  of  very  considerable  artistic  sldll, 
the  curious  observer  turns  to  contrast  them  with  the  humbler 
character  and  poor  style  of  the  original  windows,  now  almost 
buried  in  the  accumulation  of  mould  due  to  the  interments 
of  centimes,  he  will  feel  astonished  at  the  lapse  of  time 
indicated  by  the  difiference  existing  between  them ;  that  is, 
supposing  he  does  not  fall  into  the  very  possible  error  of 
believing  that  the  latter  were  never  intended  for  any  other 
purpose  than  to  admit  light  into  a  designed  crypt  or  cellar 
below  the  more  imposing  structure  abova  Should  this  be 
the  case,  and  which,  indeed,  I  believe  has  been  the  chief 
cause  of  this  most  interesting  monimient  of  the  first  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  into  this  part  of  Britain  not  having 
attracted  that  attention  its  importance  deserves,  I  recommend 
an  early  perusal  of  Petrie's  learned  work  upon  The  Rotmd 
Towers  of  Ireland,  where  (especially  at  page  180,  and  further 
on  at  page  396,)  will  be  found  wood  illustrations  and  plans  of 
several  very  ancient  chapels,  which  present  exactly  the  same 
external  features  and  internal  details  of  measurement  as  the 
chapel  in  Bcumstaple  churchyard,  when  divested  of  its  evi- 
dently later  additions,  and  the  window  insertions  of  compara- 
tively modem  times.  It  is  necessary,  indeed,  that  1  institute 
the  comparison  to  some  extent  m3rself,  to  show  that  this  old 
chapel  is  none  other  than  that  of  St.  Sabinus,  mentioned  in 
the  charter  of  Joel  to  the  priory  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
alluded  to  also,  though  not  named,  in  the  charter  of  confir- 
mation given  on  the  same  occasion  by  William  the  Conqueror. 


118  ST.  ANNE'S  CHAPEL — 

I  wish,  however,  in  the  first  place  (as  I  believe  it  to  be  the 
work  of  an  Iiish  recluse,)  to  make  a  few  general  remarks  to 
point  out  how,  in  the  building  we  are  considering,  principles 
of  construction  which,  according  to  Petrie,  particularly  in- 
fluenced the  early  missionaries  of  our  religion  in  Ireland, 
appear  also  to  have  operated  in  the  same  way  in  this 
neighbourhood,  and  in  connection  with  the  same  ends.  It 
will,  no  doubt,  have  been  observed  that  over  the  rude  lintels 
of  one  stone,  slightly  excavated  to  form  a  kihd  of  head  to  the 
old  narrow  windows,  is  placed  a  row  of  thin  stones,  placed  on 
end  in  a  curved  line,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  pressure 
of  the  weight  above.  Now  this,  of  course,  indicates  a 
practical  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the  arch,  and  implies 
considerable  architectural  skill;  whilst,  at  the  very  same  time, 
in  every  other  part  of  the  work,  appearances  would  say  that 
the  builders  held  in  no  estimation  the  excellent  contrivances 
for  the  comfort  of  the  body,  and  the  elevation  of  the  mind, 
which  are  found  in  the  art  and  ornament  of  masonry.  Some 
have  gone  so  far  as  even  to  say  these  early  Christian  chapels 
were  intended  to  be  typical  of  the  austerity  of  living  and 
mien  imposed  by  the  new  faith.  Petrie  observes  that  it  is 
very  questionable  whether  the  unadorned  simplicity,  and 
contracted  dimensions,  of  the  earliest  churches  in  Ireland 
were  due  entirely  to  the  poverty  or  ignorance  of  their  founders ; 
and  goes  on  to  say,  "That  they  have  little  to  interest  the 
mind  or  attract  regard  as  works  of  art,  would  be  childish  to 
deny;  yet  in  their  symmetrical  simplicity,  their  dimly  lighted 
nave  entered  by  its  central  west  doorway,  there  is  an 
expression  of  fitness  to  their  purpose,  too  often  wanted  in 

modem  temples  of  the  highest  pretensions. In  short, 

these  ancient  fanes  are  just  such  humble  unadorned  structures 
as  we  might  have  expected  them  to  have  been ;  but  even  if 
they  were  found  to  exhibit  less  of  that  expression  of  congruity 
and  fitness,  and  more  of  that  humbleness  so  characteristic  of 
a  religion  not  made  for  the  rich,  but  for  the  poor  and  lowly, 
that  mind  is  but  little  to  be  envied  which  could  look  with 
apathy  on  the  remains  so  venerable  for  their  antiquity,  and  so 
interesting  as  being  raised  in  honour  of  the  Creator  in  the 
simplest,  if  not  the  purest,  ages  of  Christianity.  Poor  their 
founders  unquestionably  were,  but  that  poverty  appears  to 
have  been  voluntary  as  became  men  walking  in  the  footsteps 
of  the  Eedeemer,  and  who  obtained  their  simple  food  by  the 
labour  of  their  hands;  but  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  arts, 
or  insensible  to  their  influence,  could  scarcely  have  been 
possible  in  men,  very  many  of  whom — Eomans,  Gauls,  and 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL,  BARNSTAPLE.         119 

Britons — we  know  were  educated  where  those  arts,  though 
they  had  become  debased,  were  still  cultivated.  Many  of  the 
ecclesiastics,  in  fact,  obtained  celebrity  as  artificers,  and 
makers  of  the  sacred  implements  necessary  for  the  church, 
and  as  illuminators  of  books,  and  there  is  still  remaining  the 
most  indisputable  evidence  of  their  skill  in  these  arts  in 
ancient  croziers,  bells,  shrines,  and  in  MSS.,  not  inferior  in 
splendour  to  any  extent  in  Europe.  It  is  by  no  means  im- 
probable that  the  severe  simplicity  as  well  as  the  uniformity 
of  plan  and  size  which  usually  characterizes  our  early 
churches,  .was  less  the  result  of  the  poverty  or  ignorance 
of  their  founders  than  of  choice  originating  in  the  austere 
spirit  of  ftieir  faith,  or  a  veneration  for  some  model  given  to 
them  by  their  first  teachers ;  for  that  the  earliest  Christian 
churches  on  the  Continent  before  the  time  of  Constantino 
were  like  these,  small  and  unadorned,  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt,  and  the  oldest  churches  in  Greece  are  exactly  similar 
to  these  described  in  Ireland."  (Petrie,  pp.  188  and  159.) 

The  chief  significancy  of  these  observations  in  reference 
to  the  history  of  the  chapel  we  are  now  considering,  is  the 
argument  contained  of  the  tenacity  with  which  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  first  British  church  adhered  to  the  established 
rule  in  constructing  their  sacred  buildings.  Petrie  quotes 
from  a  MS.  life  of  St.  Patrick  a  statement  that  in  the  plan 
and  measurement  of  the  ancient  quadrangular  church  of 
Downpatrick,  of  the  prescribed  length  of  sixty  feet,  he  was 
guided  by  an  angel ;  and  further  adds,  that  the  cathedral  and 
abbey  churches  of  Ireland  before  the  12th  century  never 
exceeded  that  length.  Now  it  is  a  curious  fact  (and  this 
remarkable  instance  of  conformity  to  an  apparently  rigid 
conventional  standard  is  also  derived  from  Petrie)  that  the 
first  Christian  church  erected  in  Britain,  and  which  was 
traditionally  ascribed  to  the  apostolic  age,  namely,  Glastonbury 
church,  said  t.o  have  been  built  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  was 
exactly  of  the  same  size  and  form  generally  adopted  in  Ireland 
aft^r  its  conversion  to  Christianity,  namely,  60  feet  in  length 
and  27  in  breadth.  So  far  I  have  felt  it  necessary  to  quote 
from  an  authority  which  I  am  sure  will  command  the  respect 
of  this  meeting,  to  introduce  my  own  views  as  regards  the 
original  dedication  and  builders  of  the  old  chapel  in  the 
churchyard,  now  ascribed  to  St  Anne,  but  which  I  am  of 
opinion  ought  to  be  referred  back  to  a  much  earlier  age,  and 
is,  in  fact,  the  original  chapel  of  St.  Sabinus,  of  the  time  of 
the  Conqueror.  I  have  been  strongly  confirmed  in  this  by  a 
subsequent  happy  discovery  of  the  real  individual  whose 


120  ST.  annb's  chapel — 

memory  was  honoured  in  the  dedication,  and  who  hitherto 
has  been  presumed  to  be,  on  the  strength  of  the  name  alone, 
one  of  three  Italian  bishops  in  the  calendar  of  the  Boman 
saiilts,  who  appear  to  have  been  martyred  and  canonized 
between  the  4th  and  5th  centuries;  but  what  connection, 
historical  or  legendary,  existed  between  either  of  these  and 
this  distant  loodity  in  Britain  does  not  appear.  In  fact,  no 
satisfaction  upon  this  point  can  be  obtained,  if  the  search  for 
knowledge  be  restricted  to  the  orthodox  roll  of  saints;  but  it 
is  very  different  when  we  come  to  examine  the  records  of  the 
early  British,  or,  rather  Irish,  church,  and  compare  names, 
places,  and  circumstances  in  a  remote  antiquity  jivith  the 
eloquent  remains  we  ai'e  privileged  to  inspect  to-day,  and 
several  local  appellations  around,  which  have  preserved  in  a 
traditional  nomenclature  a  memory  of  the  first  circumstances 
that  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  religious  community  and 
chapel  here ;  the  little  seed  that  in  the  town  of  Barnstaple 
has  developed  into  a  goodly  tree.  The  beautiful  seal  of 
Pilton  Priory  is  a  record  of  an  interesting  historical  fact  that 
Atl^elstan,  the  grand-son  of  Alfred  the  Great,  and  educated  in 
his  court,  was  a  considerable  benefactor,  if  not  properly  to  be 
considered  the  first  Christian  founder  of  what  had  very 
probably  been  previously  a  Druidical  monastic  institution, 
or  of  whatever  native  religion  was  intended  by  that  nama 
From  recorded  history  we  further  learn  that  this  king  made  a 
complete  tour  of  his  western  provinces  of  Devon  and  Corn- 
wall, including  even  a  visit  to  the  then  remote  island  of  Scilly. 
He  was  accustomed  during  this  journey,  under  circumstances 
of  exposure,  to  vow  lands  to  certain  tutelary  saints,  and 
several  religious  houses  in  the  two  counties  owe  their  origin 
to  his  pious  liberality.  According  to  a  return  made  in  the 
17th  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  to  a  writ  of  inquisition 
issued  by  the  king's  chancellor,  it  was  by  a  charter  of  Athel- 
stan,  of  famous  memory,  the  buigesses  of  Barnstaple  claimed 
certain  privileges  withheld  from  them;  and  at  the  present 
day  writers  on  the  Constitution  of  England  rely  upon  the 
results  of  the  enquiry  then  made  for  the  interesting  fact  of 
a  representative  instituion  of  the  Commons  having  formed, 
at  that  early  period,  part  of  the  general  government  of  the 
country.  But  previously  to  this  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  there  was  in  this  locality  a  resident  community  known 
to  the  surrounding  country  as  Barr,  the  firebear,  or  Barum  in 
old  monkish  Latin;  and  the  significance  of  this  word  as 
indicating  a  signal  light,  together  with  the  situation,  conveys 
to  us  positive  knowledge  that  some  public  provision  was  here 


THE  GRAACMAB  SCHOOL,  BARNSTAPLE.  121 

made  to  guide  travellers,  by  means  of  a  beacon,  across  the 
liver  at  low  water  during  the  night.  It  is  also  well  known 
that,  at  a  period  when  an  austere  acetism  was  considered  the 
most  convincing  proof  of  sincere  devotion,  many  religious 
enthusiasts  devoted  themselves  to  a  truly  enlightened  prac- 
tical humanity,  by  stationing  themselves  in  exposed  situations 
where  local  knowledge  and  prepared  appliances  enabled  them 
to  be  of  daily  service  in  aiding  their  fellow-mortals,  who 
otherwise  but  for  their  assistance  might  fall  and  perish  on 
their  way.  Such  are  the  objects  and  the  frequent  duties  of  the 
monks  of  St.  Bernard  at  the  present  day,  who  in  a  dangerous 
pass  across  the  Alps  provide  shelter,  refreshments,  and  guides 
to  those  compelled  to  traverse  that  inclement  region  during 
winter.  On  the  other  side  of  our  river,  just  beyond  Anchor 
wood  (another  most  significant  designation),  is  a  farm  caUed 
Hele,  of  which  there  is  abundant  evidence,  if  I  had  only  time 
to  enter  upon  the  subject,  to  show  that  in  the  earliest  ages  of 
British  history  a  counterpart  of  the  hospital  of  St.  Bernard 
here  existed,  and  was  intended  for  very  similar  purposes.  As 
I  have  just  remarked,  the  significant  word  anchor  suggests 
immediately  the  particular  agents  who  employed  themselves 
in  works  of  benevolence,  especially  connected  in  this  situation 
with  the  guidance  of  travellers  across  the  river.  Anchor, 
originally  signifying  a  recluse,  alluded  more  to  the  danger- 
ously exposed  situation,  selected  as  the  field  of  the  labours  of 
the  devotee,  than  to  the  total  withdrawing  of  all  conmiunion 
with  his  fellow-mortals  which  characterized  the  anchorite  or 
hermit  of  later  days.  Boads  through  forests  and  across 
lonely  moors  were  the  localities,  of  course,  where  useful  bene- 
volence could  best  be  exercised,  and  would  be  most  needed, 
and  devotion  to  a  life  in  such  situations  reqtdred  for  its  salt, 
that  opportunities  of  doing  good  to  others  should  be  con- 
stantly occurring.  On  this  side  of  the  river,  it  would  appear, 
the  convenience  of  a  light  was  maintained  by  the  same 
agency,  and  the  name  of  the  narrow  street  leading  from  an 
old  inn  in  Green-lane,  still  called  the  Bear,  to  the  churchyard 
across  the  present  market-place,  preserves  in  the  name  of 
Anchor-lane,  a  memory  of  the  original  occupiers  of  the  spot, 
and  of  the  particular  duties  imposed  upon  them. 

To  contract  this  paper,  however,  within  prescribed  limits, 
I  must  proceed  at  once  to  my  identification  of  the  St  Sabinus, 
conmiemorated  in  the  name  of  this  chapel,  with  a  certain 
anchorite,  as  he  is  described  in  The  Annals  of  Ulster,  an 
old  Irish  chronicle,  named  Suibine,  and  whose  death  is 
recorded  in  the  year  891 ;  and  be  it  also  observed,  whom 


122  ST.  anne's  chapel — 

Florence  of  Worcester,  in  his  chronicle  of  corresponding  date, 
calls  "the  most  skilful  of  all  the  Scots,"  A  representation 
of  his  inscribed  tombstone,  on  which  will  be  found  his  name 
and  a  most  elaborately-carved  cross,  is  represented  at  page 
323,  Petrie's  Bound  Towers  of  Ireland,  where  also  in  the 
text  the  important  fact  is  recorded  that  he  was  one  of 
three  Irishmen  who  visited  Alfred  the  Great  The  remark- 
able coincidence  of  finding  an  anchorite  of  the  name  of 
Suibine,  the  Latin  form  of  which  would  be  Sabinus,  asso- 
ciated with  the  court  of  Alfred,  where  Athelstan,  who  incor- 
porated Barnstaple,  was  brought  up  and  educated,  immediately 
led  me  to  infer  a  more  probable  dedication  of  the  old  chapel 
in  our  churchyard  to  an  active  Christian  teacher,  who  must, 
at  all  events,  have  been  in  this  neighbourhood  on  his  journey 
from  Ireland  to  the  West  Saxons,  than  with  any  Continental 
bishop  who  had  no  historical  connection  with  the  place, 
either  spiritual  or  otherwise ;  in  fact,  nothing  but  the  simi- 
larity of  name  and  the  fact  of  canonization,  to  afford  colour- 
able reason  to  the  supposition  that  thus  assigned  the  honour 
to  the  Italian  St  Sabinus.  In  looking  for  further  evidence 
upon  this  point,  I  was  greatly  struck  with  the  picture  of 
devotion  and  courage  displayed  in  such  enterprises  as  Suibine 
engaged  in,  by  a  few  lines  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle, 
which,  imder  the  date  of  his  death,  also  describes  the  con- 
temporaneous arrival  of  three  fellow-labourers  of  this  early 
missionary.  It  is  as  follows : — "  And  three  Scots  came  to 
King  Alfred  in  a  boat,  without  any  oars,  from  Ireland, 
whence  they  had  stolen  away,  because  they  desired  for  the 
love  of  God  to  be  in  a  state  of  pilgrimage,  they  recked  not 
where.  The  boat  in  which  they  came  was  made  of  two  hides 
and  a  half,  and 'they  took  with  them  provisions  for  seven 
days,  and  then  about  the  seventh  day  they  came  on  shore  in 
Cornwall,  and  soon  after  went  to  King  Alfred."  And  of  such 
a  nature,  an  idea  of  which  I  think  will  be  readily  conveyed 
by  this  quaint  recital,  there  can  be  little  doubt  was  the 
motive  which  induced  Suibine  to  seek  here  a  field  of  mis- 
sionary labour.  There  is  also  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
at  this  time  the  lingering  interests  of  a  superstition,  rapidly 
dying  out,  but  tolerated  for  its  convenience  in  this  situation, 
still  held  possession  of  a  monopoly  in  the  pecuniaay  advan- 
tages of  a  long  established  ford  over  the  river  at  Pottington ; 
to  conduct  towards  which  a  raised  causeway  in  the  direction 
of  Pilton  still  exists.  Suibine  may  have  been  moved  by 
compassion  at  witnessing  the  disregard  to  pauper  claims  for 
assistance  at  the   wealthy  institution   long  established  at 


THE   GRAMMAR  SCHOOL,   BARNSTAPLE.  123 

Longstone,  and,  perhaps,  found  a  congenial  habitat,  where  he 
could  correct  the  evil,  and  acquire  an  influence  among  the 
natives,  in  the  low  scrubby  coppice  that  then  covered  a  spur 
of  high  land  projecting  into  the  river,  and  which  at  high  tide 
was  extensively  surrounded  by  water,  so  as  to  look  like  a 
little  peninsula  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world.     Here, 
accordingly,  he  seems  to  have  established,  with  the  aid  of 
some  disciples,  a  convenient  porterage  over  the   river;   to 
assist  in  which,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  a  beacon  light, 
Barum  was  erected ;  the  saint  perhaps  comforted  and  encour- 
aged by  the  apt  similarity  of  name,  purpose,  and  type  it 
exhibited  to  the  Barea  of  the  Apostles,  where  the  light  was 
first  shewn  to  the  Grentiles.     This  view  of  the  chapel,  being 
dedicated  to  a  friend  and  counsellor  of  Alfred  the  Great,  is 
also    strongly    supported   by    the    patronage    subsequently 
accorded  to  the  growing  Christian  community  by  his  grand- 
son Athelstan.     Besides,  circumstances  in  the  general  history 
of  the  country  were  fast  combining  to  forward,  as  with  a 
Divine  blessing,  the  material  interests  and  prospects  of  the 
rising  town  of    Barnstaple.     The   silting  up  of   the  river 
constantly  going  on,  in  the  course  of  time,  had  materially 
afifected  the  capabilities  of  the  town  of  Bishop's  Tawton  as 
the  port  of  the  district;   whilst  the  increased  size  of  the 
war-galleys,  which  the  wise  and  energetic  policy  of  Alfred 
had  constructed,   to  check   the   piratical  invasions  of  the 
Northmen,   and   which   was,   in   fact,  the  beginning,  in  a 
national  sense,  of  the  British  fleet,  required  greater  facilities 
for  docking  and  provision  for  defence,  than  could  be  obtained 
higher  up  the  river  than  the  site  of  Barnstaple.     Here,  there- 
fore, were  found  all  the  circumstances  favourable  to  success- 
ful naval  engineering  in  those  early  days,  and  its  capabilities 
would  no  doubt  be  brought  prominently  before  the  notice  of 
King  Athelstan,  during  his  visits  to  this  part  of  his  dominions, 
and  led  ultimately  to  the  incorporation  of  Barnstaple  as  a 
royal  borough.     In  this  manner  1  have  sought  to  recover  an 
ancient  and  honoured  memory,  from  an  obscurity  that  had 
completely  hidden  the  history  of  the  founder  of  Barum,  and 
given  the  honour  to  an  entire  stranger  to  the  place.     At  the 
same  time  the  age  and  original  character  of  an  interesting 
memorial  of  the  past,  closely  connected  with  the  first  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  into  this  neighbourhood,  have,  I  trust, 
been  sufficiently  established,  if  not  by  any  argument  I  may 
have  used,  yet  still  by  the  demonstrative  remains  that  speak 
for  themselves,  and  claim,  I  think,  a  no  less  antiquity  than 
that  to  which,  in  these  few  remarks,  I   have  accordingly 
referred  them. 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  BEDS  ADJOININO  THE 
NORTHERN  EDGE  OF  THE  GRANITE  OF  DARTMOOR. 

BY   O.    WABEOra   OBICBBOD,    M.A.y   7.0.8. 


The  granite  district,  known  in  general  terms  as  Dartmoor,  is 
bordered  on  the  southerly  part,  from  near  Walliford  down  on 
the  east,  to  the  south  of  the  Tavy  river  at  Cock's  Tor,  on  the 
west  by  the  Devonian  rocks ;  the  remaining  part  adjoins  the 
Carboniferous.  The  beds  that  form  the  carboniferous  strata 
vary  in  character,  from  a  friable  slate  to  a  compact  cherfy 
rock.  No  coal  or  culm  has,  I  believe,  been  found  in  the  dis-, 
trict  to  which  these  observations  are  confined ;  and  the  only 
places  where  vegetable  remains  joccur  therein  are,  as  far  as 
my  own  knowledge  extends,  at  Drewsteignton  and  Dunsford, 
where  calamites,  Slices,  and  a  few  other  plants,  are  occasion- 
ally foimd. 

The  animal  remains,  I  believe,  are  confined  to  the  Posi- 
donia,  not  unfrequently  found  in  the  limestone  quarry  at 
Drewsteignton,  and,  I  believe,  occ€isionally  in  that  at  South 
Tawton.  Many  trials  jTor  lime  have  been  made  in  this  dis- 
trict, but  the  above  are  the  oiily  places  where  lime  has  been 
worked.  At  South  Tawton  lime  has  been  got  many  years, 
but  the  great  extension  of  the  quarries  took  place  in  1800. 
The  quarries  at  Dewsteignton  were  worked  extensively  before 
the  commencement  of  the  last  century.  The  present  area  of 
the  largest  quarry  at  Drewsteignton  is  about  one  acre  and  ten 
perches ;  the  greatest  depth  is  about  224  feet.  Near  the  top 
there  are  nine  beds  of  lime  rock,  averaging  about  18  inches 
in  thickness,  with  yellow  shales  between  the  beds.  Below 
these  are  beds  varying  from  one  to  five  feet  in  thickness, 
occupying  a  depth  of  about  20  feet,  and  these  contain  one- 
seventh  part  of  lime.  The  next  division  consists  of  beds 
averaging  about  30  inches  in  thickness,  occupying  a  depth  of 
about  100  feet,  and  these  contain  two-fifths  of  lima  In  one 
of  the  lower  beds,  about  200  feet  from  the  surface,  the  Posi- 
donia  is  found.  Trials  showed  that  below  these  beds  the 
per  centage  of  lime  diminished.  These  beds  are  confined  to 
small  districts  at  South  Tawton  and  Drewsteignton.  The 
lime  at  both  places  is  very  similar  in  character ;  it  is  good  for 


0^   CARBONIFEROUS  BEDS.  125 

agricultural  purposes,  and  is  an  excellent  hydraulic  cement : 
it  sets  rather  more  slowly  than  the  lias  lime,  but  becomes 
harder  and  more  durable.  One  ton  of  Welsh  coal  calcines 
six  tons  and  eight  hundred  weight  of  lime  rock  at  Drews- 
teignton. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  Devon  is  found 
in  the  carboniferous  beds  near  Tavistock ;  the  mines  rapidly 
decrease  in  number  in  a  northerly  direction  from  that  town, 
imtil,  at  Bamsleigh,  about  the  centre  of  the  northerly  end  of 
Dartmoor,  the  copper  ceases. 

The  westerly  part  of  the  district  now  noticed  is  situate  in 
or  adjoining  to  the  parish  of  Okehampton.  Polwhele,  in  his 
History  of  Devon,  in  1798,  mentions  a  copper  mine  at  Oke- 
hampton that  had  been  worked  for  some  years,  and  was  then 
long  since  abandoned.  Lysons,  in  his  History  of  Devon  (1822), 
states  that  the  Wheal  Oak,  near  that  town,  was  abandoned 
jn  1808,  and  adds,  that  "by  enquiry  at  Okehampton  he  could 
not  find  out  that  any  copper  mine  had  ever  been  worked 
there  with  success."  The  ohief  trials  for  copper  of  a  more 
recent  date  in  this  district  have  been  at  the  Wheal  Forest, 
the  Devon  Mine,  and  the  Okehampton  Consols,  on  the  West 
Okement ;  Holestock  and  a  mine  above  the  bridge  in  Oke- 
hampton town,  on  the  East  Okement ;  Ivy  Tor  and  Copper 
Hill,  now  united  and  forming  Belstone  Consols,  on  the  river 
Tavy;  and  the  Fursdon  Manor  Mine,  at  Bamsleigh,  to  the 
south-east  of  Sticklepath.  Of  these  the  Okehampton  Consols, 
Belston  Consols,  and  the  Manor  Mine  are  at  work. 

Silver  lead  is  found  in  a  cross  course  at  Okehampton  Con- 
sols, and  at  Holestock,  and  traces  of  lead  have  been  found  in 
the  new  mine  at  Copper  HilL  At  Beewbeer,  near  Spreyton, 
workings  for  lead  have  been  carried  on,  but  they  are  now 
abandoned. 

Bismuth  is  found  in  the  mispickel  at  Ivy  Tor  Mina 

Amongst  the  various  forms  in  which  iron  occurs  are  mag- 
netic iron  pyrites,  near  Meldon  (marked  Elmdon  in  the 
Ordnance  survey) ;  specular  iron,  at  Wheal  Forest ;  limonite, 
near  Copper  HilL  Mispickel  and  iron  pyrites  are  of  frequent 
occurrence. 

These  metalliferous  minerals,  it  will  be  observed,  do  not 
occur  near  the  edge  of  the  granite  to  the  east  of  the  Manor 
Mine  at  Bamsleigh. 

Manganese  has  been  worked  at  a  mine  in  Drewsteignton 
parish,  near  Stone  Cross.  It  is  also  found  at  the  Drew- 
steignton Quarries. 

nie  non-metalliferous  minerals  that  most  frequently  occur 


126  ON  CARBONIFEROUS  BEDS. 

in  this  district  are  quartz  (in  many  forms),  actinolite,  axinite 
garnet,  lime  (chiefly  as  carbonate),  bar3rta,  and  chiastolite. 

Actinolite  occurs  at  Wheal  Forest  and  Ivy  Tor,  and,  I 
believe,  at  the  Manor  Mine ;  but  I  have  not  seen  it  to  the 
east  of  that  place. 

Garnet  is  found  at  Wheal  Forest.  It  is  mixed  with  the 
magnetic  pyrites  and  with  the  iron  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Meldon.  At  Copper  Hill  Mine  a  vein  of  garnet  at  least  180 
feet  in  thickness  crosses  the  works  in  a  direction  nearly  from 
east  to  west,  having  lodes  of  copper  on  both  sides,  and  the 
copper  is  mixed  with  the  garnet.  Near  this  mine  in  one 
place  it  is  found  forming  a  pseudomorph  with  limonite.  At 
the  Manor  Mine  the  garnet  and  copper  are  mixed  together, 
and  it  occurs  in  the  adjoining  strata.  To  the  east  of  this 
mine  I  have  not  seen  a  crystal  of  garnet.  The  garnet  varies 
greatly  both  in  size  and  character  at  the  different  places  at 
which  it  occurs. 

Felspar  occurs  as  small  detached  crystals  of  adularia  on* 
the  quartz  and  axinite  crystals  a^  Wheal  Forest  and  Ivy  Tor, 
and  is  also  found  compact  at  that  last  mina  Except  in  con- 
nection with  the  granite  and  some  dykes  of  apparently  fel- 
spathic  trap,  I  have  not  seen  this  mineral  to  the  east  of  Ivy 
Tor. 

Chiastolite  I  have  only  found  at  Holestock.  Baryta  occurs 
occasionally  both  at  the  mines  and  quarries. 

Axinite  is  here  a  mineral  of  frequent  occurrence.  At 
Wheal  Forest  it  exists  in  veins,  and  fine  crystals  in  groups 
there  occur.  At  Meldon  Quarry  and  in  that  vicinity  it  is 
found  mixed  with  the  iron.  At  the  mines  of  Belstone  Consols 
it  occurs.  At  the  Manor  Mine  it  is  mixed  with  the  copper, 
and  is  found  in  the  adjoining  rock.  It  occurs  in  the  quarries 
to  the  east  of  that  mine,  near  Whiddon  Down,  at  the  trial 
shaft  near  Bradford  Pool,  and  with  the  Cherty  rocks  at 
Nattenhole  Ball  to  the  north  of  that  place,  and  there  it 
ceases.  Thus  lead,  bismuth,  and  felspar  (except  as  above 
mentioned)  have,  it  is  believed,  not  been  found  to  the  east  of 
Ivy  Tor;  copper,  garnet,  and  actinolite  not  to  the  east  of 
the  Manor  Mine,  and  axinite  not  to  the  east  of  Nattenhole 
Ball.  None  of  the  above  minerals,  except  quartz,  lime,  and 
baryta,  I  believe,  occur  to  the  east  of  a  dyke  of  felspathic 
trap  near  that  place,  which  will  shortly  be  noticed,  until 
the  lead  again  appears  in  proximity  to  the  greenstone  at 
Christow. 

The  carboniferous  rocks  to  the  west  of  Dartmoor  are 
greatly  broken  up  by  dykes  and  intruded  masses  of  green- 


ON  CARBONIFEEOUS   BEDS.  127 

stone,  or  trappean  rock ;  and  on  the  adjoining  part  of  the 
carboniferous  beds  to  the  north  of  Dartmoor,  dykes  of  a 
similar  character  occur.  The  greenstone  dykes  by  Belstone 
Consols  and  Sticklepath  are  of  a  highly  crystalline  nature, 
containing  occasionally  much  hornblende.  One  of  these 
dykes  pcisses  through  the  workings  at  Copper  Hill  to  the 
south  of  the  broad  garnet  vein  before  mentioned.  Gherty 
and  siliceous  beds,  occasionally  containing  coarse  jasper  and 
calcedony,  are  found  in  the  vicinity  of  these  dykes.  Trap- 
pean rocks  were  not  known  to  exist  in  the  carboniferous  beds 
near  the  granite  to  the  east  of  Sticklepath  until  Mr.  J.  Pitt 
Pitts,  of  Drewsteignton,  in  the  spring  of  this  year  (1867), 
directed  my  attention  to  rocks  in  his  fields,  which,  on  exami- 
nation, appear  to  be  part  of  a  dyke  of  felspathic  trap.  This 
dyke  is  situate  to  the  east  of  Nattenhole  Ball,  and  to  the 
north  of  Stone  Cross,  and  consists  of  bands  of  a  bluish  grey 
felspathic  trap,  alternating  with  a  cream-coloured  granitoid 
rock  (both  greatly  resembling  those  lying  to  the  north  of 
Whiddon  Down  Quarry),  and  ranging  nearly  from  K  by  N. 
to  W.  by  S.  This,  as  before  mentioned,  is  the  most  easterly 
known  trappean  dyke  in  this  district,  until  the  greenstone 
again  appears  near  Christow.  To  the  south-east  of  Stone 
Cross,  as  before  mentioned,  manganese  has  been  worked. 

The  carboniferous  rocks  along  the  north  of  Dartmoor  are 
occasionally  contorted ;  they  are  broken  up  by  frequent  dis- 
locations, and  the  amount  of  dip  is  very  variable ;  the  average 
direction  is  a  little  west  of  north.  The  most  interesting 
feature  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  district  is  the  intrusion 
of  veins  of  elvan  or  granite.  Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche,  in 
the  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Cornwall,  West  Devon,  and 
Somerset,  mentions  elvans  in  the  carboniferous  rocks  at 
Arscot,  near  South  Zeal,  and  at  the  west  of  Hatherleigh,  and 
adds,  "  Dykes  of  this  kind  had  not  been  detected  on  the  east 
of  Dartmoor."  In  a  paper  communicated  to  the  Geological 
Society  in  May,  1859, 1  mentioned  various  new  localities  on 
the  north-east,  and  since  that  time  several  other  dykes  have 
been  discovered.  Those  now  known,  near  the  edge  of  the 
granite,  are  near  the  place  at  Meldon  where  the  white  granite 
is  found ;  on  Cocktree  Moor  to  the  south  of  North  Tawton ; 
on  the  road  to  Cawsand  by  Cawsand  Farm  and  Oldridge; 
at  Hunts  Tor,  Sharpy  Tor  Rocks,  and  Whiddon  Park  on  the 
Teign ;  on  the  road  from  Cranbrook  Castle  to  Fingle  Bridge ; 
and  on  the  road  descending  the  hill  to  the  west  of  Cranbrook 
Farm. 

The  nature  of  the  veins  in  the  granite  is  well  shown  by 


128  ON  CARBONIFEROUS  BEDS. 

those  at  Hunts  Tor  and  Sharpy  Tor.  At  the  first  named 
place,  an  horizontal  section  is  given  at  the  top  of  the  Tor  of 
one  vein  11  feet  wide,  and  of  the  carboniferous  rock  traversed 
by  many  veins  of  granite  for  the  space  of  about  44  feet  At 
the  last,  a  vertical  section  of  a  vein  about  18  feet  wide  is 
shown  on  the  side  of  the  liilL 

The  granite  or  elvan  veins  in  the  district  at  the  goige  of 
the  Teign,  near  Hunts  Tor,  vary  in  breadth  from  a  hair  to 
18  feet.  In  the  narrow  veins  the  granite  is  highly  crystalline, 
and  the  component  particles  are  small ;  in  the  central  part  of 
the  wide  veins,  as  in  the  18  foot  vein,  the  felspar  crystals  are 
large  and  coarse,  and  diminish  in  size  towaixls  the  sides  of 
the  veins.  Crystals  of  schorl  often  occur  by  the  sides,  some- 
times forming  a  small  dotted  line,  and  sometimes  projecting 
into  the  vein  at  right  angles  to  the  side.  Fragments  from 
the  adjoining  carboniferous  rocks  are  imbedded  veiy  often 
in  the  granite,  sometimes  not  quite  detached  from  the  native 
rock;  for  the  most  part,  they  retain  the  angles  perfect, 
but  in  the  larger  veins  the  edges  are  occasionally  rounded, 
as  if  the  mass  had  undergone  attrition,  but  neither  in  these 
imbedded  fragments,  nor  in  the  beds  adjoining  the  aides  of 
the  vein,  does  there  appear  to  be  any  change  in  the  nature 
of  the  rock.  Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche  showed,  and  his  obser- 
vations have  been  confirmed  by  Mr.  Pengelly  and  Mr.  Vicary, 
that  the  Devonshire  granite  is  of  a  more  recent  date  than 
the  carboniferous  rocks,  and  of  one  prior  to  that  of  the  new 
red  sandstone.  That  the  carboniferous  beds  were  a  compact 
consolidated  rock  prior  to  the  injection  of  the  granite,  is 
evident  from  the  way  in  which  it  passes  between  the  beds 
and  along  the  partings,  penetrating  gently  but  forcibly,  yet 
not  crushing  the  rock.  That  a  further  action  has  taken 
place  since  the  injection  of  the  granite,  is  shown  by  lines  of 
parting  crossing  through  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  vein,  a 
continuous  vein  of  schorl  occasionally  passing  in  a  line 
through  the  granite  vein,  and  the  carboniferous  rocks  on 
each  side. 

To  the  north-east  of  Willistone  Farm,  siliceous  beds  and 
veins  of  schorl  exist  in  carboniferous  rocks,  and  in  their  close 
mnsported  blocks  of  that  rock  containing  veins  of 
granite  occur:  from  this,  it  is  probable  that  such  exists 
there  in  situ,  but  their  position  is  not  known.  With  this 
exception,  the  carboniferous  beds  from  Fingle  Bridge  to  the 
point  near  Bridfoixl,  where  the  edge  of  the  granite  turns  in 
a  southerly  direction,  and  the  district  noticed  in  these  pages 
terminates,  do  not,  it  is  believed,  require  any  special  notice. 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST 
OF  ENGLAND. 

BY   W.    PENQELLT,    F.B.S.,    F.G.8.,    ETC. 


It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  present  very  prevalent 
belief  in  the  high  antiquity  of  man  is  in  a  great  degree 
ascribable,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  results  obtained, 
in  1858,  from  the  systematic  exploration  of  Brixham  Cavern. 
Thus,  Mr.  Prestwich  says,  "  It  was  not  until  I  had  myself 
witnessed  the  conditions  under  which  these  flint  implements 
had  been  found  at  Brixham,  that  I  became  fully  impressed 
with  the  validity  of  the  doubts  thrown  upon  the  previously 
prevailing  opinions  with  respect  to  such  remains  in  Caves."* 
In  like  manner,  Sir  C.  Lyell  states  that  "  the  facts  brought  to 
light  in  1858  during  the  systematic  investigation  of  the 
Brixham  Cave,  near  Torquay  in  Devonshire  ....  prepared 
the  way  for  a  general  admission  that  scepticism  in  r^ard  to 
the  bearing  of  Cave  evidence  in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of 
man  had  previously  been  pushed  to  an  extreme."! 

Windmill  Hill,  in  the  town  of  Lower  Brixham,  in  which 
the  Cavern  is  situated,  rises  to  the  height  of  175  feet  al>ove 
mean  tide.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  sea,  and  on 
the  other  three  sides  by  valleys  which  separate  it  from  hills 
of  similar  height.  The  Cavern  has  four  external  entrances 
— ^three  on  the  western  and  one  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
hill — about  78  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  existing  valleys 
immediately  beneath,  and  100  feet  above  mean  tide.  Within 
the  memory  of  persons  still  living  in  the  town,  the  northern 
valley  was  fully  fifteen  feet  deeper  than  it  is  at  present,  it 
having  been  to  that  extent  filled  up  by  the  artificial  lodgment 
of  rubbish,  in  order  to  the  formation  of  the  principal  thorough- 
fate  to  the  busy  harbour.  Prior  to  this,  the  tide  occasionally 
flowed  up  the  valley  above  the  point  immediately  below  the 

•  *  Phil.  Trans,  for  1860,  part  iL,  page  280. 

t  "Antiquity  of  Man/'  page  2.    1863.    See  also  page  96;  and  the 
same  authors  '*  Elements  of  Geology,**  sixth  edition,  page  124    1865. 
VOL.  II.  K 


130  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  BiAN 

Cavern  entrance.  The  natural  bottom  of  the  valley,  at  that 
time,  consisted  of  vegetable  remains  lying  on,  and  rooted  in 
blue  clay  of  unknown  depth,  being,  in  fact,  a  portion  of  the 
Submerged  Forest  which  covers  a  large  part  of  the  bottom  of 
Torbay,  where  it  has  been  traced  sea-ward  to  the  five  fathoms 
line. 

Similar  and  coeval  forests  are  well  known  to  exist  on 
the  opposite  shores  of  all  the  British  seas  and  channels. 
They  everywhere  present  the  same  phenomena,  among  which 
may  be  specially  mentioned  large  vertical  stumps  of  trees, 
having  roots  and  rootlets  ramifying  to  considerable  distances 
through  the  clay.  They  have  been  described  by  a  large 
number  of  observers,  and  it  may  be  safely  concluded  that 
they  are  the  remains  of  forests  in  sUu,  carried  to  their  pre* 
sent  level  by  a  general,  uniform,  and  tranquil  subsidence  of 
the  British  Archipelago,  and  of,  at  least.  Western  Europe. 
Ever3rwhere  the  change  of  level  appears  to  be  the  same,  the 
stumps  in  situ  are  always  vertical,  and  the  roots  have  the 
same  relation  to  the  horizontal  plane  as  they  must  have  had 
when  growing.  Mixed  with  the  vegetable  remains,  which 
are  those  of  such  species  of  plants  and  trees  as  still  exist  in 
the  neighbourhood,  there  have  been  found  the  bones  of  the 
mammoth,  JSlephas  jyrimigenius ;  long-ironted  ox.  Bos  longi- 
frons ;  red-deer,  horse,  and  wild-hog.  In  the  Torbay  forest  a 
human  implement,  made  of  the  antler  of  the  red-deer,  was 
found  twelve  feet  below  the  surface.*  Sub-aerial  prolongations 
of  the  forests  extend,  in  many  instances,  up  the  adjacent 
valleys,  and  occasionally  reach  the  level  of  fifty  feet  and 
upwards  above  mean  tide. 

Of  these  sunken  forests,  one  exists  in  Mount's  Bay  in 
Cornwall,  and  was  mentioned  by  Leland,  in  his  "  Itinerary," 
upwards  of  300  years  ago.  It  has  frequently  been  described 
by  subsequent  authors,  especially  by  Dr.  Borlase  in  1758,  and 
Dr.  Boase  in  1826.  The  former  states  that  in  this  forest  he 
found  an  oak  tree  three  feet  in  diameter ;  and  that  in  Snother 
instance  the  whole  course  of  the  roots,  18  feet  long  and  12 
feet  wide,  was  displayed  in  a  horizontal  position.!  According 
to  Dr.  Boase,  the  trees  he  observed  were  commonly  from  six 
to  twelve  inches  in  diameter ;  the  wood  being  chiefly  hazel, 
with  some  examples  of  alder,  elm,  and  oak.  About  a  foot 
below  the  surface  of  the  bed,  he  found  the  chief  part  of  the 
mass  to  be  composed  of  leaves,  amongst  which  were  numerous 

*  Traus.  Devon.  Association  fur  18S5,  pages  30-42 ;  and  Sir  C.  Lyell's 
**  Principles  of  GJeology,"  tenth  edition,  voL  L,  pages  54«5-e. 
t  "  Natural  History  of  Cornwall,*'  pages  221-3.     175a 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  131 

perfect  shells  of  hazel-nuts,  filaments  of  moss»  with  stems  and 
seed  vessels  of  small  plants  and  grasses ;  together  with  frag- 
ments of  insects,  particularly  of  the  elytra  and  mandibles  of 
the  beetle  tribe,  which  still  displayed  the  most  beautiful 
shining  colours  when  first  dug  up.* 

In  the  deposits  found  in  the  Brixham  Cavern,  and  nuxed 
up  with  the  flint  tools  of  man  and  the  bones  of  extinct 
animals,  there  were  numerous  well-rounded  fragments  of 
quartz,  trap,  and  brown  hematite  of  iron,  none  of  which  could 
have  been  derived  from  Windmill  Hill — which  is  exclusively 
limestone, — or  naturally  transported  to  it  with  anything  like 
the  existing  deep  valleys  by  wliich  it  is  bounded.  In  other 
words,  the  Cavern  received  its  deposits  when  the  valleys 
were  fully  100  feet  less  deep  than  they  are  at  present.  The 
arrangenient  of  the  materials  too  is  confirmatory  of  this ;  it 
being  such  as  to  indicate  that  they  had  been  introduced  and 
lodged  by  a  small  stream  flowing  persistently  through  the 
cave,  at  a  time  when  the  bottom  of  the  valley  was  on  the 
level  of  the  cavern  entrances, — by  such  a  mill-stream,  in 
fact,  as  now  flows  through  the  same,  but  deeper  valley. 

From  the  foregoing  facts,  it  follows  that  since  the  bone 
and  implement-bearing  earth  was  carried  into  the  cavern,  the 
following  changes  have  been  wrought  in  the  district : — 

1st,  and  earliest  The  depth  of  the  valley  was  increased 
by  at  least  100  feet. 

2nd.  After  its  excavation  was  completed,  the  valley  was 

partially  re-fiUed  by  the  lodgment  in  it  of  a  mass  of  blue  clay. 

3rd.  In  this  clay  grew  a  forest,  which  afibrded  shelter  to 

wild  animals,  some  of  them  belonging  to  species  which  had 

become  extinct  prior  to  the  times  of  history  or  tradition. 

4th.  The  entire  country  underwent  a  general,  imiform,  and 
tranquil  subsidence  to  the  extent  of,  at  least,  40  feet. 

5th.  Though  the  time  required  for  and  represented  by  the 
forgoing  changes  must  have  been  great,  it  failed  to  fiU  the 
interval  between  the  present  day  and  the  earliest  traces  of 
man  in  Devonshire.  The  submergence  of  the  forests  was  not 
a  thing  of  yesterday.  In  order  to  a  determination  of  the 
antiquity  of  man  in  south-western  England,  to  the  time 
already  demanded  must  be  added  that  which  has  elapsed 
since  the  last  adjustment  of  the  relative  level  of  sea  and  land. 
It  is  frequently  asked,  *'  How  long  ago  did  the  Devonshire 
Cave-Men  live?"  and  some  degree  of  disappointment  and, 
perhaps,  impatience  is  manifested  at  the  reply  that  "at  present 
it  is  impossible  to  convert  geological  time  into  astronomical." 
*  Trans.  Boyal  GeoL  Soc  of  Cornwall,  toL  iii ,  page  166,  &o.    1826. 

K  2 


132  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

Before  the  astronomer,  in  1832  *  had  determined  the  parallax 
of  Alpha  Centauri,  all  that  he  could  say  respecting  the  dis- 
tance of  the  fixed  stars  was  this :  "I  know  that  if  the  parallax 
of  the  nearest  star  amounted  to  as  much  as  one  second  of  arc 
it  could  be  measured  with  accuracy,  and  that  the  distance  of 
the  star  from  us  would  be  200,000  times  that  of  the  sun. 
This  distance  therefore  is  a  minimum.  Again,  assuming  that 
the  stars  are  all  of  the  same  size  and  radiate  light  of  the 
same  intrinsic  brightness,  I  know  that  if  of  two  stars  the 
apparent  brightness  of  one  is  four  or  nine  times  less  than 
that  of  the  other,  the  former  is  two  or  three  times  further  off 
than  the  latter  respectively ;  and  so  on  for  other  degrees  of 
apparent  brightness.  On  these  assumptions  I  can  safely  speak 
of  relative  stellar  distances,  but  I  cannot  convert  them  into 
miles  and  leagues."  In  the  same  way,  all  that  the  geologist 
can  at  present  hope  to  do  in  the  way  of  determining  the 
distance  in  time  of  a  recent  geological  event  is  to  prove  a 
minimum.  The  aim  in  this  communication  is  to  show  that 
the  submergence  of  the  forests  took  place  more  than  2,000 
years  ago. 

It  appears  to  be  possible  to  obtain  information  on  the 
question  immediately  before  us,  from  three  different  and 
independent  sources ; — The  Thickness  and  character  of  the 
detrital  Accumulations  overling  the  forests,  the  Amplitude 
of  the  existing  Foreshore,  and  Human  History. 

Though  the  volume  of  the  deposits  lodged  on  the  forests  is 
in  many  cases  difficult  of  ascertainment,  the  stream-tin  works 
carried  on  in  some  of  the  Cornish  valleys  have  disclosed 
valuable  and  trustworthy  information  on  this  point.  The 
miners  have  in  several  instances  dug  their  way  down  through 
thick  accumulations  until  they  have  reached  remnants  of  tlie 
forests  distinctly  in  siUi.  Amongst  the  most  notable  cases 
are  those  of  Pentuan  and  Camon  on  the  southern  coast  of 
the  county. 

The  Pentuan  works,  which  were  described  in  1829  by  Mr. 
Colenso,t  father  of  the  present  Bishop  of  Natal,  lay  in  a 
valley  near  the  harbour  of  Pentuan.  This  valley  varies  in 
breadth  from  300  to  upwards  of  600  feet.  ITie  deposits  are 
confined  to  the  terminal  four  miles  of  the  valley,  the  fall  of 
which,  at  the  base  of  the  accumulation,  is  45  feet  per  mile,  a 
total  of  180  feet,  or  an  inclination  of  half  a  degree.  In 
descending  order,  the  succession  of  deposits  was  as  below : 

*  Henohers  Outlines  of  Astronomy,  fifth  edition,  page  687.     185& 
t  Trans.  Roy.  GeoL  Soo.  of  Cornwall,  yoL  iv.,  page  29,  &o,    1829. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  133 

FT.   IK. 

1.  A  bed  of  rough  Riysr-sand  and  Gravel,  here  and  there 
mixed  with  sra-savd  and  silt   .  .  .  .  .    20    0 

2.  ScA-Si^ifD,  containing  timber  trees,  chiefly  oaks,  lying  in  all 
directions ;  and  also  the  remains  of  animals,  such  as  the  red-deer ; 
heads  of  oxen,  the  horns  of  which  all  turn  downwards ;  bones  of 

a  large  whale ;  and,  near  the  bottom  of  the  bed,  human  skulls.*    20    0 

3.  Sii/r.    About  the  middle  of  this  bed,  wood  and  bones  occur 

in  a  persistent  layer  of  stones  of  various  sizes  and  forms  .      2    0 

4.  Sea-sand  .04 

5.  Silt,  containing  recent  marine  shells,  wood,  hazel-nuts, 
bones  and  horns  of  deer  and  oxen.  The  shells  are  frequently 
found  in  layers,  and  the  bivalves  are  often  closed,  with  the  hinge 
downwards.  About  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  this  bed  was 
found  "  a  piece  of  oak  that  had  been  brought  into  form  by  the 
hand  of  man."  It  was  about  six  feet  long,  one  inch  and  a  half 
broad,  and  less  than  half  an  inch  thick.    A  small  barnacle  was 

fixed  to  one  end    .  .  .  .  .  .     10    0 

6.  Vbgetable  Band,  composed  of  leaves,  hazel-nuts,  sticks, 
and  moss;  fn>m  six  to  twelve  inches.  This  band  was  30  feet 
below  the  level  of  low  water,  and  48  feet  below  that  of  spring- 
tide high  water      .  .  .  .08 

7.  Dark  Sii;r,  with  decomposed  vegetable  matter       .  .10 

8.  Tin-Ground.  This  bed  contains  the  whole  of  the  stream- 
tin,  and  lies  on  the  solid  rock.  It  consists  mainly  of  consider- 
ably-rounded fragments  of  granite,  similar  to  that  of  the  hills 
near  St  Austell.  It  also  contains  stones  of  clay-slate  (killas),  and 
greenstone,  which  are  but  little  rounded,  and  other  rock  frag- 
ments. The  stones  are  mixed  with  sand,  with  the  occasional 
addition  of  yellow  clay.  The  tin-ground  is  not  known  to  have 
yielded  any  animal  remains,  but  at  the  top  of  the  bed  are  found 
stumps  of  trees,  including  oaks  having  their  roots  in  their  natural 
position,  and  traceable  to  their  smallest  fibres  even  so  deep  as 
two  feet  An  oysteivbed  was  found  on  the  top  of  this  bed,  the 
shells  being  fastened  to  some  of  the  large  stones  and  the  stumps 

of  trees  .  .  .  .       3  to    10    0 

The  Caraon  Section  was  described,  also  in  1829,  by  Mr. 
Henwood,  F.R.8.,  F.G.s.,t  whose  large  experience  as  an  observer 
and  a  writer  is  a  guarantee  for  the  correctness  of  his  details. 
The  Camon  works  were  situated  very  near  the  extremity  of 
a  navigable  branch  of  the  Fal,  which  receives  many  rivulets 
draining  hills  of  clay-slate  and  granite,  and,  at  the  works,  is 
about  300  yards  in  breadth.  The  deposits,  in  descending 
order,  were : 

FT.   in. 

1.  River  Sand  and  mud  .  .  .  .  .30 

2.  Silt,  with  recent  rmrineX  shells       .  .  .      0  10 

*  One  of  the  human  skulls  and  the  remains  of  the  whale,  &c.,  were 
presented  by  Mr.  Colenso  to  the  Museum  of  the  Qeological  Society  at 
Fenzance,  where  they  stiU  exist 

t  Trans.  Royal  GeoL  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  voL  iv..  page  57,  &c,  1829. 

t  Mr.  Henwood  kindly  informed  me  of  the  character  of  the  shells,  i^ 
reply  to  a  question  on  the  subject 


FT. 

ur. 

8 

0 

18 

0 

3 

6 

18 

0 

20 

0 

1 

6 

4 

0 

134  THE  ANTIQUmr  OF  MAN 

3.  Saitd,  with  recent  marine  ahellB       .... 

4.  Silt  ....••. 
6.  Sakd,  with  recent  marine  shells,  from  three  to  four  feet 

6.  Silt,  with  large  quantities  of  recent  marine  shells  . 

7.  Sn/r,  in  some  puu^s  containing  stones,  from  eighteen  to 
twen^-two  feet     ....... 

8.  VBOKTABLB  Bkd,  containing  moss,  leares,  nuts,  &c.,  a  few 
oyster  shells,  remains  of  deer  and  other  mammals,  and  some 
homan  skuUs         ....... 

9.  Tin-Qround,  averaging        ..... 

From  private  information  from  Mr.  Henwood,  it  appears 
that  the  top  of  the  section  was  from  12  to  15  feet  below  the 
level  of  spring-tide  high  water;  hence  the  top  of  the  tin 
ground  was  at  least  67  feet  below  this  level 

Sir  Henry  De  la  Beche  quotes  the  foregoing  sections  in  his 
"Eeport  on  Devon  and  Cornwall,"  and  adds,  but  not  from  hia 
own  observations,  that  in  the  valley  extending  from  Lower  St. 
Columb  by  Treloy  towards  Tregoss  Moor,  on  the  north  coast 
of  Cornwall,  "the  tin-ground  was  covered  by  marine  deposits 
to  a  certain  height  up  the  valley,"  and  that  "here  also,  as  on 
the  south,  a  bed  in  which  vegetable  remains  were  abundant, 
chiefly  oak  trees,  the  roots  of  which  were  described  as  stand- 
ing in  the  position  in  which  they  appear  to  have  grown, 
rests  upon  the  tin-ground  towards  the  sea-ward  termination 
of  the  valley."* 

From  the  foregoing  facts  it  may  be  inferred : 

1st.  That,  as  at  Brixham,  a  vast  interval  of  time  must 
have  elapsed  since  the  completion  of  the  excavation  of  the 
Pentuan,  Camon,  and  Lower  St  Columb  valleys. 

2nd.  That,  in  these  Cornish  valleys,  the  excavation  was 
followed  by  the  lodgment  of  the  stanniferous  gravel — answer- 
ing chronologically,  in  all  probability,  to  the  blue  clay  of 
Brixham  valley. 

3rd,  That  this  was  succeeded  by  the  growth  of  such  plants 
as  now  exist  in  the  same  districts. 

4th.  That  the  forests  were  submerged  by  a  general  subsi- 
dence of  the  country,  which  carried  it  down  to  at  least  67 
feet  lower  level. 

5th.  That,  since  the  submergence,  detrital  matter  has  been 
lodged  on  the  forest  ground  to  the  depth  of  from  fifty  to 
sixty  feet. 

6th.  That  excepting  the  upper  bed  only,  these  accumu- 
lations were  of  submarine  origin. 

7th.  That  since  man  occupied  the  district,  thick  deposits 
have  been  laid  down.  Human  skulls  having  been  found 
♦  "  Report,"  page  405.    1839. 


IN  THB  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  135 

forty  and  fifty-five  feet  beneath  the  surface^  at  Peutuan  and 
Carnon  respectively,  and  a  piece  of  oak  which  man  had 
shaped  was  met  with  at  a  depth  of  forty-four  feet  at  the 
former  locality. 

Though  it  is  true  that,  on  the  whole,  new  stmta  cannot  be 
deposited  more  rapidly  than  pre-existing  rocks  are  abraded, 
it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  a  deposit  of  great  thickness 
may  not  be  accumulated  in  a  comparatively  short  time ;  as, 
for  example,  when  a  change  in  the  velocity  or  direction  of  a 
stream  removes  it  from  one  area  of  deposition  to  another. 
There  is  little  or  no  probability,  however,  that  this  has  been 
the  case  when,  as  in  the  instances  before  us,  the  accumulations 
consist  of  distinct  and  dissimilar  beds,  and  especially  when 
marine  shells  are  found  at  all  levels  in  what  there  is  reason 
to  believe  were  the  habitats  of  moUusks. 

Except  in  a  very  few  cases,  a  re-adjustment  of  the  relative 
level  of  the  sea  and  land  necessarily  destroys  the  previous 
foreshore  as  a  whole,  by  either  raising  it  above  the  sea  level 
or  causing  its  permanent  submergence.  In  either  case  the 
waves  immediately  attack  the  land  forming  their  new  boun- 
dary, and  by  their  ceaseless  action  cause  it  to  recede  further 
and  further,  and  thus  a  new  strand  is  formed.  The  rate  of 
retrocession  is  necessarily  variable,  since  it  depends  on  the 
exposure,  as  well  as  on  the  lithology  and  petralogy  of  the 
coast; — each  of  which  is  a  variable  element.  Tlius  some 
parts  of  the  coasts  of  Devonshire  are  open  to  the  unchecked 
fury  of  the  Atlantic,  whilst  others  are  affected  only  by 
the  waves  originating  in  the  narrow  channels  which  wash 
them.  Some,  like  the  crystalline  schists  of  the  southern 
angle  of  the  county,  are  so  hard,  so  fine-grained,  and  so  little 
traversed  by  divisional  planes  as  to  be  eminently  calculated 
to  endure ;  whilst  the  sandstones  and  marls  extending  from 
the  Exe  eastwards,  waste  rapidly  even  under  the  comparatively 
gentle  touch  of  the  atmosphere  or  of  land  springs.  In  some 
cases  the  strata  incline  towards  the  waves  at  a  gentle  angle, 
and,  offering  little  resistance,  are  but  little  affected ;  whilst 
others  overhang  in  such  a  way  as  to  compel  their  relatively 
rapid  destruction.  But  whether  rapidly  or  slowly  formed,  it 
is  obvious  that  the  breadth  of  the  foreshore  and  the  rate  of 
its  formation  would  suffice  for  the  determination  of  the  time 
it  represents, — the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  last 
adjustment  of  the  relative  level  of  sea  and  land. 

In  this  communication,  the  existing  foreshore  may  be  re- 
garded as  partly  tidal  and  partly  submarine,  and  may  be 


136  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

defined  as  the  space  lying  between  the  cliffs  which  the  waves 
assail  during  the  most  boisterous  gales  at  spring-tide  high 
water,  and  the  line  of  breakers  during  similar  weather  at  the 
lowest  retreat  of  the  tides.  The  waves  are  constantly  wearing 
down  the  ledges  on  which  they  are  precipitated  in  the  latter 
case,  and  will  only  cease  to  do  so  when  the  obstacles  are  so 
reduced  as  to  be  impediments  no  longer.  Their  breaking 
line,  therefore,  gradually  travels  landward ;  hence  the  fore- 
shore can  never  exceed,  but  may  fall  short  of  the  entire 
space  on  which  the  sea  has  encroached  since  the  last  adjust- 
ment of  level. 

That  part  of  Devonshire  where,  both  lithologically  and 
petitdogically,  it  might  have  been  expected  the  rocks  were 
most  capable  of  defying  the  waves  is  undoubtedly  the  coast 
lying  between  the  Start  and  Prawle  Points— the  region  of 
the  crystalline  schists.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  district 
fully  exposed  to  the  south-westerly  waves  which,  under  the 
influence  of  the  most  prevalent  wind,  are  constantly  coming 
up  the  Channel  from  the  Atlantic.  In  this  district  the  cliffs 
have  so  retreated  as  to  leave  a  foreshore,  as  above  defined, 
which,  as  I  am  informed  by  the  Coast-guard  Station  Master 
at  Prawle,  is  a  full  quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  Eemember- 
ing  that  this  is  necessarily  a  minimum,  it  appears  difficult  to 
believe  that  this,  by  no  means  a  solitary  case,  can  be  the 
work  of  less  than  several  thousand  years. 

The  readers  of  Bede  and  the  other  early  English  chroniclers 
are  aware  that  they  all,  so  to  speak,  take  their  stand  on  the 
existing  levels.  It  is  true  that  certain  towns  which  they 
mention  have  been  swallowed  by  the  sea,  and  that  some 
harbours  of  resort  in  their  day  have  long  been  silted  up  and 
useless;  but  these  changes  have  been  effected  without  any 
alteration  of  level  of  either  land  or  sea.* 


*  Mr.  Whitley,  who  was  present  when  this  paper  was  read,  has  been 
so  good  as  to  send  me  tne  following  important  communication : — 
"Penarth,  Truro,  Aug.  6th,  1867.  Mj  dear  Sir, — I  returned  from 
N.  Devon  on  Saturday,  and  I  have  since  referred  to  my  notes  on  the 
-Roman  Embankment  at  the  Wash.  I  inspected  the  embankments  there, 
in  order  to  the  construction  of  similar  works  in  N.  Devon.  I  found  the 
old  Roman  embankment,  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Map,  is  from  two  to 
four  miles  now  inside  the  outer  fringe  of  the  Marsh  lands,  from  the 
gathering  of  warp. on  the  outside.  But  the  Roman  Embankment  is  on 
the  same  level  as  the  new  Embankment  built  outside  to  exclude  the  tide, 
and  appears  to  be  strong  evidence  that  no  ehange  in  the  level  of  the 
land  has  here  taken  place  since  the  Roman  occupation.  That  the  work 
is  Roman,  I  believe  there  can  be  no  doubt    A  Roman  sword  has  been 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  137 

Bat  besides  the  evidence  of  its  tacit  geography,  history 
famishes  incidentally  several  proofs  that  in  certain  districts 
many  centuries  have  failed  to  produce  any  appreciable  change, 
either  by  alteration  of  level  or  by  encroachment.  Thus, 
Geofifrey  of  Monmouth,  who  was  made  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
in  1152,*  makes  Ulfin  give  the  following  description  of  Tin- 
tagel  Castle,  on  the  north  coast  of  Cornwall :  "  It  is  situated 
apon  the  sea,  and  on  every  side  surrounded  by  it ;  and  there 
is  bat  one  entrance  into  it,  and  that  through  a  straight  rock 
which  three  men  shall  be  able  to  defend  against  the  whole 
power  of  the  kingdom."t  This  is,  of  course,  intended  by  the 
author  to  be  a  correct  description  of  the  place  at  the  date  he 
gives  (492) ;  it  is  obvious,  however,  that  this  cannot  be  in- 
sisted on,  especially  in  a  work  so  very  romantic  as  the 
"British  History;"  but  it  maybe  safely  concluded  that  it 
accurately  describes  the  topography  of  this  celebrated  spot 
in  the  Bishop's  lifetime,  and  that  he  was  not  aware  of  any 
record  or  tradition  of  any  change,  of  any  kind,  which  rendered 
it  inapplicable  during  the  fifth  century.  His  description, 
however,  is  strictly  correct  at  present;  hence,  taking  the 
most  recent  date,  fully  700  years  have  produced  no  appre- 
ciable retrocession  there ;  yet,  from  its  exposure,  the  coast  is 
by  no  means  one  unlikely  to  be  impressible;  and  indeed 
every  one  familiar  with  it  must  be  aware  that  since  the  last 
change  in  the  level  of  the  country,  considerable  encroach- 
ments have  been  made. 

Bobert  of  Gloucester,  a  monk  of  Gloucester  Abbey  (1280), 
puts  the  same  description  into  the  mouth  of  "Ulfyn": 

"And  when  the  knight  heard  this, 
*  Sir,'  he  said,  *  I  ne  can  wit,  what  rede  hereof  is, 
For  the  castle  is  so  strong,  that  the  lady  is  in, 
For  I  ween  all  the  land  ne  should  it  myd  strengthe  win. 
For  the  sea  goeth  all  about,  but  entrj'^  one  there  n  'is. 
And  that  is  up  on  hanle  rocks,  and  so  narrow  way  it  is, 
That  there  may  go  but  one  and  one,  that  throe  men  within 
Might  slay  all  the  land,  ere  they  come  therein.'*'  J 

Cases  of  this  kind  might  be  multiplied  did  time  allow,  but 
I  will  now  proceed  to  call  attention  to  a  very  remarkable 

found  in  it,  and  Roman  coiDS  and  other  works  of  art  in  or  near  it ;  and 
Roman  roads  in  the  neighbourhood.  Please  use  this  in  any  way  you 
think  proper.    Yours  most  truly,  Nicna  Whitlet. 

*  Dr.  Giles's  Preface  to  *'Six  Old  English  Chronicles,"  page  8. 
Bohn's  edition. 

t  Oeoffre/s  "  BritiBh  History,"  book  viiL,  chap.  xix.    Bohn's  edition. 

%  The  Lo»-known  British  Poets."  By  Rev.  G.  GilfiUan,  vol  L,  page  xxii. 
1800. 


138  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

iDstance,  that  of  St  Michael's  Mouut  in  CorawalL  This 
celebrated  spot  has  a  veiy  voluminous  literature,  for  it  has 
claimed  the  attention  of  poets — amongst  them  Spencer,  Mil^ 
ton,  Warton,  and  Bowles — historians,  divines,  antiquaries, 
archssologists,  romancists,  and  men  of  science.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Mount  is  an  island  at  every  high  water,  and 
with  rare  exceptions,  a  peninsula  at  every  low  water.  Its 
distance  from  Marazion  Cliff— the  nearest  point  of  the  main- 
land— to  spring-tide  high-water  mark  on  its  own  strand  is,  as 
Col.  Sir  Henry  James  obligingly  informs  me,  about  1680  feet. 
The  tidal  isthmus  consists  of  the  outcrop  of  highly  inclined 
Devonian  slate  and  associated  rocks,  and  in  most  cases  is 
covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  gravel  or  sand.  At  spring  tides, 
in  still  weather,  it  is  at  high  water  about  twelve  feet  below, 
and  at  low  water  six  feet  above,  the  sea  level  In  fine 
weather  it  is  dry  from  four  to  five  hours  every  tide;  but 
occasionally,  during  very  stormy  weather  and  neap  tides,  it  is 
impossible  to  cross  from  the  mainland  for  two  or  three  days 
together.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  painting  Holy  Island  on  the 
Northumbrian  coasts  produced,  at  the  same  time,  a  striking 
portrait  of  the  Mount : 

**  The  tide  now  did  its  flood-mark  gain. 
And  girdled  in  the  Saint's  domain : 
For,  with  the  flow  and  ebb,  its  style 
Varies  from  continent  to  isle ; 
Dry-shod,  o'er  sands,  twice  every  day. 
The  pilgrims  to  the  shrine  find  way ; 
Twice  every  day  the  waves  efface 
Of  staves  and  sandalled  feet  the  trace." 

Marmiotiy  canto  ii.,  stanza  9. 

The  Mount  is  an  isolated  mass  of  granite,  measuring  at 
its  base  about  five  furlongs  in  circumference,*  and  rising  to 
the  height  of  195  feet  above  mean-tide.  At  high- water  it 
plunges  abruptly  into  the  sea,  except  on  the  northern  or 
landward  side,  where  the  granite  comes  into  contact  with 
the  slate.  Here  there  is  a  small  plain  occupied  by  a  village, 
acyacent  to  which  is  the  harbour,  which  was  built  in  172(j-7, 
and,  as  Mr.  Johns,  the  harbour  master,  kindly  informs  me, 
is  capable  of  receiving  ships  of  500  tons  burthen. 

The  country  immediately  behind  or  north  of  the  town  of 
Marazion  consists  of  Devonian  strata  traversed  by  traps  and 
elvans,  and  attains  a  considerable  elevation.  The  town  stands 
on  a  small  plain,  which  terminates  in  a  cliff  from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet  high.  Judging  from  this  cliff,  the  plain  is  a  sub- 
aerial  accumulation  of  fragments  of  rock  derived  from  the 

*  Private  information  from  J.  P.  St  Aubyn,  Esq. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  139 

adjacent  hill,  and  embedded,  without  any  approach  to  regu- 
larity of  arrangement,  in  a  yellowish  clay,  which  probably 
forms  no  more  than  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
mass. 

It  is  obvious  that,  all  other  things  being  the  same,  the 
Mount  would  be  permanently  a  peninsula  if  the  district  were 
raised  twelve  feet,  and  always  an  island  if  it  were  six  feet 
lower.  It  must  have  been  the  former  during  the  growth  of 
the  adjacent  submerged  forest;  and  its  insulation  was  neces- 
sarily the  result  either  of  the  subsidence  by  which  the  forest 
area  was  carried  below  the  sea  level,  or  of  a  suhseqtient  retreat 
of  the  Marazion  cliff  in  consequence  of  the  wasting  action 
of  the  waves. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Marazion  plain  is  some- 
what ill-adapted,  if  much  exposed,  to  resist  the  encroaching 
tendency  of  the  sea;  the  vertical  cliff  in  which  it  terminates 
suggests  the  idea,  that  the  waves  have  shorn  it  of  some  part 
of  its  area;  and  this  suggestion  is  apparently  strengthened 
by  the  fact,  that  in  some  places  the  cliff  is  bounded  by  a  sea- 
wall. A  careful  study  of  the  plain,  however,  shows  that 
though  the  space  between  its  margin  and  some  of  the  Marazion 
houses  is  scarcely  a  yard  in  breadth,  the  wall  is  so  very 
slender  as  to  indicate  that  it  never  could  have  been  intended, 
and  was  not  expected  to  be  called  on,  to  resist  powerful 
attempts  at  encroachment.  Moreover,  several  parts  of  the 
cliff  have  never  had  any  artificial  protection ;  yet  these  have 
not  retreated,  even  to  the  extent  of  a  single  inch,  more  than 
those  which  are  defended  by  the  wall. 

Again,  the  only  quarter  from  which  destructive  waves  can 
be  sent  to  this  part  of  the  coast,  is  that  included  between 
the  quadrant  of  the  horizon  between  south-west  and  south- 
east; and  on  this  side  they  are  so  effectually  intercepted  by 
the  Mount,  as  to  render  it  probable  that  the  cliffs  have  wasted 
scarcely  more  rapidly  than  has  the  natural  granite  breakwater 
which  defends  them.  Masters  of  coasting  vessels  are  well 
aware  of  the  shelter  the  Mount  affords.  The  harbour,  like 
the  neighbouring  one  at  Penzance,  is  artificial ;  but  the  small 
wind-bound  craft  prefer  the  former,  where  they  are  never 
inconvenienced  by  any  storm;  whilst  at  the  latter  it  occa- 
sionally happens  that  shipping  can  scarcely  be  held  to  their 
moorings,  and,  to  use  a  nautical  expression,  almost  thump 
out  their  bottoms  on  taking  the  ground.  From  information 
which,  during  a  recent  visit  to  the  spot,  I  obtained  from 
intelligent  natives,  familiar  with  the  district  during  the  last 
seventy -five  years,  it  appears  that  there  has  been  no  loss 


140  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

of  area  during  that  time;  but  that  further  east,  where  the 
Mount  affords  no  shelter,  there  has  been  "a  great  loss  of 
ground."  This,  from  measurements  taken  on  the  spot  under 
the  direction  of  my  informants,  I  found  to  have  been  at  the 
rate  of  about  thirty-three  feet  in  a  century. 

If,  from  the  foregoing  data,  the  retrocession  of  the  sheltered 
cliffs  be  taken  at  ten  feet  in  a  century — probably  a  high 
estimate — the  Mount  could  not  have  become  an  island  within 
the  last  16,800  years;  and  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
on  the  hypothesis  at  present  under  review — insulation  by 
encroachment  alone — the  submergence  of  the  forests  must 
have  been  still  earlier. 

Dr.  Boase  and  other  geologists  have  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  "Greens"  or  sandbanks,  which  form  the  coasts 
immediately  east  and  west  of  Penzance — the  former  extending 
almost  to  the  Mount, — have  wasted  at  a  rate  greatly  exceeding 
any  of  the  figures  just  given.*  To  apply  this  rate  to  the 
Marazion  plain,  however,  would  be  utterly  fallacious,  for  the 
"  Greens"  consist  of  loose  sand  exposed  to  the  unchecked 
fury  of  the  waves.  Moreover,  though  the  waste  is  admitted, 
there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  its  eavse,  Mr.  Edmonds, 
a  native  and  resident  of  considerable  experience,  states  that 
''  in  the  course  of  the  year  the  sea  always  deposits  more  than 
it  withdraws.  The  great  cause  of  the  lessening  of  the  banks 
appears  to  be  the  constant  abstraction  of  the  adjacent  sand 
and  pebbles,  between  low  and  high  water,  for  manure,  ballast^ 
road -making,  building,  and  other  purposes."!  Dr.  Boase 
ascribes  the  loss  of  area  partly  to  human,  and  partly  to 
natural  agency.  "This  fragile  bulwark,"  he  says,  "daily  and 
visibly  wastes  through  the  operation  of  two  powerful  causes 
of  consumption;  viz.,  the  quantities  carried  off  for  manure, 
and  other  uses  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  country, 
and  the  continual  encroachment  of  the  sea."t 

Though  the  hypothesis  of  insulation  by  encroachment 
only,  carries  back  the  era  of  submergence  fully  17,000  years 
from  the  present  time,  the  rival  supposition — that  the  sever- 
ance of  the  Mount  from  the  mainland  was  the  result  of  the 
subsidence  of  the  country — leaves  the  chronology  of  the 
event  an  open  question.  It  may  have  happened  in  more 
modern  or  in  more  ancient  times;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  forests,  which  the  subsidence  carried  down,  go  back 
to  the  Mammoth  era,  that,  since  their  submergence,  a  broad 

♦  Trans.  Roy.  Geol.  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  vol.  iil,  page  166,  &c     1826. 

t  "  The  Land's  End  Dbtrict,"  page  154,  &c.     1862. 

t  Trans.  Roy.  Qeol.  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  vol.  iil,  page  129,  &c     1822. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  141 

foreshore  has  been  formed  through  the  waste  of  the  cliffs, 
and  thick  deposits  have  been  lodged  in  many  valleys  of  the 
district. 

Histocy,  as  has  been  already  stated,  is  by  no  means  silent 
respecting  the  Mount;  and  to  it  we  turn  for  such  information 
as  it  may  be  capable  of  giving  on  the  question  before  us. 

St  Keyna  is  said  to  have  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Mount, 
and  there  to  have  met  St  Cadoc,  another  pilgrim,  about  the 
year  490.*  An  apparition  of  St  Michael  is  said  to  have 
been  seen  on  the  Mount  in  a.d.  495,  or,  as  some  assert,  in 
710.t  It  is  of  no  avail  to  object  that,  at  least,  the  latter  event 
is  improbable.  The  well-established  fact  that  its  occurrence 
was  taught  and  believed  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose,  since  it 
warrants  the  opinion  that  the  monkish  chroniclers  would 
certainly  have  mentioned  so  important  an  occurrence  as  the 
severance  from  the  mainland  of  a  spot  so  sacred.  Nor  was 
the  belief  in  this  sanctity  of  brief  dumtiou.  Edward  the 
Confessor  (1041 -66)  granted  a  charter  to  a  body  of  monks 
already  established  there;!  and  according  to  William  of 
Worcester, — whose  visit  to  the  Mount  is  commonly  stated  to 
have  been  during  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Fourth  (1461- 83),§ 
and  by  Dr.  Oliver  in  the  year  1478 1|— "Pope  Gregory,  in  the 
year  1070,"1F  granted  to  "the  Church  in  the  Mount  of  St 
Michael  in  Tumba  in  the  county  of  Cornwall  .....  that 
all  the  faithful  who  enriched  that  church  with  their  benefac- 
tions and  alms,  or  visited  it,  should  be  forgiven  a  third  part 
of  their  penances."**  William  adds,  "These  words  were  found 
in  ancient  registers  lately  discovered  in  this  church,"  and 
"  they  are  publicly  placed  here  on  the  doors  of  the  church." 

From  detailed  descriptions  still  in  existence,  it  appears 
that  the  dimensions  of  the  Mount,  and  its  distance  from  the 

*  Borlase^s  *' Antiquities,  &a,  of  Ck)rnwall,*'  second  ed.,  page  385.  1769. 

t  William  of  Worcester's  "  Itineraria." 

t  Dr.  Oliver's  "Monasticon  Diocesis  Exoniensis/'  pa^re  29,  1846;  and 
D.  Gilbert,  in  the  "Parochial  History  of  Cornwall,*'  by  Hals  and 
Tonkin,  vol.  ii,  cage  209.     1838. 

§  Lysons'  '*  Magna  Britannia,*'  voL  liL,  page  139.     1814. 

II  "  Monasticon.^* 

IT  There  appears  to  be  some  discrepancy  here,  as  there  was  no  Pope 
Gregory  in  1070 ;  Alexander  11.  being  the  occupant  of  the  papal  chair 
from  1061  to  1073.  Gregory  VI.  was  deposed  in  1046,  and  Hildebrand, 
who  took  the  name  of  Gregory  VII.,  and  is  frequently  called  "  Saint 
Gregory,"  was  elected  22nd  of  April,  1073,  and  which  indeed  in  bis 
mode  of  dating  was  1074.  (Nicolas's  Chron.  Hist.  Cab.  Cyc,  pa^e  188. 
1833.)  William's  words  are,  ^*Anno  ah  incartione  dorrnni  mtliesimo 
$eptuaqessimo** 

♦♦  "Itineraria," 


143  THE  AXTIQUITT  OF  MAK 


in  the  16tli  and  15th  centuries  much  the 
mmt  m  ai  present.  LeUnd  (1533-'40)  says,  '^  The  cumpace 
of  tifte  rooce  of  the  Mont  of  S.  Afichapl  is  not  dim"  (half) 
-■Tie  abooL'*  William  of  Worcester  (U78)  states  that 
-the  length  of  the  sea  betweoi  the  town  of  Markysyoo" 
^SiaiBikMi;  -to  the  foot  of  the  Monnt  of  St.  Afichael  contains 
hr  estimation  mille  ec,  that  is  700  steppys,  in  English  10 
tmes  70  steppjs."^  As  he  fiiither  states  that  ''the  length 
of  the  chnich'c^  the  Moont  of  St.  Michael  contains  30 
sceppjs,^  and  that  of  the  -  new  chapel  contains  40  feet  or  20 
steppys^''  it  is  obvious  that,  according  to  his  estimation,  the 
step  was  two  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  church  was  sixty 
fieet.  Now  the  chnich  is  still  intact,  and  measoies  65  feet 
3  inches  in  length,  as  I  learn  from  Mr.  J.  P.  St.  Aubyn,  who 
has  been  so  good  as  to  send  me  a  "  plan  of  the  principal 
floor **  of  the  entire  building  at  the  summit  of  the  Mount  By 
mating  the  corresponding  correction,  the  space  1)etween  the 
mainland  and  the  Mount,  instead  of  1,400  feet  as  William 
eaiimaUd^  would  be  1,522  feet  It  is  idle,  however,  to  insist 
on  even  a  near  approach  to  accuracy  in  Ids  figures,  the  pro- 
bability beii^  that  at  most  he  only  "stepped**  the  interspace, 
and  there  being  no  evidence  respecting  the  terminal  points 
of  the  distance  thus  roughly  measur»L  Nevertheless,  the 
statement  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  condition  of  the 
semi -island  is  now  essentially  the  same  as  it  was  four 
centuries  ago,  and  that  the  rate  of  waste  has  been  almost 
inappreciably  slow. 

Bishop  Lacy,  on  August  10th,  1425,  considering  the  great 
losses  of  vessels  and  of  lives,  during  the  storms  in  Mount's 
Bay,  encouraged  the  faithful  to  complete  the  stone  causeway 
between  Marazion  and  St  I^Cchad's  Mount;!  whence  it 
appears  that  the  Mount  harbour  was  then  the  only  one  in 
the  bay,  that  it  was  a  considerable  resort  for  shipping,  that 
the  condition  of  the  Mount  was  fully  as  much  exposed  as  it 
is  at  present^  and  that  the  "Causeway,"  apparently  b^m, 
was  not  a  mere  footpath  to  be  used  at  low  water,  but  was 
intended  as  a  permanent  protection  for  ships. 

The  earliest  passage,  however,  believed  to  be  descriptive  of 

theMount,  is  the  famous  one  in  Diodorus  Siculus.  (9  B.C.) 

"Wiving  given  a  description  of   Britain,  that  author  says, 

"Now  we  shall  speak  something  concerning  the  tin  that  is 

dug  and  gotten  there.     They  that  inhabit  the  British  pro- 

«.T  "The  Itinerary  of  John  Leland  the  Antiquary,"  toL  ril,  paire  lia 
TKifd  ediUon.     Oxford,  1768. 

t  *•  Itineraria."  %  OUver^s  «  Monasticon,"  page  28. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  143 

montory  of  Belerium"  (Lands  End),  "by  reason  of  their 
oonverse  with  merchants,  are  more  civilized  and  courteous  to 
straDgera  than  the  rest  are.  These  are  the  people  that  make 
the  tin,  which,  with  a  great  deal  of  care  and  labour,  they  dig 
out  of  the  ground,  and  that  being  rocky,  the  metal  is  mixed 
with  some  grains  of  earth,  out  of  which  they  melt  the  metal, 
and  then  refine  it ;  then  they  cast  it  into  square  pieces  like 
a  die "  (sometimes  translated  astragalvs),  "  and  carry  it  to  a 
British  island  near  at  hand  called  Iktis ;  for  at  low  tide,  all 
being  dry  between  them  and  the  island,  they  convey  over  in 
carts  an  abundance  of  tin  in  the  meantime.  (There  is  one 
thing  peculiar  to  those  islands  which  lie  between  Britain  and 
Europe,  for  at  full  sea  they  appear  to  be  islands,  but  at  low 
water  for  a  long  way  they  look  like  so  many  peninsulas.) 
Hence  the  merchants  transport  the  tin  they  buy  of  the  in- 
habitants to  Gaul ;  and  for  thirty  days'  journey  they  carry 
it  on  packs  on  horses*  backs  through  Gaul  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Rhone." 

From  this  passage  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  account  it 
contains  was  copied  from  a  description  by  some  one  who 
had  visited  Britain;  that  the  Iktis  was  near  the  Land's  End ; 
that  no  place  in  the  district  afforded  superior  accommodation 
and  shelter  for  maritime  trade ;  that  it  was  adjacent  to  the  tin 
country ;  and  that  it  was  the  only  commercial  station  in 
Britain,  or  that  all  others  were  comparatively  recent.  To  these 
inferences,  it  may  be  added  that  the  Mount  answers  admirably 
in  every  respect  to  the  description  of  the  Iktis ;  that  it  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  productive  tin  mines  in  Cornwall;*  that 
be^des  it  there  is  no  island  which  can  be  supposed  to  have 
been  the  spot  described  by  the  historian ;  and  that  the  geo- 
graphical changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  Land's  End 
district  within  the  last  two  thousand  years  have  been  scarcely 
appreciable,  or  enormously  great,  according  as  the  Mount  is 
or  is  not  the  Iktis. 

Notwithstanding  the  close  agreement  between  them,  writers 
are  much  divided  respecting  their  identification.  The  subject 
has  engaged  the  pens  of  many  distinguished  authors,  and 
has  long  been  the  theme  of  an  ardent  controversy.  It  is, 
perhaps,  noteworthy  that  the  claims  of  the  Mount  are  gene- 
rally admitted  by  those  who  are  conversant  with  the  geology 

*  "  These  are  found  near  St  Jnst,  and  between  it  and  Penzance  on  one 
side  ;  and  Gwennap  Redruth,  and  Camborne  on  the  other:  so  that  twelve 
miles  to  the  west  of  St  Michaers  Mount,  and  eighteen  miles  to  the  east 
of  it  comprehend  almost  the  whole  of  the  tin  mining  district"  (Dr. 
Smith's  "Cassiterides,"  page  114,  1863.) 


144  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

of  the  district,  whilst  most  antiquaries  deny  them ;  most  of 
the  latter  admit  that  the  Mount  answers  well  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  Iktis,  but  they  assert,  on  the  strength  of  ancient 
legends,  that  it  was  far  inland  in,  and,  indeed,  long  aflter, 
the  time  of  Diodorus. 

That  a  tin  trade,  such  as  the  ancient  historian  described, 
was  really  earned  on  there  can  be  no  reason  to  doubt.  It  ia 
interesting,  however,  to  be  able  to  cite  a  sopiiewhat  recent 
discovery  as  confirmatory  evidence.  Between  forty  and  fifty 
years  ago,  some  bargemen,  dredging  for  sand  opposite  St 
Mawes,  but  not  in  the  harbour,  dredged  up  a  block  of  tin, 
35  inches  long,  11  inches  wide,  and  3  inches  thick  at  the 
centre,  perfectly  flat  on  one  side,  but  curved  on  the  other, 
and  having  four  prolongations  at  the  corners,  each  one  foot 
long.  Its  weight  was  about  130  lbs.  Its  form,  altogether 
unlike  that  in  which  tin  is  cast  in  the  present  day,  is  believed 
to  correspond  to  that  described  by  Diodorus.  It  is  lodged 
in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  Institution  of  Cornwall,  at  Truro, 
the  authorities  of  which  have  most  obligingly  allowed  me  to 
have  a  model  of  it  *  In  1863,  Colonel  Sir  Henry  James 
called  attention  to  its  form  and  weighty  and  pointed  out  that 
they  were  such  as  to  enable  two  men  to  carry  one  of  the 
blocks  by  hand,  or  a  horse  to  carry  two  of  them  by  means  of 
a  sling  passing  over  a  pack-saddle;  that  the  curved  surface 
exactly  fits  the  curve  of  the  bottom  of  a  boat>  while  the  flat 
surfaces  would  form  a  continuous  floor,  and  that  the  ribs  of 
the  boat,  coming  up  through  the  divided  ends  of  the  block, 
would  prevent  the  shifting  of  the  cargct 

That,  with  the  exception  of  the  Mount,  there  is  no  island 
agreeing  with  the  description  of  the  Iktis,  is  well  seen  in  the 
fact  that  those  who  are  sceptical  respecting  the  claims  of  the 
former,  are  much  divided  amongst  themselves;  some  advo- 
cating the  pretensions  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  others,  those  of 
St.  Nicholas  Island  in  Plymouth  Sound,  the  Black  Rock  at 
the  entrance  to  Falmouth  Harbour,  the  Wolf  Rock,  or  one  of 
.the  Scilly  Isles. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  on  what  grounds  a  case  can  be  made 
out  for  the  Isle  of  Wight  beyond  its  comparative  proximity 
to  the  continent.  To  suppose  the  Cornubians  took  their  tin 
by  land  to  the  Hampshire  coast,  is  to  suppose  the  existence 
of  good  roads  and  bridges,  and  such  an  absence  of  enmity 
between  the  British  tribes,  as  to  imply  a  comparatively  high 

♦  This  Model  was  exhibited  to  the  Meeting. 

t  Forty-fifth  Report  of  the  Royal  Institution  of  Cornwall,  1863, 
pages  29  to  33. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  145 

stete  of  civilization,  utterly  incompatible  with  the  indirect 
statement  of  Diodorus  to  the  effect  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  dwellers  near  Belerium,  the  Britons  were  wanting  in 
civilization  and  in  courtesy  to  strangers.  On  the  other  hand 
the  old  Sicilian,  though  he  attempts  it,  totally  fails  to  account 
for  the  superior  courtesy  of  the  Belerians  if  the  Iktis  were 
the  Isle  (rf  Wight;  for  in  that  case  "their  converse  with 
merchants"  must  have  been  much  less  than  that  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Hampshire  coast.  Moreover,  there  is  no 
evidence  whatever  that  in  the  time  of  Diodorus  the  Isle  of 
Wight  was  a  peninsula  at  low  water.  The  earliest  accounts 
we  have  of  it  do  not  so  represent  it  In  the  narrative  of  its 
conquest  by  Vespasian  it  is  spoken  of  as  an  island.  Bede, 
who  closed  his  Ecclesiastical  History  in  a.d.  731,  and  died  in 
735,  when  speaking  of  this  conquest,  says,  "  Vespasian,  who 
was  Emperor  after  Nero,  being  sent  into  Britain  by  .  .  . 
Claudius,  brought  also  under  the  Boman  dominion  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  which  is  next  to  Britain  on  the  south,  and  is  about 
thirty  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  and  twelve  from 
north  to  south;  being  six  miles  distant  from  the  southern 
coast  of  Britain  at  the  east  end,  and  three  only  at  the  west."* 
The  venerable  historian  subsequently  says,  "The  island  is 
situated  opposite  the  division  between  the  South  Saxons  and 
the  Gewissse,  being  separated  fi-om  it  by  a  sea,  three  miles 
over,  which  is  called  Solente.  In  this  narrow  sea,  the  two 
tides  of  the  ocean,  which  flow  round  Britain  from  the  im- 
mense Northern  Ocean,  daily  meet  and  oppose  one  another 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  river  Homelea"  (Hamble)  "  which 
runs  into  that  narrow  sea,  from  the  lands  of  the  Jutes,  which 
belong  to  the  country  of  the  Gewissae;  after  this  meeting 
and  struggling  together  of  the  two  seas,  they  return  into  the 
ocean  from  whence  they  come."t  Without  insisting  on  the 
accuracy  of  the  foregoing  figures,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
there  is  historical  evidence  that  the  condition  of  the  island 
was  essentially  the  same  within  fifty  years  after  the  time  of 
Diodorus  as  it  is  at  present;  and  it  may  be  regarded  as 
absolutely  certain  that  it  has  undergone  no  change  during  the 
last  eleven  centuries.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  accu- 
racy of  Bede's  description  of  the  meeting  of  the  tides  in 
Southampton  water,  a  phenomenon  which  still  secures  the 
notice  of  those  who  speculate  on  the  movements  of  the  tidal 
wave  in  the  British  seas-t 

*  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Enp;lish  Nation,**  book  i.,  chap.  liL 
(Bohn's  edition,  1869.)        t  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  book  iv.,  chap.  16. 
t  See  Airy  in  "  Encyclop.  of  Astronomy,**  p.  377. 
VOL.   II.  L 


146  THB  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

St.  Nicholas,  or  Drake's  Island  is  situated  in  the  north* 
west  comer  of  Plymouth  Sound,  just  opposite  the  entrance  to 
Hamoaze,  or  the  estuary  of  the  Tamar.  It  is  about  four  and 
a  half  furlongs  from  the  mainland  on  the  west,  and  three 
from  that  on  the  north-west.  In  the  northern,  or  narrower 
channel  the  depth  of  water  exceeds  that  of  any  other  part  of 
the  Sound,  there  being  at  spring-tide  low  water  as  much  as 
twenty  fathoms  at  some  places.  The  western  channel  is  less 
deep,  and  is  crossed,  from  the  island  to  the  main,  by  a  narrow 
ru^ed  ridge  of  rocks  known  as  the  "Bridge,'*  on  which, 
where  deepest,  there  is  not  more  than  one  fathom  of  water  at 
low  tide.  The  island  is  of  irregular  form,  and  is  about  400 
yards  in  length,  by  140  in  greatest  breadth.*  So  far  as  I  am 
aware,  Mr.  Polwhele  is  the  only  writer  who  has  attempted  to 
identify  St.  Nicholas  with  the  Iktis;  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  his  advocacy  is  not  of  the  most  fervid  character.  ''I 
have,"  he  says,  "  stated  my  ideas  merely  as  theoretical  At 
all  events,  I  conceive,  my  readers  will  agree  with  me  in 
opinion,  that  St.  Nicholas  hath  as  fair  a  claim  to  the  com- 
mercial pre-heminence  (sic)  of  Iktis  as  either  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  or  one  of  the  Scilly  Isles,  or  the  Black  Bock  of 
Falmouth."! 

The  width  of  the  entrance  to  Falmouth  Harbour  is  about 
1080  fathoms,  and  the  Black  Bock  lies  about  180  fathoms  west 
of  mid-channel:  in  other  words,  the  Bock  is  about  360 
fathoms  from  the  western,  and  720  from  the  eastern  land.  It 
is  covered  every  tide  from  about  half  an  hour  before  half- 
flood  to  OS  long  after  half-ebb.  At  high-water,  it  is  sub- 
merged to  the  depth  of  from  seven  to  ten  feet.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  portion  left  dry  do  not  exceed  100  feet  by  60. 
The  eastern  channel  is  much  deeper  than  the  western ;  there 
being  as  much  as  nineteen  fathoms  of  water  in  the  former, 
and  four  and  a  half  only  in  the  latter,  at  spring-tide  low- 
water,  t 

Setting  aside  all  other  considerations,  it  seems  fatal  to  the 
pretensions  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  St.  Nicholas  Island,  and 
the  Black  Bock,  that  they  are  immediately  adjacent  to  ex- 
cellent harbours,  of  which  the  traders  would  probably  have 
availed  themselves,  all  other  things  being  the  same,  rather 
than  of  semi-insulated  stations  near  them,  to  which  tin  could 
have  been  taken  in  carts  at  certain  states  of  the  tide  only. 

The  Wolf  Bock  lies  due  west  of  the  Lizard  Pointy  nearly 

*  Private  information  from  Captain  W.  Walker,  R.N. 

t  "  Historical  Views  of  Devonshire,"  vol.  l,  section  8,  p.  138.     1793. 

t  Private  information  from  Mr.  J.  S.  Enys,  f.o.& 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  147 

mid-way  between  it  and  the  Scilly  Isles,  being  about  27 
miles  from  the  former  and  21  from  the  latter.  It  is  about  8 
miles  from  Tol  Pedn  Penwith,  the  nearest  mainland  of  Corn- 
wall. It  is  between  the  30  and  40  fathoms  lines,  being 
nearer  the  latter  than  the  former.  It  is  dry  every  low-water, 
and  the  workmen  at  present  engaged  in  constructing  a  light- 
house on  it  are  sometimes  able  to  work  for  six  or  seven  hours 
consecutively.  In  very  fine  weather  the  neap  tide  high- 
water  barely  covers  it.  The  area  left  dry  at  spring-tide  low 
water  is  estimated  at  a  quarter  of  an  acre.  The  rock  slopes 
gradually  towards  the  south-east^  but  on  every  other  part  of 
its  circumference  it  is  precipitous.* 

The  hypothesis  that  the  Iktis  was  one  of  the  Scilly  Islands 
was  a  fevourite  one  with  the  late  Dr.  Borlase,  but,  like  that  of 
the  Wolf-rock,  it  could  only  be  held  by  those  who  believe 
that,  within  the  last  2000  years,  there  has  been  a  subsidence 
by  which  a  tidal  strand  has  been  carried  to  so  low  a  level 
that  it  is  now  permanently  covered  with  little  less  than  40 
fathoms  of  water;  or  that  some  great  convulsion  has  rendered 
it  impossible  to  form  any  estimate  of  the  rate  of  the  en- 
croachment of  the  sea.  It  is  not  probable  that  either  hypo- 
thesis would  ever  have  been  heard  of,  but  for  the  foregone 
conclusion  that  the  Mount  was  at  some  distance  from  the  sea 
in  comparatively  recent  times. 

The  following  are  amongst  the  objections  which  have  been 
made  to  the  claims  of  the  Mount : — 

1st.  That  the  tidal  strand  is  too  limited  to  be  called  a 
"  long  way." 

2nd.  That  the  Mount  was  not  large  enough  for  the  trade  of 
which  the  Iktis  was  the  seat. 

3pd.  That  it  is  a  solitary  rock  of  the  kind,  whilst  Diodorus 
speaks  not  of  an  island  merely,  but  of  islands. 

4tL  That  in  the  Confessor's  charter,  it  is  described  as  ruar 
the  sea,  not  in  it. 

5th.  That  in  Domesday  Book,  it  is  stated  to  have  been 
much  larger  than  it  is  now. 

6th.  That,  according  to  its  ancient  British  name,  it  was 
situated  within  a  wood,  since  the  British  language  was  first 
spoken  in  ComwalL 

7th.  That  several  authors  speak  of  a  great  loss  of  land  in 
the  district 

8th.  That  this  loss  is  confirmed  by  the  character  of  the 
sea  bottom  between  the  Lands  End  and  Scilly,  and  by 
articles  which  have  been  recovered  thence. 

*  PiiTate  information  from  Mr.  W.  J.  Henwood,  r.iua,  f.o.& 

L  2 


148  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  HAN 

9th.  That  it  is  also  confirmed  by  certain  family  traditions. 

I  will  proceed  to  a  consideration  of  these  objections^  taking 
them  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand. 

1st.  "Long"  and  "short"  are  comparative  terms.  To  a 
geographer  accustomed  to  the  feeble  tides  of  the  Mediter^ 
ranean,  a  breadth  of  1680  feet  left  dry  at  low  water  would 
undoubtedly  appear  to  be  a  "long  way ;"  indeed,  it  probably 
exceeds  the  average  breadth  in  Britain. 

2nd.  It  was  not  the  ore,  but  the  smelted  tin  which  was 
taken  to  the  Iktis.  That  the  Mount  was  not  only  large 
enough,  but  much  larger  than  was  required  for  all  the  traffic 
— unless  the  early  trade  in  tin  greatly  exceeded  that  in 
modem  times — may  be  safely  inferred  from  the  following 
statement^  made  in  1838,  by  the  late  Mr.  Davis  Gilbert^  a 
native  and  resident  of  Ckimwall,  and  sometime  president  of 
the  Boyal  Society : — "  At  the  foot  of  the  Mount  a  small  pier 
existed  from  a  time  probably  anterior  to  the  monastery  itself; 
but  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  a  lease  on  lives  was 

granted  to  Mr.  George  Blewett This  gentieman  rebuilt 

the  pier  on  a  very  enlarged  scale,  and  concentrated  here 
almost  the  whole  commerce  of  Penwith  hundred,  which  has 
since  his  time  gone  to  Penzance  and  Hayla*'* 

3rd.  The  Mount  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  rock  of  its  kind. 
Within  seventy  miles  east  of  it,  there  are  certainly  four  that 
actually  are,  or  probably  were  within  the  last  1,900  years, 
precisely  similar  islands — Looe  Island,  St.  Nicholas'  Island, 
the  Mewstone,  and  Borough  Island. 

Looe,  or  St.  George's,  Island  is  about  ten  miles  west  of  the 
Bame  Head,  one  mUe  south  of  Looe  harbour,  and  about  one 
third  of  a  mile  from  the  main  land  on  the  west.  At  the  low 
water  of  equinoctial  spring-tides— but  never  else — the  inter- 
space is  left  dry  for  a  period  just  long  enough  for  an  active 
person  to  walk  across  to  the  island  and  back  agaia  Mr.  S. 
^logg,  surgeon  at  Looe,  informs  me  that  on  one  occasion  he 
was  able  to  walk  across,  go  to  the  top  of  the  island,  and 
return,  but  that  this  is  unusual.  The  island  is  about  a  mile 
in  circumference,  and  its  summit  is  170  feet  above  mean  tida 

A  brief  description  of  St.  Nicholas'  Island  has  already 
been  given. 

The  Mewstone  is  about  five  furlongs  due  south  of  the 
eastern  horn  of  Plymouth  Sound,  and  is  the  smallest  of  the 
four  islands  just  named.     "Between  it  and  the  mainland 

*  "The  Parochial  History  of  Cornwall,  founded  on  the  Manuscript 
Histories  of  Mr.  HaU  and  Mr.  Tonkin ;  with  Additions  and  various  Appen- 
dixes, by  Davis  Gilbert,"  vol.  iL,  page  214,  183a 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  149 

ttiere  is  a  ridge  of  rocks,  amongst  which  there  are  several 
deep  holes,  but  a  boat  drawing  six  feet  of  water  would  have 
a  difficulty  in  finding  a  channel  there,"* 

Borough  Island  is  situated  at  the  western  side  of  the  river 
Avon,  a  little  east  of  the  centre  of  Bigbury  Bay,  in  South 
Devon,  and  is  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  the 
mainland.  lake  the  Mount,  it  is  an  island  at  every  high 
water,  and  a  peninsula  at  every  low  water,  when  it  is  con- 
nected with  the  main  by  a  narrow  sandy  isthmus,  sufficiently 
firm  for  carts  to  traverse  it.  At  spring-tide  high-water  this 
causeway  has  nine  feet  of  water  on  it  The  island  has  an 
area  of  about  fourteen  acres,  or  double  that  of  the  Mountt 

4th.  In  the  Confessor's  Charter  the  Mount  is  stated  to  be 
^juxid  mare,''  This  has  usually,  but  not  invariably,  been 
translated  ''iuont  the  sea;"  but  it  would,  perhaps,  be  more  cor- 
rectly rendered  next  or,  as  Dr.  Barham  has  observed,  bt/  the 
sea,  when,  in  either  case,  it  would  be  a  correct  description  of 
the  present  position  of  the  spot. 

5th.  In  Domesday  Book  (1086)  "the  land  of  St.  Michael/' 
in  "Cornvalge,"  is  stated  at  "two  hides" — supposed  to  be 
not  less  than  240  acres.  At  present  the  Mount  measures 
about  seven  acres  only,  and  it  could  have  been  but  very  little, 
if  at  all,  larger  in  William  of  Worcester's  time — four  cen- 
turies ago.  There  are,  however,  at  least  four  St.  Michaels  in 
Cornwall:  St  Michaers  Mount,  St  Michael  Penkivel,  St 
Michael  Caerhayes,  and  the  ex-parliamentary  borough  of  St 
Michael,  commonly  called  Mitchell  It  has  been  dssunusd 
rather  than  proved  that  the  St  Michael  of  the  Survey  is  the 
Mount  But  waiving  this  point,  it  is  not  the  acreage  of  the 
immediate  vicinage,  but  of  the  property  of  the  church, 
wherever  situated,  which  is  described. 

6th.  It  is  frequently  asserted  that  Florence  of  Worcester, 
who  died  in  1118,§  mentioned  the  Mount  under  an  old 
British  name,  which  signifies  that  the  spot  itself  was  for- 
merly in  a  wood.  This  is  incorrect^  as  Florence  does  not 
once  allude  to  the  Mount.  The  error,  no  doubt,  arose  from 
confounding  Florence,  with  William,  of  Worcester,  who  lived 
fiilly  350  years  later.  This  alleged  British  name  assumes  so 
many  forms,  and  there  is  so  much  uncertainty  about  its  exact 

*  Private  information,  from  Gapt  W.  Walker,  R.K. 

t  Private  information,  from  the  Rev.  P.  J.  Ilbert,  of  Thorleston. 

t  Mr.  N.  Whitley,  of  Tmro,  kindly  infonns  me  that  beeides  these 
there  is  Michaelstow,  near  Gamelford  ;  and  that  the  churcheB  of  Helston 
and  Lesnewth  are  dedicated  to  St  Michael. 

§  See  Mr.  Foreeter's  PrefiEuse  to  the  ^VChronide  of  Florence  of  Wor- 
cester,^ page  6.  (Bohn's  edition.) 


150 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 


import,  as  to  render  it  utterly  improbable  that  it  baa  aaj 
value  as  evidence.  The  following  are  different  forma  of  botli 
the  name  and  its  translation : — 


Authon.        DatM. 


AU^;«d  BritiBh  Naam. 


TnuukitiMU.* 


Norden 
Camden 

Carew 

Boson 

Hals 

Tonkin 

Scawen 

Borlaae 

Polwhele    (i) 

Maton       (k) 

Brayley   &  \ 

Bntton  m  f 

Barham    (m) 


1584 
1586 

1602 

1716 
1736 
1739 

1758 
1793 
1794 
1809 
1825 


Careg  Cowse    . 
Careff  Cowte 

(  Gaia  Goua  in  Clowze  \ 
[  Cara-Clowse  in  Cowse  / 
(barrack  gloB  en  Kuz 
Carra  clo  gris  en  an  coos 
Careg  liuse  in  Coos  . 
Cam  Coose  and  Clowse  . 
Carreg  Liiz  en  Kuz 

Earak-luz-en-Kug  . 

Careg  luz  in  leuz     . 

Carak  ludgh  en  ICkc  . 

Kariff  luz  en  kuz 


The  grey  rock 
Mupit  emnu 

The  hoary  rock  in  the  wood 

Ghrav  rock  in  the  wood 
Rock-do-grey  in  the  wood 

The  rock  hid  in  the  wood 
A  hoary  rock  in  a  wood 
( The  grey  or  hoary  rook 
(     in  the  wood 
The  hoary  rock  in  the  wood 
i  The  grey  or  hoary  rock 
\     in  Uie  wood 
Hoary  rock  in  the  wood 


(a)  ^Topographical  and  Historioal  Description  of  OomwalL*'  The 
Editor  of  the  edition  in  1738  says,  "  'Tis  probable  this  snrref  of  Gone 
wall  was  taken  m  1584.*' 

E''  Britannia."    The  first  edition  was  published  in  1686. 
"Survey  of  Cornwall" 
Jour.  Koy.  Inst,  of  Cornwall,  Na  v.,  p.  14    The  date  of  Mr. 
Boson's  MS.  cannot  be  determined^  bat  Mr.  W.  C.  Boriaae  of  OuUe 
Homeck,  Penzanoe,  kindly  informs  me  that ''  we  may,  withoat  being  fiir 
wrong,  fix  it  about  1716." 

(e)  "  Gilbert's  Parochial  History  of  Oomwall,''*voL  iL,  p.  172. 

If)  Quoted  by  0.  S.  Gilbert,  in  "  An  Historical  Surrey  of  the  Oonnty 
ofComwalL" 

(a)  MS.  "  Antiquities  of  Cornwall,  p.  106,  quoted  by  Pryoe  in  his  MS. 
"  History  of  St.  Michaers  Mount,"  which  is  quoted  by  Polwhele  in  his 
'*  HistoiT  of  Cornwall,"  p.  125.    Date  undetermined. 

(h)  "  Observations  on  the  Ancient  and  Present  State  of  the  Islands  of 
ScUly." 

(0  **  Historical  Views  of  Devonshire."  vol  L,  sec.  8,  p.  118. 

\k)  "  Observations  on  the  Western  Counties." 

{l)  "Beauties  of  England  and  Wales." 

(m)  Trans.  Roy.  Geol.  Soc.  of  Oomwidl,  vol  iii.,  p.  86. 

Accepting  the  prevalent  translation — "the  grey  or  hoary 
rock  in  the  wood" — three  different  explanations  have  been 
suggested  respecting  the  name:  First,  that  the  name  was 
given  by  a  people  who  spoke  British,  and  who  were  con- 
temporaries of  the  wood  which  surrounded  the  Mount 
There  is  no  doubt  that  man  existed  in  South-Western  Eng- 
land when  the  forests,  now  submerged,  were  sub-aerial,  and 

*  In  each  case  the  translation  is  that  of  the  author  fhwa  whom  the 
name  is  quoted. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF   ENGLAND.  161 

within  one  of  which  the  Mount  must  have  stood ;  his  tools 
have  been  found  in  these  forests,*  and  also  in  the  more 
ancient  cavern  deposits;  but  to  suppose  the  name  to  be 
older  than  the  subsidence,  is  to  suppose  the  British  language 
coeval  with  the  mammoth,  whose  remains  have  been  found  in 
the  forests,  but  not  in  the  lake-dwellings  of  Switzerland,  or 
the  kitchen-middens  of  Denmark ;  and  which,  so  far  as  is  at 
present  known,  was  extinct  before  the  age  of  bronze  ;t — an 
antiquity  so  great  as  to  render  it  eminently  improbable  that 
any  philologer  could  now  give  a  trustworthy  translation  of  a 
language  then  spoken  in  this  country,  even  though  it  may  be 
admitted  that  "  the  Welsh  (kindred  to  the  old  Cornish)  in  its 
present  state  is  one  of  the  oldest  languages  in  Europe ;  and 
that  it  is  in  fact  among  spoken  languages  the  most  ancient  of 
which  any  written  monuments  are  preserved,  unless  we  regard 
the  Romaic  as  to  a  certain  degree  identical  with  the  ancient 
Greek."! 

The  second  suggestion  is  that  the  name  was  not  contem- 
porary with  the  submerged  woods,  but  was  given,  whilst  the 
British  language  was  spoken,  in  consequence  of  trees  which 
grew  on  the  Mount  itself  in  its  present  condition ;  or  because 
the  Marazion  plain  and  adjacent  low  lands  were  fonnerly  well 
wooded,  when  the  Mounts  seen  from  the  sea,  or  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  bay,  would  appear  to  be  in  a  wood.  It 
has  also  been  suggested  that  the  "  hoar  rock"  was  originally 
not  the  Mount  itself,  but  a  wood-surrounded  rocky  cairn  on  it, 
and  that  the  name  first  given  to  a  part  was  ultimately  applied 
to  the  whole.  There  are  several  objections  to  these  guesses  : 
The  Mount  in  its  present  condition  could  never  have  borne 
trees  in  sufficient  numbers  to  have  received  the  appellation  of 
a  wood,  especially  from  a  people  so  well  acquainted  with 
extensive  woods  as  the  ancient  British  were.  The  epithet 
"grey"  or  "hoar"  is  admirably  applicable  to  the  whole  islet, 
and  not  to  a  portion  of  it  merely.  So  far  as  is  known,  the 
idea  of  loss  of  area  is  older  than  the  supposed  British  name. 
There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  evidence  that  the  latter  is 

•  "Trans.  Dev.  Assoc.,"  1865,  pages  36-8. 

t  "  The  fauna,  not  only  of  the  bronze  age,  but  of  the  oldest  lake- 
dwellers  of  Switzerland,  to  whom  the  use  of  metak  was  unknown,  was 
identical  with  that  of  the  historical  era,  no  mixture  of  the  bones  of  the 
Mammoth  or  of  Bot  longifrfmiy  or  even  of  the  rein-deer  having  been 
detected,  whether  among  ^e  wild  or  domestic  animals  of  the  lacustrine 
habitations  of  Switzerland  or  in  the  kitchen  middens  of  Denmark." 
(Lyell's  "Principles,"  tenth  edition,  vol.  L,  page  664,  1866.) 

t  See  Penny  Cydop.  Art  "  Welsh  Language  and  Literature,"  voL  xxviL, 
page  214. 


152  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

mentioned  earlier  than  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century;  whilst  William  of  Worcester,  fully  a  century  before, 
when  speaking  of  the  Mount,  terms  it  **  Monte  Tumba  antea 
Yocata  k  Hare  rok  in  the  ivodd  ;  *"*  dropping  the  Latin  which 
he  elsewhere  uses,  to  give  the  Englisk,  not  the  BriiiA  name, 
of  which  he  makes  no  mention.  That  he  understood  the  name 
to  imply  a  loss  of  area,  is  evident  from  his  subsequent  state* 
ment  that  the  Mount  was  *' originally  inclosed  with  a  very 
thick  wood,  distant  from  the  ocean  six  miles,  afiFording  the 
finest  shelter  for  wild  beasts/'f  It  is  obvious  that  this  descrip* 
tion  could  have  been  applicable  only  in  times  anterior,  not 
merely  to  the  fifteenth,  but  to  the  eleventh  centuiy;  for, 
whatever  may  be  the  exact  import  of  the  phrase,  the  Mount 
was  *'juxta  mare"  in  1044.  The  era  of  the  topography  which 
William  described,  but  of  which  he  recorded  no  evidence,  was 
separated  from  his  day  by  an  interval  of  time  wider  than  that 
which  divides  him  from  us.  Leland,  also  (1538  to  1540),  says, 
"  Ther  hath  been  much  land  devourid  betwixt  Pensandea  and 

MovsehaU.   Ther  is  an  old  Legend a  Tounlet  in  this  Part 

(now  defaced  and)  lying  under  the  Water."t  He  subsequently 
states  that  "  In  the  Bay  betwyxt  the  Mont  and  Pemants  be 
found  neere  the  lowe  Water  Marke  Bootes  of  Trees  jm  dyvers 
Places,  as  a  token  of  the  Grounde  wasted  ;''§  and  thus  fur^ 
nishes  the  earliest  known  mention  of  the  submerged  forest,  as 
well  as  of  evidence  of  loss  of  area.  Oarew  (1602),  having 
stated  that  the  Mount  is  termed  by  the  Comishmen  "Cara 
Couz  in  Clowze,  that  is,  the  hoar  Bock  in  the  Wood,"  adds  in 
a  nute,  "Tradition  tells  us  thjtt  in  former  ages  the  Mount  was 
part  of  the  insular  continent  in  Britain,  and  disjoined  from 
it  by  an  inundation  or  encroachment  of  the  sea,  some  earth- 
quake or  terrestrial  concussion.  To  prove  this  opinion,  the 
country  people  tell  us  that  oak  trees  have  been  found  under 
the  sand."  II 

The  third  explanation  of  the  alleged  British  name  is  sug- 
gested by  a  consideration  of  the  foregoing  statements.  There 
is  first  a  tradition  of  a  loss  of  area,  which  could  not  have 
occurred  within  five  centuries  prior  to  the  earliest  known 
mention  of  it  by  William  of  Worcester,  who  gives  an  old 
English  name  in  accordance  with  it,  but  makes  no  mention 

•  "Itinemria."  t  Ibid. 

X  "  The  Itinerary  of  John  Leland  the  Antiquary,'*  vol.  iiL  page  17,  3rd 
edition.    Oxford,  1768. 

§  Ibid,  vol.  viL,  page  118. 
.    II  "Survey  of  Cornwall,"  pages  376-8.    At  page  6,  Garew  gives  the 
British  name  of  the  Mount  as  "  Cara-Clowse  in  Cowse." 


IN  THE  BODTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  153 

et  allusion  to  a  corresponding  British  nania  Sixty  years 
later,  the  tradition  is  repeated  by  Leland,  who  calls  it  '*  an  old 
legend,"  and  adds,  as  '*a  token"  of  its  truth,  that  there  is  a 
Bttbmeiged  forest  in  Mount's  Bay.  Fully  forty  years  after 
thifly  the  British  name  first  appears  in  Norden  and  Gamden» 
who  say  it  was  "  Careg  Cowse,"  or  "  the  grey  rock,"  but  make 
no  mention  of  ''a  wood."  The  latter  thus  speaks  of  the 
tradition  of  loss  of  area : — "  The  people  hereabout  assert  the 
ground  covered  by  the  sea  was  caUed,  from  I  know  not  what 
fable,  Lioness."*  Nearly  twenty  years  later,  Carew  mentions 
the  same  tradition,  as  well  as  the  remains  of  trees  under  the 
sand ;  he  also  speaks  of  possible  causes  of  the  encroachment, 
but  in  such  terms  as  to  show  that  tfie  cause  was  unknown, 
and  that  the  fact  was  unrecorded ;  and  to  the  British  name, 
mentioned  by  Norden  and  Camden,  he  adds,  or  finds  added, 
such  words  as  it  is  supposed  will  make  it  agree  with  the 
tradition  and  with  the  English  name  spoken  of  by  William 
of  Worcester,  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
befora  The  success  in  manufacturing  a  name  from  a  Ian* 
guage  then  hastening  to  extinction  is  not  very  marked ;  for 
Carew  gives  the  name  in  two  different  forms ;  and  it  is  said 
that  neither  form  will  bear  the  translation  he  puts  upon  it. 
Most  of  the  names  given  by  authors  since  Carew's  time 
appear  to  be  intended,  not  as  historical  or  even  traditional 
statements,  but  as  scholarly  emendations,  made  on  the  as* 
sumptions  that  there  was  a  name  and  that  it  ought  to  signify 
**the  hoar  rock  in  the  wood."t  The  history  of  the  name  is 
probably  this : — At  low  tide  the  remains  of  a  forest  were  seen 
in  the  strand,  in  a  condition  which  proved  the  trees  were  in 
situ,  and  that  at  some  time  there  had  been  a  subsidence.  To 
the  mind's  eye  the  area  was  re-elevated,  the  Mount  became 
surrounded  with  trees ="  le  Hore  rok  in  the  wodd  "="  Carreg 
Luz  en  Kuz." 

Were  it  necessary  to  show  that  names  as  frequently  contain 
mere  opinions  or  guesses  as  they  do  facts,  Cornwall  could 
readily  supply  the  materials.  As  examples,  I  may  mention 
the  upright  stones,  remnants  of  three  lai^  intersecting  circles, 
from  four  to  five  miles  north  of  Liskes^  in  East  Cornwall. 
They  are  named  "  the  Hurlers,"  in  accordance  with  a  legend 
that  they  were  once  men,  who,  playing  at  the  game  of  hurling 
on  a  Sunday,  were,  for  their  impiety,  transformed  into  stone. 

*  •*  Britannia,*'  page  3,  1686. 

t  See  "  Observations  on  the  Tin  Trade  of  the  Ancienta  in  Cornwall, 
and  on  the  *  Ictis  *  of  Diodoms  Sicolus,*'  by  Sir  C.  Hawkins,  Bart.,  f.a.8., 
London^  1817. 


154  THB  AKTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

Again,  a  few  miles  south-west  of  Pexusance  there  is  a  mona-» 
ment  which  once  consisted  of  19  stones,  16  of  which  are 
still  upright  This  is  known  as  Dawn's  MAi,=^the  SUme^ 
Dance,  or  Dancing  Stones;  and  popularly  as  the  Mmry 
Maidens.  The  name  is  derived  from  a  l^nd  that  these 
stones  were  once  young  women,  who  were  petrified  fc»:  dancing 
on  Sunday.  In  harmony  with  the  legend,  two  large  upright 
stones,  about  a  furlong  apart,  are  known  as  the  Pipers,  fi^m 
being  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stone  circla 

In  these  examples,  it  is  obvious  that  the  names  were  given 
after  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  to  relics  of  a  religion 
which  had  been,  not  only  supplanted,  but  utterly  forgotten. 
The  stones  were  phenomena  to  be  accounted  for,  and,  in  order 
to  this,  a  demand  was  made  on  the  imagination  much  greater 
than  that  made  in  the  "  third  explanation  **  of  the  so-called 
British  name  of  St.  MichaeVs  Mount. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  the  bestowal  of  names 
harmonizing  vdth  legends  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to  Com- 
walL  Have  we  not  St  Hilda's  snakes,  St  Cuthbert's  beads^ 
the  Bemide  goose,  and  a  multitude  of  other  examples? 

7.  To  his  other  statements,  William  of  Worcester  adds^ 
but  gives  no  evidence,  that  "  there  were  140  parish  churches 
submerged  between  the  Mount  and  SeiUy."  Were  this 
assertion  accepted,  it  would  follow  that  after  Cornwall  was 
Christianized  (not  earlier  than  the  fifth  century)  and  divided 
into  parishes,  but  prior  to  the  Confessor's  charter,  there  had 
been  lost  140  parishes,  having,  according  to  the  existing 
average  acreage  in  the  hundred  of  Penwith,  ix\  which  the 
Mount  is  situated,  an  aggregate  area  of  830  square  miles,*  or 
twice  that  required  to  fill  the  space  between  the  Cornish 
coast  and  a  line  joining  the  Lizard  with  Scilly;  a  loss  so 
enormous  and  so  rapid  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  monkish  chroniclers,  laboriously  minute  as  they 
were,  especially  in  all  things  appertaining  to  the  Church, 
would  have  omitted  to  record  it,  more  especially  as  it  must 
have  happened  within  or  near  their  own  times. 

The  tradition  of  loss  of  ai*ea  is  thus  mentioned  by  Harri- 
son :  "  It  doth  app^ere  yet  by  good  record,  that  whereas  now 
there  is  a  great  distance  betweene  the  SyUan  lies  and  point 
of  the  Lands  End,  there  was  of  late  yeares  to  speke  of 
scarslie  a  brooke  or  drain  of  one  fadam  water  betwtene  them, 
if  so  much,  as  by  these  euidences  appeereth  and  are  yet  to 
be  s^ene  in  the  hands  of  the  lord  and  chiefe  owner  of  those 

*  The  average  acreage  of  the  Penwith  parishes  appears  to  be  3790 
acres. 


IN  THS  80T7TH-WE8T  OF  ENGLAND.  155 

nea."**  It  is  somewhat  tantalizing  to  be  told  that  the 
evidences  were  yet  to  be  seen,  without  being  also  told  what 
was  their  character,  or  whether  the  author  Mmself  had  seen 
them. 

8.  Carew  states,  in  proof  of  the  great  subsidence  between 
the  Land's  End  and  Scilly,  that  this  space  carrieth  continually 
an  eqval  depth  of  forty  or  sixty  fathoms  (a  thing  not  usual 
in  the  sea's  proper  dominions)/'  and  that  "fishermen  also 
casting  their  hooks  thereabouts,  have  drawn  up  pieces  of 
doors  and  windows."!  It  is  not  easy  to  see  the  force  of  the 
first  statement;  moreover,  it  exceeds  the  trath,  the  depth 
being  from  thirty  to  forty  fathoms.  It  would  be  awkward, 
however,  to  accept  this  proof,  as  it  would  prove  also  that 
prior  to  the  subsidence  there  could  have  been  no  English 
Channel,  which,  excepting  at  its  western  end,  rarely  attains  a 
depth  of  30  fathoms  at  present.  The  second  statement  is 
even  surpassed  by  one  in  Hooker,  who  says,  "in  a  fifair 
summer  and  sun-shining  day,  the  8ea-fa}rring  men  doe  see 
and  disceme  sundry  monuments  of  churches  and  houses 
vnder  and  in  the  water."!  These  wonderful  assertions  could 
only  be  entertained  by  those  who  had  never  rcflected  on  the 
power  of  the  Atlantic  waves. 

9.  There  is  said  to  be  "a  tradition  that  at  the  time  of  the 
inundation  Trevillian  swam  from  the  submerged  district," 
and  in  memory  thereof  bears,  Gules,  an  Horse  argent,  issuing 
out  of  the  sea  proper.  The  V)rvyans  (Xujrvyan  in  Cornish  is 
to  flee  away,  or  escape,  whence  they  derive  their  name), 

pretend  to  the  same,  and  that  one  of  their  ancestors 

was  governor  of  that  tract :  in  memory  whereof  they  an- 
ciently bore,  argent  a  lion  rampant,  gules,  standing  on  the 
waves  of  the  sea,  proper  (which  waves  have  been  of  late  left 
out),  and  still  give  for  their  crest,  an  Horse,  argent,  on  which 
they  tell  you  the  Governor  saved  himself:  alluding  both  to 
the  name  of  the  place  and  to  the  means  of  his  preservation."§ 
These  legends  are  also  cited  in  proof  of  the  subsidence.  The 
herald's  office  is  a  somewhat  novel  court  for  the  settlement  of 
a  question  in  physical  scienca 

Of  those  who  believe  in  the  comparatively  recent  insu- 
lation of  the  Mount,  a  few,  including  Mr.  Whitaker,  ascribe 

*  ''An  Historical  Description  of  the  Island  of  Britaine,  by  W. 
Harrison^  prefixed  to  Holisshed's  Ghionides,"  1586,  toL  L,  Third  Booke, 
chap.  X.,  page  397. 

t  "  Survey  of  Cornwall,"  Mge  a 

t  Quoted  in  Polwhele's  "Devonshire,"  toL  L,  p.  178, 

§  Garew's  Survey,  pages  6-7. 


156  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

it  to  encroaGhments  of  the  sea  without  change  of  level ;  bat 
the  great  majority  contend  for  a  general  subsidence.  Indeed, 
Dr.  Borlase  (1756)  believed  himself  to  have  detected  in  the 
Scilly  Isles  distinct  marks  of  change  of  level  "Buina  and 
hedges,*'  he  says,  "are  frequently  seen  upon  the  shifting  of 
the  sands  in  the  friths  between  the  islands,  and  the  low  Iwds 
which  were  formerly  cultivated  ....  have  now  ten  feet  of 

water  above  the  foundations  of  their  hedges There 

are  sevevel  pfiefiamena  of  the  same  nature  to  be  seen  on  these 
shores ;  as  particularly  a  straight-lined  ridge,  like  a  causeway, 
running  across  the  Old  Town  Creek  in  St.  Mabt'8»  which  is 
now  never  seen  above  water.  On  the  Isle  of  Annet,  there 
are  large  stones  now  covered  by  every  full  tide,  which  have 
Rock-hasona  cut  into  their  surface,  and  which  therefore  must 
have  been  placed  in  a  much  higher  situation  when  those 
basons  ....  were  worked  into  them."*  From  these  alleged 
fiEicts,  the  learned  author  concluded  there  had  been  a  subsi- 
dence to  the  amount  of,  at  least,  16  feet 

The  mention  of  rock-basins  being  but  little  calculated  to 
inspire  confidence,  I  wrote  Mr.  Augustus  Smith,  the  present 
proprietor  of  Scilly,  calling  his  attention  to  Dr.  Borlase*s 
statements,  and  requesting  information  respecting  them.  In 
reply,  Mr.  Smith  was  so  good  as  to  authorize  me  to  state  that, 
during  the  thirty  years  of  his  residence  there,  no  such  evi- 
dences of  subsidence  have  been  seen  as  were  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Borlase.  Now,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  the  learned 
doctor  believed  that  these  phenomena  had  outlived  their, 
submergence  by  fully  900  years ;  hence  it  migl\^  have  been 
expected  that  they  would  have  endured  for  three  quarters  of 
a  century  more. 

The  advocates  of  recent  subsidence,  as  may  be  expected, 
are  divided  respecting  the  time  of  its  occurrence.  Dr.  Borlase 
concludes  that  it  took  place  after  the  Augustan  age,  but  adds, 
"at  what  time  after  I  can  find  nothing  as  yet  that  can 
determina"  Considerable  inundations  are  mentioned  by  the 
Chroniclers  in  the  year  1014,  and  1099,  but  these  dates  he 
rejects  for  the  satisfactory  reason  that  the  monks  having  been 
placed  in  Scilly  by  Athelstan  in  the  year  938,  or  soon  after, 
"nothing  of  the  kind  could  have  happened  but  it  would  have 
appeared  somewhere  or  other  in  the  papers  or  history  of 
Tavistock  Abbey,"  to  which  the  monks  of  Scilly  were  united. 
He  therefore  selects  the  year  830,  when,  in  the  end  of  March, 
according  to  an  old  Irish  MS.,  the  sea,  on  the  west  coast  of 
the  county  of  Cork,  broke  through  its  banks  in  a  violent 
*  "  Observatioos  on  the  Scilly  Isles." 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  157 

manner,  and  overflowed  a  considerable  tract  of  land.  "I 
should  think,"  says  Dr.  Borlase,  "  it  most  suitable  to  history, 
that  this  was  what  reduced,  divided,  and  destroyed  the  Scilly 
Islands,  and  overran  the  lands  in  Mount's  Bay." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
this  conclusion  rests  on  the  following  gratuitous  assumptions: 
1st.  That  this  was  a  subsidence,  and  not  an  unusually  high 
tide.  2nd.  That  it  extended  beyond  the  district  specified — 
the  west  of  Cork.  3rd.  That  the  monkish  Chroniclers  would 
be  less  likely,  than  in  the  case  of  the  Scilly  Monastery,  to 
record  such  a  catastrophe  as  the  severance  of  the  Mount 
from  the  main  land — the  holy  spot  which  the  Archangel 
Michael  was  believed  to  have  visited  120  years  before,  and  to 
which,  in  still  earlier  times,  the  miracle-working  St.  Keyna 
and  St  Cadoc  had  gone  on  pilgrimage. 

The  inundation  of  1014  is  recorded  by  the  Saxon  Chronicler, 
Florence  of  Worcester,  and  William  of  Malmesbury.  The 
first  states  that  "in  this  year,  on  the  eve  of  St.  Michael's 
Mass,  came  the  great  sea  flood  wide  throughout  this  laud, 
and  ran  so  far  up  as  it  never  before  had  done,  and  washed 
away  many  towns,  and  a  countless  number  of  people."* 
According  to  Florence,  the  sea  broke  its  bounds  on  the  third 
oithe  calends  of  October  (3rd  Septembert),  and  overwhelmed 
many  vills  and  great  numbers  of  people  in  England."  J 
Malmesbury  records,  but  without  mentioning  the  day  or 
month,  that  "the  sea  flood,  which  the  Greeks  call  Euripus, 
^and  we  Ledo,  rose  to  so  wonderful  a  height,  that  none  like  it 
was  recollected  in  the  memory  of  man,  for  it  overflowed  the 
villages,  and  destroyed  their  inhabitants  for  many  miles."§ 
The  same  authors  mention  the  inundation  of  1099.  The 
**  Chronicler"  says,  "  This  year  also,  on  St.  Martin's  day,  there 
was  so  very  high  a  tide,  and  the  damage  was  so  great  in  con- 
sequence, that  men  remembered  not  the  like  to  have  ever 
happened  before,  and  the  same  day  was  the  first  of  the  new 
moon.  II  Florence  states  that  on  the  third  of  the  nones  (the 
3rd)  of  November,  the  sea  overflowed  the  shore,  destroying 
towns,  and  drowning  many  persons  and  innumerable  oxen 
and  sheep."  H    He  appears  to  have  regarded  this  as  a  sign  of 

•  Bohn's  edition,  page  405. 

t  This  should  have  been  September  29tb.  The  date  in  the  text  is 
perhaps  a  misprint.  The  calend  of  October  is  the  first  day  of  that  month, 
the  2nd  of  the  calends  is  the  day  preceding,  and  so  on,  the  reckoning 
being  backward.    (See  "Chronology  of  History,"  by  Sir  H.  Nicholas, 

X  Bohn's  edition,  page  124.  §  Ibid,  page  191. 

II  Ibid,  page  476.  4  Ibid,  page  206. 


158  THX  AKTIQmTY  OF  ICAN 

Divine  displeasure,  for  he  subsequently  remarks,  "During  the 
reign  of  this  king  (fiufns),  as  we  have  partly  mentioned  above, 
many  signs  appeared  in  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars;  the  sea 
oiten  overflowed  its  banks,  drowning*  men  and  cattle,  and 
destroying  many  vills  and  houses ;  in  the  district  of  Berk- 
shire, blood  flowed  from  a  fountain  for  three  weeks ;  and  the 
devil  frequently  appeared  in  the  woods  under  a  horrible  form 
to  many  Normans,  and  discoursed  laigely  to  them  respecting 
the  king."*  Malmesbury  states  that  *'  in  his  (William  II.) 
twelfth  year  (1099)  an  excessive  tide  flowed  up  the  Thames 
and  overwhelmed  many  villages  i^dth  their  inhabitant8."t  He 
and  also  the  "  Chronicler"  mention  the  flowing  of  blood  firom 
a  fountain  in  Berkshire,  and  the  former  adds  that  "  the  most 
dreadful  circumstance  was  that  the  devil  visibly  appeared  to 
men  in  woods  and  secret  places,  and  spoke  to  them  as  they 
passed."  The  following  olwervations  may  not  be  out  of  place 
respecting  the  foregoing  statements : — 

1st  That  they  are  but  echoes  and  must  not  be  regarded  as 
the  primary  utterances  of  three  distinct  observers.  Neither 
Florence  nor  William  was  bom  in  1014,  and  the  latter,  not 
until  1095. 

2nd.  That  there  are  indications  of  credulity  and  colouring 
so  marked  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  exercise  caution  in 
the  reception  and  evaluation  of  the  statements. 

3rd.  That  there  are  chronological  discrepancies  in  the 
statements,  for  whilst  the  Saxon  Chronicle  gives  St  Martin's 
day  as  the  date  of  the  inundation  of  1099,  according  to* 
Florence  of  Worcester  it  occurred  on  the  third  of  the  nones 
of  November.  Of  the  numerous  St.  Martin's  days  in  the 
Calendar,  one  falls  on  the  llth  and  another  on  the  12th  of 
November ;  but  as  the  first  of  the  nones  of  November  fidls 
on  the  5th  of  that  month,  and  as  the  reckoning  is  backward, 
the  third  of  the  nones  was  the  3rd  of  the  month — a  dis- 
crepancy of  at  least  eight  days. 

4th.  That  of  the  two,  the  inundation  of  1014  appears  to 
have  been  the  more  destructive. 

5th.  That  the  first  occurred  at  the  autumnal  equinox,  and 
is  recognized  as  a  phenomenon  so  well-known  as  to  have 
received  names  in  two  distinct  languages — "Euripus"  and 
"Ledo." 

6th.  That  the  second,  though  not  at  the  equinox,  is  dis- 
tinctly stated  by  one  to  have  been  a  "  very  high  tide^'  on  the 
day  of  new  moon;  and  by  another  to  have  been  an  excessive 
tide  which  flowed  up  the  Thames 

*  Bohn's  edition,  page  207.  f  Ibid,  page  343. 


IN  THE  80UTH-WKST  OF  ENGLAND.  159 

Notwithstanding  the  distinct  statement  of  both  the  Saxon 
Chronicler  and  William  of  Malmesbury  on  the  point,  it  has 
been  observed  that  the  inundation  of  1099  could  not  have 
been  due  to  a  high  ^ide,  as  it  occurred  sometime  after  the 
equinox,  and  that  it  was  on  the  day  of  new  moon,  that  is 
before  the  highest  tide  of  the  spring  •  It  is,  of  course,  true 
that,  in  fine  weather,  the  highest  tides  are  at  the  equinoxes, 
and  that,  in  Britain,  the  highest  tide  of  every  spring  is, 
in  fine  weather,  the  third  or  fifth  after  the  new  or  full 
moon ;  but,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  tidal  influence  of  the 
moon  when  in  perigee,  a  tempest  is  very  capable  of  greatly 
deranging  this.  Indeed,  so  frequently  have  violent  tempests, 
usually  accompanied  by  high  tides,  occurred  in  October  or 
November,  that  they  are  almost  regarded  as  periodical  phe- 
nomena.! 

Amongst  the  high  and  destructive  tides  which  during  the 
present  century  have  visited  the  southern  coasts  of  England, 
three  stand  out  very  prominently — those  of  January  19th, 
1817;  November  28rd,  1824;  and  October  26th,  1859.  They 
were  each  at  a  considerable  distance  from  either  equinox, 
and  the  last,  like  that  in  1099,  was  on  the  first  day  of  new 
moon. 

But  waiving  this  point,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  state- 
ments of  the  Chroniclers  form  a  very  slender  basis  on  which 
to  rear  such  an  opinion  as  that  there  was,  in  the  eleventh 
century,  a  general  subsidence  which  converted  the  Iktis  of 
.Diodorus  into  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  Black  Eock,  the  Wolf 
Eock,  or  one  of  the  Scilly  Isles ;  especially  in  the  face  of  the 
facts  that,  among  its  results,  the  sacred  St.  Michael's  Mount 
must  have  been  severed  from  the  mainland,  and  that  pre- 
viously, at  least  on  most  of  the  hypotheses,  there  could  have 
been  no  English  Channel  The  first  would  have  been  un- 
doubtedly recorded ;  and  the  second  would  have  rendered  it 
easier  for  Caesar  to  have  marched,  than  to  have  sailed,  to 
England. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  paper  to  enter  on 
the  discussion  of  such  questions  as,  "Did  the  Phoenicians 
ever  carry  on  trade  with  Cornwall  by  way  of  the  Straits  of 
Gibraltar?"  "Where  were  the  Cassiterides ?"  "Was  tin 
ever  wrought  in  Scilly  ?"  or,  "  Was  the  tin  taken  from  Corn- 
wall to  the  continent  directly,  or  coastwise  to  the  Isle  of 
Wight  or  some  other  near  point?"     With  reference  to  the 

•  "  Artizan*'  for  April,  1867,  page  80. 

t  See  Sir  J.  Herschers  "Familiar  Lectures  on  Scientific  Subjects," 
page  143.     1867. 


160  .  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN 

last,  however,  it  may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  the  block 
of  tin  previously  mentioned  appears  to  suggest  that  during 
one  period  of  the  trade,  the  route  was,  at  least,  occasionally 
coastwise. 

In  conclusion,  and  by  way  of  recapitulation :  St.  Michael's 
Mount  has  certainly  undeigone  no  appreciable  change  during 
the  last  four  centuries,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  has 
done  so  since  the  Christian  era; — those  whose  habit  and 
interest  it  was  to  record  such  an  event  are  silent  on  the 
question,  whilst  the  relative  level  of  sea  and  land,  tacitly 
supposed  by  early  historians,  harmonizes  with  that  which  at 
present  exists ; — the  Mount  aflfords  the  requisite  shelter,  and 
is  abundantly  large  enough  for  the  storage  and  shipment  of 
the  early  Cornish  tin,  and  for  the  traffic  consequent  thereon; — 
it  possesses  all  the  characters,  and  occupies  the  position  of 
the  Iktis  of  Diodorus,  and  no  other  existing  island  has  any 
claim  to  this  distinction; — since  the  era  of  that  tmnquil, 
uniform,  and  general  subsidence,  which  resulted  in  the  sub- 
mergence of  the  forests  whose  remains  are  found  on  the 
strands  of  all  the  British  seas  and  channels,  thick  accumula- 
tions have  been  lodged  in  the  valleys  on  the  forest  ground, 
and  broad  foreshores  have  been  formed  by  the  retreat  of  the 
cliffs  before  the  waves,  yet,  at  least,  nineteen  centuries  have 
failed  to  produce  an  appreciable  change  in  the  character  of 
the  Mount,  or  its  relation  to  the  mainland; — prior  to  this 
subsidence  was  the  period  of  the  forest  growth,  when  the 
Mount  was  unquestionably  a  "hoar  rock  in  a  wood,"  but 
which,  in  all  probability,  it  had  ceased  to  be  very  long  before 
any  language  now  known  to  philologers  was  spoken  in  the 
district ; — before  this  again  was  the  period  of  the  deposition 
of  the  blue  clay  and  of  the  "tin-ground,"  in  which  the  forests 
grew ; — earlier  still  was  the  epoch  of  the  excavation  or  re- 
excavation  of  the  valleys  in  whose  bounding  hills  are  the 
caverns  of  South  Devon ; — and  in  a  still  more  remote  anti- 
quity, when  the  bottoms  of  the  valleys  were  at  least  100 
feet  above  their  present  levels,  persistent  streams  or  fitful 
land -floods  carried  the  characteristic  red  loam  into  these 
caverns. 

Great  as  is  the  age  of  these  deposits  of  cave-earth,  it  does 
not  exceed  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in  the  South-  West  of  Eng- 
land, and  hence,  since  it  is  eminently  improbable  that  the 
cradle  of  the  human  race  was  in  a  climate  so  ungenial  as 
ours,  it  must  fall  far  short  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man. 


IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST  OF  ENGLAND.  161 


APPENDIX. 

Antiquaries,  romancists,  and  poets  have  succeeded  in  keeping 
aliye  the  legends  and  traditions  of  St.  Michaers  Mount,  and  may 
thus,  pertiaps,  have  done  some  disservice  to  Truth.  The  place 
which  this  l^endary  lore  has  obtained  in  Milton's  "Ljcidas," 
and  in  Warton's  critique  upon  it,  may  be  taken  as  an  assurance 
that  it  is  not  soon  to  di& 

I  venture  to  append  to  this  paper  the  two  following  sonnets 
from  the  pen  of  the  latter  author. 

LE   HORE   HOCK   IN   THE   WODD. 
"  Yon  chasmy  crag  precipitous,  where  frown 
Embattled  walk,  and  dark  their  shadows  throw 
Upon  the  dashing  wave  that  foams  below, 
Yon  crag,  which  rough  monastic  ruins  crown, 
In  elder  days  far  distent  from  the  flood, 
Gleam'd  the  hoar  rock  amid  the  secret  wood. 
There  once  ('tis  said]  at  evening  cbse,  appear' d 
An  awful  vision  to  a  hermit's  eyes ; 
While,  as  a  meteor  stream'd  his  silver  beard 
To  the  rude  winds,  *  Be  thine  (the  archangel  cries) 
*  To  bid  a  fabric  to  St.  Michael  rise ; 
High  on  these  pilgrim  rocks  devote  to  fame : 
And  as  it  braves  &e  shafts  of  angry'  skies, 
Shall  it  the  deep  regard  of  ages  chum.' " 

FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MONASTERY  AT  SAINT  MICHAEL'S  MOUNT. 
"  Opt  at  the  solitary  rock,  whose  brow 
Half  hid  for  man^  an  age  by  hoary  oak 
Thro'  the  romantic  umbrage  wildly  broke, 
The  pilgrim  had  effused  his  pious  vow.^ 
There  Keyna  once,  a  princess  and  a  saint, 
(For  such  the  virgin  monkish  legends  paint) 
Breath' d  the  pure  essence  of  her  soul  m  prayer : 
But,  rushing  on  the  solemn  wood's  repose, 
As  the  great  Vision  beckoned,  high  in  air 
The  fane,  the  towers,  the  vaulted  chambers  rose ! 
Thence  holy  orisons,  that  wont  to  hail 
The  dawn,  or  choral  hymns  at  eventide. 
Soft  o'er  the  still  wave  sooth'd  the  distant  sail. 
As  to  the  seaman's  ear  the  melting  murmurs  died." 


VOL.   II. 


ON  SOME  MAMMALIAN  BONES  AND  TEETH, 

FOUND   IN   THE  SUBMERGED   FOREST   AT   NOBTHAH. 

BT   H.    8.    ELLIS,    F.B.A.8. 
Oommunioated  by  Towmihbxo  M.  Hall,  p.o.b.,  etc. 


I  HAVE  been  requested  by  Mr.  Ellis  to  exhibit  some  bones 
and  teeth  of  mammalia  recently  fonnd  by  him  in  the  sub- 
merged forest  at  Northam,  near  Bideford.  They  occur  in 
the  peat,  associated  with  flint  flakes,  flint  cores,  and  large 
quantities  of  comminuted  shells,  principally  those  of  the 
oyster,  Ostrcea  edtUis,  and  cockle,  Cordium  edule.  These  shells 
are  found  in  beds  somewhat  resembling  the  shell  deposits  of 
Denmark,  and  have  hitherto  been  observed  in  only  those 
portions  of  the  peat  bed  which  are  exposed  either  at  or  near 
low  water  mark.  In  the  early  part  of  January  last,  the  sand 
which  had  hitherto  always  covered  the  lower  part  of  the  sub- 
merged forest  was  swept  away,  and  I  then  first  noticed  this 
deposit  of  oyster  shells,  which,  in  some  places,  attained  a 
thickness  of  two  feet.  Mixed  up  with  the  shells  were  large 
numbers  of  bones,  but  they  were  so  much  decomposed  as  to 
render  it  almost  impossible  to  determine  their  original  shape. 
One  bone,*  better  preserved  than  the  rest,  is  precisely 
similar  in  form  to  one  of  those  found  recently  by  Mr.  Ellis, 
and  which  is  now  exhibited.  Mr.  Ellis  has  also  been  suc- 
cessful in  discovering  an  immense  quantity  of  other  bones, 
all  of  which  do  not  appear  to  have  entirely  lost  their  animal 
matter.  Mr.  W.  Horton  Ellis,  of  Exeter,  has  also  found 
bones  in  the  same  situation,  and,  at  my  suggestion,  he  sub- 
mitted them  to  Professor  Huxley,  who  has  determined  them 
to  have  belonged  to  some  large  ruminant,  probably  a  species 
of  deer.  In  connection  with:  his  subject,  I  may  mention 
that  at  Braunton  (which  is  situated  just  on  the  northern  edge 
of  the  alluvial  delta  of  the  Taw)  there  is  a  tradition  that  the 

♦  The  astragalus  of  a  deer  (?) 


OK   SOME  BfAMMALIAK  BONES  AND  TEETH.  163 

oak  trees  used  for  the  roof  and  seats  of  the  Church  grew  in  a 
forest  which  formerly  occupied  the  site  of  the  Burrows,  and 
that  the  trees,  when  felled,  were  drawn  to  the  churchyard  by 
reindeer.  Local  traditions  have  generally  a  certain  amount 
of  truth  at  their  foundation,  and  when  we  remember  that  one 
species  of  deer  still  exists  in  its  wild  state  amongst  the 
forests  at  Exmoor,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  other  species 
of  the  same  animal  may  have  formerly  occupied  this  part  of 
our  county. 


M  2 


ON 

THE  DEPOSITS  OCCIIPYING  THE  VALLEY  BETWEEN  THE 
BEADDONS  AND  WALDON  HILLS,  TOBQUAT. 

BT  W.    PENOELLT,    F.B.S.,    F.e.8.,   ETC. 


The  investigations  in  connection  with  the  great  problem  of 
human  antiquity,  which,  at  intervals  during  upwards  of  forty 
years,  have  been  carried  on  in  South  Devon,  have  given  so 
much  importance  to  everything  relating  to  the  valleys  of  the 
district,  that  I  have  been  induced  to  lay  before  the  Associar 
tion  the  following  brief  and,  I  fear,  very  unimportant  com- 
munication respecting  the  deposits  which  occupy  the  bottom 
of  the  principtd  valley  of  Torquay — that  which  Ues  between 
the  Braddons  on  the  east,  and  Waldon  Hill  on  the  west,  and 
terminates  at  the  harbour. 

Before  entering  on  a  description  of  the  deposits,  however, 
it  seems  desirable  to  notice,  very  briefly,  the  succession  of 
valleys,  or,  rather,  the  entire  valley  of  which  that  just 
mentioned  is  the  termination.  It  commences  a  littie  north- 
ward of  a  line  drawn  from  Barton  Cross  to  Watcombe,  about 
three  miles  northwards  from  Torquay  harbour,  when  mea- 
sured in  a  straight  line.  In  its  uppermost  part  it  is  a 
sharply-defined  basin-shaped  dell,  bounded  on  the  north  and 
east  by  the  Triassic  red  conglomerate,  on  the  south  and  west 
by  Devonian  slates  and  limestones,  and  having  the  Barton 
outlier  of  limestones  rising,  like  a  rugged  island,  abruptly 
from  its  centre.  From  the  north-western  extremity  of  St. 
Mary-Church  Hill  to  Torquay  harbour  it  is  simply  a  deep 
narrow  gorge,  everywhere  bounded  by  abrupt  cliffs  of  lime- 
stone or  slate,  the  former  being  by  far  the  more  prevalent 
Several  small  valleys,  some  of  them  traversing  slates  and 
grits,  enter  it  on  each  side ;  but  the  streams  which  flow  into 
and  through  it  are  confined  to  districts  composed  of  Devonian 
and  Triassic  rock^  only, — none  of  them  can  bring  into  it  any 
debris  derived  from  more  modern  formations.  From  Barton 
to  Tor  its  course  is  south-westerly,  thence  to  the  harbour  it 
is  south-south-east. 


DEPOSITS  BETWEEN  THE  BRADDONS  AND  WALDON  HILLS.     165 

That  part  of  the  valley  to  which  I  propose  directing 
attention  is  the  site  of  the  lofty  buildings  recently  erected 
about  300  yards  from  the  harbour.  The  limestone  strata  dip 
to  the  same  amount  and  in  the  same  direction  in  eax^h  of  the 
opposing  hills.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  valley 
occupies  either  a  synclinal  or  an  anticlinal  axis,  nor  are  there 
any  indications  that  it  coincides  with  a  line  of  fault.  All  its 
features  are  those  of  a  valley  of  erosion,  excavated  probably 
in  the  direction  of  the  jointage  of  the  rocks  of  the  district 

The  houses  which  have  been  recently  removed,  in  order  to 
the  erection  of  the  new  buildings,  were  amongst  the  oldest 
in  the  town ;  hence  it  may  be  concluded  that  there  has  been 
no  very  modem  additions  to  the  natural  deposits  there.  The 
locality  has  long  been  known  as  "The  Meadow/'  a  name 
which  recognizes  the  alluvial  character  of  the  ground,  and 
which,  though  perhaps  scarcely  high-sounding  enough  for 
modem  requirements,  it  is  hoped  the  authorities  wiU  preserve. 
The  volume  of  the  small  stream  which  flows  through  the 
valley  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  when  carefully 
stored,  it  was  just  suflBcient  to  work  a  small  com  mill,  which 
a  few  years  ago  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Union  Hall, 
about  200  yards  higher  up  the  valley.  With  the  exception 
of  a  diminutive,  though  relatively  a  somewhat  important, 
feeder  from  Ellacombe,  about  three  furlongs  from  the  harbour, 
this  stream  may  still  be  seen  immediately  east  of  Upton 
Church,  about  1,080  yards  from  the.  harbour.  Below  this 
point  the  authorities  have  given  it  a  subterranean  course. 

At  the  spot  already  specified,  the  surface  of  the  gardens  in 
front  of  the  old  houses  was,  according  to  the  Ordnance  maps, 
about  20  feet  above  mean  tide  at  Liverpool ;  so  that,  taking 
the  latter  to  be  the  same  level  as  mean  tide  in  Torbay,  and 
to  be  midway  between  high  and  low  water,  it  was  about 
eleven  feet  above  the  level  of  spring-tide  high-water. 

The  recent  extensive  excavations,  preparatory  to  the  erec- 
tion of  the  new  buildings,  have  shown  that,  in  descending 
order,  the  deposits  are : — 

Ist.  Dark  garden  mould;  about  two  feet  In  this  mass 
were  found  a  large  number  of  bones,  many  of  which  have 
been  cut  with  a  keen  instrument.  They  are  probably  all 
quite  modem. 

2nd.  Bed  clay,  very  tenacious  and  containing  but  little 
stony  matter ;  about  five  feet.  This  clay  closely  resembles 
the  staple  of  the  ossiferous  deposits  found  in  the  caverns  of 
the  district,  and  known  as  Cave-earth.  Similar  clay  covers 
considerable  areas  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  sometimes  to 


166       THE  DEPOSITS  OCCUPYING  THE  VALLEY 

the  depth  of  several  feet  It  is  frequently  used  for  brick- 
making,  for  which  it  is  well  adapted.  At  the  brick-field  at 
Hele  Cross,  in  the  adjoining  parish  of  St.  Mary  Church,  it  is 
from  ten  to  twelve  feet  deep. 

3rd.  Similar,  but  somewhat  coarser,  red  clay,  mixed  with 
angular  masses  of  limestone ;  about  three  feet. 

4th.  An  accumulation  of  coarse  sand,  angular  blocks  of 
limestone,  and  pebbles  of  quartz,  slate,  red  grit,  flint  and 
limestone;  upwards  of  nine  feet.  In  sinking  a  well,  this 
accumidation  was  excavated  to  the  depth  just  mentioned,  but 
the  bottom  of  it  was  not  reached ;  a  few  yards  higher  up  the 
valley,  a  second  such  excavation  disclosed  the  unbroken 
limestone  bottom  of  the  valley  at  a  depth  a  little  below  the 
nine  feet  level  In  some  places,  especially  towards  the  lower 
part  of  this  mass,  fragments  of  carbonate  of  lime  of  stalac- 
titic  aspect  are  somewhat  numerous.  Many  of  the  lime- 
stone pebbles  have  been  perforated  by  marine  creatures ;  and 
throughout  the  bed,  shells  of  the  oyster,  Ostrea  edtUis;  pecten, 
Pecten  maximus;  mussel,  MytUus  edulis;  cockle,  Cardiwm, 
ediUe;  limpet,  Patella  vulgaris;  and  periwinkle,  LUtorina 
littorea;  are  abundant.  They  are  well  preserved  and  have 
a  modem  aspect. 

From  the  forgoing  facts,  it  is  obvious : — 

1st.  That  the  valley  had  not  only  been  excavated,  but  the 
deposits  had  been  lodged  in  it  before  the  erection  of  the 
houses  recently  removed. 

2nd.  That  the  fourth  or  pebble  bed  is  of  marine  origin. 
For  were  it  supposed  that  the  shells  were  taken  there  by 
man,  it  would  stiU  be  necessary  to  account  for  the  presence 
of  the  perforated  pebbles,  and  also  for  the  fact  that  shells  do 
not  occur  in  either  of  the  overl3dng  beds. 

3rd.  That  the  top  of  the  fourth  bed  is  no  more  than  one 
foot  above  the  level  of  spring-tide  high-water,  and  would 
therefore  be  within  the  reach  of  ordinary  waves,  if  the  over- 
lying materials  were  removed.  Hence  it  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  any  change  of  the  relative  level  of  sea  and  land 
has  taken  place  since  the  bed  was  laid  down.  In  other 
words,  this  bed  may  be  regarded  as  being  more  modem  than 
the  Raised  beaches  and  Submerged  forests  on  the  adjacent 
coasts — a  conclusion  in  harmony  with  the  very  modem  aspect 
of  the  shells  which  the  bed  contains. 

4th.  That,  with  the  exception  of  the  flints,  the  fragments 
of  rock — limestone,  slate,  grit,  quartz — found  in  the  fourth 
bed  are  all  derivable  from  the  area  which  the  valley  drains. 
Hence,  but  for  the  flints,  there  is  no  evidencS  that  any  change 


BETWEEN  THE  BBADDONS  AND  WALDON  HILLS,  TORQUAY.  167 

has  taken  place  in  the  conditions,  or  the  surface-configuration 
of  the  district  generally,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
deposition  of  the  bed. 

5th.  That,  at  least,  that  part  of  the  valley  which  extends 
from  Torquay  Town-hall  to  the  harbour  must  have  been, 
until  very  recently,  a  narrow  tidal  inlet  of  Torbay,  from 
which  the  sea  has  been  gradually  excluded  by  detritus 
thrown  d^wn  by  a  river  of  no  more  than  mill-stream  dimen- 
sions. 

6th.  That,  assuming  there  has  been  no  diminution  in  the 
rain-fall  of  the  district,  the  stream  can  never  have  averaged 
more  than  its  existing  volume,  since  the  watershed  of  its 
basin  is  very  sharply  defined.  Hence  it  may  be  concluded 
that  the  second  and  third  beds  were  very  slowly  accumulated, 
and  that  they  represent  a  laige  number  of  years,  though 
an  extremely  inconsiderable  period  in  relation  to  geological 
time. 

7th.  That  by  adding  to  this  the  time  which  has  passed 
away  since  their  deposition  was  completed,  as  well  as  the 
much  more  important  period  represented  by  the  fourth  or 
marine  bed,  we  have  a  minimum  measure  of  the  interval 
which  has  elapsed  since  the  last  adjustment  of  the  relative 
level  of  sea  and  land. 

It  has  been  stated  that  flints  occur  in  the  fourth  bed,  and 
that  no  accumulation  of  flints,  whether  derivative  or  primary, 
exists  vdthin  the  area  which  the  valley  draina  This  fact  is 
one  of  a  laige  class.  Flints  present  themselves  in  all  the 
numerous  Eaised  beaches  both  in  Devon  and  Cornwall ;  on 
the  very  extensive  shingle  beach  at  Slapton  in  Start  Bay 
they  form  scarcely  less  than  75  per  cent  of  the  entire  accu-* 
mutation ;  they  are  met  with  in  no  stinted  numbers  in  the 
Scilly  Isles ;  and  they  are  by  no  means  rare  on  the  various 
existing  beaches  in  Barnstaple  Bay.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that,  notwithstanding  the  laws  of  the  Admiralty  to  the  con- 
trary, sailors  frequently  throw  their  ballast  overboard,  and 
that  the  presence  of  rock  fragments  from  distant  localities  is 
sometimes  ascribable  to  shipwreck.  Only  small  quantities, 
however,  can  thus  be  accounted  for.  The  Slapton  beach  bids 
defiance  to  any  such  explanation,  and  it  is  obvious  that  the 
numerous  flints  in  the  more  ancient  accumulations  already 
mentioned  require  some  other  hypothesis. 

There  appear  to  be  but  three  possible  suppositions: — 
1st.  That  the  flints  have  travelled  along  the  coasts  from 
localities  known  to  be  capable  of  supplying  them.  2nd.  That 
they  have  been  derived  from  unknown  submarine  outliers 


168       THE  DEPOSITS  OCCUPYING  THE  VALLEY 

containing  flints.  Or  3rd.  That  they  are  the  relics  of  a 
gravel  which  once  was  widely  spread  over,  but  now  is  at 
least  almost  completely  removed  from,  the  country. 

These  suppositions  I  propose  to  consider  briefly,  and  in  the 
order  given  above : — 

1st.  It  is  well  known  that  most  existing  beaches  traveL 
So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  direction  of  their  motion  is,  on  the 
whole,  definite  and  constant;  and  it  is  obvious  that  it  depends 
on  the  trend  of  the  coast  and  on  the  direction  of  the  prevalent 
winds.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  on  the  southern  coast  of 
Devonshire  the  conditions  concur  to  make  the  beaches  travel 
eastward;  and  that  were  the  land,  as  formerly,  at  a  lower 
level,  the  conditions  would  undergo  no  other  change  than 
that  of  being  more  decided.  Accordingly,  extensive  accu- 
mulations of  sand  and  shingle  project  across  the  mouths  of 
the  Exe,  Otter,  Sid,  and  Axe,  from  their  western  towsrdB  their 
eastern  banks;  the  rivers  are  themselves  jammed  against 
their  eastern  boundaries;  the  famous  quartzite  pebbles  of 
Budleigh  Salterton  occur  on  every  beach  twenty  miles  east- 
ward from  the  bed  which  jdelds  them ;  and  the  celebrated 
Chesil  beach,  between  Portland  and  the  Dorsetshire  mainland, 
is  said  to  be  composed  of  materials  derived  frx^m  the  west, 
amongst  which  fragments  of  Torbay  rocks  are  by  no  means 
rare. 

Flints  are  derivable  from  the  basins  of  the  Teign  and  all 
the  Devonshire  rivers  east  of  it.  There  is  no  known  accumu- 
lation in  situ  further  west.  Nevertheless,  the  Otter,  which 
reaches  the  sea  at  Budleigh  Salterton,  is  the  most  westerly 
stream  which  brings  them  to  the  coast  in  any  number.  If, 
therefore,  the  flints  to  be  accounted  for  have  travelled  along 
the  coast  from  localities  known  to  be  capable  of  supplying 
them,  they  must  have  made  the  journey  from  Budleigh 
Salterton  or  some  more  easterly  district.  To  this,  however, 
there  are  two  apparently  fatal  objections: — the  direction,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  contrary  to  that  of  probable  transportation ; 
and  there  are  comparatively  very  few  flints  on  the  numerous 
beaches  between  Budleigh  Salterton  and  Slapton.  To  attempt 
to  meet  the  latter  fact  with  the  hypothesis  that  they  take  a 
direct  course,  and  thus  avoid  the  intermediate  strands,  is  to 
suppose  them  to  travel  in  fifteen  fathoms  water — a  depth  far 
beyond  the  transporting  power  of  any  wave  that  ever  visited 
the  English  Channel. 

2nd.  The  existence  of  a  submarine  outlier  containing  flints 
is,  no  doubt,  purely  hypothetical.  Moreover,  even  if  those  on 
Slapton  beach  can  be  thus  accounted  for,  it  may  be  doubted 


BETWEEN  THE  BRADDONS  AND  WALDON  HILLS,  TORQUAY.  169 

whether  such  an  explaDation  would  suffice  for  the  specimens 
which  occur  in  the  Eaised  beaches  and  at  still  higher  levels. 
Some  of  these  occur  at  heights  upwards  of  200  feet  above  the 
sea,  so  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  suppose  them  deposited 
when  the  level  of  the  land  was  to  that  extent  lower  than  at 
present ;  that  is  when  the  depth  of  the  sea — at  present  some- 
what too  profound  for  the  hypothesis — surpassed  that  which 
now  exists  by  at  least  35  fathoms.  No  doubt,  it  is  possible 
that  at  that  remote  period  the  supposed  outlier  may  have 
exceeded  its  present  dimensions ;  but  the  supposition  that  it 
has  lost  a  vertical  thickness  of  200  feet,  and  is  still  un- 
destroyed,  is  entirely  unauthorized  by  any  known  deposit  of 
the  kind  within  the  limits  of  the  county. 

But  though  the  hypothesis  of  a  submarine  outlier,  as  the 
source  of  what  may  be  called  the  "  high-level  flints,"  appears 
to  be  untenable,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  an  utterly  improbable 
explanation  of  the  presence  of  those  which  form  so  important 
a  portion  of  the  existing  beach  at  Slapton.  I  may  observe 
that  the  remarkable  shoal,  commencing  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  north-east  of  the  Start  Point,  and  extending  in  that 
direction  for  three  and  a  half  miles,  has  nowhere  more  than 
five,  and  in  many  places  not  more  than  two  and  a  half 
fathoms  of  water  on  it,  whilst  the  immediately  adjacent 
soundings  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  fathoms.  This  submarine 
bank  is  so  admirably  situated  for  supplying  the  beach,  that 
it  would  be  of  great  interest  to  determine  its  composition. 

3rd.  The  "high-level  flints"  just  mentioned  occur,  with 
other  pebbles  of  distant  derivation,  in  the  Eaised  beaches,  in 
the  Ossiferous  caverns,  in  the  Brick  clays,  and  in  fissures  and 
"pockets"  which  exist  in  the  limestone  hills.  Respecting  the 
hypothesis  that  they  are  the  relics  of  a  wide-spread  gravel 
which  once  covered  this  district  generally,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  such  gravels  still  exist  on  the  high  grounds  of  Milber 
Down,  and  in  the  adjacent  valley  at  Aller,  about  four  miles 
from  Torquay;  that  they  still  partially  occupy  the  Teign-and 
more  easterly  valleys,  as  well  as  the  heights  which  bound 
them ;  and  that,  though  they  have  sufiered  very  much  from 
denudation,  considerable  remnants  exist  in  numerous  localities. 
In  the  present  state  of  the  evidence,  therefore,  no  hypothesis 
respecting  the  source  of  the  flints  in  the  marine  or  fourth  bed 
in  the  Torquay  valley,  as  well  as  those  at  all  the  higher  levels, 
is  so  free  from  objection  as  that  which  regards  them  as  re- 
deposited  portions  of  this  old  gravel  formation. 


THE 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  DEVONIAN  BRAOHIOPODA 
OF  DEVONSHIRE  AND  CORNWALL 

BY  W.    PEVOELLY,    F.B.8.,    F.O.S.,    ETC. 


The  question  of  the  exact  place  of  the  Limestones,  Slates, 
and  Grits  of  North  and  South  Devon  and  Cornwall,  in  the 
chronological  series  of  the  geologist,  has  been  recently  re- 
opened. For  nearly  forty  years  they  have  been  generallv 
held  to  be  chronological  equivalents  of  the  Old  Bed  Sana- 
stone  of  Herefordshire,  Scotland,  and  elsewhere;  and,  on 
account  of  their  great  development  in  this  county,  they, 
and  all  rocks  held  to  be  contemporary,  have  been  termed  the 
"Devonian  System."  With  one  possible  exception,  they  are 
the  oldest  rocks  of  the  two  counties,  and  being  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  more  modem  formations  or  by  the  sea,  we 
have  not  the  advantage  of  studying  their  petralogical  relations 
to  rocks  of  higher  antiquity  whose  chronology  has  been 
definitively  established-  To  add  to  the  difficulty,  these 
"Devonian'*  rocks,  especially  in  South  Devon,  are  wonderfully 
disturbed  and  dislocated. 

As,  then,  we  cannot  hope  for  information  from  super- 
position— the  most  trustworthy  of  all  tests  in  geological 
chronology — the  problem  must  be  either  abandoned  adtogether, 
or  must  be  solved  on  paleeontological  evidence  only;  and  if 
attempted  through  the  testimony  of  the  fossils  found  in  the 
rocks,  the  attempt  must  be  made  in  a  deliberate,  cautious 
spirit.  Our  first  business  appears  to  be  that  of  determining 
what  fossils  we  have ;  how  many  of  them  are  found  in  other 
districts,  and  in  what  systems  they  occur  ;  and  what  species 
are  common  to  the  different  localities  and  zones  within  our 
own  borders.  The  only  satisfactory  method  of  doing  this 
appears  to  be  that  of  arranging  the  facts  in  a  tabular  form ; 
that  being  the  method  which  is  most  compendious,  and  which 
shows  at  a  glance  what  we  do  not,  as  well  as  what  we  do, 
possess. 


THE  BRACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL. 


171 


In  this  communication  my  aim  is  to  show  in  a  series  of 
tables  what  is  the  distribution,  so  far  as  is  at  present  known, 
of  the  Devonian  Brachiopoda  of  Devonshire  and  ComwalL 
My  facts  are  exclusively  derived  from  the  highest  source — 
the  Monograph  of  British  Devonian  Brachiopoda^  by  Thomas 
Davidson,  Esq.,  P.R.S.,  f.g.s.,  &c.  &c.,  published  by  the  Palseon- 
tographical  Society  in  1864-65. 

The  Class  Brachiopoda,  according  to  Professor  Huxley, 
belwigs  to  the  Third  Province  (Molluscoida)  of  the  Sub- 
Elingdom  MoUusca.*  They  have,  says  Professor  Owen,  "  two 
long  spiral  arms  developed  from  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  and 
respire  chiefly  by  means  of  their  vascular  integument  or 
'  mantle.'  One  valve  of  the  shell  is  applied  to  the  back,  and 
the  other  to  the  belly  of  the  animal,  which  is  attached  by  its 
shell,  or  by  a  pedicle  to  some  foreign  body."t 

In  the  present  day  the  species  are  by  no  means  numerous, 
but  they  are  widely  distributed,  and  some  exist  at  greater 
depths  than  any  other  bivalve  mollusks.  In  earlier  geological 
epochs  they  were  much  more  abundant,  and  they  date  from 
a  very  early  period  in  the  earth's  history. 

The  Brachiopoda  found  in  the  Devonian  deposits  in  Devon 
and  Cornwall  belong  to  78  species,  24  genera,  and  5  families. 

Table  I. 

BHSWnrO  THE  DIOTRIBUnON   OF  THB  DKVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA   OV  DSVOV 
AND   OORNWALU 


■DiKiiA  aud  wnctm. 


5    S 


1  Terebiatul*  «aceului , 

2  T.  jiiYeniH 

3  T.  KuwtDniensifl 

4  r.  thitiffJta 

fi  Btringocepiialiui  Burtini 
T  Athyria  concemtrica  . 
B  A-  phalnsGft 

12  ReUiafflHta       . 

13  Uncitos  ^nrphiu 
U  Spirifera  v©rneuilliiveldiijuixf?ta 


«  Jokee'  '*  Manilla  of  Geology,"  page  381.     1862. 

t  Ency.  Brit,  ed.  TiiL,  toL  xt.,  page  322,  Art.  '*  MolloBca,'* 


186a 


172 


THE  DISTBIBTTTION  OF  THE  DETOMIAN 


1 

ourxBA  SMU  ttwetn. 

i 
g 

1 

1 

1 

1 

■J 

m 

1 

s 

i 

1 

1 
s 

1 

1 

3 

1 

1 

1 
1 

a 

15  Sp,  liQTic^)«t&YQlo«tiobta. 

10  Sp.  speciosa       ,        .        *        . 

17  Sp.  aut-cuspidid* 

19  Sp.  nudA            .        .         .        . 

20  Sp.  ciirrsU        .        .        .        . 

21  Sp.  Urii              .         .        .         . 

22  Bp.  simplex        .        .        -        . 

23  Sp.prinmm        .         .         .         , 

24  Sp.  NgiPt&m'mMit 

25  Sp.  ktj3t£rita       .         .         .         . 

26  Sp.  itneata  td  micro^amttut 

27  Sp.  iamifwfa       ,         ,         .         . 
23  Spirifarina   cristata,   mr.   octo- 

plicata            .         .        .         . 
2&  Sp.  irmuipU       ,         ,         .         . 

30  Cf  rtiiiA  heteioclita     . 

31  a  DemarlJi        ,        .        -        , 

32  C,  amblygona    .        -         ,        . 

33  Atrvpalens        .         .         *         . 

34  A.  fopida            ,        .        .        . 
3d  A,  TCticularii!     ,        .        ,        , 
2a  A,  aspera            ,         *         .         . 
37  A.  dedquaniAta  ^         .         .         . 
33  A,  flabellBta       .        .        .        . 
3B  Daridsonia  Vsmeullii 

40  Rhvnchonolla  triloba 

41  It.  PongelUana 

42  R.  bifPiu            .         .        *        , 

43  R.  pugnof  flt  t^fflr,  anisodonU     . 

44  R,  acuminatft     .         ,         .         . 

45  R.  renifomuft      .         ,         »         . 

46  R.  pleurodon  et  wur.  , 

47  R.  cuboidea        .        .         .        , 

48  R.  laticoate        .        .        .        . 
4d  R.  pmnipilaris  <3t  rar.  implexa  . 

50  R.  angnkHfl      .        «        ,        . 

51  R.  Ogwellieiuu 

62  R,  protrsw-ta       .        .         .         : 

53  R.  LimunatonienBis    , 

54  Canmraphoria  rhomljoidea  (tbI 

globiUina)       .         ,         .         . 
&&  Pentamerua  brnvirostri*     , 
66  P.  bipUcatufl      .        .        .        . 
57  Stropbom^im  rhomboidftlia,  Mr, 

analo^a           .         .         .         . 

63  Stroptorhjnchua  umljinculnin   » 

59  St.  crcTifitria      .        *        .        , 

60  St.  gigas             .        .         .         , 

61  Leptee^  inteMriAlia 

62  L.  iiQbilla           ,         ,        .         . 

V 

♦ 

• 
m 

* 

* 

• 

• 

* 

« ■ 

m 
m 

* 

* 

* 

• 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

■; 

V 

* 

• 

* 
* 

_ 

4 
« 

• 

• 

r 

* 
* 

* 

: 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

4 
• 

• 

* 

* 
* 

• 

4 
4 

* 
• 

4 

m 

4 

V 

4 
4 

;; 

4' 

4 

* 

4  ' 

« 
4 

• 
« 

* 
• 

4 

:: 

:: 

.. 

;: 

4. 
4 

4 
4 

• 

• 
4 

4 

4 
4 
4 

4 
4 

4 
P 

4 
4 

4 

4 

BBACHIOFODA.  OF  DEVON  AND  COKNWALL. 


173 


1 

•nzsA  jjfs  ir>Div> 

1 

1 

1 

1 

d 

1 

1 

PP 

f 

s:; 

1 

S 

1 

^ 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

63  L.  fTel  Orthifl)  latic^tA     . 
04  Orthifl  Btnatuk  vel  retiupmata  . 
06  0.  arcuata          ,        ,        ♦        . 
6B  0,  mterlineata  ,        .        ,        . 

67  0.  Mjtpariony^   ,         ,         ,         . 

68  0.  ifrnfiulmta        .          .         ,          * 

69  Choiietoa  sonlida 

70  Ch.  Uardrensifi 

71  Cb-  nimuta        .        .        .        . 

72  Strophaloak    productoidee    Tel 

caporata         .         .         *         . 

73  ProductuH  prffilongua 

74  P-  Bubaculeatufl 
76  i*.  tcsbncMltiJt 

76  /*.  hfiffi^pintiM 

77  Diucina  niUda 

Or 

• 
• 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

* 

* 
* 

4 
« 

* 

m 

• 
f 

* 

• 
* 

« 
• 

• 

« 1 

« 

» 

V 

• 
* 

* 
• 

• 

* 

■ 

v 

• 

1  * 

19  11 

10 

37 

H 

37 

26 

23 

20 

» 

5 

4 

7 

Ifi 

6 

2 

20 

3& 

16 

3S 

2, 

24 

21 

IS 

6 

12 

Before  proceeding,  the  following  explanations  may  be 
serviceable  The  fourteen  names  printed  in  italics  are  those 
of  species  which  are  probably  good,  but  are  not  suflBciently 
made  out  on  account  of  the  imperfection  or  insufficiency  of 
of  the  material* 

Calceola  sandcdina,  though  occurring  in  Mr.  Davidson's 
list,  is  omitted  here,  because  it  has  become  the  prevalent 
opinion  that  it  does  not  belong  to  the  Class  "BixuMopoda"\ 

The  species  in  the  column  headed  "Pilton"  have  been 
found  at  Pilton,  Marwood,  Sloly,  Baggy  Point,  and  Croyde 
Bay.  The  first  is  a  suburb  of  Barnstaple,  the  second  and 
third  are  about  three  miles  north  by  west>  and  two  and  half 
miles  north  by  east  respectively  from  that  town.  Baggy  Point 
is  the  northern  horn  of  Barnstaple  and  Croyde  Bays— the 
latter  a  branch  of  the  former. 

Brushford  is  a  village  about  one  mile  and  half  south  of 
Dulverton,  and  three  and  half  north-west  of  Bampton. 

South  Petherwyn  is  a  village  about  two  miles  south-westerly 
from  Launceston,  in  ComwalL  The  fossils  are  chiefly  found 
in  the  quarries  at  Landlake,  in  the  parish  of  S.  Petherwyn. 

*  See  Deyonian  Monograph,  page  106. 

t  See  GeoL  Mag.,  yoI.  liL,  pagee  369,  &o.  and  406,  &o. 


174  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF   THE  DEVONIAK 

Woolboroagh  quarry  is  adjacent  to  the  road  from  Newton 
Abbott  to  Totnes  in  South  Devon,  and  a  short  mile  from  the 
former. 

The  limestone  quarries  grouped  under  the  general  name  of 
"  Oewell"  are  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Chircombe 
Bridge,  on  the  river  Lemon,  about  two  miles  west  of  Newton 
Abbott. 

Barton  is  a  village  about  three  miles  northward  from  Tor- 
quay harbour.  The  fossils  assigned  to  this  locality  are  found 
in  Barton  and  Lummaton  hills — two  adjacent  masses  of  lime- 
stona 

Hope's  Nose  is  the  northern  horn  of  Torbay. 

Dartington  House  is  about  a  mile  and  half  northward  from 
Totnea 

Meadfoot  Bay  is  adjacent  to  Torquay,  and  lies  between  it 
and  Hope's  Nose.    The  fossils  occur  in  gritty  slates, 

Looe  Harbour  in  Cornwall  is  from  thirteen  to  fourteen 
miles  almost  due  west  from  Plymouth. 

The  fossils  in  the  columns  headed  ''Carboniferous''  and 
"  Coomhola"  show  the  number  of  Devonian  species  found  in 
Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  which  have  also  been  met  with  in 
the  Carboniferous  Limestone,  and  the  "Coomhola  grits" 
respectively.  The  latter  are  so  named  from  the  district  of 
Coomhola  near  Bantry  Bay  in  Ireland.  They  are  commonly 
supposed  to  be  of  the  age  of  the  Carboniferous  slates,  to 
have  their  place  immediately  below  the  Carboniferous  lime- 
stone, and  to  be  the  base  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 

Mr.  Davidson  was  so  good  as  to  furnish  me,  by  private 
letter,  with  the  information  in  the  column  headed  "  Silurian." 

The  double  totals  at  the  foot  of  the  table  arise  from  the 
exclusion  or  inclusion  of  the  species  marked  with  a  query. 
It  will  be  observed  that  none  are  so  marked  in  the  Brushford, 
Petherwyn,  Meadfoot,  Liuton,  and  Looe  columns. 


BRACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AKD  OOBNWALL. 


175 


Table  II. 

SHOWUrO  THB  DISTRIBUTION    OF  THE  DEVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

PILTON,  ETC. 


•r>cis«. 

i 

p 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

^ 

# 
* 

t 

* 

a? 

i 

■1 

1 

i 

1 

■1 

1  Terebratulu  smiiIus 

a   r,  elongatu       ,         ,         .         , 

3  Atbyris  cone^ntrica  * 

4  Spiriferft    Verne  uiMii    y©1    dis- 

jancta            .          .         .         . 

5  Sp.  Urii             .         ,         .         . 

6  Sp.  tamino$a    .        .        .        . 

7  Spiriferina  criaUla,  var.  octo- 

plicata          .        .        .        . 
S  Rh jncho Delia  pi earodonetrar. 
0  R-  Iftticoflta       .         .         .         . 

1 0  Strop homea a rhomboidal is,  var. 

aDuloga        .        .        ,        . 

1 1  StFeptorphjnchuB  orcnislria     . 
I'i  Ottliis  striatala  vel  resupmala . 
13  0.  int^rimeata 

U  Chonete^i  HardrenBis 

15  Strop  halosia    productoide«  tcJ 

caperaiA       ,        .        *        . 

16  Productas  pr»loti^s 

17  P.  ecabriculut 
IB  P.  hngispinut 
U  Discina  Qitida 

30  l4i[igiila  aquo^tniformla 

1                                  Totals    , 

* 

* 
• 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 
• 

• 

« 
* 

\[ 

• 
• 

» 

• 
*  * 

• 

« 
* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

4 
• 

* 

• 

* 
* 

* 

* 

n 

a 

6 

a 

6 

fi 

4 

3 

b 

*i 

I 

1 

l(* 

9 

I 

It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  give  the  doable  totals 
in  the  second  and  following  Tables.  Here  and  henceforward 
both  the  species  and  the  localities  receive  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt 


176 


THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  DBVONIAN 


Table  III. 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE   DEVONIAN    BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

BRUSHFORD. 


tPBtlliK^ 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

> 

1 

£1 

i 

;s 

1 

i 

i 

j 

i 

1  T«rebralu1a  ^Accutaa 
3  S  pififer  aT^meui  lu  v&]  diiy  urn  eta 
3  Sp.  Urii           .        .        .        , 
A  Spiriferina  criE^tata,  ^ar.  octo- 
plicaU          .         .         .         , 
5  RJijQGhoneUaplearodoTtelf^dr. 
fl  SLreptorbynchus  creniAtna 

7  Orthia  intftrlineata  , 

8  ChoT*ete»  Hiirdrcnais 

9  SiropbatoiiiA   productdides   vel 

eaperota       .        *        *        . 

10  ProduPtPis  prffiloDgnB 

11  P.  tcab^ricultn 

ToUU    * 

* 
* 

m 
m 

4 

4 
* 

* 

* 

• 

« 

m 
• 
# 

? 

■- 

• 

4 

3 

1 

2 

1 

1 

2 

2 

0 

1 

5 

1 

0 

Table  IV. 

SHOWING   THE   DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   DEVONIAN   BRACHIPODA   FOUND   AT 
SOUTH   FBTBERWYN. 


■FIClfel. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

s 

1 

m 

1 

i 

1 

1 

» 

1 

1 

5 

j 

S 

1  Atbym  ooncentrica 

2  SpxriferaVemeaiJUveldj^HDcta 

3  Sp.  Urii 

4  Sp.  Uneata  vel  micro  gamma    . 

6  Atrypa  reiiculariB 

0  Ehynchonella  pugnus   et  uat. 
aniaodoriU   -         ,         ,         , 

7  E.  pleurodon  et  var. 

a  Cam  arap  h  ori  a  rhom  boid  ea  ( vol 
globulina)     ,         .         .         , 

9  Slrophalosia  productoides  vel 
cape  rata  ,  ,  ,  . 
10  Prodaotus  iubafluleatus   , 

* 

* 

4 

4 
* 

* 
« 

4 

4 
4 

4 
* 

• 

4 

4 
4 

• 

* 

* 

4 

* 
* 

« 

4 
4 

4 

« 
4 

4 
* 

4 
4 

4 

4 

« 

• 

* 

4 

4 
4 

4 

? 

• 

f 
m 

4 

5 

4 

7 

3 

s 

5 

3 

» 

4 

I 

0 

I 

5 

4 

1 

BRACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND   CORNWALL. 


177 


Table  V. 

SHOWING  TVS  DI8TBIBC7TION  OF  THE  DEVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 
WOOLBOROUOH. 


spsGiai. 

1 

* 
* 

3 

* 

« 

• 
* 

• 

• 
7 

1 

-• 

• 
■ 

• 
* 
« 

• 
* 

* 

1 

• 

:: 

1 

1 

* 

* 
« 
* 

• 
* 

« 
« 

« 

* 
? 

* 
• 

* 

» 

« 
* 
* 

* 

* 

• 
* 

• 
« 
* 

* 

• 
• 

m 

m 

t 

• 

• 

1 

* 
« 

» ■ 

• 

V 
V 

i 

• 
* » 

« 

* 
• 
* 

* 
« 

« 

7 

* 

9 

1  Terebratulfl  aa^calus 

2  T,  Newtoniensiis 

3  Slringocepbalus  Burtioi  . 

4  Albyri!*  coricentrica 

6  A.  NewtonitmU 
0  Mtfriaia  pleb&ia 

7  HtfUia  ferita     .        ,        .        . 
t*  Uncites  gryphus 

0  SpiriforaYerueuiliiTeldi^uDctfl 

10  S  p.  IwviccfSta  ¥el  ^Mtiolata 

11  Sp.  sub-cuBpidaUi     , 

12  Sp-  undif^ra  et  «at-.  undalata  . 

13  Sp.  irnda          .         *        ,        . 
U  Sp.  curTato       .        «        .        . 
\b  Sp.  kimpiex      .        ,        .        . 
13  5p.  NtwUmUnsu 

17  CyrtJna  heteroclita  . 

18  C.  Demarlii      .        ,        .        . 

19  Airypa  reucolaris     . 

m  A.  aspera         .        .        .        . 

21  A.  d^»quaTiiaU 

'11  A.ilabeUata     .        .        .        . 

23  Davidsaina  Veroeuilii 

'J  4  RhynchoDellft  tribba 

;2a  R,  pu^nu!^  i3t  trar.  anUodotita  . 

'20  R.  af^uminaU    .         ,         *         . 

J7  R.  pleurodtrti  et  ear, 

28  R.  CQboide*      ,        .        ,        . 

29  R.  pri  mi  pil  aris  et  t?  ar.  im  p\eia. , 

30  CaTTiRrapKoria  rbomhoidea  (vel 

gU(htilma)    .        .        .        . 

31  Pentftftitirus  breviroatris  , 

;J  J  Smj  pho  rn  e  u  a  rhom  boidali^  t?af  r 
anaLoga        .        .         .        . 
33  Streptorhyiaehuft  umbracalum  . 
3t  LeptiEna  iptfrHtriAlis 
35  L.  nobiUs         ,         .        -        , 
35  Orthi!*  gtrintula  t«1  resnpiiiata 

37  0,  ^ranu^oia     .         ,         *         . 

38  PruductuA  iubaoulMtoK   , 

ToUli    . 

1  ■- 
* 

L9 

'in 

1» 

13 

3 

* 

1 

e 

VOL.    IL 


178 


THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THB  DXVQMIAN 


Table  VI. 


8H0WIN0  THB  DISTBIBUTIOV  OF  THB  DEVONIAN  BRAGHIOFODA  AT 

oGWBiJi,  Era 


aiMiv* 

] 

i 

1 

j 

1 

1 

1 

s 

^ 

:4 

J 

i 

1 

11 

t  Striogocephftlua  BurtinI  , 

2  MeriHta  plebeil 

3  Retzift  feriU     ,        *        *        . 

4  Uncites  gryphan 

6  Spirif^ra  spcciosa     * 

0  Sp.  curvata       ,        *        ,        , 

7  Air^pft  retioulBTJB     * 

5  Ebynchonella  trilob* 

0  R.  cuboidea      .        .        .        . 
10  R.  Ogwellienaii 
)  i  Cftmarflpboria  rfaomboidea  (vel 
globulina)    ♦        ♦        .        . 

12  PeutameruB  br^viro  atria  . 

13  Lept^ria  iijl©rmrsali» 

H  Orthis  strifttula  vel  resupioflta . 

la  Stropbaloflift  productoidea   i^el 

eaptrata       .        ,        ,        . 

Totals    . 

* 
* 
2 

* 
1 

• 

9 

* 

• 

• 
• 

* 

• 

• 
• 
« 

• 
* 

a 
11 

a 

a 

« 
a 

• 

* 
* 

7 

• 
m 

• 
• 
a 

a 
a 
a 

10 

9 

• 
* 

a 

V 

» 

i 

3 

13 

6 

0 

t 

I 

1 

1     1 

BSACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  Aim  CORNWALL. 


179 


Table  VII. 

8H0WINQ   THS  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THB  DEVONIAN  BRACHIOPODA   FOUND    AT 

BABTON,  sra 


irNClM. 

i 
s 

t  1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

J 

• 

a 
a 

a 
a 
* 

* 

« 
;; 

: 

• 

a 

a 

1  Terebratola  Etonlns 

2  TJuvenw         .         .         .         . 

3  Ath^rU  Bartonittuu 

4  Mtiri^u  pie  beta 

&  Retzjft  fmtft    .        ,        .        , 

6  Spirifera    Verneaillii    Tel    dis- 

juneta           .        .        ,        « 

7  Sp.  undife™  et  imt.  UDdtil&tA  » 

8  Sp.  uuda  .        .        .        .        . 
e  Sp.  t^urvttta       .        .        .        . 

10  Sp.  Urii    .        ,        ,        ,        . 

11  Sp*  simplei       .         »         ,         , 
1^  Sp.  liruata  vit  micro -gamma    . 

13  Spiri/erina  insculpta 

1 4  Cjnina  beterocliu  . 

15  C,  Demariii      ,        .        *        . 
10  C.  ajTibJy(jroiia   .         ,         ,         . 

17  Atrjpaleptda   .        .        . 

18  A.  reticQlaris    *         *         .         . 

IQ  A.  aspera 

*iO  A*  dt^squamala 

21    Rh>nchODpl]a  triloba 
•22  R.  pMgaus  et  vat.  acihodoata   , 
'i^3  R.  acuminata  .         ,         .         . 
'^1  R.  nsnifomiis    ,         ,         .         , 
25  R,  ciiboidos       ,         .         ,         ., 
'-^0  R.  priroipilariB  ^t  par.  impl*xa 
37  B^  HTigulana      .         .         ,         ■ 
S8  B,  LuTjimftLoDiensis 
20  Cftniaraphorift  rbomboidea  (toI 
globaUna     .        *        .        . 

30  Peniamenia  bievirontria  . 

31  P,  biplicatna     .        .        ,        . 
S%  Stfopbomena  i-homboidalia  var. 

analoga         .         .         .         . 

33  StreptorhjDcci$  nmbractilam     . 

34  I^ptf^na  interstriallB 

35  L,  nobiUa         ,        ,        ,        . 
35  Orthi*  stnatula  vel  resupitiata. 

37  Stn^pbabsia    productoidw  fol 

c«p«ratA       .        .        .        , 

38  Ptmluetiu  iubaouleatas  . 

TnUls     . 

• 

•  ^ 

*  ♦ 

» 
• 

« 
:: 

• 

* 

• 

m 
* 

* 
* 

a 

* 
* 

* 

« 

« 

• 
• 

18 

a 

• 

■ 

• 
* 

• 
• 
• 

« 
« 

• 
a 
• 

• 
18 

9 
• 

a 

a 
* 

* 
a 

* 
■ 
a 
• 
* 
• 

• 
* 

* 

• 

V 

IK 

* 
• 

• 

a 

• 

a 
* 

10 

*. 
.. 

a 

•  * 

•  * 

V 
V 

2 

I 

* 

* 

*   * 

*  • 

•    * 

■  1  * 

•    a 

• 

■   ■ 

« 
ft 

• 
4 

-  * 
*   '  - 

9  W 

IT  2 


180 


THE  DISTBIBUTIOHr  OF  THE  DEYONIAK 


Table  VIII. 

BHOWINQ  THB  DlfirnUBUTION   OF  THE  DEVONIAN  BRACHIOFODA  FOUND  AT 
hope's  N06E. 


i»CZi», 

1 

1 

1 

., 

• 
* 

i 

• 
♦ 

V 

* 

« 
• 
« 

* 
• 

• 

« 
♦ 

« 

1 

5 

* 
• 

• 

* 
* 
• 

• 

• 

V 

* 

• 

« 

* 

• 
* 

• 
• 
* 

12 

• 
* 

a 

1 

♦ 
V 

3 

1 

« 
1 

• 

• 
Z 

V 

5 

* 

1  Terehralula  sacctilue 
%  At  hy rift  coocetitricfi 
a  A.  phAlflDQa       .         ,         .         , 
4  Mensta  plebela        .         «         . 
b  Spirifer*   Vern&uilUi    vel    dh- 
juncta .        •        .        .        , 
6  Sp.  speciosa     .        ,        ♦        . 
T  Sp*  sab-cunpidaU     . 
B  Sp.  undifera  ei  var.  unddata  . 
fi  Sp.  Dyda          .        .        »        . 

10  Sp.  curvata      .        ,        ,        . 

11  5p.  hiftUrica    .        .        *        , 

12  Sp,  ^tneaea  vd  mieTO-gavtma    . 

13  Cortina  hejteroclita  . 

14  Atrjpalens       .        , 

16  A.  redcnlaris    *         .         .         . 
IG  A.  asp*?ra          .         *         ,         . 

17  A.  dGBqunmata 

18  Kliynchonellft  bifera 

19  R,  cubojdes      .        .        ,        . 

20  Kh  primipilam  et  var.  implexa 
31  R,  protTftcta     .        .        .        . 
22  Pen  tain  ems  breviiostrii  * 

2S  Strophomeiiarhomboidalis^cor. 
analoga        ,        .        .        . 
34  Stmptorhynchas  umbracwlum  . 
as  Onhis  ^iriatukTel  r«atiptnatA. 
39  O.  arcofttft        -         .         ,         . 
37  Chouetes  mmuU      . 
2a  Prodaottis  sub-aculaatofl  ♦ 

ToUU     . 

• 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
i. 

• 
« 

• 
• 

* 

& 

2 

5 

18 

16 

14 

BRACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND  COBNWALL. 


181 


Table  IX. 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE   DEVONIAN    BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

DARTINOTON. 


■FHISL 

I 

J 

1 

1 

1 

1 

^ 

i 

1 

1 

J 

1 

J 

1  Stringocopbalii*  Buitim  . 

2  Ath^ria  conicontricft 

4  Unoiksft  iB^r}  phuB 

5  Spiriieta  nudA 

6  Sp.  *^urvattt      ,        .        .        - 

8  Spiriferina  cmtata,  vt^.  octo" 

plicatft           .         .         .         . 

9  Cyrtiim  heteroclita  . 

10  Atn^po  reticukriB    * 

1 1  A.  aspeni          .         *         .         . 

12  A.  deiiauamikU 

13  Ehynchoiielltt  triloba 

14  R.  pugnuft  et  var,  ankodont*  . 

15  E.  cQboidea      ,        .        .        . 

16  R*  primipiljms  et  Vftr.  implexa 

17  R^  angulam     .         .         ,         , 

18  Pentaiiienia  brcvirOBtria  , 

19  P.  biplicAtus    ,        .        ,        . 

20  Stit>phomenarliomboidaIiB,t?<ir, 

anaJoga        .        ,        .        . 

21  Strpptorh^mchus  umbraculmn » 

22  Leptona  Ijitcrfltrialifl 

24  Chonete*  minuta 

Totals    . 

* 
• 

« 

» 

« 
• 

* 
* 

• 

* 

♦ 

* 
* 
* 

• 

• 
• 

• 

* 

* 
m 

m 

m 

• 
• 

* 

• 
* 

* 
« 

* 

* 
• 

• 

* 
* 

• 

* 
• 
• 

* 
• 

• 

1 

• 

• 

• 

* 

• 
« 

* 

V 
V 

• 

4 

1 

S 

20 

10 

IS 

16 

Ifi 

11 

2 

2 

2 

' 

0 

% 

182 


THB  DISTSIBirriOK  OF  THE  DKVONUH 


Tablb  X. 

BHOWUfO  THB  DlfiTBIBUTIOM  OV  THE  DSVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

FLTHOUTH. 


1 

1 

1 

; 

1 

1 

1 

} 

1 

i 

j 

1 

j 

1 

1  Tcrebratnk  sacctJitiB 

2  T,  JQvenifl        ,        »        ,        , 

3  Sb'ingocoi>biirliia  Biirfini  . 

4  ileriftU  plebeift 
6  Spirifera  auda 

6  8p.  curvAta      .         .        .         . 
J  Sp.  aimplei      .        . 

8  CjTlina  heteroclittt  . 

9  AtTypo  reticiilarii    . 

10  A,  aepera         .        .        .        . 

11  A.  doBqiiiLinata 

12  RbJ^ehQnelk  trUobtt.       . 

13  R.  pii^iis,  ot  vnr.  aniaodomta 

14  K.  acuimnaia  .        .        .        . 

16  R.  ouboides      .        .        .        . 

1  16  H.  primipilfms  et  var.  impleia 

17  Fi.  protracta      .         .         .         . 

18  Pentamerufl  breviroBtriB  . 

19  Jjopt«>ixa  int^i-Blrialia 

I  20  Oithia  Btrifttula  vcl  reiupinatft 
21  a  arcuata        ,        .        .        , 

Totala    . 

* 

* 
2 

• 
1 

« 
« 

2 

IS 

* 
• 

• 

« 
• 

9 

18 

• 

• 
* 

* 
* 

* 

4 
* 
• 

14 

16 

* 
• 
• 

* 

4 
• 

4 

0 

i 

* 

4 
m 

4 

1 

1 

3 

1 

BRA.CHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL. 


183 


TABLE  XI. 


SHOWING  THB  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE    DEVONIAN    BRACHIOPODA   FOUND  AT 

ILFRACOMBK. 


■rcriEi. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

j 

j 

1 

1  Bgmi^eiana  «trit$ffiei^ 

2  Stringoc^i^iidua  Bm 

3  AthyTM  concentrica 

4  Meriatii  pleboia 

6  Spirifcra   VeraeoilLi 

6  Sp.  upcciofla     . 

7  Sp,  nudft 

8  Sp,  purrata 

10  Atrypa  reti<;ularifl 

1 1  A.  arippra 

12  Rhynrhonellfl  pleHfT 

13  Strupliomeua  rhomb 

jmalop;tv 

14  Streptorhynchiia    m 

15  Orthiii  Btriatft  tcI  re 

ft 
rtini  - 

i   vei   difl- 

»        *        . 

nlon  et  tar, 
oiilalis,  par. 

nbracolttni 
jupinata    . 

* 
m 

# 
• 
* 

• 
* 

* 
* 

• 

4 

V 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

t 
* 
« 

* 

9 

• 
« 

• 
* 
♦ 

• 
• 

m 

9 
* 
* 

* 
• 

• 

9 
9 
9 
9 

9 
9 
9 

* 

* 

* 

« 
* 

V 

* 

* 

* 

9 

-' 

* 

Tot 

Olfl      . 

5 

2 

4 

13 

6 

10 

12 

" 

8 

2 

2 

1 

2 

e 

2 

TABLE  XII. 


SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE    DEVONIAN  BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

MEADFOOT. 


nmtm. 

1 

i 

1 

! 

1 

|: 

i 

i 
1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

_ 

♦ 
2 

2 

0 

1  Spiriferft  undifet*  et  v^r.  luidu- 

lata      .        .        -        *       ^^ 

2  Sptriferina  cmtftta,  war.  octopli- 

c^U      .         .         .         -         . 

3  Rhynclioiielltt  pleurodon  et  rur. 

4  StnsptorhjTiehua  umbrae  iilum   . 
6  I^ptfena  (vol  Oiibi*)  kticorta  . 

TfltAlfl      . 

• 
* 

4 

* 

* 
« 

■ 

9 

• 

'■ 

* 

I 

« 

9 

2 

2 

2 

1 

3 

0 

2 

2 

2 

0 

2 

184 


THE   DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  DKVONUN 


Table  XIII. 


8H0WINQ   THB  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE   DEVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

LINTON. 


1  SpirifoTB  li^vicoBtu  vol  oertiolatA 

3  Streptorhytichttft  timln*ai3uluiii 

4  OrtluA  striatula  veA  raflupinata 
6  0.  ffratmloMa 


ToUli 


0  4 


TABLE  XIV. 


SHOWING  THB  DICTRIfiUTION  OF   THE   DEVONIAN   BRACHIOPODA   FOUND  AT 

LOOE. 


1  Spirifora  primoeva     . 

2  Sprnferiiuk  cristala^  var.   ooto- 

plicntu 

3  Atrj^pa  reticuUrifl 

4  Rhynchonellji  Pfln^eHiania 
6  Btrt*ptcjrhjTidiufl  gigaa 

6  Loptuona  (vel  Orthia)  kticovtOr 

7  Orthis  hipp^rinHy^     . 

ToUh    . 


I 


BRA.CHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  185 


The  foregoing  Tables  bring  out  the  following  facts : — 

1.  Of  the  78  species,  26,  or  one-third,  are  restricted  to 
single  localities ;  19  are  common,  and  restricted,  to  two  locali- 
ties ;  6,  to  three ;  4,  to  four ;  8,  to  five ;  9,  to  six ;  4,  to  seven; 
and  2,  to  nine  localities.  No  species  is  common  to  more  than 
nine  of  the  localities. 

2.  The  localities  richest  in  species  are  Woolborough  and 
Barton,  each  having  38,  or  almost  one-half  of  the  total  of  78. 
The  poorest  is  Meadfoot,  having  only  5 — an  illustration, 
perhaps,  of  the  influence  of  the  mineral  character  of  the  old 
sea  bottom;  the  rocks  in  the  first  and  second  being  limestone, 
and  in  the  last,  gritty  slate. 

3.  The  two  localities  having  the  greatest  number  of  species 
in  common,  but  not  restricted  to  them,  are  also  Woolborough 
and  Barton;  the  number  being  26,  or  fully  two -thirds  of 
the  total  in  each.  The  three  localities  similarly  distinguished 
are  Woolborough,  Barton,  and  Hope's  Nose;  and  Woolborough, 
Barton,  and  Plymouth;  the  number  being  17  in  each  case: 
it  is  almost  as  great  in  the  case  of  Woolborough,  Barton,  and 
Dartington. 

4.  If,  as  is  usually  done,  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall  are  divided  into  three  groups — Upper,  Middle, 
and  Lower, — and  if,  in  accordance  also  with  the  common 
practice,  Pilton,  Brushford,  and  Petherwyn  are  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  first ;  Woolborough,  Ogwell,  Barton,  Hope's 
Nose,  Dartington,  Plymouth,  and  Ilfracombe,  to  the  second ; 
and  Meadfoot,  Linton,  and  Looe  to  the  third,  the  78  species 
divide  themselves  thus  : — 11  are  restricted  to  the  Upper 
Zone,  9  to  the  Upper  and  Middle,  4  are  common  to  the  three, 
43  are  restricted  to  the  Middle,  5  to  the  Middle  and  Lower,  and 
6  to  the  Lower:  hence  the  total  numbers  found  in  the  zones 
are  24  in  the  Upper,  61  in  the  Middle,  and  15  in  the  Lower. 

5.  Petherwyn  has  a  greater  number  in  common  with 
Barton  and  also  with  Woolborough — two  localities  of  the 
Middle  Zone — than  with  either  Pilton  or  Brushford — locali- 
ties of  the  Upper  Zone,  to  which,  as  is  commonly  believed, 
it  also  belongs.  The  interpretation  of  this  fact  may  be  that 
it  occupies  a  chronologically  intermediate  pleura  In  the  same 
way  Linton  and  Meadfoot  seem  more  closely  connected  with 
the  Middle  Zone,  than  they  do  with  each  other  or  with  Looe. 
The  species,  however,  which  occur  in  either  of  these  localities 
are  but  few  in  number. 

6.  All  the  Brushford  species  occur  at  Pilton. 

7.  Species  occur  in  common  to  every  pair  of  localities, 


186    THB  BRACHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AKD  CORNWALL. 

with  the  exception  of  Brushford  and  Linton,  Petherwyn  and 
Linton,  Ogwell  and  Meadfoot,  Plymouth  and  Meadfoot,  and 
Linton  and  Looe.  These  pairs  consist  of  a  locality  from  each 
of  two  distinct  zones,  with  the  exception  of  the  Last 

8.  Whilst  there  are  but  two  species  derived  from  the 
Silurian  fauna,  the  Devonian  transmits  twenty-two  to  the 
Carboniferous— of  which,  15  occur  in  the  Carboniferous 
limestone^  and  12  in  the  Coomhola  beds :  hence,  so  far  as 
the  evidence  goes,  the  connection  of  the  Devonshire  rocks 
with  those  of  the  Carboniferous  system  is  closer  than  with 
those  of  the  Silurian.  In  other  words,  the  basement  beds  of 
the  Devonian  system  do  not  exist  in  Devon  or  Cornwall ;  or, 
to  put  the  same  fact  in  another  form,  the  interval  of  time  be- 
tween the  Silurian  and  Carboniferous  periods  is  but  partially 
represented  by  the  rocks  of  this  and  the  adjoining  county. 

9.  Of  the  two  Silurian  species  found  in  the  Devonian 
Brachiopodous  fauna,  one  {Atrypa  reticularis)  is  found  in 
nine  of  our  thirteen  localities,  but  it  neither  occurs  in  the 
Uppermost  Devonian  beds  of  Pilton  or  Brushford,  the  Coom- 
hola series,  nor  in  the  Carboniferous  limestone  The  other 
(Strophamena  rhomboidalis)  occurs  in  six  of  the  Devon  and 
Cornwall  districts,  and  it  passes  up  into  the  Carboniferous 
limestone.  It  is  an  example  of  the  same  species,  being  a 
member  of  three  consecutive  faunae — a  protest  against  the 
doctrine  of  a  synchronous  and  universal  depopulation  of  our 
planet.  It  affords  evidence,  also,  of  the  imperfection  of  the 
geological  record:  for  whilst  it  occurs  in  Silurian  deposits 
and  in  the  Middle  and  Upper  Devonians,  it  has  not  been 
found  in  our  Lower  Zone. 

10.  Of  the  twenty-two  species  which,  outliving  the  De- 
vonian period,  formed  part  of  the  Carboniferous  fauna,  7  are 
from  the  Upper  Devonian  Zone  only,  8  from  the  Upper  and 
Middle,  4  are  from  the  Middle  Zone  only,  and  three  occur  in 
each  of  the  three  zones :  hence,  3  date  from  Lower  Devonian 
times  (so  far  as  Devon  and  Cornwall  are  concerned),  15  occur 
in  the  Middle  group,  and  15  also  in  the  Upper  division.  Of 
the  15  species  found  in  the  Upper  Devonian  and  the  Carbon- 
iferous rocks,  every  one  occurs  in  the  Pilton  beds ;  in  other 
words,  three  common  to  Petherwyn  or  Brushford  and  the 
Carboniferous  series,  are  common  to  them  and  Pilton  also. 
In  fact  75  per  cent  of  the  Pilton,  and  just  as  high  a  ratio  of 
the  Brushford,  as  well  as  of  the  Petherwyn  Brachiopoda  pass 
up  into  the  succeeding  formation,  whilst  from  the  two  zones 
below,  the  highest  ratio  is  that  of  Ilfracombe,  which  is  47 
per  cent. 


ON  THE  OPENING  OF  AN  ANCIENT  BRITISH 
BARROW  AT  HUNTSHAW. 

BT  H.   FOWLER. 


In  the  early  part  of  this  month  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Thompson,  of  Bideford,  acting  on  the  behalf  of  a  party  of 
gentlemen  who  had  just  previously  beeen  at  the  opening  of 
a  similar  Barrow  near  Putford,  requesting  me  to  superintend 
the  opening  of  the  Huntshaw  Barrows.  This  I  undertook  to 
do  Mdth  much  pleasure,  as  I  felt  great  interest  in  the  matter. 

The  first  necessary  step  was  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the 
Honourable  Mark  RoUe,  the  owner  of  the  soil.  This  was 
readily  and  cordially  granted.  I  now  required  the  consent 
of  Mr.  Squire,  the  tenant  of  the  farm,  and  I  here  so  far 
succeeded,  that  I  not  only  obtained  his  sanction,  but  also  his 
personal  assistance. 

I  now  consulted  Mr.  Pearce,  of  Torrington,  a  most  zealous 
antiquarian,  who  undertook  at  once  to  co-operate  with  me, 
and  obtain  suitable  workmen.  Five  labourers,  under  Mr. 
Pearce's  guidance,  were  soon  got  together,  and  employed  to 
cut  a  trench,  as  previously  arranged,  through  one  of  two 
Barrows,  situated  a  short  distance  apart  from  each  other. 

Mr.  Doe,  of  Torrington,  a  learned  archseologist,  Mr.  Pearce, 
and  mjrself,  had,  long  before  this  time,  entertained  thoughts 
of  doing  the  same  thing. 

The  barrow  thus  cut  through,  and  which  is  the  easterly 
Barrow  of  the  two  to  which  I  have  referred,  is  situated  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  north  of  Torrington,  in  a  field 
which  bears  the  very  significant  name  of  Burrow  Park.  This 
place  was  evidently,  in  the  days  of  our  Celtic  forefathers,  one 
of  considerable  importance,  for  in  the  surrounding  neighbour- 
hood five  other  Barrows  are  found. 

The  land  here  is  of  considerable  elevation,  and  is  believed 
to  be  the  highest  in  this  district  that  lies  between  Exmoor 
and  Dartmoor ;  and  observations  made  from  the  summits  of 


188  THE  OfUUAU  OP  AH  ANGHHT 


the  rmom  Buiows  would  extend  OYer  an  area  oompriaiiig 
more  than  one-half  the  oonnty. 

It  18  worthy  of  iemaik»  that  just  heie-abont  a  red  earth, 
piobaUy  some  ^raffiety  of  tin  new  red  sandstone^  firat  makes 
lis  appeaianoa  It  wends  its  way  in  a  westerly  direction 
nntil  it  leaehes  the  sea  ooas^  a  distance  of  about  six  miles, 
oeeasionaUy  dij^ing  nnder  the  overlaying  st  rata»  and  as  often 

In  fimn&e  Banowisof  the  ordinary  round  or  bowl-shape. 
It  is  remaricable  fiHr  the  regular  arrangement^  and  I  might 
say  symmrtry,  of  aU  its  parts;  for  although  we  were  not 
fortunate  enough  to  meet  with  any  of  the  expected  relics, 
such  as  ums»  dsts,  brense  implements,  or  other  remains  of 
this  kind,  yet  the  section  made  by  cutting  a  trench  Rve  feot 
wide  right  through  its  centre,  and  down  to  the  primitive  soil, 
laid  open  to  our  view  such  a  symmetrical  arrangement  of  all 
its  parts,  that  we  felt  ourselves  greatly  rewarded  for  the  pains 
we  had  taken. 

The  plan  which  I  have  here  drawn,  and  which  is  made 
ftom  actual  admeasurement,  will  convey  a  better  idea  of  its 
structure  than  any  description  I  can  give  in  words.  The 
foUowinff  appean  to  have  been  the  method  of  its  construc- 
tion:— ^A  pan  or  bason  was  lint  scooped  out  of  the  earth. 
This  pan  in  its  centre  had  a  depth  of  two  feet»  and  presented 
the  appearance  of  an  inverted  segment  of  a  circle,  whose  chonl 
measured  88  feet,  representing  the  base  line  of  the  interior,  this 
was  theu  filled  in  with  fine  mould.  Over  this,  to  the  height  of 
four  feet,  were  distinctly  traced  18  alternate  layers  of  wood- 
charcoal,  and  fine  mould  of  the  same  character.  This  part  of  the 
Barrow  I  conceive  to  be  highly  interesting,  and  may  posHibly 
lay  open  a  field  of  research  which  I  cannot  Hnd  has  ever  bm^i 
minutely  or  satisfactorily  gone  into.  The  layers  of  charcoal 
have  an  average  depth  of  five-eighths  of  an  inch,  and  thoHo 
of  mould,  two  inches.  I  have  very  carefully  examined  the 
whole  mass,  but  I  cannot  trace  the  slightest  remains,  either 
of  bones  or  of  bone  ashes,  in  it.  I  should  not  wish,  however, 
any  reliance  to  be  placed  on  my  failure  to  find  these  flut>- 
stances,  as  a  more  microscojuo  examination  and  a  mora  correct 
chemical  analysis  than  I  have  made  may  find  them  both ; 
and  should  this  ever  be  the  case,  one  inference  would  n^adily 
present  itself  to  us,  that  they  were  18  separate  strawin^s  of 
the  burnt  remains  of  the  dead,  intermingled  with  the  woml- 
charcoal,  and  ashes  in  which  they  were  burnt  The  lay(»r 
above  this  had  a  depth  of  three  feet,  and  consiHtcMl  of  the 
same  kind  of  mould,  two  feet  of  which  have  since  Immmi  worn 


BRITISH   BABBOW  AT  HUNTSHAW.  189 

away  by  the  processes  of  agriculture.  The  whole  interior  or 
nucleus  of  the  Barrow  was  now  built  up. 

This  structure  was  now  coated  with  a  circular  capping  of 
clay,  having  a  depth  of  two  feet,  the  upper  part  of  which  was 
worked  or  puddled,  evidently  with  the  design  of  protecting 
the  contents;  lastly  a  capping  of  stone,  of  the  presumed 
depth  of  one  foot,  was  placed  over  the  whole.  This  stone 
was  not  the  stone  of  the  immediate  district,  but  the  ordinary 
shistus  of  the  country,  carried  there  from  a  further  distance. . 

At  the  point  where  the  circular  coating  of  clay  springs 
from  the  original  soil,  and  which  is  on  a  line  with  the  base 
line  already  described,  the  clay  spreads  itself  out  to  the  extent 
of  about  10  feet,  tapering  away  to  a  point. 

It  now  would  have  presented  to  the  eye  the  appearance  of 
a  section  of  a  sphere ;  and  the  thought  here  may  well  suggest 
itself,  how  far  this  globular  form,  together  with  its  stone 
capping,  may  be  typical  of  the  Druidical  religion.  These 
tumuli,  constructed  on  what  were  then  dreary  upland  moors, 
must  have  been  objects  of  awe  and  veneration  to  our  ancient 
British  ancestors,  their  very  form  doubtless  suggesting,  on 
the  bleak  horizon  lines,  the  form  of  the  setting  sun,  with  its 
various  associations 

The  adjoining  Barrow,  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  is 
very  different  in  its  character.  A  partial  cutting  shows  the 
interior  to  be  composed  almost  entirely  of  one  homogeneous 
mass  of  clay,  with  occasional  streaks  of  charcoal.  Its  summit 
has  not  been  so  much  worn  away,  and  the  stone  capping  is 
found  further  up  its  sides. 

The  space  between  the  Barrows  is  elevated  some  feet  above 
its  original  level,  from  the  falling  in  of  the  debris,  and  a 
merely  superficial  observation  would  lead  one  readily  to  infer 
that  they  were  originally  united.  Actual  admeasurement 
however  proves,  that  their  bases  were  originally  about  30 
feet  apart. 

Our  want  of  success  in  finding  any  such  remains  as  urns 
or  cists  may  be  attributed  to  the  possible  fact,  that  they  were 
placed  in  some  part  of  the  bed  of  the  Barrow  out  of  the 
centre;  for,  in  such  a  case,  it  is  evident  that  numerous  cuttings 
might  be  made  without  coming  across  them. 

We  have  hopes,  therefore,  that  some  such  remains  will  still 
be  found,  and  the  more  so  as  the  perfectly  undisturbed  state 
of  the  portions  already  examined  precludes  the  idea  of  the 
Barrow  having  ever  before  been  opened. 


182 


THB  DISTRIBUTIOK  OF  THE  DEVONIAN 


Tablb  X. 

BHOWINO  TBI  DIBTRIBUTIOH  OF  THS  DKVOMIAM   BBACHIOFODA  lOUND  AT 

PLTMOUTH. 


■fvcni. 

I 

i 

it 

^1 

l' 

1 

j« 

1 

B 

0 

1 

J 

j 

j 

. 

1  TorebTTitnk  »cculits 

3  T.  juvenia        .        *  ^  ^- 

3  Strmffocepliiilua  Burtini  * 

4  Merurta  plebeia 

5  Spirifera  nuda 

6  8p*  currata       .         .         *         . 

7  Sp.  fliinplajc      .         .         .         . 

8  Cyitiim  hoteroclita  . 

9  Afaypa  reticularis    . 

10  A.  aapeni         .        .        .        » 

11  A.  dcequamata 

12  Rhync'honella  triloba 

13  It  pugnufl,  et  t^r.  anifiodonta 
U  R.  acuminata  *        .        -        . 

15  H,i5uboid<?s      .        ,        .        , 

16  li.  primipikriij  et  tar.  implexa 

17  li  protracta     .         <         .         . 

18  PoTitamorus  brevipoatris  , 
Id  IjeptiXjnft  interatriiilw 

20  Orthis  Btritttula  v^l  rwupinata 

21  0.  areuata        ,        .        ,        . 

Totak    . 

• 

•  ■ 

■  ♦ 

• 
* 

* 
« 

9 

« 

■ 
« 
« 

• 
« 

• 
• 
• 
* 

* 

14 

16 

• 
« 

a 

V 

'  * 

• 

• 
* 

V 

* 

• 

•    * 

•   • 

* 
2 

1 

2  16 

1 

I 

3 

4 

1 

BRiLCHIOPODA  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL. 


183 


TABLE  XI. 


SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE    DEVONIAN    BRACHIOPODA   lOUHD  AT 

ILFRAOOMBS. 


Is 


1  HeuAgflayia  ttritifftetpM 

2  Stringpcephalii*  Bmimi  . 

3  Athyns  coucentrica 

4  Meriffto  plebem 

6  SpirifHrii   VenjeaQlii  Tel  difl- 

jiincU 
fi  Sp,  ^peckwa      , 

7  Sp.  ivuda 

8  Sp.  cmr&ta 

9  Cyrtina  heterocUta 

10  Atrypa  reticuJAils 

11  A-  aapera 

1 2  RhyTw^honellB  plenrodon  et  var. 

13  Strophoraonarhomboidaliiijiwf. 

analogs 

14  StT^ptorh^nchiu   umbmciilcim 

15  Oiihia  stnata  vel  resuptnata. 

Totak    . 


13 


10: 


12 


It 


TABLE  XII. 


SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE    DEVONIAN  BRACHIOPODA  FOUND  AT 

MBADFOOT. 


•Ttctn* 

1 

1 

i 

1 

d 

1 
1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

j 

1 

1  Spmfera  midifem  ©t  var.  undu- 

lata 

2  Spuiforiiui  crMtata*  mr.  octopH- 

cato     .        .        .        -        , 

3  RljjTichoneUA  pleurodon  et  var, 

4  Btrpptorhynchus  umbrae  ul  ma   . 

5  Leptirtm  (vel  Oilhis)  kticosU  . 

ToUIb    , 

• 
• 

2 

m 
« 

2 

* 
T 

* 

* 
• 

3 

0 

• 

* 
2 

* 

• 
2 

* 
2 

0 

* 
• 

2 

V 

T 

* 
1 

2 

2 

0 

192  THE  SILVEB  MINES  AT  COMBMARTIN. 

these  and  other  agencies,  are  in  operation  in  all  valuable 
mining  districts  is  strongly  attested  to  by  various  writers  on 
geology ;  and  Professor  Philips  cites  Aldstone  Moor,  Flint- 
shire, and  the  Harz  as  shaken  to  pieces  by  dislocations.  This 
series  of  rocks  has  a  length  of  many  miles  from  W.N.W.  to 
E.S.E.,  meeting  the  coast  at  a  small  angle,  and  a  minor 
breadth  of  over  two  miles,  the  entire  area  presenting  silver- 
lead  ores,  more  or  less,  whether  in  mining  works,  lime- 
quarries,  natural  sections,  surface  stones,  old  lead -slag, 
water- courses,  drains,  or  the  plough.  The  close  neighbour- 
hood of  lime  rocks  is  seen  in  many  of  the  best  lead  mines  in 
many  parts  of  the  world,  lime  seeming  to  play  an  important 
rdle  in  the  mineral  as  well  as  in  the  animal  and  vegetable 
kingdoms. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  the  Eev.  W.  J.  Hore,  that 
the  close  vicinity  of  lime,  as  a  dissimilar  rock,  may  act 
favourably  for  ore,  as  granite  or  elvan  so  results  near  slate. 
Decomposition  of  rock  is  often  present,  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  may  also  allow  of  fracture,  taking  the  line  of 
least  resistance.  The  minerals  freely  associated  with  these 
ores,  as  matrices,  are  the  sulphurets  of  zinc,  iron,  copper,  and 
antimony,  the  carbonates  of  iron  and  lime,  the  oxides  of 
silicum,  magnesium,  and  aluminum,  an  assemblage  adequate 
in  amount  and  character  to  form  large  centres  of  crystalliza- 
tion and  to  aggregate  large  deposits  of  ore.  Much  and 
moderately  hard  crystallization  is  a  rule  in  best  ore  deposits, 
though  exceptionally  otherwise  at  times;  seemingly  that 
there  shall  be  exceptions  to  rules  here,  as  elsewhere  in 
Nature,  and  to  healthily  puzzle  man*s  mind. 

In  reference  to  ore  deposits  generally,  Sir  Henry  De  la 
Beche  writes:  "Very  erroneons  impressions  often  exist  in 
respect  of  their  extent.  Instead  of  occupying  the  whole 
extent  of  the  lodes,  they  occur  in  bunches,  very  rarely  for 
great  distances  in  the  richest,  the  intervening  portions  be- 
tween the  bunches  frequently  containing  strings  and  specks 
of  ore,  in  unprofitable  quantities,  yet  sufficient  to  maintain 
the  metalliferous  character  of  the  lode.  At  other  times  the 
lode  is  squeezed  to  very  narrow  dimensions  to  again  open  out 
and  reyeal  profitable  bunches  of  various  sizes  and  shapes ; 
and  hence  the  necessity  of  a  constant  system  of  working  for 
discovery  is  requisite  to  meet  the  decline  of  previously  dis- 
covered sections."  Illustrative  hereof,  he  cites  Fowey 
Consols,  the  successful  career  of  which  was  attributable  to 
this  consideration.  These  facts  accord  with  nature,  as  seen 
at  surface ;  every  development,  whether  animal  or  vegetable. 


THE  SILVEK  MINES  AT  COMBMARTIN.  193 

requiring  growing  and  living  room,  as  well  as  a  fixed  extent  of 
development ;  otherwise  it  would  be  choked  or  starved  on 
the  one  hand,  or  monstrous  on  the  other,  and  are  points 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  future  workers.  The  ore  is  a 
sulphuret  of  lead,  containing  the  large  proportion  of  62  oz. 
silver  per  ton,  some  portions  consisting  of  FdJUers  ore,  repre- 
senting upwards  of  1,200  oz.  silver  per  ton.  Different 
countries  or  even  •  counties  have  different  aspects,  surface 
products,  climates — the  inhabitants  themselves  varying  in 
feature  and  gifts,  yet  all  harmonize  in  principle  and  detail ; 
so  it  is  very  consistent  that  minor  variations  should  exist 
beneath  the  earth  in  different  mining  districts.  Otherwise, 
and  better,  it  has  been  said,  "Nature  works  harmoniously 
with  infinite  variations,  each  variation  being  a  realization  of 
the  fundamental  idea.**  Thus  Cornwall  differs  from  Wales, 
both  from  the  North  of  England,  these  again  from  other  parts 
of  Britain  or  abroad ;  requiring  in  each  case  fresh  study  from 
one  previously  unacquainted  with  their  relative  differences, 
and  thus  obviating  in  effect  death's  dull  monotony. 

As  now,  such,  or  much  like,  was  nature's  physical  appear- 
ance long  since ;  when,  may  be,  Phoenicians  traded,  attracted 
by  the  nearness  of  the  sea-board  for  their  crafts,  and  ancient 
Britains,  Bomans,  and  Normans  mined  here,  as  elsewhere 
they  did  in  Britain.  In  some  sort  of  proof  hereof  Camden 
writes,  "  Of  the  first  fynding  and  working  the  silver  mines 
there  are  no  certain  records  remaynge;"  whence  a  presumption 
accrues  that  some  work  occurred  prior  to  that  which  he 
proceeds  to  describe.  With  the  working  these  mines  in  the 
time  of  Edward  I.  and  II.,  as  also  Henry  VII.,  seem  to  be 
associated  those  of  Beer  Alston.  From  accounts  in  the  Tower 
it  is  known  that  over  300  men  were  imported  from  the  Peak, 
in  Derbyshire,  to  work  them.  In  the  22nd  year  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  I.,  William  Wymondham  accounted  for  270  lbs. 
weight  of  silver,  forged  for  Lady  Eleanor,  Duchess  of  Barr, 
and  daughter  of  Edward  I.,  and  he  was  fined  251  lbs.  10  dwts. ; 
23rd  year,  522  lbs.  10  dwta ;  in  the  24th  year  there  was 
brought  to  London  in  finest  silver,  in  wedges,  704  lbs.  3  dwts. ; 
the  next  year  260  miners  were  pressed  out  of  the  Peak  and 
Wales,  and  great  was  the  profit  in  silver  and  lead.  In  the 
reign  of  Edward  III.  the  sUver  was  great  towards  the  main- 
tenance of  the  wars  with  France.  In  the  reigns  of  Henry  V., 
or  may  be  Henry  VII.,  they  were  worked,  as  the  latter  paid 
much  attention  to  his  mines,  and  thereby  benefited  the 
treasury. 

Among  the  Harleian  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  is  a 

VOL.   II.  0 


194  TUB   SILVER   MINES  AT  C03iBMAKTlK. 

treatise  by  Stephen  Atkinson,  a  partner  and  manager  for 
Bulmer  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time,  and  who  refined  in  the 
Tower  in  1586,  and  afterwards  in  Devon.  He  writes,  "A  new 
silver  mine  was  discovered  at  Combmartin,  by  Adrian  Gilbert 
and  John  Poppler,  a  lapidary,  with  whom  Mr.  Bulmer  baigained 
for  half  the  whole.  It  continued  for  four  years  reasonably 
good,  and  yielded  ;£10,000  to  each  partner.  A  cup  made 
therefrom  by  Mr.  Middley  was  given  to  the  city  of  London 
by  Mr.  Bulmer.  Camden  also  writes  to  the  same  effect^ 
adding,  "  and  lately,  in  our  age,  in  the  time  of  Q.  Elizabeth, 
there  was  found  a  new  lode  in  the  land  of  Eichard  Roberts, 
gent,  fyrst  beganne  to  be  wrought  by  Adrian  Gilbert,  Esq., 
and  afterwards  by  Sir  Beavis  Bulmer,  by  whose  mynerable 
skille  great  quantitie  of  silver  was  landed  and  refin^,  out  of 
which  he  gave  a  rich  and  fayre  cup  to  William,  Eaii  of  Bathe, 
whereon  was  engraven,  if  I  rightly  remember,  this  poesie, 

**  In  Martyn*8  Combe  long  lay  I  hydd. 
Obscured,  deprest  with  grossest  soyle. 

Debased  much.  wiUi  mixed  lead, 
Till  Bulmer  came ;  whose  skUle  and  toyle 

Refined  mee  so  pure  and  deene, 

As  rycher  no  where  els  is  seene. 

*'  And  addinge  yet  a  faider  g^race. 

By  fiBshion  ne  did  inable 
Mee  worthy  for  to  take  a  place, 

To  serve  at  any  Prince's  table. 
Coombe  Martyn  gavo  the  use  alone, 
Bulmer,  the  fyning  and  fashion. 

"Anno  nostrse  salutis,  1593,  Reginae  Virginis,  35,  No- 
bilissimo  Viro  Willielmo  Comiti  de  Barthon,  locum  tenenti 
Devoniae  et  Oxon. 

"And  also  another,  with  a  cover,  to  Sir  Richard  Martyn, 
Knight,  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  to  continue  in  the  said  citie 
for  ever.  It  wayeth  137  ounces,  fyue,  better  than  sterling; 
on  the  which  these  verses  may  still  be  seen : — 

"  When  water  workes  in  broaken  wharfes 

At  first  erected  were, 
And  Beavis  Bulmer,  with  his  arte, 

The  waters  gan  to  reare ; 
Dispearsed  I  in  earthe  dyd  lye, 

Since  alle  beginninge  old, 
In  place  called  Combe,  where  Martyn  longo 

Had  hydd  me  in  his  moulds. 

"  I  dydd  no  service  on  the  earthe, 
And  no  manne  set  mee  free, 
Till  Bulmer,  by  his  skill  and  change, 
Did  frame  me  this  to  bee. 

"Anno  nostras  Redemptionis,  1593,  Reginae  Viiginis,  35, 


THE  SILVER   MINES  AT  COMBMARTIH.  195 

Sichardo  Martino,  Militi,  iterum  Major  sive  vice  sucunda 
civitatis  London." 

Queen  Elizabeth  encouraged  mines  and  other  industries, 
and  imported  Brunswickers,  or  Germans,  from  the  Harz  Mines, 
as  more  experienced.  A  personal  letter  of  Charles  I.  is  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Webber,  of  Buckland  House,  Braunton,  which 
reads  as  follows : — 
"  Charles  R. 

"Trusty  and  Welbeloued — We  Greet  you  well — We  haue 
Receiued  a  faire  Character  of  your  Affections  to  our  Welbeloued 
Servant  Thomas  Bushell  Esq.  and  of  your  seruicable 
Endeauors  for  aduancing  his  further  discouery  of  the  Mynes 
att  Cummartin  in  order  to  the  publigz  Good,  and  haueing  had 
a  sight  of  the  Oare,  which  we  conceive  lyes  there  in  vast 
proportions  according  to  the  Testimony  of  Antient  Records 
in  that  behalfe,  we  haue  thought  titt,  not  only  to  let  you 
know  that  We  shall  esteem  an  acceptable  Service  if  by  pur- 
suance of  your  first  principles  you  add  to  his  encouragements, 
but  also  by  any  Act  of  Grace  that  may  reward  you  or  your 
posterity  readily  make  good  the  same— Soe  not  doubting  your 
Chearful  Compliance  with  him  in  all  things  tending  to  the 
advancement  of  soe  good  a  Worke,  We  bid  you  farewell  — 
Given  under  our  Sign  Manuell  at  Our  Court  at  Newport  in 
y«  Isle  of  Wight,  this  26th  day  of  October  in  y«  24th  Year 
of  Our  Reign  1648. 

"To  our  Trusty  and  Welbeloued  subject  Lewis  Incledon, 
of  Branton,  in  our  County  of  Devon,  Esq." 

The  ore  in  these  mines  is  unusually  massive  and  free  from 
waste,  having  occurred  in  masses  over  10  tons  weight,  and 
widths  exceeding  six  feet  pure,  so  that  its  sight  might  well 
impress  the  Royal  mind.  The  suggestions  the  letter  contains 
were  probably  frustrated  by  the  untimely  end  of  the  writer. 

In  1659  the  attention  of  the  Long  Parliament  was  direc- 
ted to  these  mines  by  Mr.  Bushell,  an  eminent  mineralogist 
and  pupil  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  but,  probably,  the  civil  wars, 
which  greatly  affected  the  western  counties,  interfered  with 
their  developement  It  is  somewhat  curions  that  the  analagous 
lead-bearing  beds  of  Liskeard  and  Beer  Alston  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Combmartin  on  the  other,  being  respectively  the 
southern  and  northern  outcrops  of  a  geological  basin,  as 
shown  by  Mr.  Whitley,  should  be  so  closely  associatecl  in 
history;  but  the  companionship  is  mutually  creditable. 
Thus  six  reigns  pursued  the  acquaintance  of  Combmartin, 
seeking  to  enrich  their  royal  blood  from  its  blue  veins.  The 
new  lode  found  in  Richard  Roberts's  land  by  Adrain  Gilbert, 

0  2 


196  THE   SILVER  MINES   AT    COMBMARTIN. 

and  of  which  so  favourable  an  account  is  given,  may  be  one 
south  of  and  parallel  to  old  Combmartin  lode,  as  it  is  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  lands  formerly  of  Roberts's  tenure,  and 
old  extensive  suiface-workings  are  there  of  rich  ore,  and  in 
the  track  of  workers  before  them.  Various  old  levels  are 
observable  in  the  district  area,  in  the  sides  of  hills,  admitting 
of  natural  drainage.  The  old  Combmartin  lode  proper,  two 
others  to  its  north,  with  that  before-named,  hitherto  present 
I  chief  evidence  of  being  the  site  of  ancient  works ;  though, 

ii  from  the  district  being  in  enclosed  land,  other  old  vestiges 

j  have  been  effaced,  by  reinstating  the  land  for  agriculture. 

I  In    1813,   a   Company,   initiating   in    Beer   Alston,   still 

|!  preserving  the  historical  association,  started,  but  it  were  a 

misuse  of  words  to  say  "worked  these  mines."     They  were 
I!  not  only,  as  De  la  Beche  has  it,  "  most  unskilfully  managed," 

!  but  a  reckless  affair,  unworthy  of  serious  attention  towards 

I  forming  an  estimate   of   its  merits.     A  reliable  man  who 

worked  there  then,  informed  me  that  "  he  helped  to  cut  a  lode 
I  of  perfectly  solid  ore  from  four  to  six  feet  wide,  in  the  adit 

level  on  old  Combmartin  lode,  and  the  ancients  had  had  the 
same  to  the  surface."  The  surface  lately  yielded  at  this 
point,  the  result  of  old  under  excavation  in  question. 

In  1 835,  the  last  Company  began  on  the  same  site,  raised 
ore  from  the  same  works,  but  afterwards  reached  eastwards 
some  ancient  pumps,  about  20  fathoms  from  the  surface, 
above  which  the  ore  had  been  removed,  and  immediately  on 
sinking  under  them,  found  its  continuance,  which  eventuated 
in  returning  over  i;60,000,  but  which  amount  would  have 
been  greatly  increased  had  the  tribute  ground  been  properly 
explored,  and  which,  consequently,  is  still  available  to  a 
profit.  The  ore  was  explored  down  to  118  fathoms  from  the 
surface,  between  two  dislocations  converging  to  a  point,  the 
greatest  distance  between  them  where  worked,  not  exceeding 
40  fathoms,  as  represented  in  the  section.  Beyond  nor  below 
these  very  confined  boundaries  was  pursuit  made  on  the  strike 
of  the  lode  at  either  end  of  the  works,  or  on  its  hade  in 
depth.  The  analogy  in  all  mines  points  to  the  high  proba- 
bility of  equally  good  results  accruing  from  thus  extending 
works  ;  as  ore  abutting  on  one  side  of  a  dislocation  is  usually 
found  equally  good  on  the  other.  Where,  as  here,  a  vertical 
section  of  600  feet  gives  ore  on  the  plane  of  each  dislocation, 
and  one  of  them  gives  ore  each  side  its  plane,  in  the  upper 
levels,  the  latter  being  the  working  of  the  year  1813,  the 
position  is  materially  strengthened.  A  diagram  shows  the 
"throws,"  the  points  where  to  look  for  the  counterparts  of  the 


THE   SILVER  MINES  AT  COMBMAKTIN.  197 

ore.  lu  the  north  and  south  parallel  are  four  or  five  other 
ore- producing  lodes,  the  most  southern  of  which  is  the 
one  before-named  as  probably  associated  with  Adrian  Gilbert  s 
working.  Hereon  twelve  tons  of  ore,  of  high  silver  produce, 
were  raised  by  working  tributers  on  their  own  account  since 
the  last  company  worked,  which  is  now  as  good  a  few  feet 
below  the  day  level,  they  being  unable  to  pursue  it  deeper,  as 
the  steam-engine  being  long  gone,  the  water  was  too  strong. 
Ore  in  rocks  of  1|  cwt.  pure,  made  close  to  the  surface,  and 
had  been  oversighted  by  ancient  workers,  of  whose  large 
excavations  for  ore  there  was  evidence  in  pillars  of  ore  left 
to  support  the  works  still  north.  This  shows  how  a  company's 
interests  might  be  advanced  by  a  proper  tribute  system.  .  In 
1813,  a  rich  lode  was  found  below  this  level,  and  probably  an 
extension  in  depth  of  its  ore.  There  being  no  appliance  to 
keep  out  the  strong  water,  tlie  men  with  difficulty  saved  their 
lives.  The  local  survivor's  tale  was  discredited,  till  lately  it 
was  confirmed  by  Captain  John  Blamey,  who  had  the  same 
account  from  the  other  survivor,  when  he  was  in  the  Brazils 
many  years  since,  under  the  employ  of  Sir  Wm.  Williams. 

Intermediate  between  this  and  old  Combmartin  lode 
proper  is  a  lode  sunk  through  in  the  engine  shaft,  50  fathoms 
deep,  for  which  5s.  in  the  pound  tribute  was  offered,  but  neces- 
sary haste  to  complete  the  shaft  deferred  the  acceptance  of 
the  offer.  It  lies  deep  under  the  centre  of  the  valley,  hence 
unknown  to  ancients.  North  of  the  old  Combmartin  lode  is 
one  met  with  at  27  fathoms  cross-cut,  where  it  produced 
several  tons  of  very  fine  graiii  ore.  On  proving  the  back  of 
the  level,  ancients  were  found  to  have  pursued  it  from  the 
surface,  and  these  hints  of  further  extension  have  yet  to  be 
adopted.  Yet  north  are  sites  of  extensive  ancient  works,  rich 
in  silver,  as  well  as  new  lodes,  which,  with  ground  to  the 
south  of  the  area,  are  matters  of  much  interest.  A  main 
feature  is  the  occurrence  of  ores  in  each  lode,  in  the  same 
parallel  as  it  is  analagous  to  other  good  mining  districts,  it 
being  well  known  that  ore-bearing  zones  are  so  arranged  on 
the  line  of  the  dislocations.  Intersections  of  dislocations 
and  lodes  at  small  angles  are  favourable  circumstances. 
These  facts  are  clearly  seen  in  the  plan  and  transverse 
sections.  The  strong  outcrops  of  ore  on  old  Combmartin 
lode  proper,  on  south  lode  and  elsewhere,  present  a  tliird 
analogy  to  other  rich  mines,  a  strong  outcrop  denoting  a 
strong  mine  in  the  deep.  Refei^ence  has  been  made  to 
historical  association  with  Beer  Alston  mines,  and  there 
appears  no   reason  for  believing  otherwise  than  that  old 


198  THE   SILN-ER   MINES   AT   UOMBMAKTIX. 

Combmartin  mines  would  admit  of  as  profitable  exten- 
sion in  the  deep,  as  in  the  upper  levels,  thus  following  the 
example  of  the  former  mines,  which  have  been  wrought 
profitably  to  100  fathoms  deeper.  At  the  deepest  point 
attained,  ore  was  as  strong,  thick,  and,  if  anything,  richer  for 
silver,  than  in  the  upper  levels, — points  sufBciently  conclusive 
of  the  well-being  of  its  constitution ;  but  length  of  ore  at 
this  point  is  mechanically  impossible,  as  before  explained, 
till  the  counterparts  are  sought  for,  where  respectively  thrown. 
A  feature  of  especial  interest  is  the  appearance  of  the  great 
south  lode  at  this,  the  deepest  pai-t,  converging  towards  old 
Combmartin  lode  proper.  Both  being  rich  in  ore  here,  it  is 
supposed,  and  with  strong  reason,  that  their  union  within  a 
few  fathoms  in  the  deep,  will  surpass  in  production  the  upper 
levels.  The  parent  rock  of  these  lodes  is  of  a  favourable 
character  on  all  sides ;  and  immediately  east  is  the  meeting 
of  two  valleys  and  wet  ground,  which  are  favourable  omens. 
The  longitudinal  and  transveree  sections  show  in  detail  the 
various  points  noted,  and  the  quick  extensive  proof  to  be  had 
of  them,  and  the  tribute  area  on  the  rise  of  600  feet,  by  the 
various  well-placed  workings  available,  and  which  improved 
adaptations  will  further  facilitate.  Truly  systematic  manage- 
ment of  a  well-comprehended  subject,  is  essential  to  prac- 
ii!  tical   success       "If,**    as    was   remarked  in  the   Inaugural 

;  Address  of  this  Association,  "  great  results  need  great  perse- 

verance," be  it  so  here.  "  If  rocks  be  the  history  of  a  place," 
Combmartin's  surface,  beauty,  and  underground  resources 
equally  confirm  the  statement. 

The  practical  development  of  the  science  and  art  of 
mining  is  a  public  boon  to  an  industrious  population,  in 
which  the  memory  and  example  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who 
spoke  well  of  Devon,  might  be  advantageously  imitated.  The 
second  and  third  resumption  of  old  mines,  or  accidental  dis- 
coveries in  those  about  to  stop,  is  the  history  of  the  best 
Cornish  and  other  mines.  Dolcoath  is  now  working  1,800 
feet  deep  for  tin,  on  the  third  mineral  zone  in  depth,  copper 
having  disappeared  with  the  second  zone.  Few  in  Cornwall 
believed  in  this  zone  when  Sir  William  Williams's  judgment 
and  energy  led  him  to  join  it.  Great  profit  has  accrued,  with 
ore  reserves  enough  for  the  next  generation.  Wheal  Vor  and 
Linares  are  notable  for  profitable  resumption  on  parallel 
lodes ;  Devon  Consols  for  success  after  prior  neglect  of  sur- 
face indications  ;  ^st  Wheal  Eose  for  success  responding  to 
renewed  perseverance  at  the  last  moment ;  Great  Wheal 
Towan  for  great  prosperity  from  accidental  chipping  of  the 


THE  SILVER  MINES  AT   COMBBfAKTIK.  199 

other  side  of  a  lode,  which  had  been  long  pursued  on  its 
strike ;  Lisbarne  for  being  successful  after  condemnation  by 
the  best  authorities ;  Tamaya  was  successful  after  long  sink- 
ing through  very  hard  ground.  Confirmatory  of  the  same 
are  Berehaven,  Greenside,  Greenwich  Hospital,  Ecton,  West 
Chiverton,  Beer  Alston,  Herodsfoot,  Brookwood,  with  many 
others.  These  historical  antecedents,  geological  precedents, 
returns  of  recent  date,  facilities  of  proof,  this  opportunity  of 
improving  on  past  experience,  which  is  the  heirloom  of  each 
succeeding  generation,  are  elements  of  high  import  in  the 
future  of  our  subject  —  the  fallow  of  a  rich  harvest,  the 
dawning  of  day.  Nature's  storehouses  are  not  Itmcs  natiirce, 
but  are  filled  with  arrangement  and  a  purpose,  over  which 
the  key  of  human  knowledge  has  power.  Reasonable  faith 
and  action  shall  be  beneficently  reciprocated  by  a  sufficient 
supply  for  our  use,  the  rest  being  reserved  for  those  yet  to 
follow,  who  shall  read  this  part,  as  others,  of  Nature  with  a 
clearer,  though  still  incomplete,  perception  of  its  infinity, 
with  a  deeper,  yet  not  perfect,  emotion  of  admiration  and 
reverence. 


-ON  THE 


jij  SOURCE  OF  THE  MURCHISONITE  PEBBLES  AND  BOULDERS, 

;:  IN  THE  TRIASSIC  CONGLOMERATES  OF  DEVONSHIRE. 


BT    W.    VICARY,    F.0.8. 


It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  fragments  of  rock  contained 
i  in  the  Triassic  conglomerates  of  Devonshire,  are  in  most  cases 

■^  derived  from  the  nearest  older  formation,  and  can  be  easily 

\  identified  with  it.     To  this  rule,  however,  there  are  a  few 

|ii  exceptions,  amongst  the  most  important  of  which  are  the 

j^  materials  composing  the  "pebble  bed"  at  Budleigh  Salterton, 

l|  the  limestone  pebbles  found  at  North  Tawton  and  Sampford 

!i  Courtenay,  and  the  pebbles  and  boulders  containing  that 

variety  of  feldspar  commonly  termed  Murchisonite,  and  which 
are  scattered  generally,  but  not  abundantly,  over  the  New  Red 
Sandstone  area  from  Jacobstowe  to  Credition,  at  Heavitree, 
Topsham,  and  from  the  Exe  southward  to  the  termination  of 
the  formation. 

It  is  the  Murchisonite  pebbles  and  boulders  to  which  I 
purpose  calling  attention  in  the  present  communication. 

The  Rev.  W.  Conybeare,  by  whom  they  were  mentioned  in 
1821,  considered  them  to  have  been  derived  from  the  granite,* 
Sir  IT.  De  la  Beche  speaks  of  them  as  trap  pebbles,  and 
imagines  them  to  have  been  derived  from  trap  rocks  not  seen 
anywhere  at  the  surface,  but  which  may  lie  beneath  the 
Triassic  sandstones  and  conglomerates.!  Mr.  Godwin-Austen 
states  that  "No  granite  pebbles  have  been  found  among  the 
various  materials  of  which  the  new  red  conglomerates  are 
composed.! 

1  will  now  proceed  to  state  the  evidence  which  has  led  me 
to  a  different  conclusion  from  that  arrived  at  by  the  two  last 
named  geologists,  and  to  hold,  with  Mr.  Conybeare,  that  the 

•  "Annals  of  Natural  Philosophy,"  vol.  i.,  page  254.    1821. 

+  Report  on  Devon,  Cornwall,  etc.,  page  217.    1839. 

J  Geol.  Trans.,  2Qd  series,  vol.  vL,  part  2.,  page  478.    1840. 


ON  MURCHISONITE  PEBBLES  AND  B0XJLDEB8.  201 

masses  containing  Murchisonite  are  but  altered  portions  of  the 
granite  of  Dartmoor. 

Professor  Church  has  been  so  good  as  to  make  for  me  a 
careful  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  feldspar  taken  from  the 
Dartmoor  granite,  and  also  of  a  specimen  of  Murchisonite ' 
from  the  Triassic  conglomerate  at  Exminster.  The  subjoined 
results  show  that  they  might  have  been  parts  of  the  same 
crystal,  so  little  do  they  differ  in  composition. 

Feldspar  from  Dartmoor.  Marchiaoiiite  frtnn  Ezminster. 

SUica 66-61  66-27 

Alumina     19-73  20-34 

Potash    12-78  12-43 

Soda    1-60  1-44 

Lime 0*33  0*33 

Magnesia   0-10  0-19 

100-00  10000 

The  feldspar  crystals  from  both  sources  contain  small  flakes 
of  mica,  grains  of  quartz,  and  crystals  of,  perhaps,  another 
variety  of  feldspar  embedded  in  them ;  they  are  also  macled 
— the  different  halves  reflecting  light  at  different  angles. 

Tlie  Murchisonite  pebbles  are  never  vesicular  or  amygda- 
loidal,  as  trappean  fragments  may  be  expected  to  be ;  and,  as 
I  have  already  remarked,  they  contain  two  kinds  of  feldspar, 
one  of  which  uhis,  whilst  the  other  was  not,  capable  of  resisting 
the  action  of  some  decomposing  agent  to  which  they  had 
been  subjected.  They  occur  in  the  Trias  in  close  proximity 
with  pebbles  of  schorl  and  altered  rock,  a  collocation  strik- 
ingly similar  to  that  met  with  in  Dartmoor  streams ;  indeed, 
there  is  a  close  resemblance  between  the  fine  sand  in  the  bed 
of  these  rivers  and  that  of  the  Triassic  deposits  in  which 
these  pebbles  are  imbedded ;  there  is  a  little  less  mica  incor- 
porated in  the  red  sand,  but  the  quartz,  feldspar,  and  schorl 
are  the  same  in  both.  Loose  crystals  of  the  Murchisonite 
type  are  abundant  in  the  Dartmoor  streams,  in  the  gravels 
bounding  those  streams,  and  in  the  adjacent  fields;  ready, 
whenever  a  transporting  agent  is  at  hand,  to  assist  in  forming 
a  new  conglomerate. 

The  Murchisonite  pebbles  found  in  the  Trias  differ,  no  doubt, 
in  both  colour  and  texture  from  the  Dartmoor  granite  in  situ. 
The  difference  of  colour,  however,  is  far  from  being  conclusive 
against  their  granitic  derivation  ;  for  when  it  is  remembered 
that,  through  long  residence  in  the  Trias,  fragments  of  Carbon- 
iferous grit  and  Devonian  limestone  (the  latter  easily  and 
with  certainty  identified  by  means  of  their  fossils)  have 
undergone  marked  changes  in  this  respect,  it  is  not  unreason- 


I 


202  ON   MURCHISONITE  PEBBLES  ANI>  B0ULDEB8. 

able  to  suppose  the  colour  of  the  Murehuonite  pebbles  majr 
have  been  superinduced  also.  The  colour-changes  in  the  grit 
and  limestone  are,  in  all  probability,  ascribable  to  the  oxyda- 
tion  of  the  iron  they  contain ;  and  as  the  black  mica  of  the 
Dartmoor  granite  contains  ten  per  cent,  of  iron,  there  is  an 
ample  supply  of  colouring  matter  for  its  fragments  also.  We 
have  the  authority  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell  for  supposing  that 
the  conditions  to  which  the  Trias  has  been  subjected  have 
been  favourable  to  the  development  of  a  red  colour  in  all 
material  containing  iron.* 

It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  the  Murchisonite 
pebbles  are  rarely  of  the  same  colour  as  the  feldspathic  traps 
in  situ,  and  that  in  some  localities  the  latter  overlie  Triassic 
conglomerates  containing  Murchisonite  pebbles. 

Both  the  detached  crystals  of  Murchisonite  and  those  con- 
tained in  the  pebbles  are  red,  and  have  been  described  by 
some  mineralogists  as  a  flesh-coloured  variety  of  orthoclase  or 
common  feldspar. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  fragments  of  the  ciystals 
found  in  the  huff-coloured  sandstones  of  Exminister  are  much 
lighter  than  those  in  the  red  sandstone  of  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood; thus  showing  that  their  colour  is  influenced  by 
that  of  the  deposit  in  which  they  may  chance  to  be  entombed. 

As  to  texture  the  pebbles  found  in  the  conglomerate  do  not 
probably  differ  more  from  each  other  than  do  those  of  granite 
and  elvan,  which  occur  in  the  existing  Dartmoor  streams. 
Probably  the  decomposition  of  their  mica  has  given  the 
pebbles  the  appearance  of  a  closer  texture  than  they  really 
possess. 

On  fully  considering  this  question,  and  remembering  that 
the  valley  of  the  Teign  alone  divides  the  two  formations, 
and  that  a  bed  of  granitic  sand,  sometimes  twelve  feet  in 
thickness,  overlies  the  Greensand  of  Haldon  hill,  the  base  of 
which  is  Trias,  it  may  be  concluded  that,  if  the  granite  was 
exposed  at  the  surface  at  the  era  of  the  red  rocks,  Dartmoor 
must  have  furnished  a  large  portion  of  the  conglomerated 
materials.  I  feel  confident  that  a  thorough  examination  of 
these  materials  will  prove  that  granite  is  a  far  more  important 
constituent  than  geologists  generally  suppose. 

*  Ly ell's  Elements,  sixth  edition,  page  445.     1865. 


/ 


A      C 


GQ 

o 

QQ 

» 
o 

O 


7> 


THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

WITH  A  RBSUmA  of  THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  COUNTY. 


BT  XBWAILD   PASFITT. 


The  natural  history  of  Devon  has  had  many  writers  scattered 
over  a  considerable  period  of  time,  bnt  np  to  the  present  we 
have  no  work  embracing  both  departments  of  the  vegetable 
and  animal  kingdoms, — a  work  that  would  show  at  once  what 
these  departments  contained, — so  that  it  should  be  useful  to 
the  generaliser,  and  showing  the  geographical  and  altitudinal 
i-ange  of  the  more  prominent  forms,  with,  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  ascertain,  their  respective  relationship  to  the 
geological  formations  of  the  county. 

To  take  a  retrospective  view  of  what  has  been  done  by 
former  writers  from  time  to  time,  and  compile  and  verify 
the  animals  and  plants  described  and  enumerated  by  them, 
and  adding  and  completing,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do,  up 
to  the  present  time,  is  the  work  I  have  set  myself  to  do. 

Polwhele,  in  1797,  published  all  that  was  known  of  the 
botany  of  the  county,  and,  in  1829,  Messrs.  Kingston  and 
Jones  published  the  Flora  Devoniensis,  in  which  an  attempt 
is  made  towards  the  elucidation  of  the  geographical  and 
altitudinal  range  of  certain  species;  and,  in  1826,  Carrington, 
in  his  description  of  Dartmoor,  has  given  us  several  lists  of 
the  plants  and  animals  inhabiting  that  r^on.  Mr.  Gosse  has 
contributed  to  our  knowledge  of  some  of  the  marine  life 
found  inhabiting  the  nooks  and  comers  of  our  coast,  both  in 
his  "Rambles  on  the  Devonshire  Coast,"  and  in  his  more 
beautiful  book.  The  Actinologia  Britannica, 

But  from  1829,  when  the  Flora  was  published,  to  1860, 
when  the  Rev.  T.  F.  Ravenshaw  published  a  catalogue  of  the 
flowering  plants  and  ferns,  nothing  appears  to  have  been  done 
towards  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  flora  of  the  county, 
except  a  few  occasional  notes  in  one  or  more  of  the  periodicals 
devoted  to  this  branch  of  knowledge. 

.  Dr.  Cullen,  in  1849,  published  a  Flora  Sidostiensis,  and 
last  year  Mr.  I.  W.  N.  Keys  began  to  publish,  through  the 


204  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON. 

Devoa  and  Cornwall  Natural  History  Society,  a  Catalogue 
Flora  of  the  two  counties. 

But  what  we  have  most  to  do  with  on  the  present  occasion, 
and  to  which  I  would  invite  your  attention,  is  to  a  section  of 
the  animal  kingdom,  namely,  the  Annelids,  or  Worms ;  but 
we  will  first  take  a  slight  retrospective  view  of  what  has 
been  done  towards  working  out  the  Fauna  or  Animals  of 
Devon,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  above  by  Mr.  Gosse. 
Col.  Montagu,  in  some  of  the  early  volumes  of  the  Linnean 
Society,  published  descriptions  and  figures  of  many  rare  and 
remarkable  animals  discovered  by  himself  on  our  south  coast, 
and  he  continued,  with  more  or  less  interruption,  to  publish 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1815.  Pre- 
vious to  his  decease,  he  had  prepared  a  work  on  the  Annelids 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  which,  since  his  death,  has  not  seen 
the  light  until  it  was  kindly  lent  to  me  by  H.  D'Orville,  Esq., 
but  the  arrangement  and  nomenclature  was  such  as  could  not 
be  adopted  at  the  present  time. 

Bellamy's  Natural  History  of  South  Devon,  published  in 
1839,  is  too  discursive,  and  at  the  same  time  too  limited,  to  be 
of  ai\y  particular  use ;  and  Turton  and  Kingston's  Natural 
History  of  the  District  includes  a  better  catalogue  of  the 
animals ;  this  is  also  very  imperfect.  The  list  of  birds  pub- 
lished in  Loudon's  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  by  Dr. 
Moore,  of  Plymouth,  is  very  good,  and,  I  believe,  was  as 
perfect  as  could  be  made  up  to  the  time  it  was  published. 
Since  then  Mr.  Brooking  Eowe  has  published,  in  the  Devon 
and  Cornwall  Natural  History  Society's  Reports,  lists  of  the 
birds,  reptiles,  and  mammalia;  and  Mr.  Reading  has  pub- 
lished, through  the  same  channel,  a  part  of  the  Lepidoptera 
of  the  two  counties. 

The  Annelids,  as  a  class,  are  animals  of  very  obscure 
habits,  living  principally  under  stones,  in  mud,  or,  as  the 
common  earth  worm  and  its  congeners,  in  garden  and  other 
soil.  Their  forms  and  appearances  are,  generally  speaking, 
not  very  attractive,  except  to  the  enthusiastic  naturalist,  who 
is  determined  on  investigating  the  various  forms  of  life. 

Although  many  of  the  animals  included  in  this  division  of 
the  animal  kingdom  are  not  attractive  in  their  appearance, 
there  is  one  division  into  which  they  are  divided  which  cannot 
fail  to  elicit  admiration  from  the  most  casual  observer.  The 
Terebellicke,  when  seen  alive  in  a  glass  of  sea  water,  are  some 
of  the  most  elegant  creatures  inhabiting  the  great  deep. 
Their  beautiful  plumose  branchia,  coloured  of  various  hues, 
with  bars  and  spots,  some  of  them  reminding  one  of  the 


THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON.  205 

ocelli  in  the  peacock's  tuil,  or  the  Himalayan  pheasants ;  others^ 
again,  with  their  breathing  apparatus  of  the  most  vivid  colours 
hanging  down  their  backs. 

The  marine  species  range  through  a  zone  reaching  from 
near  high-water  mark,  where  the  shore  is  rocky,  and  particu- 
larly where  the  shore  is  strewed  with  rocks,  to  forty  or  fifty 
fathoms ;  but  the  largest  number  of  individuals  and  species 
are  found,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  between  low-water 
mark  and  two  or  three  fathoms.  This  is  the  zone  of  the 
generality  of  tube  makers. 

The  Annelids  have  various  modes  of  living.  Some  con- 
struct themselves  tubes,  in  which  they  live,  either  made  of 
calcareous  matter,  or  of  grains  of  sand,  some  of  which  are 
very  compact,  and  others  are  mere  "  ropes  of  sand."  Again, 
some  species  attach  their  tubes  to  old  shells  and  stones,  and 
others  live  with  their  tubes  stuck  vertically  in  the  sand; 
some  have  roving  and  solitary  habits,  such  as  Pectinaria 
Belgica,  and  others  are  gregarious,  such  as  SaheUaria  Anglica, 
which  construct  those  large  honeycombe-like  masses  on  our 
sandstone  rocks  between  tide  marks.  A  few  species  are 
pelagic,  and  swim  with  great  activity.  One  of  these  pelagic 
forms,  and  I  believe  the  commonest  inhabiting  our  shores,  is 
Nereis  pelagica ;  I  have  met  with  it  high  up  in  our  estuaries, 
where  the  water  is  only  just  brackish,  and  where  in  heavy 
rains  it  must  be  inundated  with  fresh  water ;  and  some  speci- 
mens of  this  species  I  have  met  with  in  muddy  places  that 
could  only  be  reached  by  spring-tides,  showing  at  once  the 
hardiness  and  tenacity  and  the  apparent  vicissitudes  to  which 
this  species  is  subjected. 

In  the  fresh  water  species  Devonshire  is  well  represented, 
and  in  certain  places  some  of  the  Plartariadce  litersJly  swarm 
on  the  muddy  bottoms  of  ponds  and  ditches,  they  being  most 
abundant  in  still  or  slightly  running  water. 

Amongst  the  fresh  water  species  we  have  some  curious 
creatures ;  they  cannot  boast  of  much  beauty  so  far  as  colour 
is  concerned,  but  their  forms  and  modes  of  life  are  remark- 
able. Thus,  in  Glossiphonia,  with  its  peculiar  habit  of  carry- 
ing about  its  young  attached  to  its  abdomen,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Marsupiak  of  the  antipodes ;  and  it  almost  seems  to 
shadow  back  through  the  long  vista  of  time  the  connecting 
link  of  the  Marsupials  of  the  two  hemispheres.  Although  this 
little  animal  is  not  strictly  speaking  a  Marsupial,  yet  its 
manner  of  carrying  about  its  young,  until  they  are  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves,  is  precisely  that  peculiar  protecting 
instinct  that  we  only  give  credit  to  the  higher  animals ;  but 


7\ 


206  THE  AllNELmS   OF  DEVON. 

here  we  see  it  in  a  very  lowly  creature,  apparently  the  very 
same  thing,  not  in  degree  only,  bat  with  as  much  force  as  is 
seen  in  the  Marsupial  vertebiata. 

More  than  half  the  species  enumerated  by  Sir  John  Dalyell 
and  Dr.  Johnston  as  inhabiting  Scotland  and  the  north  of 
England  are  also  found  with  us.  And  taking  all  the  species 
known  to  inhabit  the  United  Kingdom,  viz.,  298,  the  marine 
and  fresh  water  inclusive,  we  have  out  of  this  number  164 
species  indigenous  to  this  county  and  the  surrounding  seas. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  these  animals  is  of  rather 
wide  extent,  not  only  as  a  class,  but  the  same  species  are 
spread  over  a  wide  area.  Thus  Leptoplana  tremellaris  is  found 
in  Norway  add  Scotland,  on  our  south  coast,  and  on  the  south- 
west of  Ireland.  Many  of  the  fresh  water  species  have  an 
equally  wide  range.  Mesostoma  rostratum,  a  small  species 
living  on  the  bottom  of  shallow  ponds  and  ditches.  This  has 
a  geographical  range  from  Denmark  to  France,  and,  so  feir  as 
is  at  present  known,  over  most  of  Europe,  and  from  Scotland 
to  our  own  county.  The  limits  of  the  geographical  distribu- 
tion of  the  members  of  this  family,  as  here  mentioned,  mnst 
be  received  for  only  what  it  is  worth ;  the  subject,  so  &r  as  I 
am  aware,  has  never  received  any  particular  attention,  and 
the  animsils  themselves,  until  the  last  few  years,  have  not 
been  studied  with  that  degree  of  acumen  they  so  strictly 
deserve. 

But  these  few  hints  may  serve  to  show  that  the  Annelids, 
on  the  whole,  are  not  much,  if  at  all,  influenced  by  tempera- 
ture, either  the  marine  or  fluviatile  species. 

The  Annelids,  as  a  class,  have  occupied  a  place  in  creation 
from  very  early  times,  beginning,  as  far  as  we  have  evidence 
to  show,  in  the  Lower  Silurian  Rocks,  in  which  has  been 
found  a  species  of  Aphrodita,  apparently  very  nearly  allied 
to  our  present  form,  A.  a^uleata,  the  common  sea  mouse, 
which  is  abundantly  cast  ashore  during  storms  on  our  south 
coast ;  and  traces  of  various  forms  have  been  found,  in  more 
or  less  abundance,  throughout  the  various  geological  forma- 
tions, until  a  section  of  the  class,  viz.,  the  Serpulc^,  attained 
a  maximum,  and  seem  almost  to  have  predominated  in  the 
green-sand  and  the  chalk.  From  this  there  is  an  apparent 
decline  in  their  abundance,  although  they  still  lingered  on  in 
considerable  numbers  through  the  crag,  where  we  find,  for 
the  first  time,  some  of  the  still  existing  species. 

As  before  observed,  the  habits  of  this  class  of  animals  is 
very  obscure,  and  more  particularly  in  their  earlier  stages 
from  the  egg  upwards ;  but  few  naturalists  have  turned  their 


THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON-  207 

attention  to  them,  and  those  that  have,  generally  speaking, 
looked  upon  these  microscopic  organisms  as  belonging  to 
another  group,  as  their  forms,  at  this  early  stage,  are  so  very 
different  from  the  adult.  Girard  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that 
the  Flanarians  were  naked  Gasteropoda,  MtUIer,  Siebold, 
Quatrefages,  and  a  few  other  naturalists,  have  paid  attention 
to  the  earlier  states  of  Annelids,  and  lately  Professor  Agassis 
has  directed  his  attention  to  this  branch  of  the  subject  with 
very  good  results,  but  his  researches  have  been  principally 
carried  on  on  the  shores  of  North  America,  and  consequently 
refer  mostly  to  American  forms. 

I  said  in  the  b^inning  of  this  paper,  that  I  have  endea* 
voured  to  verify  all  the  species,  as  far  as  possible,  that  have 
been  enumerated  by  former  writers ;  and  lately  I  paid  a  visit 
to  a  part  of  our  south  coast,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  and 
localizing  a  species  of  Sabellaria,  said  by  Montagu,  according 
to  the  reference  given  in  Johnston's  Annelids,  to  have  been 
found  on  the  coast  to  the  west  of  Teignmouth.  I  traversed 
the  shore  as  far  as  the  sea  would  permit  me  to  do  without 
finding  a  vestige  of  the  species ;  after  leaving  the  Kess  Point, 
the  rocks  between  high  and  low- water  mark  are  as  bare  as  it  is 
possible  for  them  to  be ;  indeed,  it  is  the  most  barren  part  of 
the  coast  of  Devon  I  have  ever  walked  over.  This  species, 
then,  must  be  either  struck  out  of  our  list:  or  is  it  advisable  to 
let  it  stand  with  a  note  of  interrogation  ?  If  this  animal  has 
entirely  disappeared  from  our  coast  since  Montagu's  time, 
some  cause  must  be  assigned  for  its  disappearance;  the 
physical  features  of  the  shore  must  have  altered,  or  some 
other  cause  at  present  unexplained.  The  only  other  actual 
locality  given  in  Johnston's  Annelids  ior  Sabellaria  crassissima 
is  Sandgate,  Kent,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Leach ;  it  would 
be  well  if  tliis  locality  could  be  investigated  also. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  draw  your  attention  to  what  I 
believe  to  be  a  new  species  of  Olycera  nearly  allied  to  Glycera 
dvhia.  The  general  facies  of  the  animal  is  that  of  dvhia, 
only  it  is  larger  than  that  species,  and  it  has  the  large  and 
peculiar  oesophagus,  the  same  as  is  figured  in  Griffith's  Cuvier. 
The  spines  in  the  lobes  of  the  feet  appear  also  to  be  the  same 
as  in  the  type.  The  principal  difference  is  this,  and  on  it  its 
specific  identity  depends,  that  on  every  foot  is  placed  a 
globose  scarlet  vesicle,  and  when  the  animal  was  alive,  they 
showed  like  two  rows  of  bright  coral  beads,  and  they  appeared 
to  me  to  be  filled  with  red  blood,  as  if  they  were  used  by  the 
animal  to  aerate  the  vital  fluid.  The  contrast  of  these  scarlet 
globes  with  the  pale  yellowish  feet  gave  to  the  worm  a  very 


208  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON. 

conspicuous  appearance.  I  forwarded  my  specimen  to  Dr. 
Baird,  of  the  British  Museum,  who  has  kindly  compared  it 
with  specimens  of  the  time  Glycera  dvina  in  the  collection,  but 
he  can  find  nothing  like  this,  and  he  says,  "  Whether  these 
globular  appendages  depend  upon  its  particular  habitat  or 
its  breeding  time,  or  whether  they  constitute  a  good  specific 
character,  I  do  not  feel  able  at  present  to  determine ;  it  is  of 
importance,  however,  to  notice  them  in  your  description  of 
the  worm."  I  therefore  propose  to  name  the  animal,  provi- 
sionally, Glycera  vesiculosa,  the  description  of  which  will  be 
found  under  the  head  of  the  genus  in  the  body  of  the 
Catalogue. 

I  have  also  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  genus  a  species  allied 
to  Nereis,  and  named  jY".  pennata  by  CoL  Montagu,  who 
figured  the  animal  in  his  MSS.,  but  did  not  publish  it.  It 
differs  from  Nereis  in  the  peculiar  lobes  to  its  head,  and  also 
in  the  comuted  anterior  segment  of  its  body.  1  have  named 
it  D*OrviUea,  as  a  tribute  of  regard  to  the  gentleman  who 
kindly  placed  CoL  Montagu's  manuscripts  and  drawings 
in  my  hands  for  investigation,  when  he  knew  what  I  was 
engaged  upon. 

I  may  mention  here  that  Colonel  Montagu's  manuscripts, 
so  frequently  quoted  in  this  catalogue,  has  been  presented 
by  Mr.  D'Orville  to  the  Linnean  Society. 


1^ 


A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVONSHIRE, 

WITH  NOTBS  AND  OBSEBYATIONS. 

BT   EDWABO   PABFm. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Philippi,  A.,  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist,  14.    1844. 

Leach,  Dr.,  in  Enovclop^ia  Brit  Supp.    1824. 

Templeton,  — ,  in  Loudon's  Mag.  Nat  Hiit 

Montagu,  Col.,  Teat.  Brit 

Johnston,  Dr.,  Catalogue  of  Worms.     1866. 

Dalyell,  Sir.  J.,  Power  of  the  Creator,  yoL  ii.     1853. 

Montagu,  Col.,  Manuscript  Drawings.     1816. 

Fleming,  J.,  Brit  Anim.     1828. 

Cuvier,  Baron,  Anim.  Kingd.,  by  Griffith.     1833. 

Oosse,  P.  H.,  A  Tear  at  the  Shore.     1864. 

„        „      A  Naturalist's  Ramble  on  the  Devonshire  Coast    1857. 

„        „      The  Aquariam.     1854. 
Omelin,  J.  0.  F.,  S^stema  Naturae. 
Montafl^  Col.,  in  Innu.  Trans. 

Baird,  Dr.,  Monog.  of  Aphroditacea,  in  Linn.  Socy.  Journal,  toI.  yiii.   1866. 
Lankester,  E.  R.,  in  Linn.  Trans.,  vol.  xxy.     1866. 
Donovan,  £.,  British  Shells.     1799-1803. 
Turton,  Dr.,  Conchological  Dictionary.     1819. 
Dictionnaire  dee  Sciences  Naturelles.     1816-1830. 
Roes,  F.  W.  R,  MSS.  in  Albert  Mem.  Museum,  Exeter. 


Class,  ANNELIDS,  Lamarck, 

OrtUr  I.,  TURBELLARIA,  EhrmUrg. 

StO-OrdOy  PLANARIEA,  i%M. 

Fam.,  PLANOCERID^,  Bhrmb^ty. 

Grn.,  LEPTOPLAHA,  Ehrenberg. 

Syes  in  two  olusters. 

TREMELLABIS,   Mvil. 

Zool.  Dan.  i.  36,  t  32,  £  1,  2. 

South  coast  of  Devon,  CoL  Montagu. 
Var.  a.  Dusky  brown ;  in  other  respects  the  same  as  the 
type. 

Syes  in  Ibnr  dutan. 
VOL.  II.  P 


210     A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

FLEXiLis,  DalyelL 

Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  14,  f.  17-26,  p.  102. 

Exmouth,  under  stones  between  tide  marks;  not  common. 
The  eyes  in  ray  specimens  were  arranged  like  those  in 
Sir  J.  Dalyell's  plate  14,  f.  33,  P.  atomatay  but  they  were 
divided  by  a  distinct  white  spot.  This  creature  has  a 
peculiar  movement— a  kind  of  lateral  motion;  that  is, 
when  it  wishes  to  move,  one  side  of  the  anterior  portion 
is  pushed  forward,  and  then  the  other  alternately,  so 
that  it  appears  as  if  it  were  divided  into  two  lobes  in 
fix)nt. 

ATOMATA,  Miill. 

Zool.  Dan.  L  37,  t  32,  f.  3,  4;  Mont.  HSS.  239,  t  61. 

Taken  by  dredging  on  the  South  coast,  and  under  stones 
at  Exmouth,  in  rock  pools  also  in  the  North.  It  varies 
from  pale  yellowish  to  reddish  brown,  frequently  macu- 
lated with  brown  ocelli-like  spots,  somewhat  regularly 
disposed,  and  leaving  the  dorsal  line  free.  When  confined 
in  a  glass  vessel,  the  movements  are  exceedingly  rapid, 
and  it  has  the  habit  of  curling  up  its  anterior  extremities 
into  ear-like  lobes ;  these  are  kept  constantly  in  motion, 
and,  as  it  were,  lashing  the  water. 

Gen.,  EUBTLXPTil,  Ehrtnberg. 

VITTATA,  Montagu. 

Lin.  Trans,  zi.,  t.  5,  f.  3,  p.  25 ;  M<mt.  MSS.  p.  241. 

Amongst  rocks  on  the  South  coast;  rather  rare. 

Var.  a.  With  central  line  deep  orange,  and  the  yellow  parts 

in  general  more  inclining  to  orange. 
Var.  h.  Without  any  yellow ;    the  ground  colour  white, 

with  the  usual  black  markings.  (Montagu.) 

Fam.,  PLANARIAD^,  Duga. 
Gen.,  POLYCEUS,  Ehrenberg. 
NIGRA,   Miill. 

Zool.  Dan.  iii.  48,  t  109,  f.  3,  4. 

In  ponds  and  ditches,  apparently  generally  distributed. 
This  and  the  following  are  found  in  the  same  places, 
and  might  at  first  sight  be  taken  for  varieties  of  each 
other;  but  it  will  be  observed  that  this  has  the  head 
more  rounded,  and  the  auricular  expansion  more  de- 
veloped. 


WITH   NOTES  AND    OBSERVATIONS.  211 

BRUNNEA,   Mvll 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  221 ;  Dalyl.,  PUn.  37,  f.  6,  7. 

In  ditches  in  Exminster  Marshes,  and  also  widely  dis- 
tributed. It  varies  very  much  in  colour,  from  yellowish- 
brown  to  greyish-black,  and  glides  over  the  muddy  bottom 
in  a  very  graceful  manner. 

FELINA,  Dalyell 

Johfut.^  in  PhU.  Trans.  1822,  t  49,  f.  1-7,  p.  437,  good. 

In  the  stream  at  Polesloe,  near  the  Bridge,  Exeter,  under 
stones,  and  also  in  the  piece  of  water  in  Shoebrook 
Park,  near  Crediton.  This  is  a  very  distinct  species; 
the  narrow  body  and  long  ear-like  processes  projecting 
in  front  gives  it  a  peculiar  appearance.  It  is  very  im- 
patient of  light;  if  brought  out  for  investigation,  it 
hurries  oflF  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  shelter  of  some 
stone  or  other  object  whereby  to  conceal  itself.  Speci- 
mens vary  in  colour  from  brown  to  black. 

Gen.,  PLAHABIA,  Muller. 
LACTEA,  Mvll 

Zool.  Dan.  iii.  47,  t  109,  f.  1,  2;  JkO^^  Pow.  Great  ii.  t  16,  f.  6-9, 
p.  107. 

In  springs  and  ponds.  In  a  spring  by  the  road  side  on 
the  top  of  Bed  Hills,  near  Exeter,  and  in  a  ditch  by  the 
Bristol  and  Exeter  Railway;  in  a  well  at  Monte  le 
Grand,  Exeter;  plentiful.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
active  of  the  whole  genus;  it  is  very  impatient  of  light, 
living  in  the  densest  weeds,  or  in  the  recesses  of  a 
spring  or  well.  When  kept  in  confinement,  it  always 
hides  away  under  anything  that  may  be  in  the  vessel. 
It  does  not  bear  confinement  so  well  as  the  other  species, 
but  dies  in  a  few  days.  When  irritated  with  a  feather 
or  bit  of  stick,  it  moves  along  like  a  geometric  cater- 
pillar— a  mode  of  progression  which  I  have  not  noticed 
in  the  other  speciea 

TOBVA,  Mvll. 

Zool.  Dan.  iii.  48,  t  109,  f.  5,  ft. 

In  abundance  in  a  ditch  which  empties  itself  into  the  Exe, 
near  Exwick,  Exeter,  June,  1865.  It  lives  on  the  mud 
at  the  bottom,  over  which  it  has  a  very  graceful  gliding 
motion;  no  muscular  exertion  appears  to  be  applied, 
but  it  seems  to  glide  along  in  the  most  easy  and  quiet 
manner.  Specimens  vary  much  in  colour,  from  nearly 
white,  through  different  shades,  to  bluish-black.  The 
p  2 


^ 


212  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

two  white  disks  on  which  the  eyes  are  placed  are  as 
conspicuous  below  as  above,  particularly  when  the 
animal  is  in  motion. 

TERRESTRis,  Diesing. 

L  206 ;  Mull.,  Venn.  2,  p.  68 ;   Gmelin,  Systema,  3092 ;   Mont,  MSS., 
t.  60,  f.  2. 

Col.  Montagu  says  he  found  this  species  in  several  places 
in  Devon,  and  particularly  at  Knowle,  in  a  shady  plan- 
tation, amongst  moss,  on  the  border  of  a  stream ;  and 
he  adds,  "It  is  not  confined  to  low  situations;  for  I  have 
taken  it  in  elevated  places,  under  stones  shaded  by  high 
trees  far  distant  from  water." 

Marine.      , 

ALBA,  Dalyell 

Pow.  Great  ii.  pt.  16,  f.  21,  22. 

In  rock  pools  between  tide  marks  at  Exmouth,  September, 
1866 ;  rare.  The  eyes  are  placed  about  one-third  back 
from  the  anterior  extremity,  measured  when  the  animal 
is  in  motion. 

Fam.,  DALTELLID^,  Johnston, 
Orn.,  DALYELLIA,  Fleming. 
HELLUO,  Mvll 

Zool.  Dan.  iii.  39,  t.  105,  f.  3;  Dalyl,  Pow.  Great,  p.  119. 

Inhabit  cold,  clear  springs  that  seldom  freeze.  Montagu 
MSS.,  p.  134. 

Gen.,  ME808T0MA,  Duget. 
BOSTRATUM,   Mull. 

Zool.  Dan.  iii.  40,  t.  105,  f.  6;  Dalyl,  Plan.  127,  f.  17- 

In  a  pond  near  the  residence  of  E.  A.  Sanders,  Esq.,  Stoke 
Hill,  near  Exeter,  May,  1866.  Amongst  decayed  leaves 
in  abundance.  It  appears  to  be  very  local,  as  I  have 
not  met  with  it  anywhere  else.  It  is  a  very  active  and 
interesting  little  species;  colour,  orange-red,  with  the 
margin  white  and  pellucid.  When  highly  magnified,  it 
is  seen  to  be  very  finely  crenulated;  the  interranea  is 
dotted  with  scarlet  dots;  egg-capsules,  very  large  for 
the  size  of  the  animal,  brown. 

Gen.,  CONVOLUTA,  Oersted. 

ELONGATA,  Moiitagu. 

MSS.  p.  231. 

"Body  compressed,  white,  opaque,  eyes  none.  When  at 
rest,  it  is  about  five  or  six  lines  long,  and  as  many 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  213 

broad,  but  extremely  amorphous,  capable  of  great  exten- 
sion, and  becoming  nearly  cylindrical.  When  in  this 
state,  it  is  not  more  than  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  Length,  when  extended,  two  or  three  inchea 
South  coast  of  Devon.     Rare." 

ASCARIDES,  Montagu. 
MSS.  p.  231. 

"  Body  long,  lineare,  white,  with  a  square  black  spot  close 
to  the  anterior  end.   Length,  one  inch.   Coast  of  Devon." 

The  above  two  species  are  placed  here  provisionally.  They 
agree  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  above  genus.  At  the 
same  time,  I  do  not  feel  confident  about  them;  but 
rather  than  pass  them  b^,  I  have  inserted  them  in  the 
hope  that  they  may  be  verified. 

Sub-Ordo  II.   TERETULARIA,  BlainvilU. 
Gbn.,  A8TEMMA,  Oersted, 
RUFIPRONS,  Johnston, 

Mag.  Zool.  and  Bot.  i.,  t.  18,  f.  4,  5,  p.  538.     Mont.  MSS.  p.  232,  sp.  7. 

"  On  large  oysters  off  the  South  coast  of  Devon." 
GORDIUS,  Montagu, 

p.  Oordius,  MSS.  p.  231. 

"  Filiform,  yellowish,  with  two  white  spots  at  the  anterior 
end,  and  a  white  dorsal  line.  Length,  an  inch ;  size  of 
a  bristle.  He  says  it  is  rather  compressed,  and  its  motion 
is  smooth  without  contortion.  It  was  observed  some- 
times to  inflate  its  body  in  the  middle,  which  it  gradually 
pushes  forward  towards  the  anterior  end.  A  variety  is 
sometimes  met  with  of  a  pale  rufous  brown  colour, 
having  a  broad  white  dorsal  line;  and  a  very  long  white 
filiform  proboscis  or  tongue  is  occasionally  darted  out 
with  great  velocity,  and  retracted  very  slowly."  South 
Devon  coast. 

I  place  the  above  species  in  this  genus  provisionally,  as  I 
have  not  been  able  to  meet  with  it  myself;  but,  from 
Col.  Montagu's  description,  it  would  seem  to  belong 
here.  (?) 

Obn.,  CEPHALOTRIX,  Oersted, 

-UNIPUNCTATA,  Montogu, 

Flanaria  unipunetata,  MSS.,  t.  66^  f.  6,  p.  236. 

**  Pale  yellowish- white,  with  a  lunate  black  spot  before  the 
eyes,  the  concave  part  of  the  luna  in  front;  body  filiform, 
gradually  growing  thicker  towards  the  head;  eyes  black, 


l^ 


214  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNBLIDS  OF  DEVON, 

and  rather  distant;  length  nearly  an  inch.  Marine. 
Taken  at  Tor  Cross.  Rare."  This  appears  to  be  an 
nndescribed,  or  ratber  an  unpublished,  species,  so  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  discover;  and,  from  Col.  Montagu's 
figure  and  description,  I  believe  to  belong  to  this  genus. 

Gbn.,  TET&ASTEMXA,  Ehrmbirg. 

VARICOLOB,  Oersted. 

Johntt,,  in  Mag.  Zool.  Bot  i.,  t.  17,  f.  4,  p.  535. 

This  species  I  met  with  at  Exmouth,  under  a  piece  of  rock 
near  low-water  mark,  August  27th,  1866 ;  and  also  found 
in  old  tubes  of  Sabella  Anglica,  on  the  same  shore. 
When  taken  out  of  its  ]|Lding-place  it  exudes  a  mucus 
from  all  parts  of  its  body,  to  which  the  sand  readily 
adheres.  This  mucus  exudation  as  it  hardens  becomes 
a  rather  fragile  tube,  coated  with  grains  of  sand. 

The  eyes  are  so  closely  arranged  as  to  appear  like  a 
transverse  black  patch.  The  worm  appears  white  to  the 
naked  eye,  but  under  the  microscope  the  interranea  is 
seen  to  be  yellow,  like  a  central  thread  ending  near  the 
posterior  extremity.  There  is  a  very  slight  contraction 
at  rather  more  than  one-third  the  length  from  the  head. 
Anus  lateral  about  a  line  from  the  tip  of  the  tail.  When 
this  creature  is  disturbed  it  becomes  very  restless,  moving 
about  with  great  activity. 

Gbn.,  BOBLASIA,  Johnston. 
PtTRPUREA,  Johnston, 

In  Mag.  Zool.  and  Bot.  i.,  t.  18,  f.  3,  p.  537. 

In  holes  or  tubes  made  by  Sabella  Anglica.  Exmouth, 
between  tide-marks  ;  apparently  rare. 

LACTEA,  Mont,  MSS,  p.  275. 

Filiform,  creamy-white,  eyes  sixteen  or  more,  placed  in 

parallel  lines,  seven  or  eight  on  each  side  the  cardiac 

spot,  and  very  slightly  diverging  behind. 
Head  somewhat  lanceolate,  with  rather  a  long  protrusile 

tongue  or  oesophagus. 
The  anterior,  for  about  an  inch,  is  coloured  bright  rose-red 

above,  the  rest  of  the  body  creamy  white,  with  irregular, 

transverse,  milk-white  striae,  these  are  more  conspicuous 

towards  the  extremities. 
Body  nearly  round,  but  occasionally  more  or  less  depressed 

and  spread  out  laterally  when  the  animal  is  in  motion. 

When  disturbed,  or  the  water  in  which  it  is  kept  is 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  216 

agitated,  it  twists  itself  into  intricate  knots.  Length, 
from  one  to  two  feet ;  diameter,  about  half  a  line. 
Found  under  stones  between  tide-marks.  Exmouth;  not 
common.  Colonel  Montagu  met  with  his  specimen  at 
Bantham,  under  a  stone.  Dr.  Macintosh,  in  the  Micro- 
scopical Society's  Journal,  April,  1867,  page  38,  et  seq., 
is  inclined  to  regard  this  species,  and  olivacea  and 
octoctUata,  as  the  same,  differing  only  in  colour  and  the 
number  of  eyes.  In  investigating  some  specimens  of 
lactea  which  I  sent  him  from  our  coast.  Dr.  Macintosh 
met  with  some  curious  gregarini-form  parasites  inhabiting 
the  worm. 

Gen.,  OMATOPLSA,  Di^iinp. 

MELANOCEPHALA,  Johnst. 

Mag.  Zool.  Bot  i.,  t  17,  f.  4,  6,  p.  636;  Daljfl,  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  10, 
f.  22-24,  p.  91. 

This  is  a  soft,  jelly-like  species,  white,  with  a  faint  greenish 
tinge  along  the  sides.  There  is  a  very  conspicuous  white 
transverse  mark  between  the  black  patch  and  the  pos- 
terior pair  of  eyes.  The  anterior  pair  of  eyes  are  very 
rarely  visible,  being  deeply  seated  and  on  the  edge  of 
the  black  patch,  so  that  they  can  be  only  seen  when  the 
animal  turns  its  head  in  particular  directions.  When 
the  head  is  much  extended,  the  black  patch  becomes 
concave  in  front.  Found  in  tide-pools  at  Exmouth,  at 
the  roots  of  Algae,  Sept.,  1866,  apparently  rare. 

SpecU»,  INQUIREND-E. 
OmaiopUa.  (?) 
8PIRALES,  Mont 

(LineuB  spirales)  MSS.  p.  274. 

"Filiform,  yellowish,  with  a  red  spiral  intestine,  the  outer 
integument  having  the  appearance  of  minute  annulations 
(transverse  stride).  Body  occasionally  depressed  the  pos- 
terior end  often  knotted  or  formed  into  knobs.  Length, 
two  or  three  inches,  not  thicker  than  a  horse  hair." 
Coast  of  Devon  ;  rare. 

0.  (?)   MACULOSA,  Mont 

(Lineus  maculosa)  MSS.  p.  274. 

"Filiform,  rufous  brown,  mottled,  beneath  white,  resem- 
bling L.  longissimus;  length,  more  than  a  foot,  not  larger 
than  Oordvis  aquatieus,'*    Devon  coast ;  rare. 


216  A  CATALOQUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

Oen.,  LIHEUS,  Simmons. 

LONGissiMUS,  Simmons. 

Sow.,  Brit.  Misc.,  t  8,  v.  16. 

Coast  of  Devon,  frequent  by  dredging,  sometimes  found  in 
old  bivalve  shells.  Four  or  five  feet  long  or  more.  When 
alive  the  creature  is  constantly  varying  in  form.  There 
are  not  two  inches  of  its  body  alike. 

LINEATUS*  Gray,  J.  E, 

Johfut.  Cat.  p.  26. 

South  coast  of  Devon.    Dr.  Gray. 

Obn.,  MECKELIA,  Liuekari. 

ANNULATA,  Montogu. 

Linn.  Trans,  vii.  p.  74,  and  MSS.  p.  273,  t.  9,  f.  4 ;  ZWy/.,  Pow.  Crea.  ii., 
t.  10-13,  f.  7-10. 

Coast  of  Devon,  in  about  30  or  40  fathoms  water. 

Var.  Larger,  with  similar  markings,  but  the  ground  colour 

of  the  body  darker,  with  a  wlute  line  along  the  under 

side.     (Montagu.)     Eare. 

Ordo  II.   BDELLOMGRPHA,  BUmchard. 

Sub-Ordo,  CRYPTOCCELA. 

Fam.,  CAPSALlDiE,  Baird. 

Gen.,  CAP8ALA,  Bosc. 

BUDOLPHIANA,  Dies. 

Syst.  Helminth,  i.  429.     Tar.,  Brit.  Fish.  ii.  p.  353.     1836.     Vignette. 
On  the  Short  Sun  Fish  (or  OrthagoriscM  Mola). 

Captured  on  the  south  coast  of  Devon.     (Montagu.) 

Sub'Ordo,  RHABDOCCELA— (?) 
Fam.,  MALCOBDELLIDJE,  BlainvxlU{}) 
6rn.,  MALCOBDELLA,  BlainvUle. 
OROSSA,  Mvil 

Zool.  Dan.,  i.  21,  t.  21,  f.  1-6 ;  Johmt.,  in  Loud.  Mag.,  Nat.  Hist  vii., 
687,  f.  67 ;  Mont.,  MSS.,  t.  52,  f.  1,  p.  262. 

This  species  was  first  obsei*ved  on  our  coast  by  Mr.  Prideaux, 
who  sent  several  specimens  to  Col.  Montagu  for  exami- 
nation, and  he  had  proposed  for  it  the  specific  name  of 
Sociatus.  The  habitation  of  this  animal,  he  says,  is 
within  the  shell  of  Cyprina  Idandica,  adhering  to  that 
part  usually  called  the  fin,  which  adheres  close  to  the 
cavity  of  the  shell.  I  may  add,  that  the  figures  given  by 
Col.  Montagu  are  very  good,  so  far  as  the  outline  is  con- 
cerned, but  the  colour  is  greenish  white,  agreeing  better 
with   M.   Valenciennwi;    but  the  intestine  is  flexuose 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVAtlONB.  217 

through  its  whole  length,  which  character  at  once  dis- 
tinguishes it  as  grossa. 

Ordo  III.   BDELLIDEA,  Johnston, 

Sub'Ordo,  HIRUDINAGEA,  Grube. 

Fam.,  PISCICOLIDwS:,  Johnston, 

Gen.,  POKTOBDSLLA,  Leach. 

MURICATA,  Linn. 

Penn.  Brit.  Zool.,  t.  20,  f.  14,  p.  38,  v.  4;   Dalyl,  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  1, 
f.  1-16. 

Found  occasionally  on  the  skate.  This  species  was  only 
met  with  once  by  Col.  Montagu,  who  considered  it  very 
rare ;  but  the  one  he  found  was  a  gigantic  one,  from 
"  eight  to  ten  inches  long."  Although  rarely  seen  on  our 
coast,  they  must  be  rather  numerous  from  the  quantity 
of  eggs  dredged  up,  or  old  shells.  It  appears  to  be  a 
very  common  species  in  Scotland,  where  it  is  also  found 
on  the  skate ;  and  the  Scottish  fishermen  assert  that 
dozens  are  sometimes  found  on  one  fish. 

VERRUCATA,  Onihc, 

Moguin-Tandon,  Monog.  p.  288,  t.  2,  f.  10-12. 

This  is  also  taken  on  the  skate,  and  is  called  by  the  fisher- 
men the  "  skate  leech."  It  has  also  been  taken  on  the 
pilchard,  ofif  Exmouth ;  and  Mr.  Boss  remarks  that  the 
specimen  was  five  inches  long,  and  was  filled  with  blood. 
(See  his  MSS.,  v.  2,  p.  38.) 

Var.  (?) 

Montagu  MSS.,  t.  64,  f.  3. 

Yellowish,  dusky,  with  a  broad  white  dorsal  line  thickly 
dotted  with  black,  encircled  with  distinct  mamseform, 
brown  warts  on  every  fourth  ring.  On  each  side  of  the 
dorsal  line  is  a  large,  dull,  purple  wart.  Anterior  and 
posterior  suckers  purplish  brown,  without  tubercles. 
Length,  about  four  inches. 

This  appeal's  to  me  to  be  a  very  distinct  variety ;  but  Col. 
Montagu  does  not  give  the  locality  where  it  was  ob- 
tained ;  but  from  the  drawing  being  made  in  the  book 
containing  figures  of  Devonshire  animals  only,  I  con- 
clude that  this  was  also  taken  on  our  shores.  (?) 

AREOLATA,  Leoch. 

In  Cull.  Brit  Muse.;  Moq.-Tand.,  Monog.  290,  t  2,  f.  12. 

Taken  in  Plymouth  Sound,  by  Mr.  C.  Prideaux. 


218  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 

Gkn.,  PISaOOLA,  BlaintiUe. 
GEOMETBA,  Linn. 

Penn.  Brit.  Zool.  iv.,  t  20,  f.  13,  p.  38;  Mont.y  MSS.,  t  23,  f.  3,  p.  258. 

Col.  Montagu  says  "South  Devon."  I  should  think  it 
very  probable  he  met  with  it  on  fish  in  Slapton  Ley  (?) 
as  this  was  not  far  from  where  he  lived. 

Fam.,  NEPHELIDiB,  Johnston, 
Gen.,  ITEPHILIS,  Savigny, 
OCTOCULATA,  Linn, 

Dalfl,  Pow.  Great.,  ii.,  t.  2,  f.  1-19,  p.  14. 

Generally  distributed  in  ponds  and  ditches. 

Var,  a.  Pale  yellowish,  with  two  red  lines  along  each  side ; 
in  the  Canal,  Exeter. 

Var,  b,  Olive  green,  paler  beneath,  regularly  banded  trans- 
versely with  yellow,  and  between  each  band  or  fascia  it 
is  dotted  with  angular  spots. 

Var.  c.  As  above,  but  without  the  yellow  fascia,  and  not 
quite  so  thickly  spotted  with  yellow. 

The  two  last  varieties  I  met  with  in  the  Teign,  near  Duns- 
ford  Bridge,  and  also  in  the  Sid,  near  Sidmouth,  within 
the  influence  of  the  tide  at  high  water,  amongst  ErUero^ 
morpha  intestinalis. 

When  dead  this  leech  shows  a  white  space  of  three  lines 
in  length,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  the  head, 
having  the  appearance  of  a  Clitcllus.  Dr.  Johnston 
says  this  appears  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  but  I 
did  not  observe  them  until  the  animals  were  dead. 

Gbn.,  AULOSTOMA,  Moguin-Tandon. 

GULO,  Moq,'Tand. 

Monog.  t.  6,  f.  1-6,  p.  313;  Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great,  ii.  22,  t.  3,  f.  1-10. 

Not  uncommon  in  ditches ;  very  fine  in  a  ditch  near  Salmon 
Pool,  Exeter.  In  confinement  they  devour  earth-worms 
greedily.  They  grow  to  a  large  size,  six  or  seven  inches 
in  length  when  extended. 

Fam.,  HIRUDINIDiE,  Savigny. 
Gen.,  HJEMOPSIS,  Savigny. 
SANGUISUGA,  Linn. 

Systema  Nat.,  x.  649  {H.  Flava) ;  Mont.,  MSS.,  p.  263. 

Very  local,  in  a  small  pool  contiguous  to  the  Avon,  South 
Devon. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  219 

Gen.,  EIBVDO,  L\nn<tus. 

TKOCTiNA,  Johnston, 

Moq.-Tand,,  p.  335-6;  Johnston,  Med.  Leech,  p.  31,  32. 

"IT.  dongatofusca,  supra  anntUis  aureis  maculos  atros 
cin^fulatas,  niargine  svhfiavo  laterali,  subttis  fiava  viridis 
punctis  atris" 

Olive  green,  beneath  mottled  and  dashed  with  orange 
yellow  ;  annulations  rough,  with  minute  points ;  lateral 
bands  velvety  black,  interrupted  and  broken  into  isolated 
round  or  elliptical  spots,  each  separated  by  five  rings  or 
annulations  of  the  body.  Each  spot  is  surrounded  by 
an  orange  border,  and  a  semicircular  dash  pf  the  same 
colour  like  an  eyebrow  over  each.  Below  the  ocelli-like 
spot  occurs  a  lunate  black  mark,  the  base  of  which  rests 
on  the  margin  of  the  foot,  which  is  orange  yellow. 

The  above  description  was  drawn  up  from  specimens 
obtained  from  the  Axe,  near  Axmouth,  and  corresponds 
very  nearly  with  those  described  by  Dr.  Johnston. 

Moquin-Tandon  has  also  described  it  with  several  varieties. 
I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Pulleu,  who  kindly  sent  me  the 
specimens,  that  they  are  **  plentiful  in  the  Axe,  and  that 
two  or  three  persons  get  their  living  by  catching  them. 
They  are  sent  to  London  in  large  quantities;"  and  he 
adds,  **  I  have  medical  friends  who  often  use  them,  or 
rather  were  in  the  habit  of  using  them  when  leeching 
was  more  in  vogue  than  it  is  now."  The  difference 
between  the  Axe  and  the  foreign  leech  is,  that  the  Axe 
ones  take  more  slowly,  and  are  more  sluggish  at  their 
work. 

The  Eev.  Z.  Edwards,  in  litt.,  says,  "  When  I  resided  in 
Somersetshire  I  recollect  very  well  the  poor  people  near 
Somerton  took  leeches  near  there,  and  applied  them 
under  medical  direction,  and  also  sold  them  to  medical 
men."  This  is  probably  the  same  species  as  described 
above.  (?) 

Dr.  Johnston  says  he  named  this  species  H,  Troctina,  from 
its  resemblance  to  the  coloured  rings  or  spots  on  the 
Trout,  and  also  from  its  being  known  and  sold  in  shops 
under  the  name  of  "  trout  leech." 

Tribe  II.    CLEPSINEA,  Orube, 
Fam.,  GLOSSOPORIDiB,  Johnston. 
Gen.,  OL088IPH0VIA,  Johnston. 
TESSELLATA,  MUll. 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  220;  jDo/y/.,  Pow.  Croat  2,  t.  4,  f.  24-30,  p.  38. 

Under  leaves  of  water-lilies,  in  the  river  near  Bishop's 


220  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE   ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 

Clist ;  also  in  the  Sid,  near  Sidmouth,  under  stones  and 
amongst  JEnteromorpha  irUestinalis,  within  the  influence 
of  the  tide  at  high  water,  but  rare.  The  specimens  in 
the  Clist  are  much  finer  and  more  jelly-like  than  those 
in  the  Sid. 

SEXOCULATA,  Moq.-Tandon. 

Monog.  364,  t.  12;  Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great.  2,  t.  4,  f.  1-16,  p.  30;  Mont., 
MSS.  t.  30,  f.  6,  p.  256. 

In  shallow  streams,  under  stones ;  common  everjrwhere. 
HETEROCLITA,  Linn, 

Systema  xii.  1080;  Afant.,  MSS.  t.  23,  f.  2.  {H.  alia.) 

Under  stones,  in  Slapton  Ley;  in  a  ditch  near  the  Bristol 
and  Exeter  Eailway  Station ;  rare. 

When  this  species  is  examined  with  a  lens,  it  will  be  seen 
to  be  very  rough  on  the  dorsal  surface  with  minute 
irregular  asperities.  The  whole  dorsal  surface  is  longi- 
tudinally striated  with  alternate  white  and  yellow  lines ; 
these  lines  are  also  distinctly  seen  from  beneath,  when 
the  animal  is  in  motion  in  a  glass  vessel,  and  also  when 
at  rest.  It  is  said  to  be  "acephalous,*'  but  it  has  certainly 
a  head,  for  when  at  rest  there  is  an  evident  contraction, 
which  forms  a  short  neck. 

BiocuLATA,  Mull. 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  220;  Dali/l.,  Pow.  Great.  2,  t.  4,  f.  17-23,  p.  36;  Mont., 
MSS.  t.  30,  f.  3. 

In  the  Canal,  Exeter,  and  in  most  slow  streams  of  clear 
water.  It  varies  in  colour  from  a  clear  greyish-white  to 
dotted  with  minute  olive-brown  or  green  dots.  Some- 
times it  has  a  rufous  tint.  It  carries  its  young  about 
attached  to  its  abdomen,  the  same  as  the  above  species. 

PURPUREA,  Montagu. 

MSS.,  p.  262,  t.  23,  f.  4. 

Ovate  when  quiescent,  lanceolate  when  in  motion;  of  a 
beautiful  purple  colour,  the  anterior  and  posterior  ends 
yellowish-white,  with  a  series  of  white  dots  round  the 
centre  of  the  posterior  disk ;  eyes  seven,  placed  thus — 
one,  then  two  near  together,  the  others  diverging  back- 
wards. 

This  appears,  from  Colonel  Montagu's  figure  and  descrip- 
tion, to  be  a  very  distinct  species ;  but  he  does  not  say 
wliei*e  he  obtained  it ;  but  I  presume  in  Devon,  as  it  is 
with  his  other  dniwings,  which  appear  to  be  exclusively 

.   animals  of  Devonshire. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSEKVATIONS.  221 

Ordo  lY.   SCOLOCEBy  Johnston, 

Tribe  T.  LUMBRICINA,  Mac.Leay. 

Fam.  I.  LUMBRICID-aE,  Satigny. 

Obn.  J.  LUIOSICUS,  Linnaua. 

TERRESTRIS,   JVillis, 

Linn.,  Systema,  var.  B.,  1076 ;  P«ifi.,  Brit.  Zool.  4,  t.  19,  f.  6. 

The  common  earth  worm ;  abundant  everywhere. 

Var.  With  two  lines  on  the  second  segment,  and  striated 
longitudinally  between  them,  but  without  the  transverse 
lines  as  described  by  Dr.  Johnston.  By  the  side  of  a 
small  stream,  under  roots  of  grass,  near  Exeter.  Much 
used  for  bait  by  fishermen. 

MINOR,  Ray. 

Penn.,  Brit.  Zool.  iv.  33,  t.  19,  f.  6  a. 

In  wet  gravelly  ground,  on  the  sides  of  rivers,  and  under 
old  decaying  confervae  ;  "  Devon,"  Dr.  Leach.  Used  by 
fishermen  on  the  Exe  for  bait.  The  anterior  segments 
are  iridescent. 

ANATOMicus,  Ikiges. 

Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat.  (1828),  t  9,  f.  17-23. 

In  damp  earth,  by  the  side  of  drains,  in  which  foetid  water 
flows ;  at  Instow,  North  Devon.  The  specimens  I  have 
had  from  this  locality  differ  a  little  from  the  typical 
form  as  drawn  up  by  Duges,  inasmuch  as  these  had  the 
first  twelve  segments  bright  flesh-coloured,  and  the  rest, 
next  to  the  clytellus,  dirty  bluish-gray,  like  the  rest  of 
the  body,  except  the  three  apical  segments  of  the  tail, 
which  are  coloured  like  the  anterior,  bright  flesh.  Setae- 
shaped,  like  the  old  Eoman  letter  /  very  obtuse  at  each 
end,  and  are  placed  in  pairs.  This  variety  appears  to 
me  to  be  intermediate  between  L.  minor  and  anatomicus. 
Length,  three  inches.  It  has  no  smell,  and  no  exudation. 
The  intestine  and  blood-vessel  are  distinctly  seen. 

viRiDis,  Ray, 

Hiflt  of  Inaecta,  iii. 

Under  old  turf,  in  a  damp  meadow  near  Topsham.  The 
specimens  were  about  three  inches  long. 

FCETIDUS,  Duges. 

Ann.  dea  Sci.  Nat,  aer.  2,  viii.  t.  1,  f.  4,  p.  21. 

Common  in  old  dunghills,  and  by  the  sides  of  sewers.  Dr. 
Johnston  says  "there  are  two  abbreviated  impressed 
lines  on  the  second  segment  behind  the  head ;"  it  should 


222  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNEUDS   OF  DEVON, 

be  added,  oblique  lines.  There  is  a  thick  yellow  fluid 
exudes  from  between  the  rings  of  the  body  when  it  is 
first  taken  or  disturbed,  which  has  a  very  strong  earthly 
smelL     This  worm  is  much  esteemed  by  fishermen. 

TETRAEDRUS,  DligeS, 

Aim.  des.  Sci.  Nat.,  ser.  2,  viii.  17-23. 

There  is  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  collection, 
obtained  by  Dr.  Leach  in  Devon.  It  appears  to  be  a 
rare  species.  (?) 

PUTOR,  Hoffmeister, 

Ueber  Begenu.  f.  6 ;  Johmt.  Cat  p.  62. 

Under  decaying  bark  of  trees,  particularly  elms.  The 
clytellus  is  composed  of  eight  or  nine  segments,  but  so 
consolidated  above  as  to  completely  obliterate  the  rings. 
There  are  two  slight  impressions  on  the  post-occipital 
segment,  and  also  the  faint  indication  of  a  ring  on  each 
of  the  anterior  segments,  the  rest  very  faintly  dimidiate, 
and  the  whole  longitudinally  striated.  Length,  two  inches ; 
colour,  a  vinous  red. 

Obn.,  TUBIFSX,  Lamarck, 
FreahynXer. 

BivuLORUM,  Lam. 

Anim.  Sans  Vert,  edit  (1816),  p.  224,  y.  iiL 

La  shallow  ditches  and  ponds  with  muddy  bottoms.  Abun- 
dant in  a  horse-pond  near  Whipton.  They  construct 
themselves  tubes  of  the  particles  of  mud,  and  from  the 
top  of  these,  which  stand  up  about  an  inch  above  the 
surface  of  the  muddy  bottom,  these  little  scarlet  worms 
may  be  seen  on  summer  evenings  waving  themselves  to 
and  fro  in  the  water,  but  on  the  least  disturbance  they 
shrink  into  their  tubes. 

VARIEGATUS,  Miill. 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  2604 ;  Mont.  MSS.  (N.  ligulata.) 

Taken  near  Kingsbridge  (?) ;  Col.  Montagu.  This  species 
ought  to  be  separated  from  this  genus, — the  peculiar 
lobed  dorsal  vessel  separates  it  at  once. 

Marine. 

LINEATA,  Oruhe. 

Mull.,  Zool.  Dan.,  t  80,  f.  1-4. 

Amongst  fuci  and  corallines,  on  the  south  coast;  Col. 
Montagu. 


WITH   NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  223 

BILINEATA,  Montogu, 

MSS.  p.  126,  3. 

"  Flesh-coloured,  with  very  distinct  annulatious  alternately 
furnished  with  fasciculi,  two  red  lines  running  down  its 
back  ;  the  anterior  end  purplish,  and  slightly  iridescent. 
When  irritated  it  turns  its  lips  outward,  the  upper  part 
of  the  head  is  then  seen  to  project  like  a  proboscis; 
from  this  it  discharges  a  red  fluid.  Length,  from  four  to 
ten  inches ;  size  of  a  crow  quill.     Coast  of  Devon." 

PELLUCIDUS,  Mont 
MSS.  p.  126,  4. 

"  Pellucid,  subgellatinous,  showing  distinctly  the  intestinal 
canal ;  anterior  opaque-white,  with  some  blood-coloured 
patches ;  bristles  inconspicuous.  On  the  sides  are  some 
transverse  marks  like  branchial  openings.  Length,  from 
five  to  six  inches ;  size  of  a  crow  quilL  Coast  of  Devon ; 
rare." 

"This  species  is  very  delicate,  and  diflBcult  to  procure 
entire;  it  is  occasionally  knotted  and  variously  con- 
torted. The  intestine  appears  to  be  filled  with  sand  and 
minute  fragments  of  shells." 

Obs.  I  have  placed  two  species  described  by  Colonel 
Montagu  that  appear  to  me  to  belong  here,  but  I  have 
not  seen  the  species  myself,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
ceitain,  it  will  therefore  be  understood  that  they  are 
placed  here  provisionally.  They  appear  to  be  very 
nearly  related  to  the  next  genus,  particularly  as  regards 
the  elongated  or  conical  anterior  portion  of  the  head. 

Gem.,  CLUELLIO,  Savigny. 
ABENABIUS,  Miill 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  2614;  Moni,  MSS.  p.  113. 

At  the  roots  of  corallines  occasionally,  on  the  south  coast. 

Oen.,  valla,  JohmUm. 
CILIATA,  Miill. 

Verm.  i.  ii.  30;  Johmt,  Cat.  p.  67  (wood  cut) ;    M<mt,  MSS.  t  10,  f.  2, 
p.  iii.  {PMttiuB  eanaria.) 

Taken  beneath  sand  at  low  water  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Avon.  (Montagu.) 

Gbn.,  8TTLABIA,  Lamarck, 

LACUSTRis,  Linn. 

Syatema  Nat,  1085 ;  Dalzl.,  Pow.  Great.  2,  t  17,  f.  6,  7. 

Amongst  the  roots  of  aquatic  plants  in  ponds  and  ditches; 
very  common  in  the  Canal,  Exeter.     It  is  an  exceed- 


224 


A  CATALOGUE  OF  THB  ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 


ingly  active  worm,  and  keeps  constantly  whipping  th 
water  with  its  long  proboscis-like  appendage.  Th 
spinets  are  long,  and  curved  like  the  Eonian  letter  j 
with  a  bulging  out  a  little  below  the  middle.  Dr.  John 
ston  says  they  are  "  forked,"  but  this  I  did  not  observe 
This  species  increases  by  division  of  its  body. 

Obn.,  8ERFEHT1JIA,  Oertted. 
QUADRI8TRUTA,  Oersted. 

TempleUm^  in  Loudon's  Mag.  Nat.  History,  vii.,  f.  26,  p.  130. 

To  Dr.  Johnston's  description  must  be  added :  Head  whei 
seen  from  above  slightly  emaiginate,  with  a  protusili 
fiesophagus,  set  with  very  fine  hairs  or  setae,  directec 
backwards.  The  superior  bristles  are,  as  Dr.  Johnstoi 
says,  subulate,  and  add  to  this  the  base  flattened  an( 
divided  into  five  or  six  teeth,  indeed  pectinated.  Th( 
superior  bundles  each  with  two  long  bristles.  I  believ< 
I  am  right  in  referring  the  animal  I  have  in  view  U 
this  species ;  at  the  same  time  I  do  not  feel  quite  certain 
The  habits  of  the  animal  differ  from  that,  inasmuch  a 
it  is  found,  burrowing  in  gravel  and  imder  stones,  by  th( 
side  of  the  Exe,  just  on  the  margin  of  the  water,  anc 
where  it  is  also  frequently  covered  by  the  water  for  lonj 
periods  together.     It  grows  to  three  inches  in  length. 

Gen.,  CHCETOOASTEB,  Batr, 
VERMICULARIS,  Miill 

Verm,  i  ii.  20;  John»t.  Cat.  p.  71. 

Amongst  Lemnae,  &c.,  in  a  pond  near  the  South  Westen 
Railway,  in  the  footpath  fields  leading  to  Stoke  Hill,  am 
Exminster  marshes,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  common 
It  has  a  double  wavy  intestine,  one  part  of  which  rum 
down  each  side  of  the  body,  and  coalesces  near  the  pos 
terior  end.  There  are  ten  transverse  striae  between  eacl 
bundle  or  fascicle  of  spinets.  The  spines,  curved  anc 
directed  backwards,  furcate  at  the  end.  When  at  res 
the  worm  generally  remains  coiled  up. 

Ordo  v.    GYMNOCOPA,  Orube, 

Fam.  I.    TOMOPTERID^,  Orube. 

Gen.,  TOMOPTEBIS,  Eack»ekoltz. 

ONISCIFORMIS,  Orube,     (Johnstonella  Catharina,  Gosse.) 

Ramb.  on  Devon  Coaat,  p.  356,  pi.  25,  and  T  believe  Sir  J,  DalyeW 
Nereis.  Phasma.  to  be  the  same,  Pow.  Great,  t  36,  f.  16,  p.  260. 

Taken  by  Mr.  Gosse  off  the  harbour  at  Ilfracombe  ir 
August.    Dr.  Johnston  has  given  Johmtondla  Catharine 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  225 

as  a  synonym  of  onisci/ormis  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
species ;  but  in  the  text  he  says  there  is  no  doubt  but  it 
is  a  synonym  of  T,  scolopendrina,  as  the  latter  has  been 
taken  in  Dublin  Bay  by  Dr.  Corrigan. 

Ord0  VI.   ANNELIDE8,  Ik  Qmtrrfaget, 

Tribe  I.   EAPACIA,  QtMbe, 
Fam.  I.   APHRODITACK£,  JohmUm, 
Oen.  I.   APHBODITA,  Leach. 
ACULEATA,  Linn, 

Penn.  Brit.  Zool.  iy.  p.  23,  f.  26.    JohmU  Cat  t.  9,  p.  101. 

Common  all  around  the  coast;  frequently  cast  up  by 
storms. 

Fam,,  POLYNOID-B,  Baird. 
Gbn.,  LEPIDOV0TU8,  Lsach, 
8QUAMATU8,  Litm, 

Penn.  Brit  Zool.  iv.  44,  t  23,  fl  26.    MotU.  MSS.  t  10,  f.  6. 

Dredged  ofif  Salcombe,  in  the  coralline  region,  frequent 

CLAYA,  Montagu, 

Lmn,  Trans.  9,  t  7,  £  3,  p.  108.     MSS.  t  16,  f.  1. 

Common  on  most  parts  of  the  coast. 

SPECIES  INQUIBENDJB. 
LEPIDOVOTUS. 
UIRTA,  Montagu, 

MSS.  t  44,  f.  8,  p.  49. 

"  Annulations  about  sixty,  sides  slightly  covered  with 
down,  yellowish,  scales  numerous,  peduncles  and  fasci- 
culi short.  Length,  half  an  inch.  Inhabits  holes  in  old 
oyster  shells,  coast  of  Devon." 

Observe :  In  the  drawing,  this  species  is  linear  and  slightly 
narrowed  towards  each  extremity,  with  a  pair  of  scales 
on  each  segment,  yellowish,  and  very  faintly  dotted 
with  a  darker  shade. 

ROSEA,  Montagu, 

MSS.  t  16,  f.  3,  4,  p.  46. 

"  Oblong,  flesh  colour,  with  20  pair  of  scales  spotted  with 
brown;  body  with  about  40  annulations;  the  fasciculi 
of  the  pedimcles  straw  yellow,  with  small  cirri  between ; 
tentacles  four;  anal  appendages  two.  The  flesh  colour 
of  the  body  is  most  evident  beneath,  a  line  of  the  same 
colour  down  the  back,  where  the  scales  rarely  meet. 
Length,  one  inch  and  a  quarter.   Coast  of  Devon ;  rare." 

VOL.   II.  Q 


226  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 

SANGUILINEATA,   Montogu. 
MS8.  p.  47. 

"Body  covered  with  numerous  smooth  yellowish  scale 
peduncles  furnished  with  fascicles  of  bristles ;  annul 
tions  numerous;  two  sets  of  bristles  on  the  pedunch 
one  of  which  reflects  and  forms  a  margin  along  each  si< 
of  the  animal;  beneath,  highly  resplendent,  having 
bright  crimson  line  along  the  middle ;  length,  one  inc 
Foimd  in  worm  holes  of  large  oyster  shells.  Coast 
Devon;  rara" 

Gen.,  AHTIHOE,  Kinberg, 
IMPAB,  Johnston, 

Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  ii.  t.  22,  f.  3-9,  p.  486.     Cat.  of  Worms,  t  8,  f.  3. 

Capstone  Eock,  North  Devon.  (P.  H.  Gosse.)     Salcoml 
dredged  in  coralline  region,  frequent 

PHARETEATU8,  (?)  Johnston. 

The  animal  I  have  in  view  I  believe  to  be  the  young 
this  species.  The  head  and  antennae  are  the  same 
the  type,  and  the  spines  also;  but  the  scales  or  elyt 
differ  in  being  roughly  reticulated,  the  reticulatioi 
coloured  reddish,  and  round  the  outer  part  the  seal 
are  set  with  strong,  coarse  short  spines,  forming  tv 
irregular  rows.  The  margin  for  about  three  parts  roui 
each  scale  is  rather  thickly  set  with  what  appears 
first  gland-tipped  hairs,  but  they  are  really  gland-tipp( 
or  knobbed  spines,  alternating  long  and  short;  ai 
each  scale  is  marked  with  a  conspicuous  black  S  in  tl 
centre.  This  mark  also  appears  under  each  scale  < 
the  animal's  back  after  the  scales  are  removed,  whi( 
renders  it  very  conspicuous.  Scales  very  deciduoi; 
Length,  eight  lines.  Body  composed  of  38  somites,  ai 
having  15  pair  of  scales.  Taken  between  tide  mar 
between  Exmouth  and  B.  Salterton,  January,  1867. 

SEMISCULPTUS,   Lcdch. 
In  Brit  Mus.  Coll. 

Taken  on  the  South  coast  by  J.  Cranch.     This  appears 
be  a  rare  speciea 

IMBRICATU8,  Linn. 

Montagu  in  Linn.  Trans,  xi.,  t.  4,  f.  I,  p.  18.     MSS.  t  10,  f.  4. 

South  coast  of  Devon. 


7 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  227 

PELLUCIDUS,  F,  D,  Dyster, 

Johmt,  Cat.  p.  117.     M<mt.  MSS.  p.  49.     {A,  lutea.) 

From  CoL  Montagu's  description  as  quoted  above,  I  be- 
lieve that  he  had  the  same  animal  in  view  as  described 
by  Mr.  Dyster. 

Obn.,  HABXOTHOl,  KmUr^, 
CIBRATA,  Fah. 

Faun.  Grunland,  t.  7,  p.  308.    Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great  ii.  166,  t.  24,  f.  8. 

Taken  in  Anstey's  Cove,  Torbay.  P.  H.  Gosse,  in  "  Good 
Words,"  South  coast.  Col.  Montagu  has  figured  and 
described  a  form  he  calls  A.  verrucosus  (A,  lepidota), 
Pallas,  and  which  he  quotes  as  synonymous  with  his 
species.  But  I  am  inclined,  with  Dr.  Johnston,  to  con- 
sider the  latter  as  a  variety  only  of  drraia. 

Gen.,  POLTHOS,  OertUd. 

SCOLOPENDRINA,  Savignv. 

Johmt. y  in  Ann.  Nat  Hist  v.,  t  5,  p.  307,  and  Cat  Wormi,  t  zi., 
p.  119,  21.    ifon^.  MSS.  t  56. 

Colonel  Montagu  has  figured  what  I  consider  the  young 
of  this  fine  species.  Body,  anterior  half  pale  purple, 
with  three  transverse  fascia  about  the  middle,  the  colour 
fading  away  to  dull  yellowish  at  the  posterior  extremity, 
each  joint  provided  with  a  cirrus  and  a  bundle  of  yellow 
hairs  or  bristles.  The  anterior  half  provided  with  six 
pair  of  obcordate  elytra,  not  meeting  on  the  back ;  the 
broad  end  of  the  scales  slightly  emai^nate,  and  with  a 
depression  in  the  centre ;  head,  flesh  coloured,  not  con- 
cealed by  the  eljrtra  (probably  rubbed  off),  depressed  in 
front;  eyes  black,  remote,  placed  far  back  on  the  occiput ; 
antennae  two,  stout,  yellowish.  The  head  is  also  armed 
with  seven  clavate,  bulbous,  apiculate  bristles,  placed 
three  in  front,  and  two  on  each  side,  whitish.  In  form 
they  are  like  those  found  on  ffarrnothoe  cirrcUa.  Indeed, 
the  animal  appears  so  intermediate  between  the  genus 
Folynoe  and  Hannotfioe,  that  I  am  not  sure  that  I  have 
placed  it  in  its  right  position.  (?)  Length,  about  one  and 
a  half  inches ;  diameter  in  its  widest  part,  about  three 
lines. 

Fam,,  SIOALIONIDJB,  Jokmt^ 
OxN.,  8IOAU0V,  Audot$k$. 
BOA,  Johnston. 

In  Loud.  Mag.  Nat  Hiat  vL,  t  42,  p.  322.     Cat  Wonni,  p.  124. 
Mont  MSS.  t  19,  f.  1,  p.  HI.*    PatithiB  species.  (?) 

Exmouth,  between  tide  marks;  very  rare;  the  elytra  are 
rough,  with  minute  black  points.     CoL  Montagu  says  it 
inhabits  muddy  sand  at  the  mouths  of  tidal  rivers. 
q2 


*\i 


228  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

/•am.,  ECJNIC-E,  Cuvier. 
Gen.,  ETTNICE,  Schweig. 
SANGUINEA,  MorUogu. 

Linn.  Tra-B.  xi.,  t.  3,  f.  1-3,  p.  20.    MSS.  t  6,  f.  1  a,  p.  104. 

South  coast  of  Devon,  Col.  Montagu.  But  he  does  n 
say  when  he  obtained  it  This  fine  species  was  al 
found  by  Dr.  Leach  on  our  South  coast 

Gen.,  HOBTEIA,  Johnston, 

TUBICOLA,  Midler. 

Johnst.f  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist,  zvi.,  f.  6,  et  Cat  Worms,  p.  136-; 
Mont.  MSS.  t  51,*  f.  4. 

South  coast  of  Devon.  Plymouth  Sound,  C.  Prideau 
To  Dr.  Johnston's  description  must  be  added  a  brig 
red  interrupted  line  down  its  back. 

CONCHYLEGA,  Sars. 

Montagu,  Test.  Brit.  v.  2,  p.  555.     {Sabella.) 

"This  animal  makes  a  short,  broad,  and  extremely  fl 
tube,  composed  of  large  pieces  or  fragments  of  fl 
bivalve  shells,  chiefly  of  the  Pecten  genus.  These  a 
laid  without  order,  but  sometimes  cover  each  other 
the  edges,  and  invariably  placed  with  the  concave  si( 
inwards,  which  leaves  a  narrow  perforation." 

This  description  is  excellent,  as  I  can  testify,  having  hi 
several  of  the  tubes  dredged  up  on  Pecten  maxirmts  \ 
our  South  coast. 

Gen.,  LTCIDICE,  Savigny. 
NINETTA,  Aud.  and  M.  Edw. 

Litt.  de  la  France,  ii.,  t  3  b,  f.  1-8,  p.  181.     Johntt.  Cat  p.  140. 

South  coast  of  Devon,  Col.  Montagu. 
EUFA,  Gosse. 

Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist,  ser.  2,  vol.  xii.  p.  385. 

Dredged  on  an  oyster  off  Lee,  near  Ilfracombe.  P.  \ 
Gosse. 

Gen.,  LUMBBIKEBIS,  BlainviUe. 

\  IRICOLOK,  Montagu,     tricolor,  (?)  Leach.  (?) 

Mont.  MSS.  t  32,  f.  3,  p.  93.     Linn.  Trans,  vii.  p.  82. 

In  studying  the  descriptions  of  N.  tricolor  of  Leach  ai 
the  N.  tricolor  of  Montagu,  witli  the  advantage  of  t 
latter  8  figures  in  the  manuscript  as  quoted  above,  I  a 
led  to  believe  that  the  supposed  two  species  are  but  oi 
and  that  one  the  N.  iricolor  of  Montagu,  as  1  belie 
this  name  has  the  precedence.     Col.  Montagu's  papi 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  229 

in  which  this  was  described,  was  read  to  the  Linnean 
Society,  December  7th,  1802.  The  most  important 
difference  in  the  description  of  iricolor  and  the  figure  in 
the  folio  of  drawings  is,  the  latter  has  four  black  eyes 
placed  transversely  at  the  base  of  the  head.  Taken 
on  the  South  coast  of  Devon.  Col.  Montagu  and 
J.  Cranch. 

Fam.y  NEREIDS,  Lamareh, 
6bn.,  HEBEI8,  LmruBut. 
BREVIMANA,  Johnston. 

Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist.  v.  p.  170.    Cat.  Worms,  147. 
Taken  at  Plymouth. 

PELAGICA,  Linn. 

Johmt.,  Ann.  Nat.  Hiat  v.  p.  172,  f.  3,  4.    Mmt,  MSS.  t.  2,  f.  4. 

On  all  our  shores,  from  low-water  mark  up  to  muddy 
patches  in  brackish  water,  and  where  they  are  frequently 
subject  to  be  overflowed  by  fresh  water,  as  well  as 
exposed  to  heavy  rains.  This  species  appears  to  be  the 
most  hardy,  and  exposed  to  greater  variations  of  tem- 
perature, &c.,  than  any  inhabiting  our  shores.  It  forms 
a  sort  of  temporary  tube  of  the  mucous  which  exudes 
from  iis  body,  and  agglutinated  masses  of  mud.  Above 
Topsham,  in  what  is  termed  the  "  flats,"  a  large  space  of 
mud  overflowed  by  the  tide,  this  species  is  numerous, 
inhabiting  holes,  where  occasionally  they  come  up  to 
look  out  when  the  tide  is  out.  At  this  time  they  must 
be  approached  very  stealthily,  as  they  see  you  in  an 
instant,  and  shrink  back  again  into  their  holes.  Dr. 
Johnston  appeared  to  be  somewhat  in  doubt  as  to  the 
number  of  teeth  in  each  jaw.  I  have  foimd  them  to  be 
ten,  and  he  calls  them  "obtuse."  I  should  say  they 
were  acute;  but  age  may  have  something  to  do  with 
this.  (?) 

CCERULEA,  Linn. 

Penn.  Brit.  Zool.  iy.,  t.  25,  f.  32,  33,  p.  47.     {N.  Margarita.)     Mont., 
Linn.  Trans,  yii.  p.  83,  et  MSS.  p.  83. 

South  coast  of  Devon,  Col.  Montagu ;  and  P.  H.  Gosse,  in 
"Good  Words,"  1864. 

PULSATORIA,  Moniagn. 

Milne  Edw.  et  Aud.  Litt  de  la  France,  ii.,  t.  4,  f.  8-13,  p.  194.     MSS., 
t.  8,  f.  2,  p.  102. 

"The  pulsations,  as  observed  by  Col.  Montagu,  occur  about 
eight  in  ten  seconds,  and  appear  to  flow  from  the  pos- 


230 


A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 


tenor  towards  the  anterior  end  in  a  sort  of  wave-lil 
motion,  and  seemed  more  intense  here  and  there  alor 
the  dorsal  Una     In  spirits  the  animal  turns  to  pa 
bronze  colour." 
Coast  of  Devon,  under  stones ;  not  uncommon. 

FIMBRL/ITA,  Miill. 

MuU.,  Wurm.  144,  t.  8.    JohntL,  Cat  p.  156. 

Exmouth,  imder  stones,  between  tide  marks ;  rare.  (?) 


Obn.,  HERSILEPA8,  Oersted. 

FUCATA,  Saviffny. 

JohneUy  in  Ana.  Nat.  Hist  iii.,  t  6,  f.  1,  p.  296.  Mont.  MSS.  t  t 
f.  2  {Nereie  ferrug%noMa\}^),  and  also  t  61,»  p.  98.  {N.  eoehUata.  [i 
Oiteeef  in  Aquarium,  p.  164. 

Dredged  at  Torcross  by  CoL  MontagiL  Taken  in  Norl 
Devon,  P.  H.  Gk)sse.  The  single  interrupted  line 
pure  white  along  the  dorsal  surface  is  like  the  shadowii 
forth  of  a  vertebral  column.  A  variety,  or  what  I  b 
lieve  to  be  a  variety,  of  this  species  is  figured  by  C< 
Montagu  under  the  name  of  N.  cochleata.  The  colo 
of  the  specimen  was  livid  green.  At  the  second  anteri 
joint  a  white  line  divides  and  forms  two  as  far  as  betwe< 
the  20th  and  30th  segment,  where  it  fades,  and  is  near 
lost;  but  it  appears  again  very  conspicuous  near  tl 
posterior  end.  The  same  writer  remarks  respecting  tl 
variety,  "  The  habits  of  the  animal  appear  to  be  whol 
confined  to  old  univalve  shells ;  and  what  is  remarkaK 
it  is  only  found  in  those  which  have  been  taken  posse 
sion  of  by  hermit  crabs,  and  are  always  found  coiled  i 
close  to  the  apex.  At  Torcross  and  other  parts  of  t! 
Devonshire  coast,  we  have  observed  that  the  uuival 
shells  of  all  descriptions,  Stromhm  Pes-pelicanus  excepts 
are  inhabited  by  the  hermit  crab,  and  that  two-thirds 
least  are  inhabited  by  this  (worm) ;  and,  what  is  exti 
ordinary,  in  no  instance  have  we  known  this  Nereis 
inhabit  a  shell  destitute  of  the  crab,  nor  have  we  ev 
taken  it  in  any  other  situation.  Tlie  largest  are  tak* 
in  Buccin^m  undatum.     Length,  six  to  seven  inches. 

Gfn  ,  K3TEE0NEBEI8,  Oersted. 
LOBULATA,  Saviyiiy. 

Aud.  and  M.  Edw.,  Litt  de  la  France  ii.,  p.  191,  t  4  a,  f.  7,  8. 

Taken  at  Plymouth ;  Dr.  Leach. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  231 

RENALIS,  JohnsL 

Williamny  Brit.  Ass.  Rept,  1861,  t.  4,  f.  14,  p.  197.    Mont.  MSS.  t.  29, 
f.  1,  2.     (,N.  bipinnata.  [?]) 

What  I  believe  to  be  a  variety  of  this  species  is  figured 
by  CoL  Montagu  as  quoted  above.  The  body  has  about 
120  segments,  and  the  anterior  as  far  as  the  42nd  pale 
olive  green,  from  this  to  the  apex  of  the  tail  bright  rosy 
red,  the  feet  lobes  pale.  Length,  four  to  five  inches. 
Coast  of  Devon ;  not  common. 

LONGISSIMA,  Johnst, 

Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  y.  p.  178,  and  Cat.  of  Wonns,  p.  165. 

Plymouth  Sound,  J.  N.  Hearder,  in  Field  newspaper,  May 
27th,  1865.  Mr.  Hearder  said  there  were  millions  of 
them  swimming  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Fam.,  NEPHTHYACEuE,  Johnaion, 
Gen.,  HEPHTHTS,  Otmer, 
C^CA,  Fabric. 

Johmi.f  in  Loud.  Mag.  Nat  Hist,  viii.,  p.  341,  f.  33,  and  Oat.  Worms, 
p.  168.     Mont.  MSS.  t.  8,  f.  3,  p.  107. 

Taken  at  Starcross,  between  tide  marks,  under  stones. 
Col.  Montagu  says  this  fine  species  grows  to  the  length 
of  ten  or  twelve  inches ;  but  I  have  not  met  with  them 
so  large  as  this.  The  beautiful  mother  of  pearl  colour 
forming  two  lines  along  the  subdorsal  and  ventral  sur- 
faces is  well  described  by  Dr.  Johnston.  The  intermittent 
flow  of  blood  along  the  dorsal  vessel  makes  it  appear  as 
if  it  had  a  vertical  motion,  which  gives  the  creature  a 
very  beautiful  appearance  in  the  water. 

LONOISETOSA,  Oersted, 

Groenl.  Annul.   Dorsibr.   43,  f.  75,  76.      Mont.  MSS.  t.   61,   p.  109. 
(y.  bifoicieulata.  [?]) 

This  species  is  very  much  like  N,  cceca,  but  the  feet  lobes 
at  once  distinguish  it.     South  coast  of  Devon. 

Gbn.,  D'OBYULEA,  n.g. 
LOBATA,  Parfitt 

In  Zoologist,  2nd  ser.,  pp.  113,  114;   1866.     Ntr$iM  pennata,     Mont, 
MSS.  t.  47,  f.  1  A,  p.  92. 

Head  nearly  round,  convex,  depressed  at  the  sides.  Eyes 
four,  placed  two  in  front,  and  two  far  back  on  the 
occiput.  Tentacles  developed  into  four  lobes,  two  large 
and  two  smaller,  the  large  ones  curved  backwards.  Body 
gradually  and  very  distinctly  tapers  from  the  head  back- 
wards;  composed  of  about  fifty  segments,  each  joint 


232  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

being  very  distiDct;  convex  in  the  centre,  but  very 
much  depressed  at  their  line  of  junction  with  each 
other.  Feet  lobes  obovate,  with  a  bundle  of  rather  short 
stiff  bristles.  At  the  base  of  the  broad  lobe  is  a  narrow 
linear  one,  naked.  Proboscis  similar  to  Nereis,  crimson 
red. 
Body,  pale  crimson-red  and  white;  the  articulations  very 
distinct;  the  anterior  tricornuted  in  front,  and  nearly 
as  wide  again  as  the  following,  somewhat  depressed 
above ;  the  most  convex  or  actual  dorsal  surface  of  each 
articulation  has  a  white  transverse  line,  so  that  the  body 
is  alternately  banded  with  white  and  crimson-red;  the 
bundles  of  bristles  in  the  foot-lobes  pale  yellow ;  length, 
one  inch.     Coast  of  Devon ;  rare. 

Jbm.,  PHYLLODOCID-S:,  WiUiams. 

6bn.,  PHYLLODOCE,  Cuvier. 

LAMELLIQERA,  Turton. 

Johnst.,  in  Ann.  Nat.  Hist,  iy.,  t.  6,  f.  1-6,  p.  225.  Mont.  MSS.  t  1, 
f.  1,  p.  99.  Oosse  Ramb.  Devon  Coast,  p.  10.  Dal^l.  Pow.  Great,  t  23, 
f.  1-6.     {N.  ritnex.) 

Found  occasionally  on  the  South  coast ;  it  varies  consider- 
ably in  size,  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  in  length. 

MACULATA,  Linn. 

Johnst.,  in  Ann.  Nat  Hist,  iy.,  p.  227,  f.  1-3.  Monty  in  Linn.  Trans. 
Tii.,  p.  83  {N.  /i>ieate[?]),  and  MSS.  t.  19,  f.  3,  p.  106. 

Inhabit  the  sand  at  the  mouth  of  the  Avon,  Devon.  This 
species  varies  a  little  in  the  colour  of  the  spots,  they 
being  sometimes  green,  olive-green,  or  olive-brown.  It 
appears  to  be  a  very  active  creature. 

VIRIDIS,  lAnn. 

JohMt.,  Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  iv.  228,  t.  6,  f.  11-15;  3f(mt.  MSS.  t.  29,  f.  3, 
p.  101;   Ooue,  in  "Good  Words." 

This  is  one  of  the  commonest  species  on  our  south  coast, 
inhabiting  the  old  tubes  of  Sabella  Anglica;  it  grows  to 
five  or  six  inches  in  length.  Dr.  Johnston  says,  that 
"in  dying  it  does  not  sepamte  and  break  in  pieces."  My 
experience  is,  that  it  does  directly  it  is  placed  in  spirits, 
and  at  the  same  time  discharges  nearly  all  its  beautiful 
green  colouring  matter.  Dr.  Johnston  further  says : 
"Post  occipital  segment,  with  four  tentacular  cirri  on 
each  side,"  &c.  Now,  those  specimens  which  I  have 
examined  have  but  two  tentacles  on  each  side  on  the 
post  occipital  segment,  and  two  on  each  side  on  the  next, 
and,  as  Dr.  J.  remarks,  are  half  as  long  again  as  the  an- 


WITH   NOTES   AND    OBSERVATIONS.  233 

tenor  ones.     The  eyes  are  somewhat  renifonn,  reddish 
brown,  and  placed  far  back  on  the  occipital  region. 
The  spinets  are  about  24  in  each  foot,  and  are  very  much 
like  No.  5,  pi.  iv.,  Johnst.  Cat.  of  Worms,  but  the  end  or 
movable  part  is  not  notched. 

MAEGINATA,  OoSSe, 

In  "Aquarium,"  p.  149-AO. 

"  Length  from  three  to  five  inches,  according  as  it  is  elon- 
gated or  contracted ;  the  body  is  composed  of  about  170 
segments,  nearly  equal  in  diameter  throughout,  and 
abruptly  rounded  at  both  extremities.  The  segments  are 
bordered  by  oval  puckered  leaflets,  the  colour  of  which, 
being  almost  black,  with  an  edging  of  light  yellow-green, 
gives  the  animal  a  most  beautiful  appearance.  Dorsal 
surface  steel-blue,  changing  under  the  play  of  light  to 
purple,  with  a  highly  metallic  reflection."  Taken  in 
Torbay,  by  Professor  Kingsley, 

GRIFFITHSII,  Dyster. 

JohnsL  Cat  Worms,  p.  180. 

Taken  in  Torbay,  by  J.  R  Griffiths. 
NEBULOSA,  Montagu. 

MSS.  t.  61,  f.  4,  p.  106. 

Body  depressed,  tapering  from  about  one-fourth  towards 
each  extremity;  head  small;  eyes  two  ;  tentacular  cirri 
eight,  short;  orange-red  above  and  somewhat  yellow 
towards  the  extremities.  At  the  junction  of  each  seg- 
ment are  placed  transversely  six  small  black  dots,  and 
on  the  centre  are  also  placed  four  more.  These  occur 
very  regularly  on  every  segment.  Foliaceous  cirri,  ovate, 
acute,  pale  dotted,  with  black  round  the  margin,  and  a 
large  black  dot  occupies  the  tip.  Length,  four  inches. 
Taken  at  Torcross,  by  Col.  Montagu. 

Obs,  This  is  evidently  nearly  allied  to  P.  Gfrijlthsiiy  and 
perhaps  it  may  prove  to  be  a  full-grown  specimen  of 
that  species.  (?) 

Gen.,  PSAMATHE,  Johnston. 
PUNCTATA,  Mall. 

Zool.  Dan.  Prod.  2633 ;  Johnst.  Cat.  p.  182;  Da/y/.,  Pow.  Creat.  ii.,  t.  21, 
f.  11-13,  p.  168;  Mont.  MSS.  t.  38,  f.  2,  p.  94.     (N.  fascieularia.) 

Dr.  Johnston  says:  "When  mature  I  find  this  worm 
attains  the  length  of  about  one  and  a  half  inches.''  But 
Col.  Montajju  found  it  between  three  and  four  inches  in 


234     A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

length.  The  latter  observer  says  the  colour — the  spec 
mens  from  which  his  description  was  drawn — was  alte 
uately  marked  with  yellow  and  green,  the  anterior  cc 
white.  Its  mode  of  progression  and  description  corr 
sponds  with  Pr.  Johnston's  in  a  very  marked  manner. 

PUSTULATA,  Montagu. 

MSS.  t  62,*  f.  3,  p.  111. 

"  Pale  olive-green;  head  paler;  a  series  of  black  dots  alor 
each  side  the  dorsal  surface ;  and  for  the  first  tweli 
segments  there  are  two  lines  diverging  from  these  dot 
forming  a  lozenge-shaped  paler  enclosure  on  the  bac! 
Lateral  cirri  long,  pale ;  tentacular  cirri  four,  four  tim( 
as  long  as  the  width  of  the  body.  Length,  one  inch  an 
half.     Taken  off  Torcross  by  dredging."     1813. 

Ohs,  This  agrees,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  the  descriptic 
of  a  full-grown  P.  punctata,  the  greatest  difference  beii 
the  lozenge-shaped  marks  on  its  back,  and  the  length  < 
the  tentacular  cirri ;  but  if  we  correct  the  latter,  an 
call  them  the  anterior  cirri  instead  of  tentacular,  tl 
greatest  difference  will  then  be  the  lozenge-shaped  marki 
so  that  I  think  this  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  variety  < 
P.  punctata.  (?) 

Fam.,  GLYCERACEiE,  Oersted. 
Gen.,  OLTCEBA,  Savigny. 

DUBIA,  Blainville. 

Griff.,  Cuvier.  xiii.,  t.  4,  f.  I ;  Mont.  MSS.  p.  109. 

South  coast  of  Devon  ;  Mus.  Leach. 

ALBA,  A  at. 

(X.  alba.)     mil.,  Zool.  Dan.  ii.  62,  f.  67  ;  Gmel,  Systema  3119 ;  Mot, 
MSS.  p.  108. 

Col.  Montagu  met  with  this  species  on  our  south  coast,  bi 
sparingly. 

CAPITATA,  Oersted. 

Johnst.  Cat.  of  Worms,  t.  xv.,  1.  f  110;  Mont.  MSS.  t.  32,  f.  1,  p.  10 
and  t.  36,  p.  5.     (Very  good.) 

South  coast,  under  stones  and  loose  sand  ;  not  common. 

GLYCERA   VESICULOSA,   Pcirfitt 
Eraaxillary. 

Head  cornuted,  transversely  striate ;  sej^nnents  biannuhit 
alike  ;  (i»so])hagus  large  clavate,  divided  into  two  ui 
equal  portions, — the  aj)ical  somewhat  globose  or  pyr 
form,  the  larger  longitudinally  striate,  internally  showin 


WA  J- 


WITH   NOTES  AND   OBSEfiVATIONS.  235 

the  dark  striae  through  the  skin.  Setiferous  lobes  or 
feet  very  numerous,  divided  mostly  into  four  unequal 
triangular  lobules,  the  base  of  each  foot  with  a  small 
papillae  on  the  superior  side;  each  foot  has  near  its 
centre  a  conspicuous  globose  vesicle  on  the  anterior 
side.  Length,  two  (?)  feet;  oesophagus,  sixteen  lines; 
breadth,  four  lines. 

Worm  subcylindrical,  equally  convex  on  both  surfaces; 
the  general-  facie&  is  that  of  ff.  dvMa,  nearly  equal  in 
size  throughout.  Colour,  pale  rosy-red,  with  a  pearly 
lustre,  and  with  a  deep  red  doi'sal  and  ventral  line. 
Feet,  pale  yellow,  small  in  front,  gradually  growing 
larger  backwards  for  the  first  three  or  four  inches ;  from 
this  they  are  nearly  of  the  same  size.  Each  foot  is 
divided  into  three  or  four  unequal  triangular  lobules, 
the  anterior  into  three,  the  inferior  lobule  very  inferiorly 
developed.  On  the  edge  of  this,  near  the  apex,  is  an 
elliptical  pale  brown  homy-looking  spot  (branchia  [?]), 
the  two  middle  lobes  being  the  largest.  Bristles,  pcde 
yellowish,  divided  into  three  bundles,  the  inferior  rather 
short  and  entire,  the  rest  compound,  those  of  the  supe- 
rior bundle  being  the  longest,  with  sharp  scimitar- 
shaped  apices  fitted  into  a  cleft  at  the  apex  of  the  shaft; 
the  edges  of  the  scimitar  finely  seiTated,  the  rest  of  the 
bristles  smooth.  The  apices  of  the  other  compound 
bristles  are  not  so  acute  or  so  long,  but  are  also  serrated. 
Each  foot  has  two  stout  smooth  spines,  projecting  but 
little  beyond  the  lobes  of  the  foot.  Near  the  middle  of 
each  foot  in  front  is  a  bright  scarlet  globose  vesicle, 
smaller  in  front,  but  gradually  growing  larger  with  the 
size  of  the  feet.  (Esophagus  clavate,  smooth,  and  with- 
out hooks  or  spines. 

In  spirits  the  animal  turns  to  a  French-white  colour,  with 
a  faint  tinge  of  flesh;  the  oesophagus  dirty  white,  or 
pale  stone  colour. 

This  appears  to  be  a  very  distinct  species.  The  pale 
yellow  feet,  each  with  a  bright  scarlet  globule  in  front, 
gives  to  this  worm  a  very  beautiful  and  remarkable 
appearance ;  it  looks  as  if  set  with  rows  of  bright  coral 
beads.  To  hazard  an  opinion  what  these  vesicles  are 
for,  I  think  the  blood  is  aerated  therein.  The  only 
specimen  I  have  seen  of  this  species  was  cast  into  a 
tide-pool  in  a  storm  on  our  south  coast,  at  Exmouth, 
in  January  last,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  it  got  injured ; 
for  I  could  find  only  a  part  of  it,  about  a  foot  in  length ; 


236  A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

but,  from  the  size  and  regularity  of  its  growth,  I  con- 
sider it  must  have  been  at  least  a  foot  longer.  After 
exhausting  all  my  references,  I  forwarded  the  specimen 
to  my  friend,  Dr.  Baird,  of  the  British  Museum,  who 
kindly  compared  it  with  the  specimens  in  the  collection, 
and  be  says,  ''Were  it  not  for  the  globular-looking 
appendages  on  the  feet,  I  should  have  no  hesitation  in 
referring  it  to  O,  dvbia,**  But  I  may  here  observe  that 
dubia  l^longs  to  the  section  with  jaws,  if  BlainvUle's 
be  the  typa  This  certainly  difiers  from  that  in  not 
having  those  appendages;  and  Dr.  Johnston  says  tibat 
his  specimens  had  no  jaws,  so  that  there  axe  probablj 
two  species  involved,  if  they  had  both  attained  to  their 
full  development  But  in  either  case  the  remarkable 
globular  appendages  attached  to  the  feet  of  this  species 
must  have  caught  the  eye  of  any  naturalist,  either  in  a 
recent  or  in  a  preserved  state ;  so  that  I  stiU  look  upon 
this  as  quite  distinct  from  either  of  the  above  species. 

Fam.,  SYLLIDiE,  Ornie! 
Obn.,  8TLLIB,  Savigny, 
ABBULLARIS,  MUU, 

Wurm.l60,t9,f.l-6;  Hofit.  MSS.  1 88,  p.  1,  p.  96.  {N.  9eelnpmifid$i.) 

The  above  is  a  very  good  name  for  this  species.  I  wish  it 
could  have  been  retained,  for  the  movements  of  the 
creature  in  the  water  is  very  much  like  a  scolopendra. 
South  coast  of  Devon. 

C0BNUTA,(?)  -fir.  RcUhke,     (N.BILOBATA,  Montogu,) 

"  Body  compressed,  olive-green,  with  numerous  articulations 

and  projecting  peduncules,  furnished  with  short  fasciculi 

and  long  filiform  cirri,  equal  in  length  to  the  diameter 

of  the  body.     Length,  one  inch." 

Var.  With   more  slender  body  and  longer  fasciculi,  on 

Pecten  maximum.     Coast  of  Devon. 
Obs.  I  do  not  feel  quite  sure  that  this  species  is  rightly 
referred,  as  I  have  not  seen  specimens. 

Gen.,  OATTIOLA,  Baird. 
SPECTABILI8,  Baird. 

{S.  tigrina^)  GoBte ;  John.  Cat  xvi.,  f.  1-7. 

Ilfracombe. 

Gen.,  MTBIAKIDA,  M.  Edicards. 

PKNNIGEBA,  Mmtagu. 

In  Linn.  Trans,  ix.,  p.  Ill,  t.  6,  f.  3,  and  MSS.  t.  18,  f.  4,  p.  92,  and 
t.  51,»  f.  1.     (Young  spocimen.) 

South  coast  of  Devon.  (Montagu.) 


WITH   NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  237 

Fatn.,  AMYTIACR^,  Johnston. 
Gen.,  AinrnDEA,  Grube. 
MACOLOSA,  Montagu. 

In  Linn.  Trans,  xi.,  t  3,  f.  4,  p.  21 ;  MSS.  t.  35,  f.  4,  p.  96. 

South  coast  of  Devon  ;  rare. 

Fam.,  ARICIAD^,  Johnston. 
Gen.,  HEBINE,  Johnston. 
MONTAGUI,  Parfitt. 

Fasitha  trilineata,  Mont.  MSS.  t.  19,  f.  1,  a  b  c  p.  111.* 

Worm  from  four  to  five  inches  long,  and  about  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  rather  flattened  dorsally.  Head 
conical,  white  ;  antennse  very  long,  placed  close  together 
at  the  base  of  the  head  above ;  the  sides  furnished  with 
two  series  of  fascicles,  accompanied  with  slender  bran- 
chial appendages  above,  inclining  upwards  and  meeting 
in  the  back ;  colour,  purplish  bronze,  margined  at  the 
base  with  white;  body  pea-green,  with  a  purple  line 
down  the  back,  beneath,  with  two  pale  contiguous  lines 
separated  by  a  darker  one. 

Found  beneath  sand  at  low  water  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Avon,  Devon.  (Montagu.) 

Obs.  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  this  is  not  the  young  of 
N.  coniocephcUa,  as  it  comes  nearer  to  that  species  than 
to  any  other  with  whose  description  I  am  acquainted, 
and  therefore  name  it  provisionally. 

CONTORTA,  Dalyell 

Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  20,  f.  19,  20,  p.  166. 

Body  pale  greenish-blue,  reflecting  in  certain  lights  like 
mother  of  pearl ;  annulations  about  sixty,  each  pro- 
vided with  two  broad  very  thin  branchial  lobes,  and 
four  bundles  of  bristles.  The  lateral  bundle  is  com- 
posed of  six  spines — five  long  and  one  short;  in  the 
sub-dorsal  bundles,  which  are  also  composed  of  six 
spines,  four  spatulate  and  two  long  setaj.  These  latter 
converge  upwards  over  the  back  in  a  flabellate  form, 
when  the  animal  is  in  motion,  from  about  the  middle 
of  the  w^orm  backwards.  The  bundles  are  placed  some- 
what obliquely,  particularly  the  lateral  ones.  Head 
conical  and  transversely  striated ;  the  interstice  between 
the  striae  somewhat  rounded;  the  whole  more  or  less 
setose.  Eyes  four,  black ;  two  lunate,  and  one  single 
dot-like  one  placed  behind  the  luna  near  its  apex. 
They  are  seated  just  in  front  of  the  antennae,  at  their 
base.      Antennae  very  long,   cui-ved  backwards,   stout. 


238  A  CATALOGUE  OP  THE   ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 

smooth  on  the  back,  the  front  rough  with  minute 
papillae.  (Esophagus  thin  and  flexible,  appearing  life 
a  piece  of  wet  bladder.  This  is  being  constantly  pushed 
out  and  again  drawn  in,  somewhat  like  the  finger  of  c 
glove.  The  dorsal  vessel,  which  is  very  conspicuous,  Li 
divided  at  its  anterior  extremity  into  two  forks.  Length 
half-an-inch.  I  met  with  the  only  specimen  I  have 
seen  in  a  tube  of  Sdbella  Anglica,  at  Exmouth,  Septem- 
ber 20th,  1865.  This  worm  swims  freely,  with  a  lateral 
serpentine  motion,  bending  itself  into  the  form  of  the 
letter  S;  the  curious  spatulate  spinets  appear  to  be 
then  employed  in  preventing  its  backward  motior 
through  the  water,  as  they  are  at  this  time  spread  ouj 
like  little  fans.  Dr.  Johnston  has  figured  (t.  iil,  f.  3*)  8 
spinet  very  much  like  these ;  but  he  does  not  say  fron 
what  this  was  obtained. 

Gen.,  6PI0,  Turi<m. 
CRENATICORNIS,  Montagu. 

In  Linn.  Traua.  xi.,  t.  14,  f.  6,  p.  199,  and  MSS.  t  49,  f.  1  a,  p.  63. 

Coast  of  Devon.     (Montagu.) 

Gen.,  CnOLATULUB,  Zamarek. 

TENTACULATU8,  Montagu. 

In  Linn.  Trans,  ix.,  t.  6,  f.  2,  p.  110,  and  MSS.  t.  5,  f.  3. 
Under  stones,  and  in  holes  made  by  boring  molluscs  oi 
the  South  coast ;  not  common. 

BOREALIS,  Lam. 

Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t  18,  f.  1-4,  p.  133.   Johnat.  Cat.  p.  210,  woodcut 

Under  stones,  between  tide   marks,  where  the  shore   ii 
muddy. 

Fam.,  TELETHUS^,  Savigny. 
Gen.,  ABENICOLA,  Savigny. 

PiscATORUM,  Lam. 

Pen.  Brit.  Zool.  iv.,  t.  19,  f.  7,  p.  34.     Dalyl,  Pow.  Great,  t.  19,  f.  1-3 
p.  138. 

Common  on  all  our  sandy  shores  between  tide  marks. 
BRANCHIALIS,  Avd.  and  M.  Edw. 

Litt.  do  la  France  ii.,  t.  8,  f.  13,  p.  257.     Mont.  MSS,  t.  28,  f.  2,  p.  120 
{A.  ecerulea.)     Gosse^  Rarab.  Devon.  Coast,  p.  172. 

Found  at  low-water  mark,  under  stones,  in  rocky  places 
Smallmouth,  N.  Devon.     P.  H.  Gosse. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  239 

KCAUDATA,  JohtlSt. 

Mont.  MSS.  t.  44,  f.  4.  {A.  congeMiieia,)  Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great  t.  19,  f.  4,  6. 

Although  the  figure  and  description  given  by  Col.  Montagu 
do  not  exactly  agree  with  Dr.  Johnston,  I  am  still  in- 
clined to  think  they  both  had  the  same  species  in  view. 
The  greatest  difference  in  Montagu's  specimen  being, 
that  it  only  contained  eleven  pair  of  branchiae,  and 
where  these  are  placed  the  animal  is  pale  red,  all  the 
rest  of  the  body  being  greenish-olive.  Length,  five  inches. 
South  coast 

Fam.,  MALBANIJS,  Savigny, 
6bn.,  CLTMEirE,  Savigny. 

BOREALis,  DcUyeU. 

Pow.   Great,  ii,  t  36,  f.  5,  265.     MonU  MSS.  t  31,  f.   1,  p.   131. 
( Thalassema  campanulata.) 

This  curious  creature  varies  a  good  deal  in  colour  as  well 
as  in  size.  Mr.  Walker  dredged  specimens  for  me  in  the 
coralline  zone  oflF  Torbay  of  a  beautiful  lemon-yellow 
colour,  tinted  with  rusty  red  along  the  anterior  and 
posterior  extremities,  and  particularly  round  the  pos- 
terior, where  it  forms  a  ferrugineous  ring  just  below  the 
teeth  of  the  orifice.  These  teeth  are  very  much  cut  or 
laciniated.  In  those  specimens  I  have  obtained  at 
extreme  low -water  mark  near  Exmouth,  and  which 
correspond  with  the  typical  formula  of  Sir  J.  Dalyell, 
and  also  with  one  figured  and  described  by  CoL  Montagu, 
the  colour  and  organization  are  the  same,  and  the  posterior 
fimbria  not  so  much  cut  It  is  of  a  pale  or  dull  flesh-colour. 
These  burrow,  or  rather  form  perpendicular  tubes  in 
the  sand.  Their  position  is  indicated  by  smooth  rounded 
hillocks ;  not  like  those  formed  by  the  litg  worm,  but 
broad  and  smooth,  and  only  found,  so  far  as  my  expe- 
rience goes,  at  exti-eme  low-water  mark.  Specimens  are 
extremely  difficult  to  obtain  entire. 

Fam.,  TEREBELLID^,  Johnston. 
Grn.,  TEBEBELLA,  Montagu 
CONCHILEGA,  PalUxS. 

Penn.  Brit  Zool.  t  26,  lower  fig.  on  the  right 

South  coast  of  Devon ;  not  common. 

CHRYSODON,  Linn. 

Edit  xii.,  p.  1269,  n.  813.    Mart  et  Chem.  t.  4,  f.  29,  30.    DtUyl.,  Pow. 
Great  ii.,  t  26,  f.  3-8. 

Exmouth,  between  tide  marks,  abundant.  Ilfracombe, 
Dr.  Gray.     I  have  restored  Uie  limiean  name  to  this 


I  ■'*»■ 


^l'^-' 


240     A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON, 

beautiful  though  common  species,  and  the  name, 
think,  is  veiy  rightly  applied,  as  the  animal  is  of 
golden  yellow. 

CIRRATA,  M(ynt. 

In  Linn.  Trans,  zii.,  t.  12,  f.  1,  p.  342,  and  MSS.  t.  28,  f.  1,  and  t.  8,  f 

Gregarious,  and  not  uncommon  on  our  South  Devon  coa 
(Montagu.) 

NEBULOSA,  Montagu. 

Linn.  Trans,  xii.,  t.  12,  f.  2,  and  MSS.  t.  39,  f.  1,  p.  70. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  whole  tribe ; 
inhabits   a  soft  slimy  case,   coated   with   gravel   ai 
broken  shells,  and  appears  to  live  only  in  deep  watf 
South  coast ;  rare. 

GIGANTEA,  Montogu. 

Linn.  Trans,  xii.,  t.  11,  p.  341,  and  MSS.  t.  20,  f.  2,  p.  67. 

The  specimen  from  which  the  drawing  was  made  w 
taken  by  digging  at  low  water  in  the  estuary  at  King 
bridge.     It  appears  to  be  very  rare. 

CONSTRICTOR,  Montogu. 

Linn.  Trans,  xii.,  t.  13,  f.  1,  p.  343,  and  MSS.  t.  35,  f.  3,  p.  69.    2>a/j 
Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t  27,  f.  1,  2,  p.  191. 

Coast  of  Devon  ;  rare.     (Montagu.) 
VENUSTULA,  Montagu, 

Linn.  Trans,  xii.,  t.  13,  f.  2,  and  MSS.  t.  52,*  f.  4. 

This  is  a  most  distinct  and  elegant  species,  of  an  orang 
red  colour,  thickly  dotted  wuth  pure  white  dots, 
inhabits  old  shells  in  the  coralline  zone  off  the  Soul 
coast. 

Gen.,  VENUSIA,  Johnston. 

PUNCTATA,  Johnstmi. 

Dalt/L,  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  28,  f.  5-8,  p.  199. 

The  tubes  of  this  species  are  of  frequent  occurrence  c 
old  shells,  &c.,  dredged  in  30  to  40  fathoms,  off  tl 
South  coast.  * 

Var.    PULCHELLA. 

Phenacia  ptdchella.     Par  fitly  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.  18,  3rd  scr.,  pi. 

I  am  now  inclined  to  regard  the  above  as  a  variety 
V.  punctata,  with  the  branchial  tufts  consolidated  in 
one  mass  at  the  base.     Found  at  Exmouth ;  cast  up  1 
the  waves  during  a  stonn,  January  6th,  1866. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  241 

Fam.,  AMPHITRITE,  Mull,  1771. 
6£N.,  PECTIKASIA,  Lam,,  1812. 

BELGICA,  Fallas, 

Mart,  et  Chem.  xU.,  t.  4,  f.  26,  27.    Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  25,  f.  6-8. 

Dredged  off  Teignmouth,  August,  1866.  Tlie  tubes  are 
frequently  cast  ashoi-e  in  the  estuaiy  of  the  Exe  during 
storms.  It  appears  to  live  on  our  coast  in  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  fathoms  water. 


Fam,,  SABELLAKIAD^,  Johnston. 
Obn.,  6ABSLLABIA,  Lam. 
ANGLICA,  Ellis. 

Corallinea  t  30,  p.  90.  Do/y/.,  Pow.  Great,  t,  26,  f.  1-3.  (Animal  only.) 
On  sandstone  rocks,  between  tide  marks,  Exmouth,  Daw- 
lish,  &c.,  covering  large  tracts  with  their  alveolar  masses 
of  tubes.  Dr.  Johnston  must  have  had  some  other 
species  in  view  when  he  made  the  sketches  imprinted 
on  page  250 ;  for  the  figures  of  the  palae  do  not  agree 
either  with  those  figured  by  Ellis  as  quoted  above,  or 
with  specimens  found  by  myself  on  this  coast.  The 
dactyles  or  finger-like  processes  at  the  apical  or  outer 
end  of  the  palae  in  Dr.  Johnston's  are  straight,  and 
formed  something  like  the  fingers  of  the  hand ;  whereas 
in  Ellis's  specimens,  and  also  my  own,  they  are  curved 
to  one  side,  with  the  outside  finger  the  longest,  as  well 
as  largest;  so  that  we  have  here  the  typical  form  as 
established  by  Ellis. 

GRASSISSIMA,  Lam. 

Penn.  Brit.  Zool.  iv.,  p.  147,  t.  92,  f.  162,  edit  1812.  Mont.,  Brit. 
Test.,  p.  640,  and  said  by  him  to  be  found  between  tide  marks  to  the 
west  of  Teignmouth. 

There  appears  to  me  to  be  some  confusion  between  these  two 
species,  if  there  be  not  a  third  involved  in  it;  for  the 
references  given  by  Johnston  refer  to  Pennant's  figure 
for  this  species ;  but  I  cannot  see  any  difference  in  the 
form  of  the  tubes  from  the  former  species.  But  the 
figure  of  the  palae  given  by  Johnston,  No.  xliv.,  is  cer- 
tainly distinct,  and  is  a  species  which  I  have  never  seen. 
There  is  also  a  reference  given  for  this  in  Mont.  Brit. 
Testacea,  as  quoted  above ;  but  he  does  not  distinguish 
this  from  Anglica,  and  he  there  gives  the  locality  to  the 
west  of  Teignmouth,  where  it  does  not  now  exist,  so 
that  I  cannot  clear  up  the  species. 

VOL.   II.  R 


242 


A  CATALOGUE   OF  THE  ANNELIDS   OF  DEVON, 


LUMBRiCALis,  Montogu. 

Teat.  Brit.,  p.  649. 

On  old  oyster  shells,  from  the  coralline  region,  oflF  o 
South  coast ;  common. 

Fam.,  SERPULID-E,  Johnston, 
Gen.,  ABIFPA8A,  Johnston. 
INFUNDIBULUM,   MoTVtagu, 

In  Linn.  Trana.  ix.,  t.  8,  p.  109,  and  MSS.  t.  20,*  p.  76. 

Found  partly  buried  beneath  the  mud,  leaving  about  i 
inch  above  the  surface,  in  the  estuary  at  Kingsbrid^ 
and  at  Salcombe;  Montagu,  Cranch,  and  Dr.  Leac 
And  I  have  had  what  I  believe  to  be  the  tube  of  ii 
species  dredged  off  the  ScaUop  bank,  on  the  South  coa 
of  Devon. 

Gem.,  8ABELLA,  Savigny. 

PENICILLU8,  Linn, 

Mont,  MSS.  t.  19,  p.  SS.     Dalyl.,  Pow.  Great  t.   30.     {Amphitt 
ventilabrum.) 

Montagu's  is  a  beautiful  figure  of  this  el^ant  speci< 
Found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  estuary  at  Kinj 
bridge,  in  tubes  exceeding  a  foot  in  length. 

VESICULOSA,  Montagu. 

In  Linn.  Trans,  zi.,  t.  6,  f.  1,  p.  19,  and  MSS.  t.  20,*  p.  66. 
A  very  remarkable  and  distinct  species ;    found  an  o 
South  coast  by  Col.  Montagu. 

BOMBYX,  Dalijl. 

Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t  31,  f.  1-7,  and  t.  32,  f.  1-13.     Oosse,  "A  Year  at 
Shore,"  pi.  33,  fig.  on  the  right.     Mont.y  Test.  Brit.  p.  644. 

Habit  the  coralline  region,  South  coast. 

CURTA,  Montagu. 

Test.  Brit  p.  664.     OoBSSy  in  *»A  Year  at  the  Shore,"  pi.  33,  mid 
figure  3. 

This  is  a  small  species,  with  a  tube  about  an  inch  loi 
the  size  of  a  crow  quill,  "gi-egarious  coverving  t 
whole  surface  of  the  shore  in  the  inlet  near  Kin| 
bridge."     (Montagu.) 

VOLUTACORNIS,  Montagu. 

Linn.  Trans,  vii.,  t.  7,  f.  10,  p.  80,  and  MSS.  t.  11,  f.  1,  p.  58. 

A  single  specimen  only  was  obtained  by  Col.  Monta 
by  dredging  off  our  South  coast.  It  appears  to  be 
very  rare  species.  (?) 


WITH  NOTES  AND   OBSERVATIONS.  243 

Gen.,  PEOTULA,  Biaso. 

TUBULARIA,  Montogu.     {P,  p7'otensa,  Grube.) 

Johmt.j  in  Loud.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.  tIL  f.  28.   Mont  MSS.  t  7,  f.  2,  p.  59. 
Goa$$,  *'A  Tear  at  the  Shore,"  pi.  33,  fig.  on  the  left. 

Montagu  says,  this  is  the  only  AmphiirUe  hitheolK)  dis- 
covered to  make  a  testaceous  tube.  Inhabits  the  coast 
of  Devon. 

Obs.  On  referring  to  CoL  Montagu's  original  drawing  of 
this  species,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  being  a  true 
Protula,  entirely  destitute  of  an  operculum. 

OEM.,  8EBFITLA,  Linrunu. 
VERMICXTLABIS,  MllS. 

Coral,  t  38,  f.  2 ;  Domwan  Brit.  Sheila,  8,  pi.  95.    Upper  figure. 
On  old  shells,  from  various  depths ;  common. 
Var.  a.  Tube  solitary,  entirely  adherent,  creeping.  Frequent 

on  old  shells  of  Pinnce,  &c.     South  coast. 
Var.  h.  Tubes  clustered,  partially  erect,  adherent  by  the 
smaller  end  only.     See  Gosse,  in  Aquarium,  t  5,  middle 
figure,  on  Pecten  opercidaris.    This  form  is  not  very  com- 
mon.    Exmouth  (W.  Clarke),  Plymouth,  Torbay. 

INTRICATA,  Linn, 

Systema  1265;  MuU,  Zool.  Dan.  iii.,  t.  86,  f.  9;  M<mt,  Test  Brit  p.  509. 

On  old  shells  from  the  coralline  region ;  frequent 

REVEBSA,  Mont 

Test  Brit  p.  508;  FhiUppi  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist  xiy.,  t  8,  f.  b; 
Johntt.  Cat  t  XX.,  f.  6,  7. 

On  old  shells  of  Pecten  apereularis ;  dredged  oflf  the  south 

coast. 

CONICA,  Flem. 

In  Edinb.  Phil.  Jour,  zii  262;   FhUipfi  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist  ziy., 
t  3,  f.  F.;  Mont,  MSS.  t  14,  f.  1,  p.  85.  {InfundanOa  biterrata,) 

Dredged  off  the  south  coast,  on  Cardium  Uevigatum, 

ABMATA,  Flem, 

In  Edinb.  PhiL  Jour,  xiv.,  p.  243 ;  FhUippi  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist 
xiv.  156,  t  3,  f.  p.  {Fotamoe&rta  iricuspis.)  (?) 

I  believe  I  am  right  in  referring  Philippics  figure,  as 
quoted  above,  to  this  species,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to 
make  it  out  from  his  brief  description  and  figure  of  the 
operculum  crown. 

On  dead  shells  of  Pinnce,  off  the  south  coast  in  the  coralline 
zona 

R  2 


244 


A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNEUDS  OF  DEVON, 


DY8TEEI,  Johnst. 

Cat  Worms,  p.  272. 

The  operculum  of  this  species  distinguishes  it  from 
others.     The  tube  is  variable,  sometimes  having  but  c 
carina,  and  in  others  three.     Found  on  old  shells  fn 
the  coralline  zone. 

Gen.,  FHOOBAHA,  Berkley, 
DfPLEXA,  Berk, 

In  Zool.  Joum.,  1827,  p.  229 ;  Balyl.  Pow.  Great,  ii.,  t.  34,  f.  l-«,  p.  2 

In  the  coralline  region  off  the  south  coast;  sometin 
growing  to  a  foot  in  diameter  each  way.  A  very  elegs 
species..  There  is  a  very  fine  specimen  in  the  Musei 
at  Taunton,  dredged  off  Budleigh  Salterton. 

Gen.,  8PIB0BBI8,  Daudin. 
NAUTILOIDES,  Lam, 

Mart  et  Chem.  t  3,  f.  21.     a.b. 

On  Fvxms  serratus.     Torbay,  Exmouth,  and  Sidmouth. 
Var.  a.  Donovan  Brit.  Shells,  t.  95,  centre  figure,  and  Mi 

et  Chem.  t.  3,  f.  21,  c. 
Or,  Sertularia ;  dredged  oflf  Torbay. 

SPIRILLUM,  Linn. 

Systema.  1264;  Mont.  Test.  Brit.  p.  499. 
Sidmouth,  on  Fuciis  serratus,  &c. 

gbanulatus,  Linn. 

Don.  Brit.  Shells,  iii.,  f.  100;  Mont.  Test.  Brit  p.  600. 

On  old  shells,  especially  Arm  pilosa.  Torbay,  Salcom 
&c. ;  also  on  rocks,  Torbay. 

corrugatijs,  Mayit. 

Test.  Brit.  p.  602-3. 

On  slate  rocks.     Milton.     (Montagu.) 

JiUCIDUS,  Mo7lt. 

Test.  Brit.  p.  506;  Adams  in  Linn.  Trans,  v.,  t.  1,  p.  31,  32.  (Bad.) 

Dredged  off  Torbay  and  Teignniouth,  on  Sci^tularia  abicti 
This  at  first  sight  has  very  much  the  appearance 
a9.  nautiloides,  but  it  will  be  observed  that  the  mouth 
this  species  is  turned  to  the  right,  instead  of  to  the  L 
as  in  the  above-named  species. 

IIETEROSTRDPHUS,  Mont. 

Teat.  Brit.  503;  Browns  Illus.  t.  1,  f.  5.5. 

On  old  shells  and  on  Fucv.s  vesiculosus,  in  Kingsbridgo  I 


WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSERVATIONS.  245 

in  abundance  (Montagu),  and  at  Exmouth,  on  the  red 
sandstone  rocks,  near  low- water  mark. 

MINTJTUS,  Mont, 

Test.  Brit  p.  606-6. 
On  Corallina  officinalis ;  south  coast  of  Devon. 

SPECIES  INQXHREND^. 
Gen.,  BSAHCHIASIV8,  Montagu, 
QUADRANGULARIS,  Mont, 

In  Linn.  Trans,  zi.,  t  14,  f.  1,  and  MSS.  t.  31,  f.  2,  p.  276. 

This  animal  appears  to  be  nearly  related  to  Pontdbddla,  (?) 

Gbn.,  DXPLOnS,  Montagu, 
HYALINA,  Mont, 

In  Linn.  Trans,  xi.,  t.  14,  f.  6,  p.  203,  and  MSS.  t  17,  f.  2. 

With  all  deference  that  is  due  to  such  a  naturalist  as  CoL 
Montagu,  I  cannot  think  that  this  is  a  true  annelid; 
neither  do  I  think  it  a  fully  developed  animal  "Coast 
of  Devon;  rare." 

Gbn.,  VEEEI8.  (1) 
DUBIA,  Mont, 

MSS.  p.  109. 

"  Body  yellow,  with  brown  bars,  with  peduncles  and  fasci- 
culi, and  distant  filiform  appendages  along  the  sides; 
the  bars  are  most  conspicuous  on  the  anterior  end ;  no 
distinct  tentacula.    Found  on  oysters."   Coast  of  Devon* 

This  is  probably  Glycera  dubia,  having  lost  it  antennae.  (?) 

pnosPHORiCA,  Mont, 

MSS.  p.  HI. 

"With  six  slender  tentacula  and  lateral  filiform  cirri 
Body  with  between  fifty  and  sixty  articulations  and 
fasciculate  peduncles  beneath  the  cirri ;  the  tentacula 
are  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  cirri,  but  being 
rather  longer,  the  posterior  end  is  furnished  with  two 
setiform  appendages;  the  colour  is  pale  yellow,  very 
luminous,  and,  when  agitated,  sparkling  with  phosphoric 
brilliancy:  these  sparks  proceed  along  the  sides  like 
electric  flashes  from  joint  to  joint,  or  at  least  is  so  divided 
as  in  appearance  to  be  confined  to  a  portion  of  each 
joint.  length,  half  an  inch.  Amongst  fuci  and  in  per- 
forations in  old  oyster  shells.     Coast  of  Devon." 

This,  I  think,  is  nearly  related  to  Syllis  vionoceros  {Dalyl, 
ii.,  t  22,  f.  9-11,  p.  157);  but  Col.  Montagu  has  not 


I 


246     A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  ANNELIDS  OF  DEVON. 

stated  that  the  antennae  are  moniliform,  so  that 
animal  cannot  be  referred  to  its  proper  position. 

APHRODITOIDES,  Mont. 
MSS.  t.  64,  f.  6. 

"With  eleven  tentacula  and  two  black  eyes;  the  peduB 
furnished  with  broad  scales  of  an  olive-yellow  irr^ul 
mottled,  with  dusky  and  minutely  spotted  with  whil 

"The  broad  lateral  scales  which  usually  cover  the  I 
give  this  the  appearance  of  an  AjphrodUa;  the  I 
beneath  the  scsdes  and  the  inferior  surface  are  c 
nacoid-blue ;  the  tentacles  are  placed,  one  between 
eyes,  two  on  each  side  a  little  lower,  very  short,  and 
others,  which  are  longer,  stand  oblique  behind  the  ej 
the  palpi  are  small,  the  posterior  end  obtuse,  termini 
by  two  short  stiles.  Length,  two  inches ;  breadth 
ceeds  an  eighth.  Taken  by  dredging  at  Torcrosa  U 
Very  rare.** 

This  remarkable  animal  appears  at  first  sight  to  beloni 
the  genus  Polynoe,  but  this  has  scale-like  processes 
whole  length  of  the  body,  which  at  once  distinguish^ 
from  that  genus ;  and  it  has  also  some  relation  to 
genus  Iphionone  (Kinberg),  with  its  frontal  tuber 
and  it  appears  also  to  have  some,  and  rather  8tr< 
relation  to  SiffUion  boa,  and  it  may  even  be  a  yo 
specimen  of  that  species.  (?) 


J  :j 


NOTES  ON  THE  METEOEIC  SHOWER  OF  NOVEMBER,  1866; 

WITH    SPBGULATIONS    SUaaESTED    BY   IT. 
BT   W.    PENGELLTy    F.B.8.,  P.O. 8.,  ETC. 


It  is  well-known  that  astronomers  had  been  for  some  time 
preparing  the  public  for  an  unusually  brilliant  display  of 
meteors  rather  before  the  middle  of  November  1866,  and 
had  succeeded  in  exciting  a  large  amount  of  general  interest. 

Believing  in  well-founded  scientific  predictions,  Mr.  Vivian 
made  arrangements  with  several  other  members  of  the  Tor- 
quay Natuml  History  Society,  to  meet  on  the  summit  of 
Waldon  hill  at  Torquay,  for  tlie  purpose  of  careful  and  con- 
tinuous observation  during  the  night  of  Monday-Tuesday, 
the  12th-13th  of  the  month,  and,  &  necessary  or  desirable, 
the  following  night  also, — it  being  not  quite  certain  on  which 
of  these  nights  the  spectacle  would  be  visible. 

The  first  night  was  so  cloudy  that  I  thought  it  useless  to 
go,  but  Mr.  Vivian,  with  one  companion,  was  at  his  post, 
and  caught  occasional  glimpses  of  the  sky,  but  saw  no 
meteor.  This  encouraged  the  hope  that  the  shower  would 
arrive  on  the  second  night,  and  put  us  all  on  the  alert. 

During  a  considerable  portion  of  the  night  of  the  13th-14th, 
the  sky  was  generally  very  clear,  and,  indeed,  all  but  cloud- 
less. A  brilliant  shooting  star  was  seen  as  early  as  six  in 
the  evening.  At  eight  I  took  a  post  of  observation  near  my 
own  house,  and  soon  saw  a  few  stars  shoot  across  the  sky. 
At  eleven  they  began  to  be  so  abundant  and  beautiful  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  that  the  great  shower  was  near  at  hand ;  that 
even  objects  so  apparently  fitful  and  capricious  as  meteors 
were  under  the  regulation  of  law,  and  characterized  by 
periodicity.  At  llh.  28m.  a  brilliant  star  became  visible  a 
few  degrees  west  of  the  Great  Bear,  and  with  rapid  flight 
shot  almost  to  the  horizon  in  the  south-west.  It  left  a 
beautiful,  bright,  blue  train,  which  lasted  a  few  seconds,  and 
gradually  faded  away. 


248  NOTES   ON    THE   METEORIC   SHOWER 

Very  soon  after  this  I  started  for  Waldon  hill,  where  I 
arrived  as  the  clock  struck  twelve  —  the  appointed  hour. 
Mr.  Vivian  and  a  large  party  were  already  there,  and  amongst 
them  was  the  Eev.  R  E.  Eichards,  who  fortunately  was  able 
to  give  us  the  name  of  every  fixed  staf  down  to  the  fourth 
magnitude.  Some  of  the  party  had  reached  the  rendezvous 
at  eleven  o'clock,  and  between  that  hour  and  midnight  had 
counted  about  200  meteors.  After  that  time  they  became  so 
numerous  as  to  render  enumeration  impossible. 

I  certainly  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  state  that  from  half- 
past  twelve  to  two  o'clock  there  were  three  (I  believe  there 
were  five)  meteors  every  second  on  the  average.  In  other 
words,  there  were  in  this  hour  and  a  half,  certainly  not  fewer 
than  sixteen  thousand  falling  stars,  and  in  all  probability  the 
number  amounted  to  twenty-seven  thousand. 

After  two  o'clock  they  became  gradually  less  numerous, 
and  at  half-past  two  the  decrease  was  very  marked.  About 
a  quarter  after  four,  there  were  so  few  to  be  seen  that  we 
broke  up  our  watch ;  but  just  before  reaching  my  home,  at 
half-past  four,  I  saw  two  very  fine  meteors,  which  left  good 
trains. 

As  was  predicted,  by  far  the  greater  number  radiated  from 
a  point  witliin  the  "sickle"  in  the  constellation  LeOy  but  the 
radiant  of  no  inconsiderable  number  was  in  Perseus — much 
nearer  the  zeinth;  whilst  an  occasional  nonconformist,  assert- 
ing the  right  of  private  judgment,  shot  across  the  sky  in  a 
very  lawless  manner. 

Almost  every  eye  was  kept  pretty  steadily  on  Leo;  never- 
theless the  opposite  or  western  part  of  the  sky  presented  the 
most  pictorial  effects.  In  the  east,  many  of  the  flights  were 
very  short ;  indeed,  in  several  cases  they  were  foreshortened 
into  a  point;  but  in  tlie  west,  they  streamed  down  towards 
the  horizon  in  a  most  grand,  indeed,  awe-inspiring  manner. 

When  any  striking  meteor  was  observed  to  explode,  a  long 
silence  was  enjoined  and  strictly  observ-ed,  in  order,  if  pos- 
sible, to  detect  detonations ;  but  no  sound  was  heard.  1  may 
state,  however,  that  in  more  than  one  instance,  a  few  persons 
stated  that  they  did  hear  a  noise;  but  as  they  also  stated 
that  it  immediately  followed  the  explosion,  it  was  obvious 
that  they  had  forgotten  the  distance  of  the  meteors  from  us, 
or  the  rate  at  which  sound  travels,  and  that  they  allowed 
their  imagination  to  impose  upon  their  hearing. 

Most  of  the  stars  were  of  a  bright  yellow  light,  which 
became  tinged  with  scarlet  on  exploding.  The  trains  were 
almost  invariably  a  bright  and  slightly-bluish  green. 


OF  NOVEMBER,   MDCCCLXVI.  249 

At  about  half-past  one,  a  smart  but  brief  shower  drove  us 
for  shelter  to  an  adjacent  house,  the  use  of  which  Mr.  Vivian 
had  thoughtfully  secured  in  the  event  of  it  being  needed. 
The  window  of  the  room  we  occupied  commanded  the  south- 
western sky,  and  afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  witnessing 
perhaps  the  grandest  part  of  the  spectacle.  A  very  black 
cloud  extended  from  near  the  zenith  to  within  about  thirty 
degrees  of  the  horizon,  leaving  a  zone  of  clear  sky  below  it. 
From  behind  this  cloud,  the  meteors  shot  down  with  rapid 
flight  and  in  countless  numbers,  producing  an  effect  which  I 
shall  never  forget.  The  appearance  was  that  of  a  cloud 
resolving  itself,  not  into  rain  drops,  but  into  falling  stars : 
The  illusion  was  perfect. 

Of  individual  facts  noted  during  the  night,  the  following 
were  the  most  interesting: — One  star,  after  a  very  short 
flight,  was  seen  to  explode  with  a  bluish-green  light,  very 
near  the  radiant  in  Leo.  The  burning  matter  gradujdly  faded 
into  a  smoke  or  cloud-Uke  mass.  At  first  this  was  con- 
siderably diffused,  but  it  soon  contracted  into  a  nebulous- 
looking  patch  of  a  somewhat  compact  form,  and  was  visible 
through  an  opera  glass  for  fully  ten  minuted,  its  position 
being  apparently  stationary  throughout. 

Another  meteor  shot  off  almost  fix)m  our  zenith  towards 
the  north-west,  leaving  a  brilliant  bluish-green  train,  which, 
after  a  few  seconds,  became  a  vaporous  or  smoke-like  streak. 
Whilst  we  gazed  at  it,  we  saw  it  assume  a  vermicular  motion, 
passing  from  a  straight  to  a  curved,  and  next  to  an  undulating, 
small  narrow  band;  then  it  gradually  contracted  in  length, 
dilated  in  breadth,  and  ultimately  became  a  small  rudely- 
circular  patch  of  cloudy-looking  matter,  which  remained  visible 
for  several  minutes,  whilst  it  drifted  towards  the  south-east, — 
the  direction  in  which  a  smart  breeze  was  blowing  at  the  time. 
Its  change  of  form  seemed  to  be  effected  by  the  movement  of 
its  south-eastern  end  only— that  most  remote  from  the  meteor, 
— as  if  it  had  been  drawn  up  against  the  wind  towards  its 
other  extremity,  or  what  may  be  called  its  head. 

Soon  after  four  o'clock  a  brilliant  meteor  shot  away  towards 
the  west,  fix)m  a  point  about  ten  degrees  west  of  our  zenith. 
It  left  a  splendid  train,  from  which  it  seemed  to  detach  itself 
to  pursue  its  flight  alone.  After  a  very  short  time  the  star 
itself  exploded,  and  took  the  form  of  a  cylindrical  or  wheat- 
ear-like  mass  of  flame — the  discarded  tail  being  still  visible. 
^  Several  meteors,  by  exploding  near,  but  behind,  the  edge  of 
a  cloud,  threw  out  a  flash  resembling  lightning.  Indeed, 
several  observers  pronounced  it  to  be  lightning,  but  I  have 


250  NOTES  ON  THE   METEORIC  SHOWER 

no  doubt  that  the  explanation  I  have  given  is  the  correct 
one. 

It  was  observed  that,  from  three  to  four  o'clock,  there 
appeared  to  be  more  light  diffused  over  the  general  sl^  than 
could  be  ascribed  to  star-light;  but  there  was  no  appearance 
of  the  Aurora  Bo^ealis. 

I  have  said  that  a  brilliant  shooting  star  was  seen  as  early 
as  six  in  the  evening,  and  that  I  saw  two  fine  ones  at  half- 
past  four  the  next  morning.  Now  in  the  interval — ten  and  a 
half  hours — ^the  earth  passed  through  nearly  three  quarters  of 
a  million  of  miles ;  hence,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fects  that  the 
meteors  were  moving  in  a  direction  opposite  the  earth's  and 
with  a  great  velocity,  the  stream  of  stars  we  met  was  more 
tlian  700,000  miles  in  length. 

There  are  one  or  two  speculations,  suggested  by  Shooting 
Stars  and  kindred  phenomena,  to  which  I  will  venture  to  call 
attention  before  closing  this  brief  paper: — 

It  is  well-known  that  an  impression  remains  on  the  retina 
of  the  eye  for  some  time  after  the  object  which  produces  it  is 
removed.  The  duration  of  the  impression  depends,  amongst 
other  things,  on  the  vividness  of  the  light  proceeding  from 
the  object;  being,  indeed,  a  direct  function  of  its  intensity. 
From  certain  experiments,  it  seems  that  in  the  case  of  a 
burning  coal,  this  duration  is  about  the  seventh  part  of  a 
second.*  Now,  as  many  of  the  trains  of  Shooting  Stars  re- 
main visible  for  even  two  or  tliree  seconds,  it  is  obvious  that 
they  are,  not  merely  subjective,  but  real  objective  traina 
Respecting  their  origin,  there  appears  to  be  some  difficulty  in 
forming  a  definitive  opinion.  If  they  consist  of  burning 
matter  furnished  and  abandoned  by  the  meteor,  it  is  not  easy 
to  understand  why  they  remain  apparently  at  rest.  From 
their  inertia,  their  motion  should  be  equal  to  that  of  the 
body  from  which  they  are  detached,  with,  perhaps,  the  dimi- 
nution of  a  minute  quantity  on  account  of  the  greater  resist- 
ance, relatively  to  their  mass,  to  whicli  they  may  be  exposed 
from  the  highly  attenuated  atmosphere  through  which  they 
pass.  The  end,  like  every  other  point  of  the  train,  instead  of 
moving  after  its  parent,  appears  to  be  sensibly  at  rest,  whilst 
the  motion  of  the  latter  is  not  only  sensible,  but  rapid. 

It  is  well  known  that  potassium  decomposes  tlie  water  on 
which  it  is  placed,  and,  by  uniting  with  the  liberated  oxygen, 
forms  potassa.  The  heat  produced  by  tliis  oxydation  is  so 
gi-eat  as  to  ignite  the  hydrogen  which  has  been  set  free  from 
the  water.     It  is  also  known  that  aqueous  vapour,  or  water 

*  Lardner's  "  Hand  Book  of  Natural  Philosophy,"  pn^re  694.     1851. 


OF  NOVEMBER,   MDCCCLXVI.  251 

gas,  is  decomposed  by  being  passed  through  a  red  hot  tube. 
May  it  not  be  possible,  therefore,  that  the  train  consists  of 
matter  which  was  never  part  of  the  meteor,  and  that  it  is 
produced  in  the  following  manner  ?  1st.  By  the  resistance  of 
the  atmosphere  a  portion  of  the  motion  of  the  meteor  is 
destroyed  as  motion,  and  converted  into  its  equivalent  of 
heat.  2nd.  The  heat  thus  generated  raises  the  temperature 
of  the  meteor  so  much  as  to  enable  it  to  decompose  the 
aqueous  vapour  that  may  exist  along  its  line  of  flight.  3rd. 
The  liberated  hydrogen  immediately  ignites  and  fonns  the 
train.  In  a  few  instances,  the  spectroscope  has  been  with 
more  or  less  success  applied  to  the  analysis  of  meteoric 
trains.  I  am  not  aware  how  far  the  foregoing  speculation  is 
borne  out  by  the  results  which  have  b^n  obtained,  but  it 
does  appear  to  me  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  fact  of  the 
stationary  character  of  the  trains,  which  on  the  rival  hypo- 
thesis seems  to  be  attended  with  considerable  diflficulty. 

There  seems  to  be  so  intimate  a  connection  between  Shoot- 
ing Stars,  Fire-balls,  and  the  Meteorites  which  fall  to  the 
earth,  as  to  render  it  scarcely  necessary  to  apologize  for 
annexing  to  this  paper  a  speculation  respecting  the  last  class 
of  bodies.  I  have  some  difficulty  in  divesting  myself  of  the 
idea  that  meteorites  ought  to  be  capable  of  giving  us  some 
information  respecting  the  temperature  of  space  from  which 
they  come — a  temperature  which  must  be  above  the  natural 
zero,  since  it  cannot  be  independent  of  either  stellar  or  solar 
influences.  The  correctness  of  the  following  data  will,  I 
presume,  be  admitted  by  every  one. 

1st.  That  the  mean  velocity  with  which  meteorites  reach 
the  earth  is  114,000  feet  per  second.  (Humboldt's  "  Cosmos," 
Sabine's  ed.,  vol.  i.,  note  69,  page  26,  1847.) 

2nd.  That  the  quantity  of  heat  which  would  raise  the 
temperature  of  one  pound  of  water  one  degree  centigrade,  is 
exactly  equal  to  what  would  be  generated  if  a  pound  weight, 
after  having  fallen  through  a  height  of  1,390  feet,  had  its 
motion  destroyed  by  coUision  with  the  earth.  (Tyndall's 
"  Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion,"  page  40.     1865.) 

3rd.  That  the  heat  generated  by  the  collision  of  a  falling 
body  increases  as  the  square  of  the  velocity.  (Ibid,  page  43.) 

4th.  That  the  heat  thus  generated  increases  as  the  weight 
of  the  body. 

6th.  That  the  heat  required  to  melt  iron  is  about  1560°  C. 
(Percy's  "  Metallurgy,  Iron  and  Steel,"  page  5.     1864.) 

6th.  That  the  Specific  Heat  of  iron  is  0113795,  that  of 
water  being  unity.     In  other  words,  that  the  heat  required  to 


252  NOTES   ON  THE  METEORIC    SHOWER 

raise  the  temperature  of  a  pound  of  water  one  degree,  will 
raise  the  temperature  of  a  pound  of  iron  8*8°.  (Ibid.) 

7th.  That  the  velocity  of  a  freely-falling  body  is,  at  any 
moment,  eight  times  the  square  root  of  the  height  fallen 
through.  For  example :  a  freely-falling  body  has,  at  the 
moment  it  has  fallen  through  144  feet,  a  velocity  of  8>/144 
=  8x12  =  96  feet  per  second.  Hence  it  has  a  velocity  of 
8s/1390,  when  it  has  fallen  through  1390  feet 

In  this  speculation  I  shall  make  tlie  following  assump- 
tions : — 

(a.)  That  the  meteorites  with  which  we  have  to  deal  are 
composed  of  iroiL 

(6.)  That  the  Specific  Heat  of  meteoric  iron  is  the  same  as 
that  of  terrestrial  iron,  =  01 13795. 

(c.)  That  immediately  before  entering  the  earth's  atmos- 
phere, the  temperature  of  the  meteorite  was  that  of  the  space 
whence  it  came. 

(d.)  That,  since  the  meteorite  remains  in  a  solid  condition, 
its  temperature  after  collision  did  not  exceed  1550"*  C. — ^that 
required  to  melt  iron. 

In  order  to  simplify  the  calculation,  I  will,  for  the  present, 
suppose  that  all  the  heat  generated  is  concentrated  in  the 
meteorite. 

Let  S  =  the  temperature  of  space. 

R  =  the  temperature  produced  in  the  meteorite  by  the  rests- 
taQce  of  the  earth's  atmosphere  before  collision. 

C  =  the  temperature  produced  in  the  meteorite  by  the  de- 
struction of  its  motion  on  collision. 

T  =  the  temperature  of  the  meteorite  immediately  aft«r 
collision. 

Then  it  is  obvious  that  T  =  S+R-4-C;  hence  S  =  T-R-C. 

Now,  on  the  data  previously  enunciated,  C  is  easily  calcu- 
lable ;  for  (1)  the  velocity  of  the  meteorite  on  reaching  the 
earth  being  114000  feet  per  second;  the  velocity  of  a  pound 
of  iron  which,  on  its  motion  being  destroyed,  is  (6  and  7) 
capable  of  raising  its  temperature  SS""  centigrade,  being 
8^/1390;  and  the  heat  into  which  destroyed  motion  is  con- 
verted (3)  varying  as  the  square  of  the  velocity ;  we  have 
p     /1 14000  \^    ^.o      • 

.*.     log.  C  =  2  log.  1 UOOO  -f  log.  8-8  -  (2  log.  8  4-  log  1390) 

=  101 138098  4-  0-9444827  -  (1  -8061800  +  3-1430148) 

-11-0582925-4-9491948 

=  61090977 


OF  NOVEMBER,   MDCCCLXVI.  253 

Hence  C=  1285576°  centigrade 
Wherefore,  putting  T  =  1550°  centigrade  (apparently  a  maximum), 
we  have 

S- 1550°- 1285576°- R 
-  -  1284026°  centigrade  -  R 

Now,  the  heat  generated  by  the  resistance  of  the  atmos- 
phere cannot  be  inconsiderable,  so  that  R  must  have  a 
value  greater  than  zero;  and,  hence,  its  effect  must  be  to 
lower  the  value  of  S  by  that  amount,  whatever  it  may  be. 
But  putting  R=0,  it  follows  that  the  temperature  of  space 
is  1,284,026  centigrade  degrees  below  freezing  water;  that 
is  if  all  the  heat,  generated  by  the  destruction  of  its  motion, 
is  concentrated  in  the  meteorite. 

Instead,  however,  of  this  being  the  case,  the  heat  will  be 
divided  between  the  meteorite  and  the  earth;  but  in  what 
ratio  it  is  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  determine. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  absolute 
zero  of  temperature,  but  the  results  have  been  scarcely  so 
accordant  with  one  another  as  to  produce  any  great  degree 
of  confidence  in  them.  Tyndall  places  it  provisionally 
at  —  273°  centigrade  (op.  cit.,  page  79),  Rumford  at  —  862°, 
and  Gadolin  at — 813°  in  the  same  scala*  Assuming  the 
lowest  of  these — that  of  Count  Rumford,  —  862**  below  the 
centigrade  zero — to  be  true;  and,  for  the  present,  ignoring 
the  fact  that  the  absolute  zero  is,  in  all  probability,  below 
the  temperature  of  space ;  it  would  follow  that  of  the  1285676 
centigrade  degrees  of  heat  into  which  the  motion  of  the 
meteorite  is  converted,  no  more  than  1550°+  862°  =  2412°  can 
have  been  concentrated  on  the  meteorite  itself.  In  other 
words,  the  meteorite  would  retain  but  ^^  of  the  heat  gene- 
rated by  the  destruction  of  its  motion — a  fraction  apparently 
much  too  small  to  be  probable,  but  which,  nevertheless, 
appears  to  be  a  maximum,  unless,  as  seems  to  be  the  fact, 
the  absolute  zero  of  temperature  is  considerably  lower  than 
even  Count  Rumford's  estimate. 

For  the  sake  of  simplicity,  it  has  been  assumed  above  that 
R ^  0;  that  is,  that  the  temperature  produced  on  the  meteorite 
by  the  resistance  of  the  earth's  atmosphere  is  nothing;  and 
that  S  =  0,  or  that  the  temperature  of  space  is  absolute  zero, — 
more  correctly,  that  the  meteorite  immediately  before  enter- 
ing our  atmosphere  was  utterly  destitute  of  heat,  at  least,  in 
the  form  of  temperature. 

With  regard  to  the  first,  as  has  been  abeady  stated,  the 

♦  Ency.  Brit.,  "  Heat,**  voL  xi.,  page  374,  eiji^hth  edition. 


254  NOTES   ON   THE   METEORIC   SHOWER 

heat  generated  by  atmospheric  resistance  cannot  be  incon- 
siderabla  In  all  probability,  meteors  and  meteorites  become 
visible,  even  when  they  are  traversing  the  thin  aii'  of  great 
altitudes,  in  consequence  of  combustion  or  incandescence 
produced  in  them  by  this  very  heat  of  resistance. 

With  respect  to  the  second,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  it 
possible  that  matter  in  any  portion  of  space,  and  especially 
within  the  Solar  System,  can  be  totally  without  heat;  for, 
everywhere,  it  must  be  exposed  to  stellar  radiation;  whilst 
as  a  member  of  the  Solar  family,  or  as  a  stranger  visiting  it, 
the  Sun's  effect  upon  it  can  scarcely  be  nil. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  value  of  either  of  the  forgoing 
elements,  its  effect  must  be  to  enhance  the  result  already 
arrived  at — the  high  probability  that  the  absolute  zero  of 
temperature  is  considerably  lower  than  any  one  has  yet 
estimated  it. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  the  specific  heat  of 
meteoric  iron  may  be  other  than  that  used  in  this  specu- 
lation. The  objection  wUl,  of  course,  be  admitted  at  once ; 
but  it  may  be  asked,  in  reply, — "  If  other,  is  it  greater  or 
smaller?"  The  specific  heat  of  terrestrial  iron  is  by  no 
means  the  lowest  in  the  scale.  It  is  fully  three  times  greater 
than  that  of  gold,  mercury,  lead,  and  several  other  metals.* 
But  waiving  this  point,  and  assuming  the  specific  heat  of  a 
meteorite  to  be  equal  to  that  of  Hydrogen  (3*409)1 — the 
greatest  known, — the  effect  would  be,  all  other  things  being 
the  same,  that  if  the  heat  generated  by  the  destruction  of 
the  motion  of  a  meteorite  were  all  concentrated  on  the 
meteorite  itself,  its  temperature  would  be  raised,  not  1285576"* 
centigrade,  but  1285576  x  114-3409  =  42990°  centigrade,  and 
the  temperature  of  space  would  be  1550°  ~  42990°  =  -  41440° 
centigrade ;  so  that,  proceeding  as  before,  the  meteorite  would 
itself  retain  no  more  than  ^  of  the  heat  produced  by  the 
destruction  of  its  motion ;  that  is,  if  the  absolute  zero  be,  as 
Ruraford  estimated,  -  862°  centigrade. 

No  doubt,  the  range  from  ^  to  5^^  is  very  large,  but  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that  I  by  no  means  wish  it  to 
be  thought  that  this  crude  speculation  has  done  more  than  to 
have  rendered  it  probable  that  hitherto  the  absolute  thermal 
zero  has  been  estimated  far  above  its  real  vahie. 

Geologists  state  that  in  the  remote  past  the  eartli  experi- 
enced very  considerable  cliuiatal  vicissitudes.  At  one  time, 
sub-tropical  plants  grew  in  great  variety  and  luxuriance  in 

*  Tyndall,  op.  cit.,  pages  147-8.  t  Ibid,  page  150. 


OF  NOVEMBER,   MDCCCLXVI.  255 

North  Greenland ;  at  another,  Brit-ain,  at  least  as  low  as  the 
Thames,  was  clothed  with  glaciers.  Astronomers  point  to 
known  changes  in  the  excentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit,  changes 
in  the  position  in  the  lines  of  apsides  in  relation  to  the  line 
of  equinoxes,  and  changes  in  the  inclination  of  the  earth's 
axis;  and  some  of  them,  having  calculated  the  extreme 
thermal  effects  these  changes  can  produce,  tell  us  that  at 
certain  periods,  a  given  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  would 
receive  an  increase  of  Solar  heat  amounting  to  a  definite 
fraction  of  its  present  mean  annual  value ;  whilst,  in  other 
eras,  there  would  be  a  corresponding  decrease.  Accordingly, 
they  look  hopefully  in  this  direction  for  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  the  thermal  history  of  the  earth.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  before  these  calculations  can  avail  us,  we  must 
know  what  is  the  mean  annual  heat  which  the  Sun  gives  us ; 
in  other  words,  what  would  be  our  temperature  if  there  had 
been  no  sun,  or,  to  return  to  my  starting-point,  what  is  the 
temperature  of  space. 


ON  THE  PARASITISM  OF  OROBANCHE  MAJOR. 

BY   EDWARD    PAEFETT. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Yaucher,  M.,  In  Memoir  du  Museum,  vol.  x.  p. 

Sutton,  C.,  Linnean  Society's  Transactionfi,  vol.  iv.  p.  173. 

Smith,  Sir  J.  E.    „  „  „       p.  163. 

Hooker,  Dr.  „  „  vol.  xxii.  p.  1. 

Griffith,  W.  „  „  On  Ovulum  of  Santalom  album, 

&c.,  vol.  xviii.  p.  59. 
„  „  „  Loranthus  and  Yisoum  album,  voL 

xviii.  p.  71. 
Harley,  Dr.  „  „  On  Mistletoe,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  178. 


Last  autumn  my  friend  Professor  Dickie  suggested  to  me 
the  desirability  of  investigating  the  history  and  physiological 
relationship  of  Orobanche  major  to  the  plant  on  which  it 
grows,  and  this  spring  I  took  up  the  investigation ;  and  as 
the  plant  grows  within  an  easy  distance  of  Exeter,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  watch  its  progress.  Some  may  be  curious  to 
know  the  etymology  of  the  word  Orobanche.  Pliny  says,  "A 
weed  there  is  which  we  named  Orobanche,  for  it  choketh 
eurile  (ervani,  a  kind  of  vetch,)  and  other  pulse."  The  word 
is  derived  from  orohcs,  vetch,  and  anclio,  to  strangle,  and  is  by 
some  called  strangle  tare,  as  it  was  supposed  to  kill  the 
plants  on  which  it  grew. 

To  the  early  relationship  or  parasitism  I  must  plead  my 
ignorance,  except  through  the  study  of  the  writings  of  others, 
as  I  have  not  sufficient  time  or  oppoilunity  for  studying  it 
through  all  its  various  stages.  At  the  same  time,  I  con- 
sidered that  the  history  of  its  parasitism  would  not  be  com- 
plete, if  I  did  not  include  its  early  history  as  well  as  its  later 
life. 

Orobanche  major,  according  to  Mr.  Hewit  C.  Watson,  has 
its  southern  limit  in  Cornwall,  Isle  of  Wight,  and  in  Kent ; 
and  its  northern  range  is  in  Northumberland  and  Dumfries ; 
at  the  same  time  our  English  type  has  a  geographical  range 
through  between  50°  and  56°  of  latitude. 


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ON  THE  PARASITISM   OF  OROBANCHE   MAJOR.  257 

Dr.  Moore,  in  his  "  Flora,  or  Cyhele  Hybemical*  has  given 
its  range  in  the  south  and  east  of  Ireland  in  latitude  51°  to 
54° ;  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  common  except  near  Cork, 
Mr.  Wood,  in  his  "  Continental  Flora,"  mentions  it,  but  gives 
no  localities  for  it.  I  cannot  therefore  give  its  south-eastern 
range  or  distribution. 

Withering,  in  his  "British  Plants,"  has  evidently,  like 
Casper  Bauhin,  confounded  two  or  three  species ;  at  least,  so 
they  are  now  considered  to  be ;  for  he  makes  Or.  major  to  grow 
on  Genista  tinctoria,  Tri/olium,  Orobics  tuberous,  Hieracium 
sabandum,  and  Centaurea  sccMosa.  But  more  recent  investi- 
gation has  limited  its  parasitism  to  two  species  of  plants, 
the  common  broom,  Sarothamnus  scoparius,  and  the  furze, 
Ulex  Europceus. 

When  healthy  plants  are  produced  they  grow  to  between 
one  and  two  feet  and  half  high,  and  produce  seeds  abun- 
dantly. The  seeds  for  the  size  of  the  plant  are  very  small, 
and  in  the  autumn  when  the  capsules  are  ripe  they  become 
dehiscent,  and,  by  the  action  of  the  wind,  &c.,  the  seeds  are 
scattered  over  the  ground.  These  then,  by  the  rains,  and 
probably  also  by  gravitation,  find  their  way  down  to  the  roots 
congenial  to  their  development.  M.  Vaucher,  in  "  Memoirs 
du  Museum  d'Historie  Naturelle,"  vol.  x.  p.  261,  studied  the 
development  of  the  branching  Orobanche,  which  is  parasitic 
on  the  roots  of  hemp.  He  says  of  the  seeds,  that  the  outside 
is  a  well  defined  net- work,  the  interior  is  a  whitish  substance, 
homogeneous,  a  little  horny,  and  with  all  the  characters  of 
the  Albumen  of  Gaertner;  but  nothing  can  be  discovered 
which  resembles  an  embryo,  still  less  cotyledons.  And  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Sutton,  in  "The  Linnean  Society's  Transactions," 
vol.  iv.  p.  174,  says  that  the  seeds  are  acotyledonous.  Dr 
Lindley,  in  the  third  edition  of  "  The  Vegetable  Kingdom," 
says  of  the  Broomrapes  that  they  are  distinguished  from  the 
Gesnerworts  by  the  important  circumstance  of  their  seeds 
having  only  a  minute  embryo  lying  in  one  end  of  fleshy 
albumen.  This,  you  will  observe,  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
views  of  both  M.  Vaucher  and  Mr.  Sutton.  And  Mr.  Sutton 
goes  on  to  say  the  same  as  M.  Vaucher,  that  when  the  seed 
has  attached  itself  to  the  root  of  any  living  plant  to  which  it 
is  suited  by  its  nature  to  adhere,  it  swells  into  a  pellucid 
squamose  germ  or  bulb,  and  often  throwing  out  around  the 
point  of  adhesion  several  tender  fibres,  it  pushes  up  at  once 
into  a  perfect  plant,  without  any  lateral  lobes  or  cotyledons. 

Mr.  Curtis,  in  "Flora  Londoniensis,"  thought  that,  the 
seeds  being  so  small,  they  must  first  vegetate  in  the  earth, 

VOL.   II.  s 


268     ON  THE  PARASmSK  OF  OBOBANCHE  KAJOB. 

and.  Bending  down  their  radicals,  come  in  contact  with  tome 
proper  root,  attach  themselveB  to  it,  quit  their  parent  earth,  and 
become  a  parasite.  This  statement,  although  ingenious^  does 
not,  according  to  the  former  investigators,  appear  to  be  tnie^ 
bnt  that  the  plant  is  parasitical  from  its  first  derdopment 
from  the  seed.  M.  Schlauter  says,  "  that  the  seeds  only  aeiiB 
on  seedlings,  and  that  they  are  unable  to  attack  loote  of 
stronger  growtk"  If  this  be  really  the  case,  which  I  Toy 
much  doubt,  the  plants  of  0.  me^  that  I  have  inTeetigatad 
must  have  been  at  least  eighteen  or  twenty  years  dd,  aa  I 
have  known  the  plants  of  Ulex,  on  which  they  were  growini^ 
quite  that  time ;  but  I  have  not  known  the  Orobanbhe  m 
long. 

f^fessor  Babington,  in  "English  Botany,  Supplement^"  lias 
figured  Orobanehe  Fieridis  as  having  roots  of  its  own,  indepenH 
dent  of  its  attachment  to  the  root  of  the  Picris,  and  ther^fiDsa 
cannot  be  called  a  true  parasite.  This  is  not  peculiar  to  tUs 
species,  but  it  is  one  I  have  never  had  the  op|K»rtnnitjr  of 
examining.  I  find,  on  examining  specimens  of  OrobaDcte 
minor,  growing  on  Midieago  nuuniUnta,  that  they  have  roots  of 
their  own,  as  well  as  being  attached  to  the  medicago roots;  and 
also  that  figured  by  M.  Yaucher,  0.  ranuma,  has  nx>ts  of  its  owa^ 
as  well  as  being  attached  to  the  hemp.  It  would  appear  tmm 
this  that  those  species  of  Orobanche  attached  to  the  smaller 
rooted  plants  might  be  conveniently  arranged  into  a  aab- 
division  of  the  genus;  namely,  true  parasites,  or  those  whoee 
dependance,  so  far  as  is  known,  is  entirely  on  the  plant  on 
which  it  is  found,  and  those  species  a  part  of  whose  nourish- 
ment is  drawn  from  the  plant  to  which  it  is  attached,  and 
the  rest  from  the  surrounding  soil.  But  as  far  as  0.  mofor  is 
concerned,  I  have  never  been  able  to  detect  any  external 
roots.  Bnt  in  M.  Yaueher's  figures  and  description,  as  well 
as  those  of  Mr.  Sutton,  they  have  both  figured  and  described 
the  embryotic  plant  as  having  roots  externally  clasping  the 
root  of  the  plant  on  which  they  are  parasitic. 

Dioscorides  also  observed  this  peculiarity ;  for  he  says,  **  I 
have  marked  myself  that  this  herbe  growethe  much  about 
the  roots  of  Broome,  y*  which  it  claspeth  about  with  certain 
lyttle  rootes  on  every  side,  like  a  dogge  holding  a  bone  in  his 
mouth." 

Now,  whether  the  plants  of  Orohanehe  major  absorb  or 
derive  nourishment  through  their  bulbous  scaly  base,  as  they 
are  frequently  seated  sevcrral  inches  below  the  surface  of  the 
soil,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  but  in  all  probability  they  do. 
The  young  Orobanche,  when  once  established  on  its  root  of 


OK  THE  PABASITISM  OF  OROBANCHE  MAJOR.     259 

farze  or  broom,  sends  a  radical  or  tap  root  into  the  tissues, 
and  from  thence  its  sole  nourishment  appears  to  be  drawn 
from  the  plant  on  which  it  is  parasitic.  But  here  let  us 
observe  the  wonderful  power  that  is  exerted  by  this  tender, 
germ-like  Orobanche  to  forQ3  its  radical,  a  mere  mass  of 
delicate  cells.  What  is  this  wonderful  force  that  is  here 
exerted,  that  this  delicate,  spongiole-like  root  should  be  able 
to  penetrate  the  hard,  woody  roots  of  the  furze  in  particular? 

The  force  here  seen  exerted  is  not  singular,  as  it  is  the 
same  with  young  plants  of  mistletoe,  cmd  in  the  genus 
Baianaphora  and  its  allies,  and  also  with  the  Indian  genus 
Loran^tts, 

This  radical  is  soon  succeeded  by  others  as  the  plant 
increases  in  strength,  and  requires  greater  support  or  nourish- 
ment, until  the  root  of  the  furze  is  permeated  to  a  great  extent, 
and,  by  the  increase  in  the  size  of  the  roots  of  the  Orobanche, 
it  has  assumed  an  abnormal  development,  as  is  seen  in  figs.  i. 
and  iv.,  which  are  longitudinal  sections.  Here,  it  will  be 
observed,  the  roots  of  the  parasite  permeate  the  wood  of  the 
root  of  the  furze  indiscriminately.  They  do  not  follow  any 
particular  layers  of  cells,  but  appear  to  grow  between  them, 
forcing  their  way  wherever  the  nourishment  sought  may  lead 
them.  In  this  last  sentence,  you  will  observe  I  have  given 
the  roots  of  the  parasite  a  power  of  intelligence,  of  discrimi- 
nation. Be  this  as  it  may,  we  must  allow  that  either  the 
seed  of  the  Orobanche,  or  the  root  when  the  seed  germinates, 
must  have  the  power  of  discrimination  or  "  selection,"  which 
amounts  to  the  same  thing. 

In  all  cases  that  have  come  under  my  observation,  where 
the  parasite  has  once  established  itself  on  the  root,  the  roots 
of  the  parasite  always  grow  towards  the  nutritive-giving 
source — namely,  the  root  stock  of  the  furze,  and  never 
towards  the  extremity  of  the  furze  root;  and  at  the  place  of 
junction  or  seat  of  the  parasite  it  invariably  cuts  off  all  sup- 
plies from  apical  portion  of  the  root,  so  that  in  due  course 
this  portion  of  the  root  dies,  and  at  length  drops  oflF.  (See 
fig.  L)  The  Orobanche,  when  once  firmly  established,  is 
perennial,  and,  I  believe,  lasts  for  many  years,  and  every 
year  increases  in  size,  provided  the  plant  on  which  it  is 
parasitic  can  supply  it  with  sufficient  nourishment.  Thus  the 
Orobanche,  in  fig.  i.,  had  seven  half-grown  stems  about  a  foot 
in  length,  besides  others  in  a  gemmiparous  condition,  both 
above  and  below  the  place  of  junction. 

Now,  in  fig.  i,  the  Orobanche  has,  as  you  will  observe, 
usurped  the  place  of  the  anterior  portion  of  the  furze  root, 

s  2 


260     ON  THE  PARASITISM  OF  UROBANCHE  MAJOR. 

and  filled  nearly  the  interior  with  its  own  roots.  It  has  in 
this  instance  sent  its  radical  along  the  middle  of  the  furze 
root,  and  from  this  the  spongiole-like  roots  of  the  parasite  are 
seen  to  radiate  with  a  remarkable  degree  of  regularity.  The 
interlacement  of  the  cellular  systems  of  the  root  of  the  para- 
site with  that  of  the  furze  is  also  remarkable.  At  the  same 
time,  there  is  a  very  striking  resemblance  in  the  parasitism 
of  this  plant  with  the  Indian  Balanophorce. 

At  the  point  of  attachment  or  junction  of  the  parasite  with 
the  furze,  the  latter  increases  very  much  in  size  from  the  point 
of  attachment  to  the  extremities  of  the  roots  of  the  parasite, 
owing  to  the  displacement  of  the  vascular  and  cellular  systems 
of  the  furze ;  at  the  same  time,  it  does  not  appear  to  rupture 
the  cells,  but  only  distort  them.  This  is  seen  more  particularly 
towards  the  circumference  of  the  root,  where  the  radiating 
roots  of  the  parasite  have  come  in  contact  with  the  exterior 
system  of  the  root  of  the  furze;  for  as  they  approach  the 
exterior  they  gradually  enlarge,  so  that  the  extremities  of 
their  roots  become  somewhat  flattened  against  the  walls  of 
the  furze  root  (see  fig.  vii.) ;  and  as  the  roots  come  near  the 
walls,  the  cells  of  both  the  furze  and  the  parasite  become 
very  much  distorted,  and  the  pressure  exerted  by  the  parasite 
with  the  enlargement  of  its  roots  gives  the  roots  of  the  furze 
the  exceedingly  hypertrophied  appearance. 

Although  this  plant  finds  an  analogue  to  a  certain  degree 
in  the  BalanophoMecTy  its  manner  of  root  development  comes 
nearer  to  that  of  Viscum  album,  or  mistletoe  ;*  for,  in  a 
transverse  section  of  a  branch  at  the  point  of  junction  of  the 
mistletoe,  it  is  seen  to  send  its  roots  straight  through  the 
woody  system  of  the  plant  on  which  it  is  parasitic  almost  at 
right  angles  to  it.  Such  is  also  the  case  in  a  transverse 
section  I  made  of  the  Orobanche  and  the  furze.  (See  fig.  iL) 
In  this  section  the  roots  of  the  Orobanche  are  seen  penetrating 
the  furze  at  right  angles  to  its  growth.  They  appear  to  take 
advantage  of  the  cellular  tissue  which  lies  between  the  dense 
bundles  forming  the  medullary  rays,  and,  as  you  will  observe, 
they  penetmte  quite  to  the  heart  or  centre  of  the  root. 

M.  Vaucher  says  that  the  Orobanche  does  not  resemble  in 
any  way  other  parasitic  plants,  such  as  the  Mistletoe  and 
Cuscuta.  As  far  as  the  species  investigated  by  M  Vaucher 
is  concerned,  one  is,  probably,  correct — viz.,  0.  raviosa;  but 
it  is  not  so  with  0.  major,  as  instanced  above. 

Their  power  of  penetration  through  the  close-grained  furze 

*  See  Dr.  Harley's  paper  on  the  Mistletoe,  in  Linn.  Trans.,  vol.  24,  pL  28. 


ON  THE  PARASITISM  OF  OROBANCHE  MAJOR.     161 

is  very  remarkable,  and,  as  I  before  said,  the  parasite  always 
directs  its  roots  towards  the  source  from  whence  the  supply 
of  nutritive  matter  is  derived. 

In  some  instcuices  the  vascular  bundles  of  the  peduncle  of 
the  Orobanche,  like  those  observed  by  Dr.  Hooker  in  Balano- 
phora,  become  so  intimately  connected  with  the  root  that 
they  seem  organically  one  and  the  same  tissue.  (See  his  fig. 
Linn.  Trans.,  v.  22,  pi.  4,  tigs.  21,  22.)  At  the  same  time, 
when  the  roots  of  the  Orobanche  are  fully  developed,  they 
will  be  seen  to  be  different  in  organization  from  the  furze — 
they  are  elongated,  narrow,  yellowish  tubes,  without  septa, 
except  at  the  base.  The  roots  are,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than 
elongated  cells,  and  as  they  force  their  way  between  the  cells 
of  the  furze,  they  become  elongated  and  much  attenuated 
towards  their  extremities  (see  fig.  vi.),  losing  entirely  the 
septate  divisions. 

As  before  stated,  the  roots  of  the  Orobanche  and  the  furze 
become  so  intimately  woven  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  say 
which  is  one  and  which  is  the  other,  except  by  their  colour. 
This  must  be  understood  to  imply  when  the  plants  are  freshly 
gathered ;  for  after  they  have  become  dry  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  detecting  the  roots  of  the  Orobanche  in  the  stem  of  the 
furze,  for  the  hard,  woody  cells  of  the  latter  remain  intact, 
whereas  those  of  the  Orobanche,  being  of  a  softer  substance, 
shrink,  and  the  cells  wither  and  dry  up. 

In  some  specimens  that  I  have  examined,  I  find  a  certain 
reciprocated  union  with  the  root  stock  and  the  parasite.  It 
appears,  that  after  the  irregular  cellular  bulbous  axis  of  the 
Orobanche  has  established  itself,  and  the  anterior  portion  of 
the  root  stock  has  been  so  entirely  deprived  of  nourishment 
by  the  growth  of  the  parasite  that  it  ultimately  falls  off, 
the  axis  of  the  Orobanche  enlarges,  so  much  as  to  cover 
the  end  of  the  root,  and  into  this  cellulose  mass  the  furze 
occasionally  sends  that  part  of  its  system  forming  the  medul- 
lary rays,  so  that  the  union  of  the  two  plants  becomes  perfect. 
(See  fig.  V.) 

The  cells  of  the  Orobanche  are  distinguished  from  those  of 
the  furze,  when  highly  magnified,  by  being  rather  thickly 
invested  with  numerous  ovate  yellowish  bodies,  floating 
apparently  in  the  colouring  matter,  which  is  so  abundant  in 
young  growing  plants.  The  cell  walls  of  the  Orobanche  do 
not,  under  a  magnifying  power  of  1500,  appear  to  be  at  all 
cellular,  but  merely  a  transparent  membrane  ;  whereas  those 
of  the  furze  are  made  up  of  minute  diamond-shaped  meshes. 

The  yellow  bodies  above  mentioned  are,  I  consider,  starch 


262     OH  THE  PARABITI8M  OF  OBOBINCHB  MAJOB. 

graina  They  are  of  a  solid,  iir^eiilar  triangle  in  form,  with 
the  angles  Toonded  off  One  of  them  showM  a  aligl^  d^giee 
of  lamination  somewhat  similar  to  that  seen  in  the  gniiis  of 
•  potatoe  starch,  but  otherwise  smooth  and  polished. 

With  polarized  light  the  grains  appear  as  represented,  only 
that  I  have  failed  in  rendering  them  so  brillianb  The  body 
of  the  grain  is  of  the  most  beautiful  blue,  with  a  bint  Hogjd 
of  yellow,  the  blue  becoming  darker  as  it  approaches  ui» 
hilum-like  crijuson  spot;  and  this  purt  is  of  the  most  intense 
and  at  the  same  time  apparently  semi-transparent^  oolooA 
What  the  colouring  matter  really  is  in  which  these  grunt 
reside  I  am  not  able  to  say,  as  I  am  not  aware  of  its  raving 
been  analysed.  Dr.  lindley  says  it  is  a  powerful  astringent 
bitter  plant,  the  infusion  of  which  has  been  employed  as  a 
detergent  application  to  foul  sores. 

like  many  other  plants  that  were  once  held  in  great  lepnfea 
for  their  medicinal  virtues,  this  has  also  had  its  day,  bat  not 
''ceased  to  be;"  and  as  Mary  Howett  has  very  graoefoDj 
said  in  the  following  lines : 

<*Qod  mig^t  have  made  fhe  earth  bring  finth 
Enough  for  great  and  imaU; 
The  Btanhr  oak  and  cedar  tree, 
WHhoQt  a  flower  at  aU. 

*'  He  migfat  hsTe  made  enoo^  enough 
For  erery  want  of  oia% 
For  mtdieine,  toil,  and  luxury. 
And  yet  have  made  no  flowers. 

**  Our  outward  life  requirea  them  not : 
Then  wherefore  had  they  birth  P 
To  minister  delight  to  man. 
To  beautify  the  earth. 

"  To  comfort  men,  to  whisper  hope, 
Whene'er  his  fiuth  is  <um ; 
For  whoio  careth  for  the  flowers. 
Will  care  much  more  for  Him." 


ON  THE 

FLOATATION  OF  CLOUDS,  AND  THE  FALL  OF  RAIN. 

BY    W.    PENGKLLY,    F.K.8.,    F.G.8.,    ETC. 


A  CLOUD  may  be  defined  as  an  aggregation  of  minute  par- 
ticles of  water,  floating  in  a  gaseous  sea  of  aqueous  vapour 
and  common  air.  Though  each  of  the  three  substances  is 
transparent,  the  light  encounters  so  many  distinct  surfaces  in 
traversing  a  cloud,  that,  on  account  of  the  numerous  con- 
sequent reflexions,  it  is  shorn  of  much  of  its  intensity ;  and 
hence  the  opacity  which  clouds  present.  The  amount  of  light 
lost  depends,  of  course,  on  the  dumber  of  surfaces  in  a  given 
space,  that  is  on  the  number  of  particles,  or,  what  amounts 
to  the  same  thing,  on  their  proximity  to  one  another.  Hence, 
when  the  particles  are  numerous,  and  therefore  near  one 
another,  the  cloud  necessarily  increases  in  blackness;  and, 
conversely,  the  blackness  of  a  cloud  denotes  that  the  particles 
are  closely  packed,  and,  therefore,  likely  to  coalesce ;  in  short, 
that  there  is  a  decided  prospect  of  rain. 

Since,  then,  the  essential  part  of  a  cloud  consists  of  par- 
ticles of  water  in  the  true  liquid  form,  the  two  following 
questions  present  themselves : — 

1st.  Why  do  the  particles  float,  seeing  that  their  density 
greatly  exceeds  that  of  the  air  by  which  they  are  upborne? 

2n(lly.  Why,  after  having  floated  for  a  considerable  period, 
do  they  ultimately  fall  ? 

It  is  usual,  in  reply  to  the  first  question,  to  state  that,  in 
the  cloud,  the  particles  of  water  have  a  vesicular  structure ; 
that  they  are  small  vesicles  filled  with  air :  in  fact,  balloons 
whose  walls  are  thin  films  of  water,  and  which  are  inflated 
with  atmospheric  air.  There  appear  to  be  several  objections 
to  this  statement. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  perfectly  gratuitous ;  for  no  one,  I 
believe,  professes  to  have  seen  these  vesicles.  They  were 
apparently  needed  to  explain  a  phenomenon,  and  their  exist- 
ence w£ts  accordingly  imagined. 


264  ON  THE  FLOATATION  OF  CLOUDS, 

In  the  second  place,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  they  are 
capable  of  explaining  the  floatation  of  clouds.  A  balloon  of 
silk,  filled  with  air  of  the  same  density  as  that  suTTOunding 
it,  would  certainly  not  continue  to  float ;  an  iron  boat  or  buoy, 
filled  with  water  such  as  that  in  which  it  is  placed,  would 
assuredly  sink  ;  most  kinds  of  wood  become  water-logged, 
simply  because  their  pores  are  charged  with  water  instead  of 
air — the  substance  of  the  wood  itself,  as  distinct  from  the 
ligneous  sponge  commonly  called  wood,  being  heavier  than 
water ;  so,  also,  a  vesicle  of  water  filled  with  the  air  in  which 
it  is  suspended,  would  be  incapable  of  floating.  If  it  be 
objected  that  the  vesicles  fall  from  the  height  at  which  they 
are  formed,  to  a  level  such  that  the  difference  of  the  densities 
of  the  air  within  and  without  them  prevents  their  falling 
further,  it  may  be  replied  that  this  difference  of  densities 
would  not  be  permanent ;  the  external  pressure  would  cause 
the  air  within  to  contract,  and  the  walls  of  the  balloon  would 
either  thicken  accordingly,  or  would  shrivel  and  collapse. 

In  the  third  place,  the  vesicular  hypothesis,  even  if  tenable, 
would  leave  outstanding  phenomena,  requiring  some  other 
explanation.  The  clouds  which  hang  like  palls  over  our  great 
manufacturing  towns  largely  consist  of  particles  of  coal, 
which  are  by  no  means  vesicular,  and  have  a  density  exceed- 
ing that  of  water ;  yet  they  are  sustained  aloft.  There  must 
be  some  cause  for  this  floatation,  and  this,  in  all  probability, 
will  be  found  sufficient  for  the  suspension  of  more  ordinary 
clouds  also. 

In  order  to  ftill  through  the  air,  the  weight  of  the  particle 
must  exceed  the  weight  of  an  equal  volume  of  air  and  the 
resistance  which  the  air  presents :  this  excess  is  the  falling 
power  or  force.  Thus,  let  W  =  the  weight  of  the  particle  of 
water;  u\  that  of  the  particle  of  atmosphere  of  the  same  volume ; 
r,  the  atmospheric  resistance;  then  if  \^  =  w+r+x,x  is  the 
falling  force.  If  x  is  gi-eater  than  0,  the  pai-ticle  must  fall ;  but 
if  X  is  equal  to  or  less  than  0,  it  must  as  certainly  float.  W  and 
w  having  equal  volumes,  the  value  nf  ./•  is  great  or  small  ju.st  as 
that  of  r  is  small  or  great ;  in  other  words,  the  falling  force 
depends  on  the  atmospheric  resistance  relatively  to  the  mass 
or  weiglit  of  the  particle  of  water. 

Let  it  be  supposed  that  a  number  of  particles  of  water 
suspended  in  the  air  encounter  a  resistance  so  great  as  to 
prevent  their  falling :  What  would  liappen  in  the  event  of 
their  coalescence  ?  First,  fur  the  sake  of  simplicity,  let  it  l)e 
supposed  that  tlie  number  of  partichts  is  8,  and  that  they 
coalesce  and  form  a  droj).     Assuming  the  density  to  he  as 


AND  THE  FALL  OF  RAIN.  265 

before,  it  is  obvious  that  the  volume  of  the  drop  will  be  eight 
times  that  of  each  particle ;  and  the  mass  or  weight  will  be 
increased  in  the  same  ratio.  Let  it  be  further  supposed  that 
the  drop  and  particle  are  similar  solids,  as,  for  example, 
spheres;  it  is  clear  that  the  diameter  of  the  drop  will  be 
twice  that  of  each  particle,  since  the  volumes  of  globes  are 
to  one  another  as  the  cubes  of  their  diameters.  But  whilst 
the  weight  has  been  increased  eight  times,  what  has  been  the 
augmentation  of  resistance?  The  resistance,  of  course,  de- 
pends on  the  quantity  of  surface  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  as  the  surfaces  of  globes  vary  as  the  squares  of  their 
diameters,  the  surface  of  the  drop  is  four  times  that  of 
each  particle;  therefore  the  resistance  has  been  augmented 
four  times  also.  That,  is  the  eight  particles  have  formed  a 
drop  having  a  weight  eight  times  that  which  each  of  them 
had,  but  which  is  exposed  to  a  resistance  only  four  times 
greater  than  that  which  each  of  them  encoimtered;  relatively, 
therefore,  the  resistance  is  but  one-half  of  what  it  was  before 
coalescence.  Had  the  number  of  drops  been  27,  the  diameter 
would  have  been  3,  the  surface  and  resistance  each  9,  and  the 
volume  and  weight  each  27  times  increased ;  or  the  relative 
resistance  would  have  been  diminished  three  times.  If  the 
number  of  particles  had  been  64,  the  diameter,  resistance, 
and  weight  would  have  been  four,  sixteen,  and  sixty-four 
respectively,  and  the  relative  resistance  would  have  become 
one-fourth ;  and  so  on.  In  short,  the  relative  resistance 
decreases  as  the  diameter  increases.  Technically,  the  resis- 
tance per  unit  of  surface  is  inversely  as  the  diameter,  or,  the 
density  remaining  the  same,  inversely  as  the  cube  root  of  the 
weight.  The  diameters  in  the  cases  supposed,  and  indicated 
by  them,  are  the  successive  natural  numbers,  1,  2,  3, 4,  5  ... . 
w,  of  which  the  relative  resistances  are  the  reciprocals,  1,  ^,  J, 
J^,  i.  .  .  .  i ;  the  former  are  a  series  in  Arithmetical  Progres- 
sion, the  latter  a  series  in  Harmonical  Progression. 

By  making  the  drop  sufficiently  large,  the  relative  resis- 
tance may  be  diminished  without  limit ;  and  by  making  the 
particle  small  enough,  the  relative  resistance  may  be  indefi- 
nitely increased.  If  the  particle  is  very  small,  r,  in  the 
equation,  becomes  very  large,  and  a?,  consequently,  very  small ; 
and  if  it  be  not  greater  than  0,  the  particle  must  float ;  but  if 
a  sufficient  number  of  particles  coalesce,  r  becomes  very 
small  in  relation  to  W,  and  x  correspondingly  large.  Sooner 
or  later  it  must  be  greater  than  0,  and  then  the  drop  will 
inevitably  fall. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  defend  the  assumption  made  at  an 


266  ON  THE  FLOATATION  OF  CLOUDS,  ETC. 

earlier  part  of  this  brief  paper — that  the  coaleecene  of  the 
partides  irould  leave  the  density  of  the  water  unaltered; 
bat  it  is  obvions  that  the  only  change  which  can  occur  is 
that  of  an  increase  of  density.  By  such  a  tshange  the  mass 
would,  of  course,  be  unaffected,  but  the  volume,  and  there- 
fore the  surfiatce  and  the  resistance  would  be  diminished,  and 
consequently  the  jEdling  power  would  be  augmented  corres- 
pondingly. 

P08T8CBIPT. — In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  reading 
of  this  papor,  the  Bev.  W.  Harpley  remarked  that  the  resis- 
tance of  the  atmosphere  would  modify  the  form  of  the  follinff 
drops,  and  thus  introduce  a  new  condition,  which  it  would 
be  necessary  to  consider.  The  force  of  the  observation  is 
obvious.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  it  pre-supposes  the 
drops  to  be  fidling;  or  that^  in  the  equation,  x  is  greater  than  0. 
Hence  we  have  to  consider,  not  why  some  drops  fall  whilst 
others  floaty  but  ^  What  would  be  the  changes  of  form  in 
two  fftlling  drops  of  di£Eerent  sizes  t"  and  "  What  dynamical 
effects  would  thereby  be  produced?"  Before  ftdling,  the 
drops  are  similar  soUds — supposed  to  be  spheres;  and  the 
change  of  form  will  be  jpreatest  where  the  rdative  resistance^ 
or  the  resistance  per  umt  of  surfieuse,  is  greatest.  Now,  it  has 
already  been  shown  that  this  will  be  in  the  smallest  drop ; 
hence,  all  other  things  being  the  same,  the  smallest  fiaUing 
drop  will  undeigo  the  greatest  change  of  form.  Further,  this 
change  will  be  confined  to  the  resisted,  or  lowest  surface, 
which  will  become  more  or  less  flattened.  Hence,  the  resisted 
surface,  and  consequently  the  resistance,  will  be  augmented, 
and  this  augmentation  mil  be  greatest  in  the  smallest  fialling 
drops.  It  is  conceivable  that  a  drop  which  had  b^un  to 
£Edl  mav  thus  have  its  motion  destroyed.  In  short,  the  effect 
is  simply  that  of  enhancing  the  residt  previously  reached. 


ON 

THE  TEMPERATUEE  OF  THE  ANTIENT  WORLD. 

BT    CHABLE8    DATTBEinr,    M.D.,    F.R.8., 
ProftMor  9if  Botany  f  Oxford. 


Thsbb  is  a  considerable  degree  of  vagneness  in  the  state* 
ments  of  modern  geologists  with  regard  to  the  temperature 
of  the  antient  world.  It  is  assumed  indeed  in  general,  that 
its  heat  was  greater  in  former  geological  epochs  than  it  is  at 
the  present ;  but  whilst  some  would  place  it  so  high,  that 
even  in  Ai'ctic  regions  a  tropical  heat  is  supposed  by  them 
to  have  prevailed,  othei-s  conceive  that  the  difference  between 
the  actual  temperature,  and  that  which  characterised  the 
earliest  times  in  which  animals  and  plants  existed,  was  not 
greater  than  might  be  accounted  for  by  oceanic  currents, 
or  by  a  different  distribution  of  sea  and  land. 

Now  I  know  only  of  two  ways  by  which  the  point  in 
question  could  be  set  at  rest ;  namely,  by  appealing  either 
to  the  remains  of  animals  or  of  vegetables  found  in  the 
strata. 

Of  these  the  latter,  I  conceive,  convey  the  most  tmst- 
worthy  information  ;  for  animals,  of  a  high  grade  at  least,  by 
migrating  from  one  locality  to  another,  so  as  to  escape  the 
extremes  of  heat  or  cold,  might  have  taken  up  their  abodes  in 
far  higher  latitudes  than  those  suited  for  their  usual  residence. 
This,  however,  does  not  apply  either  to  vegetables  or  indeed 
to  the  lower  classes  of  animals,  and  hence  a  detailed  com- 
parison of  the  remains  of  either  found  in  the  strata  with 
their  living  analogues  at  the  present  day,  may  enable  us  to 
form  a  pretty  fair  estimate  of  the  conditions  under  which 
they  could  have  maintained  their  existence  formerly. 

But  here  too  a  difficulty  arises  from  the  wide  geographical 
range  over  which  many  tribes  of  living  plants  are  distributed; 
so  that  if  we  infer  a  high  temperature  from  the  occurrence 
in  a  fossil  state  of  a  particular  plant,  because  its  nearest 


268       ON  THB  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  AMTIXNT  WORU). 

living  analogae  is  a  native  of  the  tropics,  we  are  met  with 
the  objection,  that  others  belonging  to  the  same  fiamily  are 
found  in  much  colder  latitudes. 

It  struck  me,  that  the  only  way  of  getting  over  this 
difficulty  was  to  consider  the  mean,  between  the  highest  and 
lowest  temperature  at  which  a  great  natural  fiEunuy  occurs 
at  present,  as  that  most  congenial  to  the  health  and  vigour  of 
the  race,  and  to  regard  it  therefore  as  representing  approxi- 
mately the  climate  in  which  fossil  plants  of  the  same  de- 
scription had  formerly  flourished. 

The  tendency  indeed  of  all  plants  to  spread  themselves  in 
every  direction  from  a  centre,  until  stopped  by  some  external 
or  internal  impediment— external,  that  is,  when  prevented 
by  mountains,  seas,  or  rivers,  or  else  by  the  pre-occupation  of 
the  soil  by  species  of  at  least  equal  vigour  with  themselves ; 
internal,  by  the  want  of  power  in  their  own  organisation  to 
struggle  with  the  new  climatic  conditions  to  which  they  were 
subjected — must  create  a  certain  number  of  stragglers  in 
either  direction,  and  thus  convey  a  &lse  impression  of  the 
circumstances  most  suitable  to  the  tribe  in  general. 

Palms,  for  instance,  the  natives  of  the  tropics,  extend  in  a 
few  cases  to  the  borders  of  the  temperate  sone ;  vines,  pro- 
perly belonging  to  the  warmer  portions  of  the  latter,  straggle 
in  a  few  instances  as  low  as  Persia,  and  as  high  as  f^kfort- 
upon-Oder;  but  no  one  could  therefore  conclude  that^  in  a 
state  of  nature,  either  the  one  or  the  other  extreme  would  be 
that  in  which  the  family  as  a  whole  would  be  likely  to  have 
flourished.  Upon  the  whole,  then,  it  seemed  to  me,  that  the 
most  probable  method  of  arriving  at  the  temperature  existing 
during  the  several  stages  wliich  the  globe  has  passed  through 
in  its  progress,  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  creation  to  the 
present  time,  would  be  to  ascertain  the  mean  between  the 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold  within  which  each  one  of  the  great 
natural  families  of  plants  predominating  in  the  vegetation  of 
each  period  is  now  capable  of  maintaining  itself  unassisted 
by  man,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that,  in  families  in- 
habiting the  tropics,  this  mode  of  calculation  would  be  likely 
to  place  the  temperature  too  low,  inasmuch  as,  whilst  we  know 
that  no  member  of  the  family  will  sustain  more  than  a 
certain  amount  of  cold,  we  are  ignorant  how  much  greater  a 
heat  than  that  which  prevails  at  the  equator  would  prove 
fatal  to  their  existenca 

At  all  events,  we  may  be  pretty  sure,  that  the  principle 
upon  which  we  proceed  will  not  exaggerate  the  temperature 
assigned  to  the  antient  world,  but  rather  the  reverse ;  for  it 


ON  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  ANTIENT  WORLD.       269 

is  contrary  to  all  probability,  that  a  family  of  plants,  such 
as  the  palms,  should  have  so  generally  pervaded  the  globe, 
if  the  tempemtore  at  the  time  had  not  been  greater  than 
that  which  at  present  is  suited  only  to  a  few  exceptional 
species  or  genera. 

Now  the  oldest  of  the  rock  formations  from  which  we  can 
derive  any  trustworthy  evidence  of  climate  from  the  character 
of  its  vegetation  is  the  Devonian,  in  which  we  meet  abundant 
traces  of  ferns,  many  of  which  belong  to  arborescent  genera, 
such  as  Caidopteris,  and  others  specified  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 
The  same  tribe  also  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  true  coal 
formation,  and  with  them  are  associated,  Coniferm  of  the 
Araucarian  type ;  Lepidodendra,  of  which  we  have  no  living 
representatives,  but  which  bear  the  nearest  resemblance  in 
structure  to  Lycopodiacece;  CalamiteSy  to  which  no  parallel 
exists  at  present,  but  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  gigantic 
Equiseta;  and  lastly  SigillaruB  and  Stigmarice,  now  ascertained 
to  be  the  stems  and  roots  of  one  and  the  same  plant,  what- 
ever that  may  have  been  ;  for  some  regard  it  as  a  Cycad,  and 
others  as  a  highly-developed  Cryptogam. 

Now  the  family  of  ferns  is  distributed  over  the  colder 
regions  of  the  globe  pretty  generally, — a  certain  amount  of 
humidity  and  a  shelter  from  the  dii-ect  rays  of  the  sun  being 
the  conditions  most  favourable  to  its  existence.  But  they 
extend  also  into  the  tropics,  in  places  where  moisture  and 
shade  prevail,  as  in  Mexico,  where  the  mean  temperature  is 
60*,  and  in  the  West  Indies,  where  it  ranges  in  various  parts 
of  the  Archipelago  from  78°  to  80°. 

As  however  there  is  much  reason  for  believing,  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  coal  is  derived  from  arborescent  species,  let 
us  confine  ourselves  to  the  consideration,  What  is  the  range 
of  temperature  within  which  tree-ferns  are  capable  of 
flourishing? 

The  highest  point,  as  we  have  seen,  consistent  with 
their  growth,  is  not  less  than  80°,  as  is  the  case  in  the  West 
India  Islands ;  but  some  species  thrive  also  in  New  Zealand, 
where  the  mean  temperature  does  not  exceed  52°.  If  we  take 
the  mean  of  these  extremes,  we  should  infer,  that  the  tem- 
perature prevailing  at  the  time  when  they  flourished  in  such 
abundance  as  appears  to  have  been  the  case  during  the 
period  of  the  coal  formation,  could  not  have  been  less  than 
62-5°  Fahrenheit. 

Nor  is  this  inconsistent  with  the  other  species  of  plants 
associated  with  them.  Cavi/er<B  indeed  ai-e  found,  but  they 
are  of  the  Araucarian  type.      Now,  in  estimating  the  tem- 


270       ON  THK  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  ANTISKT  WORLD. 

perature  in  which  the  Araucari»  flourish,  it  must  be  admittedi 
tliat  the  Araucaria  imbricata  is  found  in  Chili,  lat.  39^  which 
has  a  mean  temperature  of  60°,  and  that  it  grows  pretty  b^eely 
even  in  Qreat  Britain. 

But  the  Braziliensis  comes  from  the  Brazils,  a  region 
situated  in  south  latitude  24^  of  which  the  mean  temperature 
is  73° ;  and  the  Excelsa,  or  Norfolk  Island  pine,  grows  in  an 
island  situated  in  lat.  29^  where  the  mean  is  60°.  The  latter 
also  is  found  in  Van  Diemen's  Land,  where  the  mean  tern-* 
perature  does  not  exceed  52°,  and  indeed  grows  vigorously  at 
Naples,  although  it  is  killed  by  the  frosts  of  the  more 
northern  portions  of  Italy.  We  might  therefore  infer,  that 
the  extremes  of  temperature  within  which  the  Araucarian 
tribe  generally  will  thrive,  unassisted  by  man,  are  from  60" 
to  52°,  so  that  the  mean  most  favourable  to  them  would 
be  56°. 

But  if  the  presence  of  Araucarise  in  the  coal  formation 
might  lead  us  to  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  period  of  the 
cosd  nearly  nine  degrees,  the  other  vegetable  remains  found 
in  it  would  incline  us  to  raise  it  almost  as  much. 

Lepidodendra  seem  to  bear  the  same  analogy  to  the  Lyco- 
podiums  of  the  present  day  which  tree-ferns  do  to  the  her- 
baceous species,  but  with  this  difference,  that  whilst  the 
latter  are  nowhere  more  common  than  in  the  cooler  r^ona 
of  the  present  globe,  Lycopodiums  are  at  present  most 
abundant  in  tropical  ones.  In  New  Zealand  indeed,  the  mean 
temperature  of  which  is  52°,  a  Lycopodium  occurs,  which 
rises  to  the  height  of  three  feet ;  but  in  general  they  are  low' 
insignificant-looking  plants ;  so  that  the  size  of  the  Lepido- 
dendrons  of  the  antient  world  would  seem  to  indicate  an 
exaggeration  even  of  the  temperature  which  prevails  at  pre- 
sent in  the  tropics.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Calamites, 
and  to  Sigillarise  ;  for  if  we  are  to  regard  the  latter  as  Cycads, 
we  must  seek  for  their  analogues,  in  the  Indian  Archipelago, 
the  mean  temperature  of  which  is  78°,  where  the  Cycas 
circinalis  flourishes  ;  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  temperature 
60  7°,  the  native  habitat  of  the  Zamias  ;  or,  lastly,  in  Mexico, 
where  we  meet  with  another  member  of  the  Cycas  family, 
Dion  edule,  thriving  in  the  temperature  of  65°. 

Putting  all  these  facts  togetlier,  I  cannot  bring  myself  to 
believe,  that  the  temperature  at  which  the  coal  plants 
flourished  could  have  been  so  low  as  that  which  the  influence 
of  oceanic  currents  might  produce  upon  islands  or  mari- 
time tracts  situated  in  a  northern  latitude ;  for  what  the 
elevation  produced  by  such  a  cause  must  on  such  a  sup- 


ON  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  ANTIENT  WORLD.       271 

position  have  been,  will  appear  from  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  localities  in  which  coal  plants  of  that  period 
have  been  discovered.  Coal  plants,  then,  of  the  same  type 
as  those  just  enumerated,  have  been  found  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Lena»  the  mean  temperature  of  which  is  only  6°  above 
zero;  and  in  Bear  Island,  between  Spitzbergen  and  the  North 
Cape,  in  lat.  74*36^  where  the  climate  cannot  be  much  less 
rigorous,  a  fern  belonging  to  the  genus  Pecopteris  has  been 
detected.  Even  in  Melville  Island,  in  N.  lat.  76*",  where  the 
mean  t^jmperature  is  at  present  the  lowest  yet  determined, 
being  only  1*24°  above  zero,  coal  plants  have  been  discovered, 
such  as  Schizopteris,  which  bears  much  analogy,  Dr.  Lindley 
says,  to  certain  ferns  of  the  present  day,* 

Nor  do  these  cases  stand  alone ;  for  we  shall  see,  when 
referring  to  more  modern  formations,  that  similar  indications 
of  a  climate  warmer  than  the  present  are  afforded  by  the 
fossil  plants  of  North  Greenland.  I  am  aware  that  Dr.  Joseph 
Hooker  considers  a  climate  such  as  that  of  New  Zealand 
well  calculated  for  the  growth  of  ferns,  not  only  from  the 
variety  and  luxuriance  of  the  herbaceous  species  found  in 
these  islands,  but  also  from  the  size  of  the  arborescent, 
one  of  which,  CycUhea  dealbata,  rises  to  the  height  of  40 
feet.  But  the  existence  of  this  tribe  must  be  considered  in 
connection  with  that  of  the  gigantic  LycapodiuTns,  Equiseta, 
etc.,  associated  with  it ;  and,  at  any  rate,  the  occurrence  of 
New  Zealand  pines  in  the  northern  latitudes  alluded  to  would 
be  scarcely  less  a  marvel  than  that  of  the  more  decided 
tropical  species  which  have  been  discovered  there  in  a  fossil 
state. 

Amongst  the  Permian  rocks  tree  ferns  have  also  been 
detected  in  Saxony;  so  that,  in  the  absence  of  other  counter- 
vailing evidence,  we  may  fairly  conclude  that  the  temperature 
existing  during  the  coal  formation  continued  during  that 
period. 

In  the  Trias  or  New  Red,  we  meet  with  vegetable  remains 
in  many  respects  similar  to  those  of  the  coal ;  but  in  addi- 
tion occur  specimens  of  fossil  Cyeadea^  sufficiently  resembling 
existing  ones,  to  leave  in  the  mind  no  such  doubt,  as  exists 
with  respect  to  the  Sigillarise^  on  the  question  of  their 
affinities. 

Now,  we  have  seen  that  Cycadeae  at  present  range  be- 
tween the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  Indian  Archipelago, 
or  betwixt  the  temperature  of  78''  and  60^,  and  that  there  is 

*  Foenl  Fkia,  toL  ii 


272       ON  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  ANTIBNT   WORLD. 

even  a  sti-aggler  fouud  as  low  as  New  Zealand,  of  which  the 
mean  is  52"*. 

We  should,  therefore,  reckon  the  temperature  most  suitable 
to  the  plants  which  flourished  during  the  Trias  period  as  not 
less  than  65^  judging  by  the  tree  ferns  and  the  cycads  which 
abound  in  it;  so  that  no  apparent  sinking  in  the  heat  of  the 
globe  seems  to  be  traceable  up  to  this  period  of  its  progress. 

In  the  Lyas,  remains  of  zamias,  of  ferns,  and  of  conifers 
of  the  araucarian  type  also  occur;  so  that  the  same  high 
temperature  would  seem  to  have  continued  into  this  forma- 
tion. 

And  the  same  may  be  inferred  also  with  respect  to  the 
Oolite.  Here  specimens  of  an  araucaria  are  to  be  met  with; 
but  with  these  are  associated  a  kind  of  pandanus,  called 
Podocarya, 

Now  the  pandaneae,  or  screw  pines,  occur  at  present  abun- 
dantly in  the  Mauritius,  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  Java» 
none  of  which  countries  possess  a  mean  temperature  of  less 
than  78°  of  Fahrenheit.  Indeed,  the  pandanese  seem  to  thrive 
in  a  heat  greater  than  is  congenial  even  to  tree  ferns ;  for  in 
tropical  regions  the  former  grow  at  the  level  of  the  sea, 
whereas  the  latter  only  appear  as  we  ascend  to  a  certain 
height  up  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  (Meyen). 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted,  that  Freyceneiia,  a  kind  of 
pandanus,  is  found  in  Norfolk  Island,  to  which  we  have 
ascribed  a  temperature  of  only  60°,  and  even  at  New  Zealand 
in  52°.  If  we  were  to  take  the  mean  of  the  two,  we  should 
assign  a  temperature  of  65"  to  the  period  of  the  Oolite,  but 
as  araucarias  are  also  met  with,  we  may  perhaps  attribute  to 
the  Oolite  a  temperature  of  60°,  in  the  latitudes  of  France, 
Germany,  and  England,  where  these  plants  have  been 
collected. 

In  the  Wealden,  Cycases  abound,  so  that  if  this  fact  stood 
alone,  we  could  liardly  fix  the  temperature  lower  than  65^ 
As,  however,  tree  ferns  and  certain  conifers  are  also  met 
with,  it  may  have  been  somewhat  inferior. 

In  the  Chalk,  plants  belonging  to  the  New  Holland  family 
of  Proteaccoe  first  become  common.  These  would  seem  to 
indicate  a  somewhat  lower  temperature  than  the  plants  found 
in  the  older  formations;  for  whilst  they  abound  about  Mel- 
bourne, in  Australia,  which  possesses  a  mean  of  57°,  and  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  it  is  somewhat  under  60°, 
they  also  <;row  in  Tasmania,  which  does  not  exceed  52°.  It 
might  thence  be  inferred  that  56°  would  be  the  temperature 
most  congenial  to  them ;  but  we  are  warned  not  to  place  the 


ON  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE    ANTIENT  WORLD.       273 

chalk  formation  period  so  low  in  the  scale  of  warmth  as  this, 
from  finding  pandanege  also  amongst  its  fossil  flora.  Now  the 
lowest  temperature  in  which  a  pandanus  is  known  to  grow  in 
a  state  of  nature — namely,  the  Freycenetia — is  52°,  and  the 
highest,  as  we  have  seen,  78° — mean  65^  Nor  do  we  find 
any  symptoms  of  a  cooler  condition  of  the  globe  even 
when  we  first  enter  upon  the  Tertiary  period.  On  the  con- 
trary, in  the  Upper  Eocene,  in  the  latitude  of  London,  we 
meet,  for  the  first  time,  with  ananas;  and  not  only  do 
pandaneae,  but  also  palms  (such  as  Nipa),  appear  in  the  strata. 
Now  palms,  even  more  than  pandanuses,  are  at  present 
characteristic  of  the  tropics.  We  cannot  say,  indeed  what 
may  be  the  utmost  extreme  of  heat  that  they  would  be 
capable  of  supporting;  for  they  flourish  even  at  the  equator; 
but  the  extreme  of  cold  seems  to  be  fixed  by  finding  a  few 
stragglers,  such  as  the  Chamcerops  humilis,  in  Italy,  as  at 
Rome  and  Nice,  in  a  mean  temperature  of  58°. 

The  palmetto,  at  Charlestown,  in  South  Carolina,  enjoys  a 
mean  temperature  of  66°;  the  chusan  palm  of  China,  one 
somewhat  lower;  for  the  mean  of  its  winter  temperature  is 
40*9°;  of  its  summer  heat,  67  8°.  The  mean  between  the 
temperature  of  the  equator,  which  is  80°,  and  that  of  Italy, 
which  is  58°,  would  be  69°;  but,  for  the  reason  above  assigned, 
it  would  not  be  safe  to  place  the  temperature  most  congenial 
to  the  growth  of  palms  quite  so  low ;  and  it  must,  at  any  rate, 
be  admitted,  that  the  vegetation  of  the  London  clay  indicates 
a  temperature  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  that  of  the  oldest 
rocks  which  have  been  explored. 

In  the  Miocene,  however,  some  indications  of  incipient 
cooling  seem  discernible.  Professor  Heer,  of  Zurich,  enume- 
rates in  this  formation,  at  (Eningeu,  on  the  lake  of  Constance, 
85  plants  referable  to  a  tropical  climate,  266  to  a  sub-tropical, 
and  151  to  a  temperate  one;  so  that  he  fixes  upon  the  climate 
of  Madeira  as  the  one  which  makes  the  nearest  approach  to 
such  a  flora;  but  as  this  island  possesses  a  mean  of  67° 
Fahrenheit,  I  should  be  inclined  to  place  it  somewhat  lower. 

Let  us,  however,  inquire  a  little  further  as  to  the  particular 
plants  met  with.  Amongst  the  natives  of  temperate  climes 
are  found  the  maple,  the  plane,  and  the  vine :  the  first,  a  tree 
possessing  a  considerable  range  of  distribution,  although 
found  in  very  northern  latitudes,  as  in  Canada  and  on  the 
Bavarian  mountains,  growin*^  at  the  height  of  nearly  4900 
feet;  the  second,  most  luxuriant  in  the  south  of  Europe,  Asia 
Minor,  &c.,  although  it  will  grow  much  farther  north;  the 
third  possessing  a  wide  geographical  range,  from  a  tempera- 

VOL.    II.  T 


274       ON  THE  TEMFBRATURB  OF  THE  AIITIKMT  WOUUO. 

tare  of  62^  to  one  of  51";  for  it  luxuriates  in  Sioily^  the 
Grecian  Archipelago,  and  Syria»  and  bears  firait  as  fiu  noith 
as  Paris,  Dresden,  Coblentz,  and  even  Frankfort-upon-Oder. 
The  mean  temperature  therefore  most  congenial  to  it  may  be 
fixed  at  56-5^ 

Amongst  the  sub-tropical  we  may  best  instance  the  mo- 
teas,  for  the  liriodendra  perhaps  can  hardly  be  regarded  as 
so  tender;  and  amongst  the  tropical,  are  the  cinnamon,  the 
sabid^  the  chamoerops. 

Such,  at  least,  is  the  fossil  flora  of  (Eningen ;  and  Professor 
Heer  has  shewn  that  that  of  Bovey  Tiacey,  a  locality  so 
elaborately  worked  out  by  your  President^  and  belonging 
to  the  same  formation,  is  similarly  circumstanced. 

Here  the  leafy  trees  of  most  frequent  occurrence  were  two 
cinnamons,  an  evergreen  oak,  such  as  are  now  seen  in  MezioOy 
evemeen  figs,  an  arborescent  fern  pecopteris  ligniium^  a  palm 
simiLir  to  the  Botang,  which  twines  round  the  trees  in 
the  tropics,  and,  above  all,  the  sequoia  coutsi®,  allied  to  the 
Wellingtonia  of  California.  These  indicate  a  warm,  bat  not 
a  tropi^  climate,  agreeing  in  most  respects  with  the  flora  of 
OSningen.  The  hsTCliness  of  the  Wellingtonia  in  partioalar 
would  indicate  that  its  analogue,  the  Sequoia,  could  have  stood 
frost.  But  Professor  Heer  has  found  the  same  formation  at 
I^orth  Greenland,  in  north  latitude  of  70°,  where  the  mean 
temperature  at  the  present  time  is  about  iff  Fahrenheit, 
Even  here  zamias,  sequoias,  salisburias,  proteas,  myrtles, 
magnolias,  laurels,  ivies,  oaks,  and  planes  have  been  dis- 
covered, the  majority  of  which  indicate  a  temperate  climate, 
but  none  are  compatible  with  the  existence  of  rigorous  winters. 

From  the  general  character  of  the  vegetation.  Professor 
Heer  concludes  that  the  mean  annual  temperature  of  North 
Greenland  could  not  have  been  less  than  49""  Fahrenheit, 
which  is  about  that  of  London.  The  presence  of  zamias,  pro- 
teas,  and  myrtles  would  rather  incline  us  to  give  it  one  some- 
what higher ;  but,  at  any  rate,  on  comparing  the  flora  with 
that  existing  during  the  coal  formation  in  still  higher  latitudes, 
such  as  Melville  Island,  Bear  Island,  &c.,  the  inference  would 
seem  to  be,  that  some  diminution  in  the  general  heat  of 
the  globe  had  by  this  time  taken  place ;  and  this  would  be 
confirmed  by  the  oscillations  from  heat  to  cold  which  now 
begin  to  show  themselves. 

During  the  period  of  the  chalk  formation,  indeed,  Sir 
Charles  Lyell  sees  reason  to  believe  that  a  period  of  great 
cold  had  set  in ;  and  Professor  Eamsey  has  even  discovered, 
as  he  thinks,  traces  of  the  same  during  the  Permian  period. 


ON  THE   TEMPERATURE   OF  THE  ANTIENT  WORLD.       275 

I  imagine,  however,  the  latter  statement  will  be  received  with 
some  scepticism,  until  other  similar  cases  of  an  equally 
remote  date  have  been  detected ;  but  as  we  are  now  approach- 
ing that  geological  period  in  which  undoubted  evidences  of 
glacial  action  are  recognised,  less  scruple  need  be  felt  in 
admitting  that  similar  oscillations  may  have  occurred  some- 
what earlier. 

At  Croydon,  then,  Mr.  God  win- Austen  has  detected  in  the 
white  chalk  fragments  of  syenite,  which  he  supposes  to  have 
been  transported  there  by  ice,  and  in  the  Eocene,  Sir  C.  Lyell 
notices  a  glacial  period,  although  he  speaks  doubtfully  on 
the  subject. 

He  however  pronounces  more  confidently  with  regard  to  the 
evidence  afforded  by  the  hill  of  the  Superga,  near  Turin,  as  to 
the  existence  of  the  same  in  that  part  of  Italy  during  the 
upper  Miocene  epoch.  The  proofs  of  this  fact  are  derived 
from  the  presence  of  large  angular  blocks  washed  out  of  the 
Miocene  beds  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  which  exhibit 
some  such  faint  striae  and  polished  surfaces  as  might  be  pro- 
duced by  ice.  But  this  inference  has  not  yet  been  confirmed  by 
the  discovery  of  organic  remains  indicating  an  arctic  climate. 
At  any  rate,  the  climate  of  Europe  recovered  some  part  of 
its  former  heat  during  the  earliest  Pliocene  epoch ;  for  here 
the  strata  in  Great  .Britain  and  in  the  sub-Appenine  strata  of 
Italy  exhibit  species  of  shells  which  belong  in  great  part  to 
forms  largely  developed  in  equinoctial  regions,  so  that  we 
cannot  assign  to  them  a  temperature  lower,  at  least,  than  that 
of  the  Mediterranean. 

With  the  lower  Pliocene  we  appear  to  take  leave  of  those 
indications  of  a  higher  temperature  than  the  present,  which 
are  so  remarkably  displayed  in  the  earlier  formations  of  the 
earth's  crust. 

From  this  time  the  temperature  appears  to  have  been 
getting  gradually  colder,  although  even  here  oscillations  of 
heat  and  cold  have  been  suspected,  as  is  the  case  near  Zurich, 
where  the  beds  of  lignite  led  Professor  Heer  to  conclude,  that 
the  climate  was  not  more  severe  than  at  present,  although 
preceded,  as  well  as  followed,  by  indications  of  an  arctic 
temperature. 

These  have  been  so  much  dwelt  upon,  that  I  will  not 
lengthen  out  this  paper  by  any  details  of  the  evidence  which 
have  led  geologists  to  suspect  a  polar  climate  to  have  pre- 
vailed over  the  greater  part  of  the  northern  hemisphere, 
except  to  observe,  that  at  Bovey  Tracey  we  find  covering  the 
lignite  beds,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  indicate  a  warm  tempera- 

T  2 


276       ON  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  AimiMT  WORLD 

ture,  beds  resting  iincoDformably  upon  them,  in  which  the 
dwarf  birch  and  other  vegetable  remains  seem  to  shew  that 
an  arctic  climate  prevailed. 

The  evidence  in  favour  of  a  glacial  period  may  be  seen  in 
a  collected  form  in  the  last  edition  of  Lyell's  Princqdea;  bni 
with  respect  to  the  degree  of  cold  which  existed  at  this  lime, 
mach  difiTerence  of  opinion  still  prevails;  some^  I  believe^ 
contending  that  a  mean  temperature,  only  about  18^  degrees 
lower  than  the  present^  would  account  for  all  the  glacial 
phenomena  exhibited  in  this  island ;  others,  like  Mr.  Prest  wioh, 
a  high  authority  on  such  matters,  concluding,  that  even  daiing 
the  period  of  the  drift  and  cave  deposits,  when  the  intensi^ 
of  the  cold  was  somewhat  abating,  a  temperature  prevailed 
in  the  vidley  of  the  Thames  2(f  colder  than  at  present^  or 
about  3(f  of  Fahrenheit 

If  such  be  the  case,  the  geographical  causes  upon  which 
Sir  C.  LyeU,  in  the  earlier  editions  more  especially  of  hit 
Principles,  laid  so  much  stress,  will  hardly  prove  competent 
to  exfuain  the  intensity  of  the  cold  which  so  generally  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  hence  the 
distinguished  author  has  in  his  last  edition  insisted  much 
upon  the  vicissitudes  which  might  be  due  to  astronmicol 
causea 

The  table  he  has  given  of  the  variations  in  temperatuve 
which  may  have  taken  place  during  the  last  million  of  years 
owing  to  the  varying  eccentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit,  as  in* 
ferred  from  the  computations  of  Mr.  CroU,  shews  that  di£Fer- 
ences  might  have  occurred  in  the  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun  sufficient  to  create  in  one  extreme  case  a  mean  tem- 
perature of  7"*  below  zero  in  the  latitude  of  London  during 
the  coldest  month,  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  the  same  cause 
might  be  competent  in  other  cases  to  elevate  the  summer 
heat  to  no  less  than  126°. 

Now  the  present  temperature  of  the  hottest  month  in 
London  is  only  68°,  and  that  of  the  coldest  38"  of  Fahrenheit; 
so  that  our  present  condition  may  perhaps  be  r^[arded  as  an 
exceptional  one. 

.  The  table  is  so  curious,  that  I  have  sought  to  render  the 
information  it  conveys  somewhat  more  palpable,  by  represent- 
ing in  a  diagram,  by  means  of  curved  lines,  the  degrees  of 
heat  calculated  to  have  existed  at  each  of  these  periods ;  but, 
although  the  results  afford  ample  room  for  speculation 
they  do  not  appear  to  accord  with  any  view  of  the  distri- 
bution of  temperature  which  the  researches  of  geology  have 
as  yet  brought  to  light. 


)M  OF  YEARS   BEFORE  AD.  1600. 

X**  EDinON.J 


llH|(5vi  Li«nji»l-T4UKUp^4«n.:Ml 


f 


ON  THE  TEMPERATURE   OF  THE  ANTIENT   WORLD.       277 

Sir  Charles  Lyell — and  on  this  point  most  modern  geolo- 
gists perhaps  will  concur  with  him — believes  the  period 
occupied  in  building  up  the  crust  of  the  globe,  from  the  first 
appearance  of  life  upon  it  till  the  present  age,  to  have  been 
so  vast,  that  we  may  fix  the  glacial  period,  the  latest  epoch 
of  any,  as  far  back  as  850,000  years  before  the  present  time ; 
but  it  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  diagram,  that  at  two 
other  more  recent  dates  the  earth's  temperature  was  so  much 
reduced  by  the  same  causes,  that  similar  phenomena  might 
be  expected  to  have  occurred. 

But  all  these  explanations  of  the  earth's  former  tempera- 
ture, whether  derived  from  astronomy,  or  from  a  supposed 
different  distribution  of  sea  and  land,  labour  alike  under  the 
objection,  that  they  assume  the  conditions  most  favourable 
to  the  production  of  the  effect  intended  to  be  present  just 
when  they  were  required ;  whereas  analogy  would  lead  us  to 
infer  that  the  opposite  set  of  conditions  would  occur  quite  as 
often,  and  operate  in  the  contrary  direction  as  efficiently. 
We  should,  therefore,  expect  that  instead  of  a  high  tempera- 
ture pervading  even  the  polar  regions  during  incalculable 
periods  of  time,  unbroken,  if  at  all,  only  by  very  rare  and  com- 
paratively short  intervals  of  cold,  such  transitions  would  be 
traceable  in  the  organic  remains  of  the  older  world,  as  might 
correspond  with  the  great  and  frequent  oscillations  of  tem- 
perature represented  in  the  diagram.  Indeed,  if  we  were  at 
liberty  to  assume  an  unvarying  condition  of  climate  to  have 
existed  during  the  whole  of  the  immense  period  alluded  to, 
it  would  be  easy  to  explain  the  greater  heat  of  the  antient 
globe,  by  availing  ourselves  of  the  principles  established  by 
Professor  Tyndall,  and  by  supposing  the  earth  to  have  been 
protected  by  a  dense  covering  of  aqueous  vapour,  which,  as 
he  has  shown,  would  act  like  a  blanket,  and  confine  the  heat 
obtained  from  the  sun  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  elevate  the 
temperature  of  the  globe  in  a  greater  degree  than  it  does  at 
present. 

It  is  on  this  principle  that  Professor  Phillips  and  others, 
who  have  observed  that  Mars,  a  planet  so  much  more  distant 
from  the  sun  than  our  earth,  nevertheless  exhibits,  so  far  as 
the  telescope  enables  us  to  ascertain,  about  the  same  amount 
of  snow-covered  land,  shifting,  according  to  the  seasons,  like 
our  own,  from  its  northern  to  its  southern  hemisphere,  account 
for  the  smaller  amount  of  solar  heat  received  by  that  planet 
being  adequate  to  produce  a  temperature  nearly  corresponding 
to  that  of  our  earth. 

Or  if,  as  I  suggested  in  my  Lectures  on  Climate,  pub- 

T  3 


278       OK  THE  TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  ANTIENT  WORLD. 

lished  in  1863,  a  larger  portion  of  the  globe  were,  in  the 
earlier  periods  of  its  history,  covered  with  water— an  idea  in 
accordance  with  the  speculations  of  the  older  geologists — ^the 
flow  of  warm  currents  proceeding  continually  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles,  without'  let  or  hindrance  from  the  interposition 
of  Continents,  might  greatly  moderate  the  cold  of  the  arctic 
regions,  and  at  the  same  time  produce  such  an  approach  to 
uniformity  in  the  temperature  of  the  entire  globe,  as  might 
account  for  the  same  description  of  plants  being  found  during 
the  period  of  the  coal  formation  at  once  in  Borneo,  and  in 
Melville  Island. 

But  I  shall  be  reminded,  that  the  occurrence  of  extensive 
beds  of  conglomerates  even  in  the  earliest  known  strata  leads 
to  the  inference,  that  continents  must  have  existed  even  at 
that  remote  period,  so  that  I  am  compelled  to  send  back  the 
problem  for  further  supervision ;  and,  indeed,  until  geologists 
are  able  to  supply  me  with  an  explanation  less  encumbered 
with  difficulties  than  any  of  those  which  have  been  suggested, 
I  shall  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  fall  back  upon  the  old  uieory, 
although  it  may  be  one  which  belongs  rather  to  the  domain  of 
cosmogony  than  of  geology,  which,  assuming  that  the  globe 
we  inhabit  was  originally  in  a  state  of  igneous  fusion,  from 
which  it  has  gradually  cooled  down,  represents  the  higher 
temperature  ascribed  to  the  earlier  portions  of  the  earth's 
crust,  as  well  as  the  heat  still  existing  in  its  interior,  which 
observations  in  mines  and  springs  serve  to  reveal  to  us,  as 
due  to  the  original  heat  of  the  globe  being  only  partially 
dissipated  into  space. 


n\ 


TABLE  11. 

Shewing  the  character  of  the  Fossil  Flora  ohserved  in  different  latitudes^ 
during  the  several  successiye  periods  recognised  hy  Oeologists. 


PERIODS. 

VEGETABLE  REMAINS. 

MOST 
TROPICAL. 

MOST 
TEMPERATE. 

ACTUAL. 

Tempemture  of  England  (Latitude  of  London) 

RBCENT. 

Temperature  in  England  20°  F.  lower  than  at  pre- 
sent.   Prestwich, 

PLEISTOCENE. 

above  20' P.    Betulanana.    Bovey. 

PLEIOCENE. 

Lower.    Oreodaphne  allied  to  the  modem  plant 
of  that  name.    Liquidamber.    Tutcanj^. 
Upper.    Arctic  Planta. 

Oreodaphneb 
about  W. 

68*  F. 

MEIOCENE. 

(Bningen  beds.    Proteas,  Gljptoatrobus,  Smilax, 

Platanu8.Qnercua,  Oaatanea,  Vma,  Vitis,  Hedera. 

Bovep  Tracep  Lignite.   Sequoia  GouttsiK ;  Cupres- 

Proteas. 
about  65»  P. 

Vites,6e°. 
ditta   ditto. 

FaRia.40«F. 

Quovus. 
Sequoia,  fir  F. 

EOCENE. 

LondUmOav,    Palms,  Puidanen ;  Ananas.   Eng- 
land. 

PtJms, 
about  fir  F. 

Ptodanen. 
about  65«  F. 

CHALK. 

Dicotyledonous  plants  first  appear.  Proteaoee  being 
the  most  common.    Aix-la-VkapdU. 

Pandanns, 
about  66*>. 

about  65«  F. 

WKALDEN. 

but    no    Angiospermous    Diootyledonous    plant 
Haitingi. 

Tree -Ferns, 
about  62' JlF. 

ConilbrB. 
about  00^. 

OOLITE. 

Anucarias ;  Podocam  allied  to  Psndanus ;  Ferns. 
Germany,  France,  and  England. 

Pandanus. 
about  66^  F. 

ArancariaezoelM, 
about  STF. 

LYAS. 

Zamias,  Ferns,  and  Conifers.    QUmee$ter$Mre, 

Tree -Ferns, 
about  eS^A  F. 

Conitoi^ 
about  6e°F. 

TRTAS. 

Zamias;  Calamites;  Equisetacee;  and  Ferns. 
Virginia, 

Tree -Ferns, 
about  ei^Ji  F. 

Zamias, 
about  eO«F. 

PERMIAN. 

Tree-ferns.    Saxony. 

Tree-Fems, 
about  e2«JJF. 

COAL 
MEASURES. 

Ferns,  often  of  arborescent  Genera;  Lepidoden- 
dra  of  great  size ;  Equisetaoen  of  gigantic  propor- 

perhsiM  Crcads ;  Conifers  of  the  type  of  Arau- 
caria.    MelviUe  island,   N.Lai.  74.    Bear  Island, 

Tree-Fems. 
about  62°  J(F. 

ConiflanB 
(Annouria), 
abontOO>P. 

DEVONIAN. 

oopodiaceous  plant  (Psyl(q>hytum).     In  one  in- 
stance an  Angiosperm.    Canada  and  U.  8, 

Tree-Fems. 

temperature  most 

probably  about 

CAMBRIAN 
AND  SILURIAN. 

OnlyAlge. 

< 


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► 

' 

INe  TME  SEVERAL   GEOLOGICAL  PEIflOOS   BELOW  EMUMEIWttD, 
GATHERED    VHQVk   TME  CHARACTER  OF  THEIR  FOSSIL  FLORA, 

PRIMARY. 

TEKP 
82 

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TLMR 
82 

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Hmfl 

77 

68 

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68 

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59 

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;/■ ;/ 


ON 


THE  PAKT  TMEN  BY  NORTH  DEVON  IN  THE  EARLIEST 

ENGLISH  ENTERPRISES  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF 

COLONIZING  AMERICA. 


BY   KICHABD    WILLIAM    COTrON. 


To  Devonshire  belongs  the  credit  of  having  sent  out  the  first 
expedition  which  left  the  shores  of  CJreat  Britain  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  a  colony  in  the  New  World.  The  object 
of  this  paper  is  to  show,  briefly,  the  part  taken  by  North 
Devon  in  that  enterprise,  and  to  throw  some  new  light  upon 
an  incident  which  led  to  its  miscaniage  and  retarded  for 
about  twenty  years  the  actual  settlement  of  the  English  in 
North  America. 

The  expedition,  which  was  fitted  out  at  the  cost  of  our 
brilliant  countryman  Sir  Walter  lialeigh,  under  a  patent 
obtained  from  Queen  Elizabeth,  sailed  from  Plymouth  in  the 
year  1585,  and  its  destination  was  the  newly- discovered 
territory  in  North  America,  to  which  the  gallantry  of  the 
Court  of  Elizabeth  had  given  the  name  of  Virginia.  Sir 
Richard  Grenville,  a  cousin  of  Sir  Walter,  and  a  North  Devon 
man,  was  "general**  of  the  fleet.  That  this  was  not  a  mere 
buccaneering  expedition,  as  has  been  supposed,  I  think  is 
evident  from  the  description  given  of  its  character  by  an 
authority  which  I  shall  presently  quote:  the  little  fleet 
carried  "  one  hundred  householders,  and  many  things  neces- 
sary to  b^n  a  new  State."  The  expedition,  in  July,  landed 
and  occupied  the  island  of  Ronoake,  contiguous  to  a  country 
which  in  the  native  language  was  called  Wingandacoa, 
Virginia,  it  should  be  stated,  has  shrunk  from  its  fonner 
limits,  and  the  scene  of  this  transaction  lies,  in  reality,  in 
what  is  now  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  Sir  Richard 
Orenville  returned  to  England,  and  arrived  at  Plymouth  in 
October,  and,  in  conjunction  with  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  seems 
to  have  at  once  set  about  making  preparations  for  reinforcing 
the  infant  colony  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year.     The 


280  THE  PABT  TAKEN  BT  NOBTH  DEVON  IN  THE  EARUEBT 

vessels  intended  for  this  service  were  fitted  out  in  the  estuary 
of  the  Taw  and  Torridge,  in  the  then  port  of  Barnstaple, 
which  Sir  Bichard  Grenville  overlooked  from  his  house  at 
Tapelev.  They  were  about  to  carry  not  only  provisions  for 
the  r^ef  of  the  colonists  in  their  first  difficulties  but 
additional  emigrants  from  North  Devon.  This  brings  us  to 
the  early  months  of  the  year  1586.  We  will  now  see  how  it 
fared  at  this  time  with  the  settlement  in  Viiginia»  which  had 
been  planted  in  the  previous  year.  I  shall  quote  from  the 
history  of  these  transactions  as  handed  down  to  us  by 
William  Strachey,  first  Secretary  of  the  colony  (permanently 
established  some  years  later)^  and  printed  by  the  Hakluyt 
Society  in  1849.  "After  the  colony  had  laboured  . .  .  eleaven 
monthes,  expecting  the  returne  of  their  generall  with  a  franck 
and  new  supplye  out  of  England,  and  being  in  some  wants 
for  necessarye  and  fresh  victualls,  had  dispersed  themselves 
into  sondry  parts  of  the  countrye,  the  better  to  be  fitted  and 
accommodated  with  the  provisions  thereof.  .  .  .  about  the 
beginning  of  June"  they  "escried  a  great  fleet  of  many 
shippes  uppon  the  coasts  . . .  found  to  be  Sir  Fraunces  Drake 
and  his  company,  returning  home  this  way  from  tiie  sacking 
of  St.  Domingo,  Carthagena,  and  St  Augustine,  who,  sending 
his  boats  off  to  Roanoak,  and  having  intelligence  from  the 
govemour  of  the  condicion  of  which  the  colony  then  stood, 
of  their  many  wants,  and  daylie  expectance  of  supply  from 
England  (the  generall,  by  promise,  appointing  to  have  bene 
there  by  the  first  of  the  spring),  Sir  Fraunces  Drake,  much 
commending  their  patience  and  noble  spiritts,  and  applauding 
so  good  an  accion,  consulted  with  his  captaiiies,  and  con- 
cluded to  leave  them  a  barke  of  seventy  tonne,  called  the 
Frauncis,  to  serve  them  upon  occasions,  with  two  pinnaces, 
four  small  boats,  and  two  experimented  sea  maisters,  Abraham 
Kendall  and  Griffeth  Heme,  to  tarry  with  them,  with  a  supply 
of  collivers,  hand-weapons,  match,  lead,  tooles,  apparell,  and 
such  like,  with  victualls  for  one  hundred  men  for  four 
monthes."  But  storaiy  weather  having  set  in,  and  fears 
being  entertained  that  the  vessels  would  not  find  sufficient 
shelter  to  enable  them  to  winter  on  that  coast,  "the  deter- 
minacion  of  all  was  altered,  and  yt  was  conceaved  more  con- 
venient to  take  in  all  the  planters  and  come  for  England, 
which,  unhappely,  was  accordingly  performed,  and  soe,  the 
19th  of  June  setting  saile,  the  27th  of  July  they  arrived  in 
Portsmouth,  Anno  1586.''* 

♦  "The  Hifltorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia  Britannia."    H.  S.,  1849, 
p.  147,  et  aeq. 


ENGLISH  ENTERPRISES  FOR  COLONIZING  AMERICA.      281 

I  will  next  compare  with  this  narrative  a  passage  from  the 
diary  of  a  local  chronicler,  Philip  Wyot,  Town  Clerk  of 
Barnstaple  at  the  latter  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which 
has  been  recently  edited  by  Mr.  J.  R  Chanter.  Under  date 
of  the  year  1586  he  records : — 

"16  Ap.  Year  afores*  Sir  Richard  Greynvylle  sailed  over  the 
barr  with  his  flee  boat  and  friget,  but  for  want  of  sufiic^  water 
on  the  barr,  being  neare  upon  neape,  he  left  his  ship.  This  Sir 
Richard  Greynvylle  pretended  his  goiuge  to  Wyugandecora,  where 
he  was  last  year."* 

"Pretended"  is  here  of  course  used  in  its  now  obsolete  sense 
of  intended.  To  be  beneaped  on  Barnstaple  Bar  is  a  disaster 
not  unknown  in  these  days ;  but  on  the  momentous  occasion 
noticed  by  Wyot  it  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  breaking  up 
of  the  first  English  settlement  in  America  and  of  the  catas- 
trophe yet  to  be  narrated,  and  it  put  oft*  for  several  years  the 
commencement  of  the  history  of  the  United  States;  for, 
allowing  the  ordinary  length  of  five  or  six  weeks  for  the 
voyage,  had  it  not  been  so  prematurely  checked,  Sir  Richard 
Grenville  would  have  reached  Ronoake  before  the  date  when, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  colonists,  despairing  of  succour  from 
England,  had  been  brought  away  by  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

Sir  Richard  (to  continue  the  narrative  of  Strachey)  "ar- 
rived with  his  three  shippes,  well  appointed,  and  not  finding 
.  .  .  any  newes  of  the  English  colony  (himself  travelling 
up  into  divers  places  of  the  country),  yet  unwilling  to  losse 
the  possession  of  the  same,  after  good  deliberacion,  he  left 
fifteen  men  in  the  islands  of  Roanoak,  furnished  plentifully 
with  all  manner  of  provision  for  two  yeares,  and  departed 
agayne  for  England.  These  checks  found  this  pious  busines 
even  in  her  early  dales  and  first  begynning ;  howbeyt,  yt  did 
not  yet  make  weary  the  forward  mynd  of  Sir  W.  Raleigh  to 
have  this  country  by  a  full  possession  added  unto  our  owne, 
who,  therefore,  prepared  a  fourth  voyage  and  a  new  colony  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  howsholders,  who,  the  18th  of  May 
in  the  yeare  following,  1587,  weyed  anchor  from  Plymouth, 
under  the  charg  of  John  White,  whome  he  appointed  gover- 
nour,  and  also  appointed  unto  him  twelve  assistents,  unto 
whome  he  gave  a  charter,  and  incorporated  them  by  the 
name  of  Govemour  and  Assistents  of  the  city  Raleigh,  in 
Virginia, — which  fleet,  consisting  of  three  sayle,  the  22nd  of 
July  following,  arrived  at  Hatarask,  where  they  came  to  an 
anchor.      From  whence,  the   govemour,  accompanied  with 

*  "Chanter's  Literary  History  of  Barnstaple.*'    Barnstaple,  1866. 


282       ENGLISH  ENTERPRISES  FOR  OOLONIZINO  AMERIOA. 

forty  of  his  best  men,  in  a  small  pynnace,  stood  in  for 
Boanoak,  meaning  to  take  in  the  aforesaid  fifteen  men  left 
there  by  Sir  Richard  Greenvile  the  yeare  before,  and  so  to 
alter  their  seat  unto  the  Chesapeak  Bay,  according  to  direc- 
tions from  Sir  \V.  Raleigh;  but  the  govemour,  being  over- 
ruled by  some  of  the  company,  was  diverted  from  that 
purpose,  and  in  a  manner  constrained  to  seeke  no  further, 
but  to  sett  downe  in  that  island  againe,  who  accordingly 
brought  all  the  planters  and  provisions  ashoare,  where  they 
beganne  to  fitt  and  accommodate  themselves.  Nor  could 
they  heare  of  any  of  the  aforesaid  fifteen,  but  found  of  the 
bones  of  one :  and  the  people  of  Groatan  gave  our  people  to 
understand  how  they  were  slayne,  sett  upon  by  thirty  of  the 
men  of  the  Sequota,  Aquascogoc,  and  Dasamoquepeuk,  con- 
veying themselves  upon  a  tyme  secretly  behind  the  trees 
neere  the  bowses,  where  our  men  carelessly  lived,  and  in 
the  encounter,  knockt  out  the  braynes  of  one  with  a  woodden 
sword,  and  killed  another  with  an  arrowe  shot  into  the 
mouth  of  him,  whilst  the  rest  fled  to  the  water's  side,  where 
their  boat  laye,  and  all  of  them  taking  the  boat^  rowed 
towards  Hatarask,  and  re-landed  on  a  little  island  on  the 
right-hand  of  our  entrance  into  the  harbour  of  Hatarask, 
where  they  remayned  a  while,  but  afterward  departed*  and 
could  never  after  be  heard  of" 

I  have  quoted  this  passage  at  length,  because  a  touching 
local  interest  naturally  attaches  itself  to  the  minutely  re- 
corded details  of  the  fate  of  these  unfortunate  emigrants 
from  North  Devon,  the  ancestors,  it  may  be,  of  many  now 
living  in  the  district. 

The  expedition  under  Governor  White  came  to  a  similar 
disasti-ous  issue.  The  next  year  was  the  memorable  one  of 
1588,  and  a  further  fleet,  for  the  relief  of  the  Virginian  colony, 
which  was  again  fitted  out  in  the  North  of  Devon  by  Sir  Bichard 
Grenville,  was  stayed  by  order  of  the  Privy  Council  in  the 
pressing  national  emergency  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  and 
eventually  sailed  over  Barnstaple  Bar,  not  for  its  original 
destination,  but,  to  do  good  service  against  the  Spanish 
Armada  in  the  great  fray  in  the  English  Channel  This  is 
the  bare  but  sufficiently  striking  incident  which  has  been 
invested  with  all  the  charms  of  romance  by  the  graphic  and 
spirit-stirring  pen  of  the  author  of  "Westward  Ho!"  The 
last  Virginian  colony  of  Sir  Walter  Baleigh  was  left  to  its 
fate. 


ON  A  CORNISH  KJOKKENMODDING. 


BY   C.    SPENCE   BATE,    F.B.8.,    ETC. 


[abstract.] 

The  author  communicated  to  the  society  some  further  re- 
seaTches  that  he  had  made  iu  the  shell  mound  at  Constantine 
Bay,  near  Padstow,  in  Cornwall,  of  which  he  gave  an  account 
to  the  society  when  it  met  at  Torquay. 

During  the  present  summer  he  has  made  more  extensive 
excavations,  and  examined  the  line  of  coast  along  the  bay 
for  a  considerable  distance. 

He  found  that  the  shell  mound  rested  upon  an  old  sea 
terrace,  on  which  in  some  places  the  hardened  sand  of  the 
antient  sea  beach  still  existed,  but  its  character  was  hard  and 
petrous,  and  totally  unlike  that  of  the  sand  found  covering 
and  underlying  the  shell  bed.  On  the  island  in  the  bay  the 
shells  were  found  to  be  very  extensively  spread  out,  at  the 
distance  of  about  a  foot  beneath  the  surface  ;  and  in  a  hollow 
on  the  sea  side  of  the  island,  flints,  both  perfect  and  chipped, 
were  found  in  abundance,  but  amongst  them  not  a  single 
flake  of  the  knife  or  arrow-head  type  could  be  discovered. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay,  nearer  to  Trevose  Head,  on 
the  top  of  the  cliff,  for  a  distance  of  about  forty  or  fifty 
yards,  and  within  eight  or  ten  of  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  where 
the  surface-soil  had  been  removed  for  agricultural  purposes, 
abundance  of  flint  flakes  were  found,  and  amongst  them  were 
many  typically  perfect  knives  and  arrow-heads ;  and  one  of 
the  former  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  artificially 
made  into  a  saw,  so  regular  were  the  notches  on  its  margin ; 
many  of  them  had  been  under  the  action  of  fire. 

But  in  the  kjokkenmodding  itself  the  flints  were  few,  some 

■  three  or  four  specimens  only  having  been  found.     Whilst, 

beside  what  he  has  previously  described,  he  found  pottery  of 

different  patterns,  but  all  very  coarse  in  structure ;  the  core 

of  bullocks'  horns,  that  had  the  markings  of  the  rude  instru- 


284  ON  A  COBNISH  KJOKKENMODDINO. 

ments  used  in  cutting  them  off  from  the  skull  of  the  animal ; 
teeth  of  the  deer,  sheep,  dog,  horse,  and  ox,  and  some  bone 
implements  of  neat  workmanship,  one  being  a  pin  about 
eight  inches  in  length,  another  shorter,  having  more  the 
cmiracter  of  an  awl,  about  four  inches  in  length,  the  tiiioker 
end  of  which  has  its  end  ornately  cut ;  and  a  third  specimen 
consisted  of  a  flat  bone  implement,  somewhat  like  a  rude 
modem  paper  knife,  smoothly  polished  on  one  side,  but  only 
smoothed  off  on  the  other.  This  implement  was  broken, 
probably  in  its  excavation,  and  a  portion  of  the  middle  lost 

The  author  hopes  from  time  to  time  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  making  further  explorations  into  this  interesting  relict  of 
antiquity,  and  of  laying  the  same  before  this  society. 


pLTMorxn : 

PRINTED   BT   WII.LTAX   BREXDON,   9TEAV   FREW, 
OKOROR  STREET. 


EEPOKT  AND  TRANSACTIONS 


DEVONSHIRE  ASSOCIATION 


THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE,  LITERATUEE. 
AND  AKT. 


THONITON,  JULY,  1868.] 


VOL  II.    PART  II. 


LONDON: 

TATLOK  ft  FEA1TCI8,  RED  LION  COTJET,  FLEET  STREET. 

PLYMOUTH :  W.  BKENDON,  GEORGE  8TBEET. 

1868. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

List  of  Officers       ........  y 

List  of  Members    ........  vil 

Bje-Laws              ........  xi 

Beport                    ........  xiv 

Baknee  Sheet        ........  xvi 

The  President's  Address     .......  285 

Obitua&t  Notices.    Charles  Giles  Bridle  Daubeny,  m.d.,  f.b.b.  303 

Sir  J.  Brooks,  K.c.n.            ....  308 

On  the  Salmonidffi  of  Devon.    By  Dr.  Scott         .  .  .  .312 

Pasuge  of  the  Mount  Cenis.     By  George  Neumann,  m.i.c.e.,  etc.            .  327 

On  the  Mineral  Localities  of  Devonshire.    By  Townshend  M.  Hall,  f.q.s.  332 

The  Science  of  History.    By  J.  Erskine  Bisk,  m.a.           .            .            .  347 

The  Evidences  of  Glacial  Action  in  South  Devon.    By  E.  Vivian            .  367 
On  Vagrancy.    By  E.  Vivian,  j.p.             .            .            .            .            .361 

On  Pr^ctive  Meteorology.  By  Wentworth  W.  Buller  .  .  .  364 
On  Hill  Fortresses,  Sling-stones,  and  other  Antiquities  of  South-eastern 

Devon.  By  Peter  Orlando  Hutchinson  ....  372 
On  the  Pseudomorphous  Crystals  of  Chloride  of  Sodium,  and  their  occur- 
rence in  Devonshire.  By  G.  Wareing  Ormerod,  m.a.,  f.g.s.  .  .  383 
The  Antiquity  of  the  use  of  the  Metals,  and  especially  of  Lron,  among 

the  Egyptians.  By  Basil  Henry  Cooper,  b.a.  .  .  .  386 
On  the  Condition  of  some  of  the  Bones  found  in  Kent's  Cavern,  near 

Torquay,  Devonshire.  By  "W.  Pengelly,  F.R.S.,  f.o.s.,  etc.  .  .  407 
The  Submerged  Forest  and  the  Pebble  Bidge  of  Barnstaple  Bay.    By  W. 

Pengelly,  r.R.8.,  f.o.s.,  etc.    .  .  .  .  .  .415 

The  History  of  the  Discovery  of  Fossil  Fish  in  the  Devonian  Bocks  of 

Devon  and  Cornwall.  By  W.  Pengelly,  p.r.s.,  f.o.s.,  etc.  .  .  423 
On  the  Marine  and  Fresh  Water  Sponges  of  Devonshire.    By  Edward 

Parfitt,  M.E.S.  .  .  .  .  .443 

On  the  Game  of  Chess.  By  James  Jerwood,  m.a.,  f.o.s.,  f.cp.s.,  etc.  .  462 
The  Literature  of   Kent's  Cavern,   Torquay,  prior  to   1869.    By  "W. 

Pengelly,  f.r.8.,  f.o.s.,  etc.    ......  469 

The  PhUosophy  of  Verbal  Monopoly.  By  Dr.  A.  V.  W.  Bikkers  .  623 
J£onl  and  Pecuniary  Bcsults  of  Prison  Labour.    By  Sir  John  Bowring, 

LL.D.,  ETC.                      .......  531 

What  is  Capital  ?    By  W.  B.  Hodgson,  ll.d.        .  .  .  .560 

The  Bain&ll  in  Devonshire  during  1866  and  1867.    By  W.  Pengelly, 

F.B.S.,  F.Q.S.,  ETC.           .......  560 

On  the  Application  of  the  Calculus  of  Probabilities  to  Legal  and  Judicial 

Subjects.    By  James  Jerwood,  m.a.,  f.o.s.,  f.cp.s.,  etc.       .            .  578 

Sanitary  Notes. — Sewer  Ventilation.    By  Edward  Appleton,  f.i.b.a.        .  599 

Notes  on  the  Blight  of  Com,  with  Suggestions  for  their  Extermination. 

By  the  Bev.  R.  Kirwan,  m.a.,  Rector  of  Gittisham    .  .  .610 

Memoir  of  the  Examination  of  Three  Barrows  at  Broad  Down,  Farway, 

near  Honiton.    By  the  Bev.  B.  Kirwan,  m.a.,  Bector  of  Gittisham  .  619 


A  2 


OFFICERS. 

1868-69. 


{Irrubcnt. 
J.  D.  COLERIDOE,  Esq.,  m.a.,  m.p.,  Q.a 

9icc-!|)rcftbenis. 

W.  R.  BAYLEY,  Esa. 

A.  B.  COCHRANE,  Esq.,  m.p.  THE  RIGHT  HON.  SIR  J.  T.  COLERIDGE. 

J.  GOLDSMID,  Esq.,  m.p.     C.  GORDON,  Esq. 

D.  GOULD,  Esq.,  THE  WORSHIPFUL  THE  MAYOR  OP 

HONITON. 

SIR  J.  KENNAWAY,  Bart.    G.  NEUMANN,  Esq. 

W.  PENGELLY,  Esq.,  p.b.8.     Rb>'.  PREBENDARY  MACKARNESS,  m.a. 

W.  PORTER,  Esq. 

JQon.  Crtainrrr. 
E.  VIVIAN,  Esq.,  Ibr^May. 

Dion.  6eiitral  J^tcidars. 
Rev.  W.  HARPLEY,  m.a.,  p.c.p.8.,  ClayKangery  TiverUm, 

Don.  IfataX  Srtainrtr. 
E.  WETHEY,  Esq. 

Hon.  3ro(aI  iSecretBiiff. 
Rev.  R.  KIRWAN,  m.a.  Rev.  H.  K.  VENN,  mji. 

^nbUors  of  Jcconntf. 
R  APPLETON,  Esq.,  p.i.b.a.  G.  K  HEARDER,  Esq. 


APPLETON,  E.  A. 
A8U.  F. 
BARHAM.  T.  F. 
BATE,  C.  8PENCE 
BAYLEY,  W.  R. 
BERRY,  R. 
BIDDER,  O.  P. 
BIKKER8,  A.  V.  W. 
BOWRINO.  SIR  J. 
BUTLER.  W.  W. 
CANN.  W. 

OHAMPERNOWNE,  A. 
CHANTER,  J.  R. 
COLERIDGE,  SIR  J.  T. 
COLERIDGE,  J.  D. 
COOPER,  B. 
COTTON,  R.  W. 
COTTON.  W. 
DAW,  C.  H. 
ELLIS,  H.  8. 
FOWLER,  H. 


H.  A. 


Conncil. 
FOX,  8.  B. 
FROUDE,  W. 
GAMLEN,  W. 
OILL.  H.  S. 
OOLDSMID.  J. 
GORDON,  C. 
GOULD,  D. 
HALL,  T.  M. 
HAMILTON.  A. 
HARPLEY,  W. 
HEARDER.  J.  N. 
HINE,  J.  E. 
HODGSON.  W.  B. 
HUTCHINSON.  P.  O. 
JERWOOD.  J. 
JOHNSTON,  C. 
KENNAWAY,  SIR  J. 
KINGDON,  A.  S. 
KIRWAN,  R. 
MACKKNZIK,  F. 
NEUMANN,  G. 


ORMEROD,  O.  W. 
PARFITT,  E. 
PARRY,  J.  A. 
PENGELLY,  W. 
PORTER,  W. 
PYCROFT,  G. 
RISK,  J.  E. 
ROWE,  J.  B. 
RUSSELL,  RIGHT  HON. 

EARL 
SCOTT,  W.  B. 
8C01T,  W.  R. 
8EALE,  SIR  H.  B. 
STEWART,  C. 
THO.MPSON,  J. 
TRACK Y,  J. 
VICARY,  W. 
VIVIAN,  E. 
VENN,  H.  K. 
WETHEY,  E. 


LIST    OF    MEMBERS. 


Appleton,  Edward,  f.lb.a.,  GoUwold  Torquay, 
Ash,  F.,  Dartmouth. 
Ashley,  E.,  Uoniton, 
Ashley,  J.,  Uoniton, 
Avery,  James,  Uoniton, 

jBabbage,  Charles,  m.a.,  p.r.8.,  <kc.,  1,  Dorset  Square^  Manchester 

Square^  London, 
Barham,  T.  F.,  m.d.,  Uighweek,  Newton  Abbot, 
Barnes,  Rev.  Prebendary,  H.A.,  The  Vicarage,  St,  Mary  Churchy 

Torquay, 
Bastard,  S.  S.,  Summerland  Place,  Exeter, 
Bate,  C.  Spence,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.,  d^c,  8,  Mulgrave  Place,  Plymouth, 
Bayly*  John,  Brunswick  Terrace,  Plymouth, 
Bayly,  Richard,  Plymouth. 

Bayley,  W.  K.,  Cot  ford  Uouse,  Sidbury,  Sidmouth, 
Berry  Richard,  Clhagford, 
Bidder,  GeorJ;e  P.,  g.e.,  Ravensbury,  Dartmouth, 
Bikkers,  A.  V.  W.,  ph.d.,  Plymouth, 
Blackmore,  Humphrey,  Garston,  Torquay, 
Booth,  W.,  Liswoniy,  Torquay, 
Bom,  Thomas,  Brook  Street,  Tavistock, 
Bowring,  Sir  John,  ll.d.,  f.r.8.,  dec.,  Claremont  House,  Exeter, 
Brent,  R.  m.d.,  Woodbury, 
Buller,  W.  W.,  Strete  Raleigh,  Whimple,  Exeter, 

Gann,  William,  West  of  England  Insurance  Office,  Exeter, 

♦Carpenter-Gamier,  J.,  Mount  Tavy,  Tavistock, 

Cawdle,  W.,  Union  Street,  Torquay, 

Champemowne,  A.,  DartingUm  Uouse,  Totnes, 

Chanter,  J.  R,  FoH  UiU,  Barnstaple, 

Clark,  Henry,  Edgcumbe,  Milton  Abbot,  Tavistock, 

Cochrane,  A.  B.  m.p.,  26,  Wilton  Crescent,  London, 

Coleridge,  Sir  J.  T.,  Ueath*s  CouH,  Ottery  St,  Mary, 

Coleridge,  J.  D.,  m.^.^  m.p.,  Q.a,  6,  Southwick  Crescent,  London,  W, 

t  Honorary  Member. 


vm 

Colley,  J.,  Portland  Square,  Plymouth, 

Collier,  W.  F.,  Wood  Town,  Horrabridge, 

Cooper,  B.  H.,  b.a.,  Clydesdale  Villa y  Paignton  Road,  Torqwiy, 

Copplestone,  Rev.  J.  G.,  m.a.,  Off  well  Rectory,  Honiton, 

Coirie,  A.  J.,  Glenallon,  Torquay, 

Cotton,  R.  W.,  Barnstaple, 

Cotton,  W.,  Pennsylvania,  Exeter, 

Creed,  J.,  Whiddon,  Newton  Abbot, 

Cresswell,  C.  H.,  Heavitree,  Exeter, 

Daw,  C.  H.,  Parkwood,  Tavistock,  [Tracey. 

Divett,  John,  President  of  the  Teign  Naturalists^  Field  Clvd),  Biyoey 

Doe,  G.,  Torrington, 

Donne,  B.  J.  M.,  Boxmore,  Torquay, 

Drewe,  E.  S.,  The  Grange,  Honiton. 

Dunstone,  J.  J.,  b.a.,  Barnstaple, 

Dunint,  R.,  Slharpham,  Totnes, 

Eberlein,  Herr,  5,  Elm  Grove,  St.  Leonardos,  Exeter, 
Elliott,  W.  H.,  M.D.,  Bouverie  ILnise,  St.  Leonardos  Exeter. 
Ellis,  H.  S.,  F.R.A.S.,  1,  Fair  Park,  Exeter, 
Evanson,  R.  T.,  m.d.,  Homehurst,  Torquay, 
Every,  W.,  Uoiiiton, 

Farleigh,  R.,  Barnstaple, 

Finch,  T.,  f.r.a.s.,  m.r.c.s.,  Westvdle,  St,  Mary  Church,  Toi-qiAay. 

Fortescuo,  Right  Hon.  Earl,  Castle  Hill,  Southmolton. 

Fowler,  H.,  Torrington. 

Fox,  S.  B.,  Southern  hay,  Exeter. 

Fronde,  W.,  Chehton  Cross,  Torquay. 

Gamlen,  W.  H.,  Bramford  Sj^eke,  Exeter. 

Gill,  H.  S.,  Tiverton. 

Gill,  J.  H.,  The  Bank,  Tavistock. 

Gill,  Rev.  W.,  Venn,  Lamerton,  Tavistock. 

Goldsmid,  J.,  m.a.,  m.p.,  40,  Grosvenor  Street,  London,  W, 

Gordon,  C,  Wiscombe  Park,  Honiton, 

Gould,  D.,  Honiton. 

Grainger,  Rev.  G.  Watts,  m.a.  Luppit  Vicarage,  Honiton. 

Griffith,  Rev.  D.,  24,  Taxham  Villas,  Chelteiihanu 

Guppy,  T.  W.  M.  W.,  Barnstaple. 

Gwatkin,  Rev.  R.,  b.d.,  f.g.s.,  Burntwood  Lodge,  Torqu<iy. 

Hall,  Townshend  M.,  f.o.s.,  Piltoa,  Barnstaple. 

Hamilton,   A.    H.    A.,    President  of  the  Exeter  Naturalists'   Club, 

Millbrook<\,  Exfttr. 
Harland,  C.  J.,  f.a.s.l.,  Newhobn,  Torquay. 
Harper,  J.,  Barnstaple. 


IX 

Harpley,  Rev.  W.,  m.a.,  p.c.p.s.,  Clayhanger  Rectory^  Tiverton, 

Haycock,  W.  Hine,  Sidmrmth, 

Hearder,  G.  E.,  Torwood  Street^  Torquay. 

Hearder,  J.  N.,  Union  Street^  Plymouth, 

Hearder,  W.,  Rocombe,  Torquay, 

Heberden,  Rev.  W.,  m.a.,  Broadhembwy  Vicarayc,  Honitoit, 

Hedgelaudy  Rev.  J.  W.,  m.a.,  St,  Leonarcrs,  Exeter, 

Hine,  J.  E.,  f.i.b.a.,  7,  Mulgrave.  Flace,  Plymouth, 

Hodgson,  W.  B.,  ll.d.,  41,  Grove  End  Road,  London^  N,W, 

Hore,  Rev.  W.  S.,  m.a.,  Barnstaple, 

Home,  T.  B.,  m.r.c.s.,  Adwell,  Torquay, 

Hughes,  Rev.  J.  B.,  Grammar  School,  Tiverton, 

Hunt,  A.  R,  M.A.,  Quintilla,  Torqtuty. 

Hutchinson,  P.  0.,  Sidmouth. 

Jerrard,  J.  C,  lloniton, 

Jerwood,  J.,  m.a.,  f.o.s.,  f.c.p.s.,  1,  Bedford  Circus,  Exeter, 

Johnston,  C.,  m.r.c.s..  The  Square,  Barnstaple, 

Jones,  Winslow,  St,  Loyes,  Heavitree,  Exeter, 

Kelly,  A.,  Kelly,  Milton  Abbot,  Tvvistock, 
Kendall,  W.,  j.p.,  Summerland  Place,  Exeter, 
Keunaway,  Sir  John  Bart.,  Escot,  Honiton, 
Kensington,  R  P.,  The  Elms,  Dartmouth, 
Kiugdon,  A.  S.,  m.d.,  Combmartin,  Ilfracombe. 
Kirwan,  Rev.  R.,  Gittisham  Rectory,  Honiton, 
Kitson,  W.  H.,  2,  Vaughan  Parade,  Torquay, 

Ley,  J.  Peard,  Bideford, 

Lingwood,  R  M.,  m.a.,  f.l.s.,  f.o.s.,  Cowley  House,  Exeter, 

Loring,  Rev.  A.,  m.a.,  Honiton, 

♦Lyte,  F.  Maxwell,  Eastholme,  Torquay, 

Mackamess,  Rev.  Prebendary,  m.a..  Rectory,  Honiton. 

Mackenzie,  F.,  m.r.c.8.,  Tiverton, 

Mathews,  J.,  Rock  View,  Tavistock, 

Merrifield,  S.,  PlymmUJi, 

Miles,  W.,  Dioi^s  Field,  Exeter, 

Moore,  W.  F.,  The  Friaty,  Plymouth. 

Morris,  T.,  AhboUfield,  Tavistock. 

Nankivell,  C.  R,  m.d.,  Layton  House,  Torquay, 
Neumann,  G.  C,  Tracey  House,  Honiton, 
Newberry,  Colin,  Manor  House,  Ottery  St,  Mary. 
Newberry,  Joseph  C,  West  Hill,  Ottery  St.  Mary. 
Nichols,  J.,  Marwoid  House,  Honiton. 

Ormerod,  G.  W.,  m.a.,  f.g.&,  Chagford, 

A  3 


Palk,  Sir  Lawrence,  Bart.,  m.p.,  Haldon  House,  Torqmy. 

Parfitt,  Edward,  m.e.8.,  Devon  and  Exeter  Institution,  Exeter. 

Parry,  J.  A.,  Bideford. 

Pearse,  W.  C.,  Emhleigh  Terrace,  Tavistock. 

Pongelly,  W.,  f.r.s.,  f.o.s.,  <fec.,  Lamorna,  Torquay, 

Phillips,  J.,  Devon  Square,  Newton  Abbot, 

Pick,  J.,  Peyton^  Braunton,  Barnstaple, 

Pigot,  Rev.  J.  T.,  M.A.,  Fremington,  Barnstaple. 

Pollard,  W.,  m.r.c.s.,  Southland  House,  Torquay. 

Porter,  W.,  Hemhury  Fort,  Honiton. 

Prideaux,  Sir  Edmund  S.,  Bart,  Netherton  Hall,  Honiton, 

Prout,  Rev.  E.,  Fairfield,  Torquay. 

Prowse,  A.  P.,  Mannamead,  Plymouth. 

Pycroft,  A-,  M.R.C.8.,  F.G.a,  Kenton,  Exeter, 

Quick,  G.  P.,  Crewkerne. 

Radford,  W.  T.,  m.b.,  f.r.a.8.,  Sidmount,  Sidmouth, 

Ridgway,  S.  R,  ll.d.,  m.a.,  Marlborough  House,  Exeter, 

Risk,  Rev.  J.  E.,  m.a.,  St.  Andrew's  Chapelry,  Plymouth, 

Rock,  W.  F.,  Hyde  Cliff,  Wellington  Grove,  Blackheaih. 

Rooker,  A.,  Mount  View,  Plymouth, 

Row,  W.  N.,  Cove,  TiveHon. 

Rowe,  J.  Brooking,  F.r^s.,  Lockyer  Street,  Plymouth. 

Russell,  Right  Hon.  Earl 

Russell,  Arthur,  m.p.,  2,  Audley  Square,  London, 

Sarauda,  J.  D.  A.,  m.p. 

Scott,  W.  B.,  Chudleigh. 

Scott,  W.  R.,  PH.D.,  St.  LeonanTs,  Exder, 

Scale,  Sir  H.  B.,  Bart.,  Mount  Boon,  Dartmouth. 

Sliapter,  T.,  m.d.,  Baimfield,  Exeter. 

*Sheppard,  A.  B.,  Torquay. 

Shutc,  R.,  Baring  Crescent,  Exeter. 

Sidmouth,  Right  Hon.  Viscount,  U pottery  Manor,  Honiton. 

Simpson,  W.,  Dartmouth. 

Spragge,  F.  H.,  Torreviont,  Torquay. 

Spragge,  W.  K.,  The  Quany,  Paignton. 

Stebbing,  Rev.  T.  R.  R.,  m.a.,  Tor  CreM  Hall,  Torquay. 

Stewart,  C,  m.r.c.s.,  f.l.s,  Princess  Square,  Plymouth. 

Teesdale,  C.  L.,  Swiss  Cottage,  Exeter. 

*Tetley,  J.  Belmont,  m.d.,  Torre,  Torquay. 

Thom])son,  J.,  m.d.,  Bideford.  [hampstead, 

Thornton,    Rev.    W.    H.,    b.a.,    lYorth    Bovey    Rectoiy,   Moretonr 

Tinney,  W.  H.,  Snowdenham,  Torquay. 

Tracey,  Rev.  J.,  m.a..  Vicarage,  Dartmouth. 

Troyte,  C.  A.  W.,  Huntsham  Cou)i,  Tivtrton. 


XI 

Turn  bull,  A.,  Parhwoody  Torquay/. 

Turner,  T.,  Mansion  Terrace^  Ileavitree. 

Venn,  Rev.  H.  K.,  m.a.,  Uoniton. 

Venn,  Rev.  J.  C,  m.a.,  Uoniton, 

Vicary,  W.,  f.o.s..  The  Pnort/y  Colleton  Crescent,  Exeter, 

Vivian,  E.,  b.a.,  *kc.,  Woodjield,  Torquay, 

Vivian,  R  H.  D.,  Woodfidd,  Torquay, 

Vosper,  J.,  Tavistock. 

Weeks,  C,  Union  Street,  Torquay, 

Were,  T.  K.,  Cotlands,  Sidmoulh. 

Wethey,  K,  Honiton, 

♦Weymouth,  R  F.,  m.a.,  Portland  Villas,  Plymouth, 

White,  Richard,  Instow,  Barnstaple, 

White,  T.  J.,  Croft  Road,  Torquay, 

Widger,  W.,  Union  Street,  Torquay, 

Willesford,  Rev.  T.  T.  Bedford,  m.a.  Awlescombe  Vicarage,  Honiton, 

Windeatt,  John,  9,  Brunswick  Terrace,  Plymouth. 

Windeatt,  Thomas,  Tavistock, 

Woodcock,  Rev.  T.,  m.a.,  Northleigh  Rectory,  Honiton. 

*  Those  mombers  to  whose  names  an  asterisk  is  prefixed  are  Life  Members. 


Th«  jbllowing  TabU  ihowi  the  progreu  and  preient  state  of  the  Aieoeiation 
with  reepect  to  the  niimber  of  Xembert. 


Hononuy. 

Life. 

Total. 

July  26th,  1867     

•• 

4 
1 

140 

48 

2 

14 

146 

49 

2 

14 

Rinc6  eloctod 

Since  deceased 

AinoA  withdrawn 

Since  erased 

July  30th,  1868 , 

1 

6 

172 

178 

The  fbllowing  Table  ihowi  the  niimber  of  eopiei  of  each  Part  of  the 
*  Traniactioni*  now  in  ftock,  and  the  price  per  copy  of  each  Part. 


No.  of  Copies. 

Price  per  Copy. 

s.       d. 

Vol  I. 

Part      I.     . 

60 

1       6 

ti 

„       II.     . 

147 

2       0 

tt 

„     III.     . 

172 

3       0 

ti 

„      IV.     . 

167 

2       6 

tt 

„        V.     . 

136 

8       0 

Vol.  n. 

I.     . 

131 

6       0 

IN 


BYE-LAWS. 


1.  The  Association  shall  be  styled  the  Devonshire  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art. 

2.  The  objects  of  the  Association  are — To  give  a  stronger 
impulse  and  a  more  systematic  direction  to  scientific  enquiry 
in  Devonshire ;  and  to  promote  the  intercourse  of  those  who 
cultivate  Science,  Literature,  or  Art,  in  different  parts  of  the 
county. 

3.  The  Association  shall  consist  of  Members,  Honorary  Mem- 
bers, and  Corresponding  Members. 

4.  Every  candidate  for  membership,  on  being  nominated  by  a 
Member  to  whom  he  is  personally  known,  shall  be  admitted  by 
the  General  Secretary,  subject  to  the  confirmation  of  the  Genersd 
Meeting  of  the  Members. 

5.  Persons  of  eminence  in  Literature,  Science,  or  Art,  connected 
with  the  West  of  England,  but  not  resident  in  Devonshire,  may, 
at  a  General  Meeting  of  the  Members,  be  elected  Honorary  Mem- 
bers of  the  Association ;  and  persons  not  resident  in  the  county, 
who  feel  an  interest  in  the  Association,  may  be  elected  Corres- 
ponding Members. 

6.  Every  Member  shall  pay  an  Annual  Contribution  of  ten 
shillings,  or  a  Life  Composition  of  five  pounds. 

7.  Associates  for  the  Annual  Meeting  only  shall  pay  the  sum  of 
five  shillings ;  and  Ladies  the  sum  of  two  shillings  and  sixpence. 

8.  Every  Member  shall  be  entitled  gratuitously  to  a  lady's 
ticket. 

9.  The  Association  shall  meet  annually,  at  such  a  time  and 
place  as  shall  be  decided  on  at  the  previous  Annual  Meeting. 

10.  A  President,  two  or  more  Vice-Presidents,  a  General  Trea- 
surer, one  or  more  General  Secretaries,  and  a  Council  shall  be 
elected  at  each  Annual  Meeting. 

11.  The  President  shall  not  be  eligible  for  re-election. 

12.  Each  Annual  Meeting  shall  appoint  a  local  Treasurer  and 
Secretary,  who,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number  any  Members 
of  the  Association,  shall  be  a  local  Committee,  to  assist  in  making 
such  local  arrangements  as  may  be  desirable. 

13.  In  the  intervals  of  the  Annual  Meetings,  the  affairs  of  the 


XIV 

Association  shall  be  managed  by  the  Council;  the  General  and 
Local  Officers,  and  Officers  elect,  being  ex  officio  Members. 

14.  The  General  Treasurer  and  Secretaries,  and  the  Council^ 
shall  enter  on  their  respective  offices  at  the  Meeting  at  which  they 
are  elected;  but  the  President,  Vice-Presidents,  and  Local  Officers, 
not  until  the  Annual  Meeting  next  following. 

15.  All  Members  of  the  Council  must  be  Members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

16.  The  Council  shall  have  power  to  fill  any  Official  vacancy 
which  may  occur  in  the  intervals  of  the  Annual  Meetings. 

17.  The  Annual  Contributions  shall  bo  payable  in  advance,  and 
shall  be  due  in  each  year  on  the  day  of  the  Annual  Meeting. 

18.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  all  sums  of  money  due  to  the 
Association  ;  he  shall  pay  all  accounts  due  by  the  Association  after 
they  shall  have  been  examined  and  approved  ;  and  he  shall  report 
to  each  Meeting  of  the  Council  the  balance  he  has  in  hand,  and 
the  names  of  such  Members  as  shall  be  in  arrear,  with  the  sums 
due  respectively  by  each. 

19.  Whenever  a  Member  shall  have  been  three  months  in  arrear 
in  the  payment  of  his  Annual  Contributions,  the  Treasurer  shall 
apply  to  him  for  the  same. 

20.  Whenever,  at  an  Annual  Meeting,  a  Member  shall  be  two 
years  in  arrear  in  the  payment  of  his  Annual  Contributions,  the 
Council  may,  at  its  discretion,  erase  his  name  from  the  list  of 
Members. 

21.  The  General  Secretaries  shall,  at  least  one  month  before 
each  Annual  Meeting,  inform  each  Member,  by  circular,  of  the 
place  and  date  of  the  Meeting. 

22.  Members  wlio  do  not,  on  or  before  the  day  of  the  Annual 
Meeting,  give  notice,  in  writing  or  personally,  to  one  of  the 
General  Secretaries,  of  their  intention  to  withdraw  from  the  Asso- 
ciation, shall  be  re«:ardcd  as  Members  for  the  ensuing  year. 

23.  The  Association  shall,  within  three  months  after  each 
Annual  Meeting,  publish  its  Transactions,  including  the  Laws,  a 
Financial  Statement,  a  List  of  the  Members,  the  lleport  of  the 
Council,  the  President's  Address,  and  such  papers,  in  abstract  or 
iVi  extenso,  read  at  the  Annual  Meeting,  as  shall  be  decided  by  the 
Council. 

24.  Every  Member  shall  receive  gratuitously  a  copy  of  the 
Tnmsactions. 

25.  The  Accounts  of  the  Association  shall  be  audited  annually, 
by  Auditoi*s  appointed  at  each  Annual  Meeting,  but  wlio  shall  not 
be  ex  ojjicio  Members  of  the  Council. 


TOE  REPORT  OF  THE  COUNCIL, 

Aa  presented  at  the  General  Meetvtg,  at  Honiton,  July  SSth,  1868, 


The  Sixth  Annual  Meeting  held  at  Barnstaple,  in  July  last, 
was  the  most  successful  hitherto  held,  both  as  regards  the 
number  of  papers  read  and  discussed,  and  the  attendance  of 
Members  and  Associates  during  the  meeting. 

The  Meeting  commenced  on  Tuesday,  July  23rd.  The 
Council  and  members  of  the  Association  were  met  on  their 
arrival  at  the  Kailway  Station  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporate 
body,  accompanied  by  the  Council  of  the  Barnstaple  Literaiy 
and  Scientific  Institution,  and  escorted  by  them  to  the  spa- 
cious building  belonging  to  the  latter,  in  whose  commodious 
rooms  the  business  of  the  Association  was  conducted  through- 
out the  meeting.  A  Council  Meeting  having  been  immediately 
held,  at  its  close  a  most  hearty  welcome  was  accorded  to  the 
whole  of  the  members  in  the  Guildhall  by  the  Mayor,  R 
Farleigh,  Esq.,  who  had  caused  an  elaborate  luncheon  to  be 
provided. 

In  the  evening  the  President,  W.  Pengelly,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  &c., 
delivered  his  Introductory  Address. 

On  Wednesday  the  24th,  the  Association  met  at  11  o'clock 
a.m.,  and  commenced  the  reading  and  discussion  of  the 
following  programme  of  papers : — 

On  Devonian  Folk-lore       Sir  J.  Bowring^  ll.d.,  f.b.8. 

On  Boinc  Popular  Local  Superstitions      . .     . .     J,  R.  Chanter,  Esq, 
On  the  part  taken  by  North  Devon  in  the ) 

Earliest  English  Enterprises  for  the  pur-  >  R,  W,  Cottofi^  Esq, 

pose  of  Colonizing  America       ) 

On  the  Priory  of  St.  Mary's,  Pilton        . .     . .     Townshend  If.  Hall,  Esq, 


xvi 

On  an  Ancient  Chapel  at  Barnstaple  . .     C.  Johnson,  Esf. 

On  the  Remains  of  Ancient  Fortifications  ia\  j^   j    p-,.^,,    j.\n 

the  neighbourhood  of  Bideford         . .     . .  ^  *  ^-  -^'"^'^^'  ^^' 
On  the  Ancient  History  and  Aborigines  of  J 

North  Devon,  and  the  site  of  the  lost  Cim-  5  /.  R.  Chanter,  Esq. 

brie  Town,  Arta^da      ) 

The  Temperature  of  the  Ancient  World         , .     C.  Daubeny,  m.d.,  F.K.g. 

^^E^'land^  ""^  ^^^"^  ^  *^°  ^''^^.  ^"^^  ""^l  ^'^^"ffellt/,Esq,,T,u.s.,etc 
On  the  Opening  of  an  Ancient  British  Barrow,  )  ^  Fowler  Eso 

at  Huntshaw         /     '  *      ^* 

On  the  Results  of  the  Opening  of  a  Barrow  at )  ^      j   j  j^ 

Putford j        ...       y. 

On  the  Evidence  of  pre-Historic  Man,  found  i  ^  Svence  Bate  Eso 

in  Constantine  Bay,  Cornwall ]    '  * 

Notes  on  the  Carboniferous  Beds  adjoining  the  j  ^    ^  Ormerod  m  a.    f.o  8 

northern  edge  of  the  Granite  of  Dartmoor  ]     '  ,..,... 

The  Raised  Beaches  in  Barnstaple  Bay   . .      . .      JF.FmffeilyyEsq.,r.K.8.,vtc» 
So^o^^^^arks  on  Combmartin  Silver  Lead  |  ^y.^^^  ^  Kingdon,  m.d. 

On  Prison  Discipline E.  Vivian,  Esq, 

'^^^  Kvons'h^^^         Cornwall  ^'^^''^'^''  }  Jr.Pe^igelly,Esq„Y.VL,f,,,VK, 

On  the  Annelids  of  Devon,  with  a  Resume  of  \ 

the  Natural  History  of  the  County,  past  >  E.  Tar/tt,  Esq.,  m.e.8. 

and  present ) 

On  the  Parasitism  of  Orbanche  Major     . .      . .     E.  Parjitt,  Esq.,  m.b.8. 
Notes  on  the  Meteoric  Shower  of  November,  1 866     JF.  Fcwjelly,  Esq.,  f.h.8.,  btc. 
On  Murchisonite  Pebbles  and  Boulders  in  the  \  jp.  V'earv  Eso 

IVias       j       *     '      ^*      ^ 

On  the  Floatation  of  Clouds  and  the  Fall  of  Rain     IFPtngtlbj,  Esq.^  F.n.s.,  etc. 
On   St.   John's  Cliurch,   Torquay,   struck  by  j  ^   y.^.       ^ 

Lightning      j  '       ^  ' 

On  the  Ix)np:itude  of  Places  and  the  application  \  J.  Jericood,  Esq.,  m.a.,  f.o.s., 

of  the  Electric  Telegraph  to  determine  it    j  f.c.p.s. 

On  the  Deposits  occupying  the  Valley  between  )  777-   r>       77      r 

the  Braddon  and  <Vuldon  Hills,  Torquay    J  ^-  ^^'S'^'J'  ^'l'  ^•»'-«- 
On  some  Mammalian  Bones  and  Teeth  recently  )  jt   c   pn- 

found  in  the  Submerged  Forest  ut  Noilham  j      '     *        '** 


,  F.R.A.8. 


During  the  day  refresliment  was  sumptuously  provided  in 
au  adjoining  room  by  W.  F.  llock,  Esq.,  President  of  the 
Institution,  and  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Association. 

In  the  evening  the  Association  Dinner,  which  also  was 
more  numerously  attended  than  on  any  previous  occasion, 
took  place  at  the  Golden  Lion  Hotel,  after  which  a  very  large 
number  of  members  partook  of  the  hospitality  of  J.  11. 
Chanter,  Esq.  and  Mrs.  Chanter,  at  their  residence  at  Fort 
Hill,  where  a  fine  collection  of  w^orks  of  art, — Geological 


xvu 

specimens,  minerals,  coins,  and  other  objects  of  interest  had 
been  brought  together  by  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  the 
host  and  hostess. 

On  Thursday  the  25th,  the  reading  of  the  residue  of  the 
papers  from  the  preceding  day  was  resumed,  and  continued 
until  4  o'clock  p.m.,  after  which  a  Council  Meeting  terminated 
the  proceedings. 

During  the  meeting  several  excursions  were  made  by  small 
parties  to  surrounding  places  of  interest,  which  abound  in 
the  vicinity  of  Barnstaple. 

It  was  decided  that  the  next  meeting  should  be  held  at 
Honiton,  and  the  following  were  appointed  officers  for  that 
occasion : — President,  J.  D.  Coleridge,  Esq.,  m.a.,  m.p.,  Q.C  ; 
Vice-Presidents,  D.  Gould,  Esq.  (the  Worshipful  the  Mayor 
of  Honiton),  W.  lu  Bayley,  Esq.,  A.  B.  Cochrane,  Esq.,  M.P., 
Right  Honorable  Sir  J.  T.  Coleridge,  J.  Goldsmid,  Esq.,  M.P., 
C.  Gordon,  Esq.,  Sir  J.  Kennaway,  Bart.,  G.  Neumann,  Esq., 
W.  Pengelly,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  Eev.  Prebendary  Mackarness,  M.A., 
W.  Porter,  Esq.,  Sir  E.  Prideaux,  Bart. ;  Hon.  Treasurer,  E. 
Vivian,  Esq.,  Torquay;  Hon.  Local  Treasurer,  E.  Wethey, 
Esq. ;  Hon.  Secretaries,  Eev.  W.  Harpley,  M.A.,  f.c.p.s.,  Clay- 
hanger,  Tiverton,  H.  S.  Ellis,  Esq.,  F.R.iV.s.,  Exeter;  Hon. 
Local  Secretaries,  Rev.  R.  Kirwan,  m.a.,  llev.  H.  Venn,  m.a. 

The  Council  have  published  the  Pi*esident's  Address,  to- 
gether with  the  papers  read  before  the  Association,  also  a 
financial  statement,  a  list  of  members,  and  the  bye  laws. 

Copies  of  the  Transactioii$  have  been  forwarded  to  each 
member  and  to  the  following  societies  : — 

The  Eoyal  Society;  the  Linna^an  Society;  the  Geological 
Society;  the  Ethnological  Society;  the  Eoyal  Institution, 
Albennarle  Street;  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  British 
Association ;  the  Exeter  Institution ;  the  Plymouth  Institu- 
tion ;  the  Torquay  Natural  History  Society ;  the  Eoyal  Geo- 
logical Society  of  Cornwall ;  the  Eoyal  Institution,  Truro. 

The  Council  have  the  pleasure  to  add  that  the  Association 
continues  to  receive  an  accession  of  new  members ;  that 
pleasure,  however,  has  been  greatly  diminished  by  the  loss  of 
two  valued  members  whom  the  hand  of  death  has  removed 


XVlll 

during  the  past  year.  First,  Dr.  C.  Daubeny,  F.R.a,  a  former 
President  of  this  Association,  who  always  evinced  the  most 
lively  interest  in  its  prosperity,  and  whose  name  will  ever 
be  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  science;  and  secondly, 
his  Highness  Bajah  Brooke,  who,  when  the  Association 
visited  Tavistock  in  1866,  iSlled  the  oflBce  of  Vice-President. 
Obituary  notices  of  both  these  late  members  will,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  decision  of  the  last  General  Meeting,  be 
printed  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Association. 


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THE   PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Devonshire  Association,— 
It  does  not  become  me  to  inquire  by  what  concurrence  of 
circumstances  and  opinions  an  undistinguished  lawyer  has 
been  called  upon  to  fill  this  chair,  and  to  deliver  this  address 
to-night.  To  myself  it  is  due  to  say,  that  this  honour  is 
unsought  and  unexpected ;  to  you  it  is  no  less  due  that  no 
time  should  be  wasted  in  justifying  before  you  a  choice  which 
is  your  own. 

This  is  an  Association  to  bring  us  Devonshire  men  together 
for  the  advancement  of  Science,  of  literature,  and  of  Art; 
and  I  suppose  it  seemed  true  to  those  who  founded  it,  that 
between  these  things  there  is  no  antagonism,  but  a  real, 
if  an  occult,  agreement  I  think  so  myself  If  I  did  not  I 
should  at  once  have  declined  to  undertake  a  duty,  much 
of  which  from  sheer  ignorance  I  should  be  entirely  unable 
to  fulfil  For  of  Science,  as  that  word  is  commonly  used, 
I  know  nothing;  Art,  though  I  delight  in  and  admire  it, 
I  do  not  pretend  to  understand;  while  of  Literature,  old 
and  new,  I  have  honestly  tried  to  know  as  much,  and  to 
profit  by  the  knowledge,  as  has  been  allowed  by  the  demands 
of  a  profession  at  all  times  exacting,  and  at  present  over- 
whelming. It  may  be  then  that  a  dutiful  student  of  letters, 
and  a  humble  admirer  of  art,  may  not  unprofitably  take  up 
some  moments  of  the  attention  even  of  scientific  men  and 
of  artists,  as  well  as  men  of  general  education,  if  there  be 
anything  which  these  pursuits  aim  at  in  common,  if  there  be 
any  principles  which  guide  them  and  characteristics  which 
belong  to  them  equally  and  alike. 

Are  there  then  any  such  common  aims,  common  principles, 
common  characteristics,  which  may  be  stated  usefully  and 
tndy,  not  as  sciolistic  generalizations,  which  are  shallow  and 
tBBidiless,  still  less  as  mere  rhetorical  phrases,  ^hich  are  not 

VOL.  n.  u 


286  MB.  COLKRIDGK'S  raSSlDENTIAL  ADDBB88. 

worth  ike  time  and  breath  we  spend  in  uttering  thran  ?  I  think 
there  are;  and  I  think  it  may  not  be  wholly  uaeless  to  state 
and  to  explain  them.  Science  and  art  and  letfcen  then  alike 
aim  at  truth, and  themoment  they  forget  their  objed^ or  n^ 
lect  to  pursue  it,  they  cease  to  be  admirable,  and  miss  their 
end.  Science  and  art  and  letters  are  or  ought  to  be  alike 
engaged  in  advancing  God's  glory  and  man's  ffioA ;  and  when 
they  cease  to  be  so  engaged,  ikey  cease  to  be  worthy  of 
the  attention  of  men  in  earnest  Science  and  art  and  Irtters 
alike,  although  perhaps  not  equally,  are  instrotnents  of 
education,  are  essential  to  the  highest  culture,  and  no  one 
of  them  can  ever  be  wholly  n^lected  without  some  serione 
injury  to  the  intellectual,  perhaps  even  to  the  moral,  character 
of  those  who  neglect  it  Science  and  art  and  letters  depend  on 
and  assist  each  other ;  so  that  to  the  perfection  of  either  Cat 
least  in  idea^  the  presence  of  the  other  two,  to  some  eztenk 
and  d^ree,  is  necessary  and  essential  Toa  remember  fhd 
fine  lii^  of  Mr.  Tennyson,  which,  dealing  with  e< 
subject^  will  express  with  but  little  change  the  thoufl^l 
endeavoi]Lring  to  convey : 

"Seeing  not 
That  Beauty^,  Qood,  and  Knowledoe  M  three 
That  doat  wm  eadi  other ;  frienu  to  inaa ; 
living  together  imder  the  seme  xoo( 
And  never  can  he  timdered  without  tears." 

Let  us  then  a  little  more  at  large,  and  by  the  aid  of  illus- 
tration, see  how  far  and  in  what  sense  these  statements  are 
true,  and  worth  the  making. 

It  appears  indeed  a  truism  to  say  of  science  that  it  is 
engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  and  that  truth  is  its  main 
end  and  object  Yet  there  have  been  times  when  it  hardly 
seemed  so;  and  looking  back  on  which  we  might  be  tempted 
to  say,  that  the  men  of  science  were  clever  dreamers,  sup- 
porting vain  theories  with  dexterous  aigumentation,  rather 
than  men  enamoured  of  truth,  and  soberly  and  gravely 
following  after  and  enquiring  for  it,  and  for  it  only.  Lord 
Bacon  spoke  with  contempt  of  the  two  great  and  original 
discoverers  of  his  time,  Galileo  and  Har\'^ey,  with  whom  he 
was  acquainted ;  and  he  nowhere,  as  far  as  I  know,  recognises 
the  genius  of  Kepler;  and  he  lost  his  own  life  by  a  cold 
caught  in  conducting  a  childish  experiment.  Descartes,  the 
great  sceptic  in  physical  science,  one  of  the  acutest  and  pro- 
foundest  of  men,  committed  himself  now  and  then  to  the 
wildest  and  most  baseless  dreams.  I  name  the  greatest  men ; 
for  the  examples  of  lesser,  but  still  considerable  minds  might 


MR.   COLEBIDGB'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS  287 

be  multiplied  indefinitely.  Yet  no  one  could  doubt  but  these 
men  were  real  philosophers,  and  that  their  occasional  mistakes 
and  fancies  were  due  only  to  human  frailty,  and  to  no  love  of 
imposture,  or  desira  to  practise  on  the  follies  of  their  fellows. 
A  charlatan  may  indeed  stumble  on  a  truth;  a  genuine 
philosopher  may  be  led  astray  by  a  delusive  fancy;  but  it  is 
the  spirit  in  which  the  result  is  followed  after  which  we 
should  look  to,  and  not  the  result  itself,  which  is  often  trivial 
and  deceptive,  and  almost  always  slow  and  uncertain.  I  have 
been  told  by  a  great  living  authority,  that  one  of  the  ablest 
of  our  physicians  (Dr.  Bright)  passed  the  best  years  of  his 
life  in  a  long  series  of  careful  observations  on  a  single  subject, 
and  arrived  at  last  at  one  fact,  and  one  fact  only,  which  he 
believed  to  be  certain — I  mean,  that  the  presence  of  a  par- 
ticular element  in  a  particular  secretion  denoted  a  state  of 
the  kidneys  which  medicine  could  not  cure.  I  have  been 
told  also,  by  a  great  authority,  that  this  one  fact,  which  Dr. 
Bright  believed  he  had  established,  is  now  considered  to  be 
at  least  doubtful,  and  that  his  conclusion  is  thought  to  have 
been  stated  with  too  wide  a  generality.  I  believe  again  that 
some  of  the  observed  factis  respecting  the  appearance  and  the 
motion  of  comets  cannot  be  explained  by  the  commonly 
received  laws  of  nature,  and  that  we  must  believe,  at  least  in 
this  instance,  either  that  we  do  not  really  see  what  we  think 
we  see,  or  else  that  there  are  laws  of  the  universe  hitherto 
undiscovered  by  us  and  unsuspected.  I  must  not  venture 
into  depths  which  my  short  line  can  never  fathom ;  but  I 
presume  to  point  out  that  a  true  philosopher  is  he  who  seeks 
truth,  not  necessarily  he  who  attains  it;  and  that,  in  the 
famous  words  of  Mr.  Beckford  at  the  end  of  Vathek,  it  is 
infieituated  pride  alone  which  perceives  not  "that  the  con- 
dition of  man  upon  earth  is  to  be — humble  and  ignorant" 

Now  all  this  is  true  of  art,  but  true  with  a  difference.  For 
truth  in  art  is  something  different  from  truth  in  science. 
Artistic  truth  is  not  mere  external  truth,  truth  only  of  repre- 
sentation. Mere  imitation,  however  dexterous,  so  dexterous 
as  even  to  be  deceptive,  is  not  art ;  nay,  I  am  bold  to  say, 
though  it  sounds  paradoxical  to  say  so,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  art  No  one  ever  walked  up  to  a  portrait  by  Titian,  by 
Bembrandt,  by  Sir  Joshua,  and  mistook  it  for  a  living  man. 
Many  have  mistaken  the  figure  of  Cobbett  at  Madame 
Tussand's  waxwork  for  an  actual  human  being.  No  one 
ever  was  deceived  by  the  flowers  or  the  fruit  of  Van  Huysum, 
or  Mnller,  or  William  Hunt ;  every  one,  I  suppose,  in  his 
time  has  been  deceived  by  skilful  waxwork,  or  painted  stone- 

u  2 


288  MR.   COLEUIDG£*S  PRK8IDENT1AL  ADDBKbS. 

ware  of  these  thinj^s.  Yet  who  calls  waxwork  art?  or  who, 
save  the  most  childish,  derives  the  smallest  mental  pleasure 
from  it  ?  It  has  been  suggested,  I  believe  by  Coleridge,  that 
where  there  is  no  attempt  at  deceptive  imitation,  every 
approach  to  likeness  gives  an  intellectual  pleasure ;  but  that 
where  the  imitation  is  actually  deceptive,  every  dissimilitude, 
when  it  is  discovered,  create  disgust.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
assert  that  this  is  the  philosophy  of  it;  but  the  &ct  in  paint- 
ing undoubtedly  is  so. 

In  music  again,  I  conceive  that  the  direct  imitation  of  natural 
sounds  or  nutuml  objects,  except  on  the  rarest  occasion  and 
for  the  shortest  time,  is  always  un pleasing.  The  cuckoo  and 
the  nightingale  in  Beethoven's  pastoml  symphony,  and  the 
nightingale  chorus  in  Handcrs  Solomon,  may,  perhaps,  be  the 
exceptions ;  but  the  passages  imitating  the  various  beasts  in 
Haydn's  Creation,  and  the  attempt  to  represent  Mercutio's 
description  of  Queen  Mab  in  Berlioz's  Romeo  and  Juliet 
symphony,  prove  to  anyone  who  has  heard  them  the  (jenend 
truth  of  the  statement  I  have  made. 

Truth  in  art,  therefore,  is  truth  of  thought,  and  truth  of 
expression.  It  is  ideal  truth,  not' actual.  And  this  ideal 
truth  has,  as  it  seems  to  me,  been  lost  sight  of,  and  the  real 
value  of  art  has  been  in  consequence  much  lowered  in  pur- 
suit of  minute  imitation  of  external  forms.  It  is  not  mnch 
to  be  wondered  at,  though  I  think  it  is  much  to  be  regretted. 
The  invention  and  wide  spread  of  photography,  the  general 
set  of  public  criticism,  the  comparatively  slight  amount  of 
mental  labour  (I  do  not  say  of  handiwork)  required  for  this 
minute  imitation,  have  all  tended  to  lead  our  artists,  speaking 
genenilly,  to  what,  I  must  confess,  seems  to  me  waste  of 
labour,  and  to  a  result  which,  after  all,  is  not  worth  the  time 
and  labour  which  it  costs.  I  take,  for  example,  two  iamous 
pictures  painted  by  a  man  of  great  ability,  which  have  been 
extolled  by  eloquent  art  critics  as  almost  the  finest  pictures 
the  world  has  ever  seen  ;  I  mean,  "  The  Light  of  the  World," 
and  "  Our  Lord  in  the  Temple,"  by  Mr.  Holman  Hunt  The 
time  consumed  upon  tliese  pictures  must  have  been  very 
great  The  rendering  of  the  details  of  them  is  exquisite 
and  admirable.  The  moonlight  on  the  ivy  leaves  in  "The 
Light  of  the  World ;"  the  dresses,  the  books,  the  phylacteries, 
the  doves,  the  architecture,  in  the  "Christ  in  the  Temple/'  have 
been  the  subject  of  elaborate  and,  so  far  as  these  things  are 
concerned,  of  perfectly  just  praise  and  admiration.  But  to 
my  mind  it  argues  a  total  forgetfulness  of  what  truth  in  art 
really  means  to  lavish  panegyric  on  pictures  upon  grounds 


MR.   COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  289 

such  as  these.  I  suppose  a  picture  should,  if  possible,  affect 
the  mind  as  the  reality  which  it  depicts  would  affect  it  if  the 
reality  could  be  seen.  Now  who,  in  the  presence  of  "  The 
Light  of  the  World,"  would  have  eyes  for  the  jewels  on  his 
lanthorn,  or  the  moonlight  on  the  ivy  leaves  behind  him  ? 
Who  that  saw  "Our  Blessed  Lord  in  the  Temple"  would  have 
patience  or  heart  to  trace  the  illuminations  on  the  rolls  of  manu- 
scripts, or  the  patterns  on  the  phylacteries  of  the  doctors  ?  I 
have  been  told  that  the  painter  was  at  the  trouble  of  study- 
ing in  the  Holy  Land  the  costume  and  architecture  of  the 
East  in  this  nineteenth  century,  and  that  he  had  doves  brought 
from  Palestine  instead  of  Covent  Garden,  in  order  to  make 
the  accessories  of  his  picture  literally  and  minutely  accurate. 
I  do  not  know  if  these  things  were  true ;  but  those  who 
praised  him  for  them  evidently  thought  them  praiseworthy. 
To  me,  I  confess,  if  they  were  true,  they  seem  childish  waste 
of  time  and  money.  If,  indeed,  you  could  have  a  literal 
transcript,  a  photograph,  of  our  Lord  upon  the  mount,  or 
among  the  doctors,  it  would  be  beyond  all  price.  But,  from 
the  very  necessity  of  the  case,  all  you  can  by  possibility 
k9iow  of  any  picture  of  a  subject  or  a  person  in  the  Old  or  New 
Testament  is,  that  it  is  not  literal,  nor  in  that  sense  accurate ; 
that  it  is  the  painter's  mode  of  conveying  to  the  mind  this  or 
that  idea,  this  or  that  fact,  suggested  or  narrated  in  the  sacred 
history;  and  he  who  best  and  most  powerfully  affects  the  mind 
with  the  thought  which  he  wishes  to  express  is  the  best  painter, 
and  paints  with  the  greatest  truth.  If  any  really  think  that, 
tried  by  this  test,  Mr.  Holman  Hunt's  picture  does  more 
powerfully  affect  the  mind  than  a  noble  convention — such  as 
the  frescoes  of  Fra  Angelico,  or  the  cartoons  of  Eaflfaelle,  or 
a  sublime  though  homely  version  of  the  same  sort  of  incident 
by  Rembrandt — I  can  only  say  that  England  is  a  free 
country,  and  they  are  welcome  to  their  opinion ;  but  if  these 
great  men  affect  the  mind  more  cogently,  then  it  is  not  the 
doves,  or  the  books,  or  the  ivy,  or  the  phylacteries,  which 
will  alter  the  judgment;  and  in  spite  of  their  making  no 
attempt  whatever  to  give  detail,  or  to  give  it  accurately,  I 
say,  they  are  much  greater  painters,  and  have  painted  much 
more  truth. 

I  have  spoken  of  sacred  history  and  sacred  pictures ;  but 
it  is  obvious  that  the  principle  of  what  I  have  been  saying  is 
af^licable  to  all  subjects,  and  to  all  art ;  and  certainly,  if 
authority  is  of  any  value  in  a  matter  of  this  sort  (and  it  is 
for  those  who  deny  it  to  show  why  it  is  not),  the  practice  of 
the  greatest  artists  of  all  time  shows  that  they  understood 


s 


290  HR.  COLERmn'S  FBESIDKNTIAL  ADDRSSa 

tmth  in  the  sense  for  which  I  have  been  contending  and 
pursued  it  in  the  same  spirit  which  I  have  ittfimpted  to 
describe.  Of  the  great  masters  of  the  antique  we  lutve  bo 
remains  from  which  we  can  judge,  except  in  sculpture;  nnkss^ 
as  is  very  likely,  the  fh^coes  of  Pompeii  are  often  copies  of 
fiimous  pictures,  repeated  by  the  house  decorators  of  Ktnnaa 
timcSs.  If  this  be  so,  it  was,  beyond  all  doubts  in  graoe  of 
design  and  truth  of  expression  that  these  great  men  exoelled, 
and  not  in  the  carefiu  imitation  of  multiplied  detaiL  In 
their  sculpture,  which  has  remained,  and  has  never  been 
equalled,  although  certain  matters  are  given  with  the  greatest 
exactness,  yet  they  accepted  the  stem  limitation  imposed 
upon  their  work  by  their  severe  material,  and  worked 
always  in  that  "  grand  style"  so  much  and  so  greatly  insisted 
on  by  Sir  Joshua,  and  so  much  and  so  unjustly  (that  is^  if  he 
understood  Sir  Joshua)  derided  by  Mr.  Kuskin.  ' 

But  if  we  come  to  modem  art,  there  is  not  a  giMfi  ttea 
who  has  not  deliberately  repudiated  imitation,  and  IdmMl'tt^ 
and  often  reached,  that  higner  and  nobler  trutU'wE^'ttto 
be  gained  onW  by  sacrifice  of  detail,  and,  if  yWA"iMB,  hf 
convention.  I  do  not  instance  in  holier  men  ho<»bWt*  gfttt^ 
in  whose  time  art  was  yet  imperfect,  and  convention 'it  nMM- 
sit^.  But  do  you  suppose  that  Michael  Angelo,  when  he 
painted  his  Prophets  or  his  Sybils,  or  when  he  moulded  such 
sublime  and  tremendous  forms  as  Moses,  or  Jeremiah,*  or  the 
Duke  Lorenzo,  could  not  have  discriminated  drapery  or 
articulated  armour  ?  Do  you  think  that  when  Baffaelle  drew 
S.  Paul  preacliing  on  Mars'  Hill,  he  could  not,  if  he  had 
pleased,  have  drawn  a  pattern  on  the  robe  of  the  meditative 
figure  in  the  foreground  as  minute  as  the  phylacteries  of 
Mr,  Holman  Hunt?  Of  course  they  could;  but  Michael 
Angelo,  for  instance,  wished  to  impress  on  us,  and  has 
succeeded  in  impressing,  the  majestic  sorrow  of  Jeremiah, 
and  the  colossal  power  of  the  man,  who  was  an  instrament 
in  the  hand  of  God  to  change  for  all  time  the  moral  standard 
of  mankind.  Baffaelle  wished  to  make,  and  succeeded  in 
making,  "  his  whole  figure  think,"  as  Sir  Joshua  has  so  well 
expressed  it.  He  could  draw  a  lily,  or  a  dandelion  head, 
minutely  if  he  chose,  and  when  it  was  worth  his  while; 
but  he  knew  that  in  the  greatest  works  he  had  other  truth 
than  this  to  seek  and  to  tell,  and  he  told  it  often  through 
the  boldest  conventions  like  a  consummate  artist  and  a  great 
man. 

*  I  am  well  aware  that  the  statue  of  Jeremiah  exists  only  in  a  smaU  model, 
but  it  is  moulded  in  the  grandest  and  broadest  manner. 


MR.   COLEKIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  291 

In  this  hasty  and  meagre  sketch  I  must  not  attempt  to  go 
at  length  through  other  great  examples ;  but  1  ask  you  to  re- 
member, the  practice  of  Titian,  and  Rembrandt,  and  many 
others  abroad ;  of  Sir  Joshua  and  Gainsborough,  of  Flaxman 
and  Stothardt,  of  Constable,  and  Turner,  amongst  ourselves, 
and  to  acknowledge  with  me  that  truth,  rightly  understood,  is 
as  much  the  object  of  art  as  of  science ;  that  it  has  been  as 
honestly  and  zealously  pursued  by  artists  as  by  scientific 
men,  and  that  it  has  been  as  often  and  as  successfully 
attained. 

So  it  is,  or  so  it  ought  to  be,  with  literature  and  with  men 
of  letters.  But  from  the  wider  range  and  greater  variety 
of  literature,  and  from  the  absence  of  any  recognised  external 
rule  or  external  standard,  hterary  truth  is  something  more 
complex  in  idea,  and  more  difficult  to  attain  in  perfection, 
than  truth  of  science  or  truth  of  art.  Perhaps  it  has  hardly 
ever  been  attained  completely ;  for  it  implies  in  its  idea,  not 
only  purity,  or  at  least  honesty,  of  subject,  but  likewise 
honesty,  and  truth  of  thought,  and  simplicity  of  expression. 
In  all  literary  composition,  if  it  is  to  last,  there  must  be  an 
absence  of  self-consciousness,  or,  at  any  rate,  of  affectation ; 
for  manner  in  the  bad  sense  (as  when  we  speak  of  a  writer 
as  mannered)  destroys  truth,  and  is  inconsistent  with  real 
greatness.  I  am  afraid,  if  this  be  correct,  that  the  literature 
of  this  age  will  not  stand  high  hereafter,  and  that  in  this 
matter,  if  in  nothing  else,  we  are  going  down.  It  is  obvious 
how  wide  a  field  this  opens  before  us,  and  how  general 
(I  hope,  rather  than  expect,  it  may  not  be  utterly  superficial) 
must  be  the  glance  we  give  it. 

I  should  say,  however,  that  simplicity  of  language  and 
absence  of  affectation  is  the  great  characteristic  of  all  the 
finest  literature  of  all  time.  For  obvious  reasons,  I  say 
nothing  of  the  Hebrew  writings.  But  as  to  all  Greek  writers 
1  have  any  acquaintance  with,  down  to  a  very  late  period  of 
the  language,  simplicity  of  expression  seems  to  me  the 
quality  which  they  have  everywhere  and  always.  They  may 
be  easy  or  obscure,  prosaic  or  poetical,  men  of  great  minds 
or  men  of  second  rate  powers,  but,  at  least,  they  are  not 
mftnnered  or  affected.  In  many  of  the  greatest  of  them — 
in  Homer,  Pindar,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Xenophon,  ^Eschines, 
Demosthenes,  Euripides,  Aristophanes,  Theocritus — we  hardly 
ever  think  of  the  style  at  all ;  the  words  seem  inevitable ; 
the  natural  clothing  of  the  thoughts,  which  rose  in  order  to 
the  mind  of  the  writers.  It  is  true,  so  far  as  I  know,  of 
other  writers  also ;  and  it  is  only  in  out-of-the-way  authors, 


292  MR.  COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDEMTIAL  ADDRESS. 

such  as  Lycophron  in  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  and  Nonnns 
long  after,  that  we  detect  a  conscious  hunting  after  strange 
wonls  and  strange  phrases,  i.e.,  affectation.  And  the  conse- 
quence is,  that  while  Greek  literature  on  the  whole  has  the 
most  astonishing  vitality  simply  as  literature,  these  two 
writers  (whom  I  only  pretend  to  know  in  isolated  passages^ 
to  which  I  was  led  by  the  Letters  of  Charles  Fox,  and  the 
Table  Talk  of  Coleridge),  although  men  of  great  poetical 
genius,  are  speaking  broadly  not  only  unread,  but  absolately 
unreadabla 

This  quality  of  unconsciousness  and  simplicity  is  less 
remarkable  undoubtedly  in  the  literature  of  the  Boman 
people.  The  world  had  grown  older,  society  was  more  com- 
plex, men  less  simple.  Accordingly,  there  is  a  tinge  of 
affectation  even  in  the  magnificent  abundance  of  '^Xhe 
Divine  TuUy ;"  there  is  more  than  a  tinge  in  the  iaboiions 
terseness  of  Sallust;  there  is  self -consciousness  la  tiie 
majesty  and  tenderness  of  Virgil;  conceit,  in  tha  litoniy 
sense,  amidst  the  fertility  of  Ovid;  haughty  self»«88eitian 
and  literary  pride  in  the  stem  and  gloomy  doqnettoe.iof 
Tacitus.  Still,  these  great  writers,  and  others  searcel jp  lasS 
great,  honestly  pursued  literary  truth;  they  did  iheiir  best 
always;  and  the  earnest  desire  of  Virgil  that  the  jBneid 
should  be  burnt  is  a  convincing  proof  of  the  exalted  standard 
of  perfection  which  he  set  before  him,  and  a  reproach  to  the 
slovenly  and  careless  work  which  now-a-days 

"  Hns  current  pass 
From  the  fat  judgment  of  the  multitude.*' 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  detain  you  with  noticing  the 
distinctly  affected  Roman  authors,  such  as  Senecaand  Apuleius: 
and  I  pass  therefore  at  once  to  English  literature,  and  ask 
you  to  observe  that  it  is  honest,  simple,  truthful  work  which 
lasts,  and  that  mannerism  or  affectation,  which  are  literary 
falschooil,  carry  with  them  the  certain  seeds  of  literary  death. 
With  us  as  witli  the  Greeks,  the  earlier  writers  lived  in  a 
simple  state  of  society,  and  though  they  are  individual  they 
are  unaffected.  This  is  true  of  Chaucer  and  of  most  of  the 
Elizabethan  authors.  It  was  not  that  they  were  not  artists ; 
for  in  art  they  were  consummate,  and  applied  its  rules  to 
their  own  compositions  with  relentless  severity.  There  is  a 
grand  description  of  poetry  by  Ben  Jonson  (from  which  I 
quoted  just  now),  enough  to  make  the  fortune  of  a  modem 
poet,  which  he  struck  out  of  the  later  editions  of  the  ]day 
where  it  occurred,  because  he  thought  it  unsoited  to  tlie 


MR.  COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  293 

character  into  whose  mouth  he  had  put  it.  One  of  the  sub- 
limest  scenes  in  King  Lear  was  suppressed  by  Shakspere 
because,  at  least  so  it  is  supposed,  it  made  the  part  of  the  king 
too  exhausting  for  the  strength  of  any  ordinary  actor.  But 
although  they  were  such  complete  artists,  they  were  for 
the  most  part  singularly  simple  and  straightforward;  and 
aceoidingly  the  great  body  of  them  have  endured  to  this 
day.  One  of  the  greatest  of  them  all,  however,  Edmund 
Spenser,  assumed  a  manner;  and  the  consequence  is,  that,  in 
spite  of  his  rare  and  lovely  genius,  he  is  to  the  generality 
of  English  readers  almost,  I  am  afraid,  unknown. 

Take  again  G^ige  Herbert,  and  Henry  Vaughan,  and 
Cowley.  These  men  were  mannerists  and  affected;  and 
their  really  noble  powers  have  scarcely  saved  them 
fipom  oblivion.  They  show  by  example,  which  is  clearer 
eoid  more  intelligible  than  definition,  the  wide  difference 
between  style  and  manner.  Every  writer  has  a  style,  as 
emry.  man  has  a  countenance;  and  a  good  style,  like  a 
fine  «oimtenance,  is  always  natural.  But  style,  if  it  is 
innhatiiral>  degenerates  into  manner,  which  is  probably  easy 
tffi  be  imitated,  and  which,  if  the  writer  be  powerful,  generally 
is  imitated  by  disciples  who  cannot  imitate  his  power.  Of 
eouise,  as  in  all  subjects  of  this  kind,  the  line  of  division 
cannot  be  drawn  with  hard  exactness.  The  great  writers, 
except  perhaps  Shakspere,  have  some  manner  which  may  be 
caught:  the  greatest  mannerists  are  not  always  and  ex- 
clusively mannered.  But  in  the  main  what  I  have  said  is 
true.  Shakspere,  Bacon,  Hooker,  Taylor,  Milton,  Dryden, 
South,  Addison,  Lord  Bolingbroke,  Pope,  Swift,  Gray,  and 
Oowper  have  all  a  style;  and  though  very  different,  they 
have  each  a  great  and  a  fine  ona  Sterne  and  Dr.  Johnson 
had  a  manner;  and  I  think  Sterne  is  the  only  mannerist 
whose  popularity  survives,  partly  owing  to  his  astonishing 
power,  ps^ly  perhaps  that  manner,  and  eccentricity,  and 
artifice  are  more  tolerable,  or  even  expected,  in  a  humorist 
than  in  any  other  class  of  writer. 

.  Now  if  we  apply  these  rules  of  judgment  to  our  own  day, 
we  shall  find  reason  to  doubt  the  enduring  nature  of  some  of 
oiur  greatest  reputations.  Of  Wordsworth,  of  Lord  Byron,  of 
Scott, of  Coleridge;  when  I  think  of  The  Cenci,  I  should  say  of 
Shelley;  of  Lamb,  of  Thackeray,  of  Hawthorne,  it  may  be  said, 
that  they  have  style,  not  manner.  They  live,  and  they  will  live, 
as  great  writers,  while  EngUsh  lasts.  But  can  any  one  say  the 
flame  of  other  men,  in  power  not  inferior  to  some  of  these,  in 
{iroaent  popularity  much  greater  ?    Are  we  at  all  sure  of  the 


294  MR.  COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRl^:S3, 

l>eriiiai]eiit  eiidurancse,  for  examijle,  of  Keats,  of  Mn  Teiin  jsnit, 
gi'  Mr.  Carlyle  i  ^o  man  can  atlmire  Air.  Tennyson  and  Mr. 
Carlyle  more  than  I  do;  few  men  admire  them  so  much.  I 
read  and  re-read  their  early  works  when  I  was  a  boy,  and 
before  they  wtrt  the  tkshion ;  and  I  heartily  recognize  their 
splendid  powers.  But  I  cannot  refuse  to  see  in  the  harsh 
jargon  in  which  it  pleases  Mr  Carlyle  now  to  wnia,  and  in 
the  coEscious  affectations  of  Mr,  Tennyson,  reasons  why  their 
fame  may  decay,  when  the  generation  they  have  moulded 
passas  away,  and  with  it  the  fashion  they  have  created.  For 
at  last,  as  Mr  Carlyle  himself  would  admit,  truth  flourishes 
and  ahams  decay;  and  the  ultimate  arbiters  of  literary  life 
and  death  are  the  great  men  of  letters  of  each  age,  who  for 
the  njost  part  love  trutli  and  simplicity,  and  cannot  adnmts 
nor  even  endure  aflectation.  It  thus  appears  that  in  a  very 
real  sense  ti-nth  is  the  proper  object  alike  of  science^  of  art, 
and  of  letters,  and  that  it  haa  to  be  sought  after^  if  it  ia  to 
be  attaiaed,  in  all  alike,  with  modesty,  and  siucority,  and 
simpUcity. 

These  three  then,  having  like  objects,  are  like  also  in  being 
all  right  jnstmments  of  education.  This  Is  indeed  a  wide  and 
diflicult  suliject,  and  one  which  I  ha\'e  no  preteEsiona  ade- 
quately to  handle.  Neither  is  it  necessary.  Tor  most  of  us 
have,  I  suppose,  read  Mr.  Mills  atldreas,  delivered  last  year, 
03  Lord  liector  of  the  University,  to  the  students  of  St 
Andrew's;  and  I  could  only  say  over  again,  in  poorer  language, 
what  Mr*  Mill  has  said  alreaily  as  well  as  man  can  say  it 
There  was  a  time,  I  confess,  when  I  should  not  have  thus 
spoken,  and  when  I  should  have  been  disposed  to  insiat  on 
literature,  and  especially  on  Greek  and  Latin  literature^  as 
the  sole  meaiis  of  high  mental  cultivation.  I  now  see  thflA  I 
was  wrong;  and  without  flying  into  the  other  extreme,;  I 
agree  with  Mr.  Mill,  that  to  a  complete  education  scieno^and 
art  and  letters  are  all  essential  contributoriea 

They  are  also  interdependent;  so  that  they  derive^  taid 
from,  and  to  a  certain  extent  imply,  the  existence  pf:  each 
other.  And  this  in  a  real  and  exact  sense.  It  is  not  only  that 
as  they  are  all  instruments  of  a  perfect  education,  and  as  a 
perfect  education  is  a  good  thing,  so  a  man  is  better  for  know- 
ing something  of  them  alL  This,  of  course,  is  so ;  but  beyond 
this,  or  rather  as  its  reason,  each  supplies  to  the  other  some- 
thing which  that  other  wants,  in  order  to  perfection  aooordimg 
to  its  own  idea. 

Take  lirst  the  man  of  science.  It  is  obvious  that,  SiS  a 
man,  as  a  member  (rf  society,  he  will  be  inferior,  if  he  has  no 


i 


MR.  COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  295 

knowledge  which  letters  would  give  him,  and  no  refinement 
which  a  study  of  art  would,  if  not  create,  at  any  rate 
indefinitely  increase.  But  even  as  a  man  of  science,  see 
what  he  will  want!  In  order  to  scientific  knowledge— nay, 
even  in  the  useful  application  of  the  discoveries  of  others — 
keenness  to  observe,  perseverance  in  discovery,  clear  reasoning 
from  premises,  and  sound  judgment  in  weighing  different 
possible  conclusions,  and  arriving  at  the  right  one,  are  indis- 
pensable. Now  a  man  may  have  keenness  and  perseverance, 
without  ever  having  opened  a  book  or  heard  of  a  work  of  art. 
Possibly  too  a  perfectly  coarse  and  unlettered  man  may  be  a 
quick  and  correct  reasoner.  But  when  a  man  has  to  form 
conclusions,  and  to  exercise  judgment,  is  it  not  plain  that 
knowledge  of  what  has  been  done  before,  of  the  failures  of 
earlier  inquirers,  and  the  reason  for  those  failures,  will 
strengthen  his  judgment  and  assist  its  exercise  ?  And  the 
grtoter  his  learning,  and  the  more  exact  his  knowledge  of 
other  subjects,  the  larger  materials  will  he  have  for  estimating 
rightly  the  connection  and  result  of  his  own  inquiries,  ana 
%»*  dit*eetittg  carefully  those  which  he  is  about  to  make.  So 
too  the  refinement  of  eye,  and  the  accuracy  of  hand,  which 
some  acquaintance  with  art  either  gives  practically,  or  shows 
the  value  of,  will  come  in  to  correct  or  supplement  obser- 
vation, if  observation  be  a  part  of  the  labour  which  the  man 
of  science  has  to  undertake.  And  although  I  do  not  for  a 
moment  deny  that  there  have  been  great  men  of  science 
naturally  gifted  for  this  subject,  who  have  been  nothing 
else,  and  yet  have  enlarged  the  bounds  of  science,  whether 
natural  or  applied ;  yet  history  shows  that  the  very  greatest 
men  of  science — men  such  as  Aristotle,  Archimedes,  Hip- 
pocrates, Ptolemy,  Copernicus,  Kepler,  Newton,  Leibnitz, 
Descartes,  La  Place,  Davy,  Faraday — have  been  men  also  of 
learning  and  accomplishments,  and  would  not  have  been  so 
great  in  their  own  way  if  they  had  known  nothing  of  any 
other. 

Nor  must  it  in  fairness  be  forgotten,  that  science  has  often 
derived  the  greatest  advantages  from  the  suggestions  of  men 
of  powerful  intellect,  not  exclusively  or  even  chiefly  scientific 
As  an  illustration  of  this  I  may  mention,  and  you  will  forgive 
me  for  being  glad  to  mention,  one  or  two  facts  respecting 
Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  communicated  to  me  by  my  friend 
Dr.  Bullar,  of  Southampton,  which  I  hope  he  may  at  some 
time  or  other  himself  give  to  the  puUic  more  at  large, 
and  with  more  intelligence  than  I  can  pretend  ta  I  do  no 
more  than  remind  you  of  the  curious,  but  only  curious. 


296  MR.   COLERIDGE'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

anticipation  of  the  atmospheric  and  pneumatic  railways  in 
the  well-known  lines  in  the  Ancient  Mariner — 

"  But  why  (Irivea  on  that  ship  so  fast, 

Without  a  wave  or  wind  Y*' 
"  The  air  is  cut  away  before. 

And  closes  from  behind." 

In  1818,  however,  was  published  in  Th^  Friend  the  follow- 
ing passage  upon  electricity: — "By  one  theorist  two  hetero- 
geneous fluids  are  assumed,  the  vitreous  and  the  resinous; 
by  another  a  plus  and  minus  of  the  same  fluid;  a  third 
considers  it  a  mere  modification  of  light;  while  a  fourth 
composes  the  electrical  aura  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  caloria 
Abstract  from  all  these  suppositions,  or  rather  imaginations, 
that  which  is  common  to  and  involved  in  them  aU,  and  we 
shall  have  neither  notional  fluid  or  fluids,  nor  chemical  com- 
pounds, nor  elementary  matter,  but  the  idea  of  two  opposite 
forces  tending  to  rest  by  equilibrium.  These  are  the  sole 
factors  of  the  calculus,  alike  in  all  the  theories."  Now,  fifteen 
years  later,  in  1833,  Faraday,  ia  his  Experimental  Itmarchis 
in  Electricity,  after  discussing  a  variety  of  theories,  eoooludes 
that,  "judging  fi*om  facts  only,  electricity  has  never  beeove^ 
solved  into  simple  or  elementary  influences,  and  may  periiaps^ 
best  be  conceived  of  as  an  axis  of  power  having  contrary 
forces  easactly  equal  in  ammmt  in  contrary  directunis.** 

There  is  an  equally  startling  anticipation  of  the  discovery 
of  Oerstetd,  in  1820,  of  the  relation  of  the  magnetic  to  the 
galvanic  force,  which  for  want  of  time  and  space  I  pass  by. 
For  the  same  reason  I  omit  to  notice  a  passage  in  which  he 
opposes  any  attempt  to  individualize  or  make  an  hypostasis 
of  the  principle  of  life  as  a  somewhat  manifestable  per  se, 
and  consequently  itself  a  phonoraenon.  But  for  the  following 
passage  as  to  botany  I  must  find  space  and  time : — 

"So  long  back,"  says  he  in  1818,  "as  the  first  appearance 
of  Dr.  Darwin's  Phytonomia,  the  author  then  in  earliest  man- 
hood presumed  to  hazard  the  opinion  that  the  physiological 
botanists  were  hunting  in  a  false  direction,  and  sought  for 
analogy  where  they  should  have  looked  for  antithesis.  He 
saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  that  the  harmony  between  the  vege- 
table and  animal  world  was  not  a  hariiiony  of  resemblance, 
but  of  contrast,  and  their  relation  to  each  other  that  of  cor- 
responding opposites.  They  seemed  to  him  (whose  mind  had 
been  formed  by  observation,  unaided,  but  at  the  same  time 
unenth railed,  by  partial  experiment)  as  two  streams  from  the 
same  fountain  indeed,  but  flowing  the  one  due  West,  the 
other  direct  East ;  and  that  consequently  the  resemblance 


MR.  COLERnX^E'S  PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  297 

would  be  as  the  proximity,  greatest  in  the  first  and  rudi- 
mental  products  of  vegetable  and  animal  organization. 
Whereas,  according  to  the  received  notion,  the  highest  and 
most  perfect  vegetable,  and  the  lowest  and  rudest  animal 
forms,  ought  to  have  seemed  the  links  of  the  two  systems, 
which  is  contrary  to  the  fact.  Since  that  time  the  same 
idea  has  dawned  on  the  minds  of  philosophers  capable  of 
demonstrating  its  objective  truth  by  induction  of  facts  in  an 
unbroken  series  of  correspondences  in  nature.  From  these 
men,  or  from  minds  enkindled  by  their  labours,  we  may  hope 
hereafter  to  receive  it,  or  rather  the  yet  higher  idea  to  which 
it  refers  us,  matured  into  laws  of  organic  nature ;  and  hence, 
to  have  one  other  splendid  proof,  that  with  the  knowledge  of 
law  alone  dwell  power,  and  prophecy,  and  decisive  experi- 
ment ;  and  lastly  a  scientific  method  tliat,  dissipating  with 
its  earliest  rays  the  gnomes  of  hypothesis  and  the  mists  of 
theory,  may,  within  a  single  generation,  open  out  on  the 
philoeophio  seer  discoveries  that  had  baffled  the  gigantic  but 
blinds  and  giiideless  industry  of  ages."  Since  this  was  written, 
t^'idiseoTery  that  all  things  are  built  out  of  cells  confirms 
wonderfhlly  t^e  anticipations  of  the  writer;  and  it  has  been 
shown  that  the  simplest  form  of  v^table  and  of  animal 
life  are  each  alike  a  single  cell.  This  subject,  however  inter- 
esting, must  not  detain  us  longer,  and  I  pass  on  to  consider 
the  relation  of  science  and  letters  to  artists  and  the  arts. 

A  moment's  consideration  will  satisfy  us  how  necessary  are 
both  science  and  literature  to  the  formation  of  the  great 
artist  Anatomy  for  correct  drawing ;  physiology  for  a  com- 
prehension of  the  effects  of  feeling  and  of  passion,  and  for  the 
right  expression  of  them;  geology  for  the  forms  of  landscape, 
b^any  for  its  details ;  mechanics  for  architecture ;  chemistry 
for  the  preparation  and  safe  use  of  materials:  these  are 
some  of  the  branches  of  science  which  a  great  artist  ought 
not  to  be  ignorant  of,  and  which,  or  many  of  which,  most  great 
artists  have  in  fact  known.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Michael 
Angelo  were  amongst  the  greatest  men  of  science,  and  the  ablest 
practical  engineers  of  their  age.  Many  great  painters  have 
been  considerable  chemists ;  and  if  Sir  Joshua  had  been  a 
better  one,  his  countrymen  would  not  have  had  to  mourn  over 
the  decay  of  some  of  the  loveliest  productions  of  his  genius. 
It  has  been  said,  perhaps  with  some  exaggeration,  that  you 
may  study  the  geology  of  a  district  in  Turner's  drawings  of 
it ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
structure,  both  natural  and  artificial,  as  in  architecture,  was 
ptofband    This  imparts  that  air  of  ease  and  mastery  which 


298  WL  COLERIDGE'S  PRBSIDENTUXi  ADDKESS. 

his  drawings  almost  always  display;  for  no  one  can  draw' 
correctly,  and  with  rapidity  and  freedom,  unless  he  has  that 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  subject  he  is  portray- 
ing, which  long  and  close  pi*evious  study  alone  can  giva  I 
have  seen  myself  a  drawing  by  Bubens,  apparently,  one 
would  say  from  his  pictures,  the  most  careless  and  swift  of 
workmen,  in  which  every  figure  was  drawn  first  in  skeleton, 
then  clothed  in  flesh,  and,  lastly,  with  drapery.  When  we 
learn  the  thorough  knowledge  which  he  took  the  pcdns  to 
acquire,  we  may  understand  to  some  extent  the  splendid  and 
easy  prodigality  with  which,  almost  as  if  rejoicing  in  his 
strength,  he  flung  off  picture  after  picture  iVom  his  easeL 
It  may  be  that  we  have  no  men  now  of  his  abundant  powers. 
I  am  afraid  it  is  certain  that,  with  some  well-known  and 
great  exceptions,  we  have  no  men  of  his  great  and  varied 
knowledga  But  art  becomes  a  plaything,  and  artists  mere 
amateurs  or  dilettanti,  when  it  ceases  to  be  based  on  scienee, 
and  built  up  with  learning. 

This  is  the  last  of  the  relations  to  art  which  isjbot  be 
noticed,  and  it  is  of  all  the  most  important.  An  nnleanied 
artist  may  be  a  man  of  great  natuiul  power,  but  he  maak 
needs  be  a  man  of  limit^  range.  If  he  knows  nothing  of 
the  thoughts  of  other  men,  he  will  soon  come  to  an  end  of 
his  own ;  and  as  after  all  an  artist's  works  can  only  express 
an  artist's  mind,  if  his  mind  is  narrow,  so  must  his  art  be. 
It  would  be  strange  if,  in  fact,  it  were  found  otherwise ;  if  an 
acquaintance  with  the  genius  of  the  past  and  the  present, 
with  "the  precious  life-blood  of  master  spirits,"  as  Milton 
has  it,  treasured  up  for  us  in  books,  were  of  no  use  to  those 
whose  liigh  calling  it  is  to  make  tlie  canvass  or  the  marble 
tell  us  grand  and  lovely  truths,  and  inspire  us  with  noble  and 
beautiful  ideas.  But  it  is  not  so  found.  For  one  great  un- 
lettered artist,  and  no  doubt  there  liave  been  such,  there  are 
a  dozen,  and  those  still  greater,  who  are  learned.  The  in- 
tense imagination  of  Michael  Angelo  fed  upon  the  letters  of 
his  time;  he  studied  and  illustrated  Dante;  he  lived  in 
friendship  with  the  learned  men  and  women  around  him; 
and  his  letters  and  his  poems  (only  too  few)  display  not  only 
the  austere  loftiness  of  liis  mind,  but  the  extent  and  depth  of 
his  culture.  The  severe  and  manly  art  of  Nicholas  Poussiu 
is  the  reflection  of  his  grave  and  quiet  student  life.  The 
lectures  of  Sir  Joshua  are,  or  ought  to  ]>e,  an  English  classic. 
They  are  so  fine  in  thought,  and  so  just  in  expression,  that 
it  required  the  production  of  the  foul  copies  of  them,  cor- 
rected and  re-corrected  in  his  own  handwriting,  to  satisfy 


MB.  COLERIDGE'S  PBESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS.  299 

many  men  that  they  were  not  the  composition  of  Burke. 
Assuredly,  in  point  of  language,  they  are  worthy  of  that 
great  man,  though  they  have  a  knowledge  and  a  tone  of 
thought  which  are  peculiarly  Sir  Joshua's  own.  And  we 
have  lately  lost  in  Gibson  a  curious  example  of  what  I  am 
insisting  on.  In  some  respects,  I  confess,  Gibson's  seems 
to  me  a  wasted  life;  for  he  spent  his  time  in  executing 
the  subjects  of  the  antique,  which  have  no  relevancy  to  our 
life,  and  have  been  done  better  than  ever  they  will  be  done 
again.  Yet  his  art  was  almost  perfect  within  its  limits ;  and 
it  was  so,  I  believe,  to  a  great  d^ree  from  his  remarkable 
learning.  He  was  uneducated  to  begin  with,  and  he  died 
ignorant  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages;  but  of  Latin 
and  Greek  poetry  and  mythology  he  had  an  astonishing 
knowledge  through  translations ;  and  when  any  passage  in  a 
classical  author  struck  him  as  fine  or  beautiful  in  translation, 
he  was  never  satisfied  till  he  had  obtained  from  any  one  he 
met,  who  he  thought  could  help  him,  the  finest  shades  of 
nudmiiig  given  or  suggested  by  the  original  And  he  lived 
anwngst  amd  realized  the  legendary  lives  of  the  subjects  of 
hii^rt  to- aft  extent  that,  to  those  who  saw  him  for  the  first 
time,,  was  as  amusing  as  it  afterwards  became  interesting, 
from:  the  simplicity  and  sincerity  with  which  it  was  dis- 
played. 

And  now  if  we  turn  to  literature  we  shall  find  it  to  be 
equally  true,  that  science  and  art  enter  into  its  idea,  and  that 
without  them  it  is  narrow,  or  weak,  or  poor.  It  is  so  much 
more  varied  that  you  may  have  excellence  in  some  portions 
of  it  without  these  aids.  I  should  never  think  of  den3dng, 
for  instance,  that  Bums  in  his  way  was  supreme  and  inimit- 
able ;  and  yet  he  knew  no  science,  and  cared  nothing  for  art. 
But  this  sort  of  example,  of  which  there  are  a  great  many,  does 
not  prevent  its  being  true,  that  the  high  and  imperial  minds 
in  literature,  the  men  who  have  stamped  themselves  upon 
their  contemporaries  and  posterity,  have  either  been  scientific, 
or  have  loved  science ;  and  have  studied,  or  recognized  the 
importance  of  stud3ring  art  The  artists  and  poets  of  all  ages 
have  lived  and  worked  together ;  and  there  is  no  necessity  to 
waste  time  in  illustration  of  this  part  of  the  subject  And 
as  to  the  other,  let  me  remind  you  that  Aristotle,  the  prince  of 
critics,  the  most  powerful  of  philosophers,  and  a  considerable 
poet,  was  also  a  keen  observer  and  a  good  mathematician. 
Plato,  the  refined  and  imaginative  writer,  clothing  the  sub- 
tlest and  strongest  thoughts  in  a  diction  of  the  most  fastidious 
finish,  was  a  lover  and  a  constant  student  of  the  exact  and 


300  MB.   COLERIDGE'S   PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS. 

rigid  science  of  geometry.  Nor  has  the  close  connection  be- 
tween high  imagination  and  severe  mathematics  ever  been 
more  grandly  drawn  out  and  made  a  living  truth,  than  in  the 
sublime  dream  in  the  fifth  book  of  Wordsworth's  Prelude 
with  which  I  wiU  conclude  this  part  of  my  address. 

"  On  poetry,  and  geometric  truth, 
And  their  high  privilege  of  lasting  life. 
From  aU  internal  injury  exempt, 
I  mused,  upon  these  chiefly ;  and  at  length, 
My  senses  yielding  to  the  sultry  air, 
Sleep  seized  me,  and  I  passed  into  a  dream. 
I  saw  before  me  stretched  a  boundless  plain 
Of  sandy  wilderness,  all  black  and  Toid ; 
And  as  I  looked  around,  distress  and  fear 
Came  creeping  over  me,  when  at  my  side, 
Close  at  my  side,  an  uncouth  shape  appeared, 
Upon  a  dromedary  mounted  high. 
He  seemed  an  Arab  of  the  Bedouin  tribes. 
A  lance  he  bore,  and  underneath  one  arm 
A  stone,  and  in  the  opposite  hand  a  shell 
Of  a  surpassinff  brightness.    At  the  sight 
Much  I  rejoiced,  not  doubting  but  a  g^de 
Was  present,  one  who  with  unerring  skiU 
Would  through  the  desert  lead  me ;  and  while  vet 
I  looked,  and  looked,  self-questioned  what  this  neight 
Which  tiie  new-comer  carried  through  the  waste 
Could  mean,  the  Arab  told  me  that  uie  stone 
CTo  give  it  in  the  language  of  the  dream^ 
Was  '  £uclid*s  Elements ;'  and  '  this,'  said  he, 
'  Is  something  of  more  wprth ;  *  and  at  the  word 
Stretched  foitii  the  shell  so  beautiful  in  shape, 
In  colour  so  resplendent,  with  command 
That  I  should  hold  it  to  my  ear.     I  did  so ; 
And  heard  that  instant,  in  an  unknown  tongue. 
Which  yet  I  understood,  articulate  sounds — 
A  loud  prophetic  blast  of  harmony; 
An  odo  in  passion  uttered,  which  foretold 
Destruction  to  the  children  of  the  earth 
By  deluge  now  at  hand.     No  sooner  ceased 
The  song,  than  the  Arab  with  calm  look  declared 
That  all  would  come  to  pass  of  which  the  voice 
Had  given  forewarning,  and  that  he  himself 
Was  going  then  to  bury  those  two  books ; 
The  one  that  held  acquaintance  with  the  stars. 
And  wedded  soul  to  soul  in  purest  bond 
Of  reason,  undisturbed  by  space  or  time ; 
The  other  that  was  a  god — yea,  many  gods, 
Had  voices  more  than  all  the  winds,  with  power 
To  exhilarate  the  spirit,  and  to  soothe 
Through  every  clime  the  heart  of  human  kind. 
While  this  was  uttering,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
I  wondered  not,  although  I  plainly  saw 
The  one  to  be  a  stone,  the  other  ashell ; 
Nor  doubted  once  but  that  they  both  were  books, 
Having  a  perfect  faith  in  all  that  passed. 
Far  stronger  now  grew  the  desire  I  felt 
To  cleave  unto  this  man ;  but  when  I  prayed 
To  share  his  enterprise,  he  hurried  on 


MR.   COLERIDGE'S   PRESIDENTUL  ADDRESS.  301 

Reckle«8  of  me ;  I  followed,  not  unseen, 
For  oftentimes  he  cast  a  backward  look, 
Grasping  his  twofold  treasure.     Lance  in  rest 
He  rode,  I  keeping  pace  with  him ;  and  now 
He,  to  my  fancy,  had  become  the  knight. 
Whose  tale  Cervantes  tells,  yet  not  the  knight. 
But  was  an  Arab  of  the  Desert  too ; 
Of  these  was  neither,  and  was  both  at  once. 
His  countenance  meanwhile  grew  more  disturbed ; 
And,  looking  backwai-ds  when  he  looked,  mine  eyes 
Saw,  over  half  the  wilderness  diffused, 
A  bed  of  glittering  light.     I  asked  the  cause. 
•    *  It  is,*  said  he,  *  the  waters  of  the  deep 

Gathering  upon  us;'  quickening  then  the  pace 
Of  the  unwieldy  creature  he  bet«trode, 
He  left  me ;  I  called  after  him  aloud ; 
Ho  heeded  not ;  but  with  his  twofold  charge 
Still  in  his  grasp,  before  me,  full  in  view. 
Went  hurrying  o'er  the  illimitable  waste, 
With  the  fleet  waters  of  a  drowning  world 
In  chase  of  him  ;  whereat  I  waktd  in  terror. 
And  saw  the  sea  before  me,  and  the  book 
In  which  I  had  been  reading  at  my  side." 

Thus  ends  the  dream ;  which  I  have  quoted  to  show  that 
this  great  poet,  the  greatest  in  our  literature  in  my  opinion 
since  Milton,  placed  mathematics  by  the  side  of  the  creations 
of  the  imagination,  and  ascribed  to  them  both  an  imperish- 
able being,  even  when  this  world  of  time  and  space  shall  be 
no  more. 

I  said,  finally  and  above  all,  that  these  three  things 
agreed  also  in  this,  that  they  ought  each  and  all  to  be  pur- 
sued for  God's  glory  and  man's  good.  And  so  they  ought. 
But  I  must  inflict  no  further  burden  upon  the  endurance  of 
an  audience  already  overtaxed  by  listening  to  an  address, 
the  entire  inadequacy  of  which  to  the  occasion  no  one  here 
can  feel  more  keenly,  nor  regret  more  painfully,  than  I. 
Besides,  this  is  a  topic  I  have  no  right  to  handle,  certainly 
not,  at  any  rate,  to  you.  He  who  has  no  sense  of  responsi- 
bility to  God  for  the  right  use  and  best  improvement  of  the 
gifts  which  God  has  given  him,  will  not  have  it  wakened 
by  any  words  of  mine,  and  would  resent  any  attempt  of 
mine  to  waken  it.  Xpri  yap  i^**  Sa-ov  ivSixerai  a6avarii€iv,  koI 
iraira  vouty  irpos  to  (fjv  Kara  to  Kparurrw  riav  iy  avr^  was  the 
noble  and  highminded  precept  of  Aristotle  given  to  man- 
kind more  than  two  thousand  years  ago ;  and  yet  how  few 
men  have  striven  to  rise  above  themselves  to  the  immortal, 
or  to  live  according  to  the  best  of  the  mortal  nature  that 
is  in  them.  But  this,  at  least,  I  may  say,  that  while  false 
science  rests  in  effects  and  denies  a  cause ;  while  prurient  art 
d^rades  alike  the  artist  and  the  people ;  while  unholy  litera- 

VOL.   II.  X 


302  MR.  cx)leridge's  presidential  address. 

ture  poisoiis  the  fountain  of  good  at  its  very  source  by  corrupt- 
ing the  conscience ;  it  is  the  function  of  true  science  to  lead 
to  God ;  of  noble  art,  "  to  stir,  to  soothe,  or  elevate ;"  of  pure 
literature,  to  strengthen  us  for  the  great  battle  of  good  and 
ill  which  is  ever  going  on,  and  in  which,  whether  we  like  it 
or  not,  every  one  of  us  must  take  a  part.  Omnia  vanitas 
may  be  the  weary  cry  of  the  sated  voluptuary.  Benedidte 
omnia  opera  is  the  thanksgiving  of  the  faithful  and  trium- 
phant soul. 


4^ttuarp  Notices. 


CHARLES  GILES  BRIDLE  DAUBENY,  M.D.,  F.R.S., 

SOXKTIXE  PaOPRR50K  07  CnEMISTRT, 

AND   LATK  FaOPE.S80B  OF   BOTAXY   AND   RURAL  KCOXOXT, 

IN   TUK   UMIVBR8ITT  OF  OXFORD. 


By  the  death  of  Dr.  Daubeny,  the  Devonshire  Association 
for  the  advancement  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art  has  been 
deprived  of  one  who,  although  he  could  not  be  called  one  of 
its  founders,  was  yet  early  enrolled  among  its  members,  and 
of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  no  one  has  evinced  more  zeal 
for  its  welfare,  or  has  more  essentially  contributed  to  its 
success.  During  the  whole  period  of  his  connection  with  it 
he  was  constant  in  his  attendance  at  the  annual  meetings; 
in  no  instance  did  the  Council  in  their  deliberations  fail  to 
be  assisted  by  the  sound  advice  which  his  matured  intellect 
enabled  him  to  give ;  and  almost  up  to  the  hour  of  his  death 
he  was  labouring  in  its  behalf,  whilst  engaged  in  revising  and 
putting  through  the  press  the  paper  which  he  had  read  before 
the  Association  a  few  months  previously  at  Barnstaple. 

Charles  Giles  Bridle  Daubeny  was  a  younger  son  of  the 
Rev.  James  Daubeny,  rector  of  Stratton,  in  Gloucestershire, 
and  was  bom  in  1795.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered 
Winchester  School,  whence,  after  a  residence  of  nearly  three 
years,  he  proceeded  to  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  where  he 
was  elected  to  a  demyship  in  1810.  In  1814  he  took  his  b.a. 
degree,  having  obtained  the  honourable  distinction  of  being 
in  the  second  class  in  classics,  according  to  the  old  style  of 
the  Oxford  examinations.  In  1815  he  was  again  successful 
in  winning  academical  distinction  by  gaining  the  chancellor's 
prize  for  the  Latin  essay,  entitled  "  In  ill&  Philosophioe  parte, 
quae  moitilis  dicitur,  tractanda,  quaenam  sit  pnecipue  Aristo- 
telicae  disciplinse  Virtus."  In  due  course  he  obtained  a  lay 
fellowship  at  Magdalen,  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  and  for  several   years  practised  his  profession. 

x  2 


304  OBITUAKY  N0T1CB8. 

Although  he  afterwards  relinquished  his  medical  practioe,  the 
progress  of  medical  science  was  during  all  his  life  much  at 
his  hearty  and  he  fully  justified  his  title  of  BLD.  and  his 
fellowship  with  the  College  of  Physicians. 

Whilst  at  Edinburgh  preparing  for  his  professional  caieer, 
the  lectures  of  Professor  Jameson,  of  that  university,  on 
geology  and  mineralogy,  attracted  his  earnest  attention,  and 
sibrengthened  that  desire  to  cultivate  natural  science  which 
the  teaching  of  Dr.  Kidd  at  Oxford  had  already  aroused  in 
him.  The  change  from  thoughtful  Oxford  to  active  Edinburgh 
was  the  crisis  in  his  career.  Into  the  discussion  then  raging 
between  the  Plutonists  and  Neptunists,  the  worshippers  of 
fire  and  water,  he  entered  with  all  the  keenness  and  the 
ardour  of  his  keen  and  active  mind.  After  quitting  the 
university  of  Edinburgh,  in  1819,  he  proceeded  on  a  tour 
through  France,  everywhere  collecting  evidence  on  the  geo- 
logicid  and  chemical  history  of  the  globe,  sending  from 
Auvergne  some  of  the  earliest  notices  which  had  appeared  of 
that  remarkable  volcanic  region.  During  the  whole  of  his 
career  volcanic  phenomena  occupied  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Daubeny,  and  he  strove  by  frequent  journeys  throngh  the 
various  provinces  of  Europe  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  this 
interesting  subject  He  thus  prepared  the  basis  of  his  great 
work  on  "Active  and  Extinct  Volcanos,"  which  appeared  in 
182G,  and  contains  a  careful  description  of  all  the  regions 
known  to  be  visited  by  igneous  eruptions,  and  a  consistent 
hypothesis  of  the  cause  of  the  thermic  disturbance.  A  second 
edition  of  this  work  appeared  in  1848,  some  years  after  his 
North  American  tour,  and  since  tUen  several  supplements. 
In  1822,  four  years  before  the  first  publication  of  the 
"  Description  of  Volcanos,"  he  was  elected  to  the  professor- 
ship of  chemistry  in  succession  to  Dr.  Kidd,  his  former 
teacher.  Henoeforth  the  study  of  the  physical  sciences,  and 
particularly  chemistry  and  botany,  began  to  absorb  his  whole 
attention ;  and  in  1829  he  relinquished  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  and  devoted  himself  to  them.  Nothing  could 
exceed  the  zealous  activity  witli  which  he  entered  on  all 
investigations  which  had  a  bearing  on  tlie  principal  subject 
of  his  thoughts.  As  illustrative  of  this,  one  instance  only 
need  be  mentioned.  While  conducting  liis  volcanic  explo- 
rations, his  attention  was  attmcted  to  mineral  waters,  as 
indications  of  the  processes  going  on  below  the  surfaces  of 
various  countries.  In  order  to  examine  these  waters  in  the 
freshest  state  in  wliich  they  could  be  obtained,  he  carried 
about  a  considerable  apparatus,  and  w^ould  busy  himself  for 


CHARLES  GILES   BRIDLE  DAUBENY.  305 

days  in  evaporating  and  analyzing  on  a  large  scale,  just  as  if 
he  were  working  in  his  laboratory  at  home.  By  such  busy 
scrutiny  of  waters  in  the  volcanic  country  of  central  France 
and  the  south  of  Italy  he  provoked  the  suspicious  credulity 
of  the  natives,  who  thought  he  was  poisoning  their  springs, 
and  endangered  his  personal  safety. 

In  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Botany. 
He  was  also  made  Curator  of  the  Botanical  Gardens  at 
Oxford.  Under  his  careful  management  these  gardens  were 
entirely  arranged,  considerably  enlarged,  enriched  with  exten- 
sive houses,  and  rendered  capable  of  bearing  not  unfavourable 
comparison  with  the  richest  gardens  in  Europe.  He  also 
obtained  possession  of  a  piece  of  land  in  close  proximity  to 
Oxford,  to  enable  him  more  easily  to  prosecute  his  researches 
in  experimental  botany.  In  the  pleasant  residence  at  the 
botanic  garden  Dr.  Daubeny  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
Here  with  never-wearying  never-flagging  diligence  he  insti- 
tuted many  experiments  on  vegetation  under  different  con- 
ditions of  soil ;  on  the  effects  of  light  on  plants,  and  of  plants 
on  light;  on  the  conservability  of  seeds;  on  the  ozonic 
elements  of  the  atmosphere ;  and  the  effects  of  varied  pro- 
portions of  carbonic  acid  on  plants  analagous  to  those  of  the 
coal  measures.  A  full  description  of  many  of  these  experi- 
ments, and  the  conclusions  he  deduced  from  them,  may  be 
found  in  his  "  Miscellaneous  Memoirs  and  Essays,"  and  the 
reports  of  the  British  Association.  Not  to  make  any  de- 
scriptive remarks  on  them  here,  it  may  be  briefly  stated  that 
the  last  mentioned  are  peculiarly  valuable  as  elucidating  the 
curious  question,  whether  the  amazing  amount  of  vegetable 
life  in  the  carboniferous  ages  of  the  world  may  not  have 
been  specially  favoured  by  the  presence  in  the  palaeozoic 
atmosphere  of  a  larger  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  gas  than 
is  at  present  found. 

Dr.  Daubeny  did  not  confine  his  attention  exclusively  to 
researches  in  experimental  botany,  and  to  the  difficult  ques- 
tions before  mentioned,  but,  as  a  part  of  his  duty  as  professor 
of  botany,  he  took  pleasure  in  drawing  attention  to  the 
historical  aspects  of  the  subject.  With  this  view  appeared 
his  "  Lectures  on  Roman  Husbandry,"  which  contain  a  full 
account  of  the  most  important  passages  of  Latin  authors 
bearing  on  crops  and  their  culture,  on  the  treatment  of 
domestic  animals  and  horticulture.  A  few  years  later  followed 
a  valuable  essay  on  the  "  Trees  and  Shrubs  of  the  Ancients," 
and  a  catalogue  of  trees  and  shrubs  indigenous  to  Italy. 

Dr.  Daubeny   was   a  great   traveller,   almost  an   annual 


S06 


OMT0AKT  HOTICKS. 


> 


visitor  to  the  Contanent ;  and  in  those  vkits  he  gaiued  tlie 
MendsUp  of  many  of  the  most  eminent  chemists  and 
botamsts  of  the  day.  At  Geneva  he  was  alwaya  welcomed 
by  the  celebrated  botanist  Deconddle,  to  whose  memory  he 
bas  devoted  a  carefol  critical  essay,  puhllshed  in  the  second 
volume  of  his  **  Miscellanies."  It  is  not  miprabable  that  the 
infltt^ace  and  guidance  of  that  gix^at  luan  w^ntributed  much 
to  the  formation  of  those  just  viewa  and  clear  conoeptioii3  of 
botanical  science  which  were  sucli  characteristic  features  in 
tile  mind  of  him  who  is  the  subject  of  this  brief  notice. 

Of  late  years,  symptoms  of  ill-health  sonietimea  iiitt^rfering 
with  his  proper  avocations,  Dr.  Danbeuy  found  It  desirable 
during  the  winters  to  exchange  his  residence  in  Oxford  for 
the  imlder  climato  of  Torquay.  Here  he  was  re-ady  at  all 
times  to  respond  to  the  call  made  upon  htm,  to  impart  by 
public  lectures  or  otherwise  some  of  that  rare  store  of 
information  possessed  by  him;  and  he  manifeated  his  un- 
interruptod  activity  of  mind  by  his  constant  observations  on 
the  temperature  and  other  atmospheric  couditions  of  that 
salubrious  resort,  and  by  experiments  in  ozone  and  the  usual 
meteorok^c^  elemente  in  comparison  with  another  series  in 
Oxford.  It  was  during  the  first  of  these  winter  visits  tliat 
he  joined  the  Devonshire  Association,  and  in  the  following 
year  he  was  dected  to  fill  the  presidential  chair.  At  Tiverton, 
where  the  Association  met  that  year  (1865),  he  delivered  bis 
inaugural  address — an  address  to  which  for  soundness  and 
depth  of  thought,  extent  of  research,  and  perspicuity  of  ex- 

Sression,  it  would  be  difficulty  to  find  a  parallel  i|i  the  pub- 
shed  transactions  of  any  learned  society  in  the  kingdom. 
His  interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  Association  did  not  end 
with  the  termination  of  his  year  of  office,  but  at  every  sub- 
sequent meeting  he  was  present,  and  contributed  greatly  to 
their  success  by  the  papei's  he  read,  and  the  share  he  took  in 
the  discussions. 

At  Tavistock,  in  1866,  he  read  a  highly  interesting  paper 
"  On  the  Dependence  of  the  amount  of  Ozone  on  the  Direction 
of  the  Wind,"  wherein,  having  established  the  fact  that  the 
average  amount  of  ozone  present  in  the  air  is  greatest  when 
the  wind  comes  from  the  S.W.,  he  endeavoured  to  deduce  the 
conclusion  that  this  circumstence  tends  to  explain  the  great 
salubrity  of  the  sea  coaste  in  the  S.W.,  S.  and  W.,  inasmuch 
as  the  S.W.  wind  is  the  most  prevalent  wind  in  such  situations. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  chose  to  have  printed  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Association  merely  a  brief  abstract  of  the 
paper  alluded  to. 


CHARLES  GILES  BRIDLE  DAUBENY.         307 

Last  year,  at  Barnstaple,  the  proceedings  were  enhanced  in 
interest  by  a  most  valuable  paper  which  he  contributed  "  On 
the  Temperature  of  the  Ancient  World."  This  paper,  pub- 
lished in  extenso  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Association,  and 
illustrated  by  some  carefully- executed  diagrams,  must  ever 
be  regarded  by  the  members  with  peculiar  interest,  as  being 
the  last  published  production  of  the  fertile  brain  of  Charles 
Daubeny. 

Besides  his  connection  with  the  Devonshire  Association, 
he  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  several  congresses 
held  for  the  promotion  of  physical  science.  He  had  during 
his  career  been  an  unchanging  friend  and  supporter  of  the 
British  Association ;  and  in  1856,  on  the  occasion  of  its 
visiting  Cheltenham  he  became  president,  amidst  numerous 
friends,  who  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck  in  his  honour,  the 
only  instance  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the  Association. 

His  latest  labour  was  to  gather  his  "Miscellaneous  Essays" 
into  two  very  interesting  volumes,  and  then,  after  patiently 
enduring  severe  illness  for  a  few  weeks,  he  sank  to  that  rest 
which  often  in  his  thoughts  had  ever  been  expected  with  the 
calmness  of  the  philosopher,  and  the  hopefulness  of  the 
Christian.  He  died  at  five  minutes  past  12  a.m.,  December 
13th,  1867,  in  his  73rd  year.  His  remains  were  laid  in  a 
vault  adjoining  the  walls  of  Magdalen  College  Chapel,  in 
accordance  with  his  own  expressed  wish,  "  that  he  might  not 
be  separated  in  death  from  a  society  with  which  he  had  been 
connected  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and  to  which  he 
was  so  deeply  indebted,  not  only  for  the  kind  countenance 
and  support  ever  afforded  him,  but  also  for  supplying  him 
with  the  means  of  indulging  in  a  career  of  life  at  once  so 
congenial  to  his  taste,  and  the  best  calculated  to  render  him 
a  useful  member  of  the  community." 

Thus  passed  away  one  whose  memory  will  long  be  cherished, 
not  only  by  those  whose  good  fortune  it  was  to  possess  his 
personal  friendship  and  enjoy  his  intimacy,  but  also  by  all 
who  are  in  any  degree  interested  in  the  progress  of  science 
and  the  unravelling  the  mysteries  of  natura  He  was  never 
indiflferent,  prejudiced,  or  unprepared ;  but  on  every  question 
his  opinion  was  formed  with  rare  impartiality,  and  expressed 
with  rare  intrepidity.  Firm  and  gentle,  prudent  and  generous, 
cheerful  and  sympathetic,  pursuing  no  private  ends,  calm 
amid  jarring  creeds  and  contending  parties,  the  personal 
influence  of  such  a  man  on  his  contemporaries  for  half  a 
century  of  active  and  thoughtful  life  fully  matched  the  effect 
of  his  published  works.  Any  one  accustomed  to  a  considerable 


N 


308  OBITUARY    NOTICES. 

degree  of  intimacy  with  him  would  be  able  to  declare  that 
he  never  met  with  any  man  more  entirely  truthful  and  just- 
minded:  you  might  absolutely  rely  upon  him  in  regard  of 
deeds,  thoughts,  and  motives.  To  convince  his  judgment  was 
to  enlist  his  sympathy,  and  secure  his  active  help;  to  be 
censured  with  over-much  strictness  was  a  passport  to  such 
protection  as  he  could  honestly  give. 

His  published  writings  are  very  numerous.  Many  of  his 
essays  and  memoirs,  scattered  through  various  periodcals, 
and  not  easily  accessible,  were  collected  and  arranged  by  their 
author  in  two  volumes  of  miscellanies.  The  following  is  a 
list  of  the  works  which  contain  the  principal  results  of  Dr. 
Dauben3r's  scientific  and  literary  labours  : — 

1.  Description  of  Active  and  Extinct  Volcauos,  8vo.    London,  1826. 

Second  Edition,  1848.    Several  Supplements. 

2.  Tabular  View  of  Volcanic  Phoenomena,  thick  FoL     1828. 

3.  Notes  of  a  Tour  in  North  America,  8vo.   (Privately  printed.)  1838. 

4.  Introduction  to  the  Atomic  Theory,  8vo.     1852. 

5.  Lectures  on  Roman  Husbandry,  8vo.     1857. 

6.  Lectures  on  Climate,  8vo.     1863. 

7.  Trees  and  Shrubs  of  the  Ancients,  8vo.     1865. 

8.  Miscellanies  on  Scientific  and  Literary  Subjects,  2  vols.  8vo.    1867. 


SIR     J.     BROOKE,     K.C.B., 

LATF  QOVKRKUR  OF  I.ABIAN  AND  RAJAII  OK  8ARAWAK. 


To  the  honoured  name  of  Dr.  Daubeny  must  be  added  that 
of  another,  who,  during  the  past  year,  has  been  removed  from 
among  us  by  death,  viz..  His  Highness  the  I^jali  Sir  J. 
Brooke,  who,  although  less  known  to  the  world  of  science 
and  letters,  nevertheless,  occupied  a  position  among  modern 
representative  men,  periiaps  the  liighest  that  could  be  at- 
tained, who  has  left  a  name  behind  him  destined  to  stand 
forth  prominently  in  the  future  pages  of  English  history,  and 
who  has  made  the  English  name  to  be  respected  and  loved 
in  the  eastern  seas. 

Sprung  from  a  good  old  Somersetshire  family,  and  the  son 
of  a  plain  retired  official,  wlio  had  acquired  a  handsome 
competency  in  the  Civil  Service  of  the  East  In^lia  Company, 
James  Drooke  was  born,  either  in  India  or,  according  to 
another  account,  at  Combe  Grove,  near  Bath,  on  the  29th  of 


SIR  J.   BROOKE.  309 

April,  1803.  He  received  liis  early  education  at  several 
schools,  but  principally  at  the  Grammar  School  at  Norwich, 
at  that  time  under  one  of  the  Valpy  family.  As  a  boy  he 
had  loved  nothing  so  well  as  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  and  books 
of  foreign  adventure;  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  as 
soon  as  he  grew  towards  manhood  he  should  have  chosen  the 
Indian  army  as  his  profession.  He  obtained  his  first  com- 
mission about  the  year  1817,  and  served  as  a  cadet  in  the 
first  Burmese  war,  in  which  he  was  severely  wounded,  and 
shortly  after  obtained  his  lieutenancy.  After  his  return  to 
England,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  an  accident  befel  him 
which  altered  the  whole  course  of  his  subsequent  life.  On 
recovering  from  his  wound  he  travelled  through  France  and 
Italy  to  re-establish  his  health;  but  on  reaching  India  he 
found  that  his  furlough  had  expired,  and  that  he  was  obliged 
to  retire  from  the  service,  although  he  was  able  to  plead  in 
excuse  the  fact  that  he  bad  been  wrecked  on  his  outward 
passage,  and  that  he  was  scarcely  accountable  for  the  delay. 
Accordingly,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  do  the  best  that  he 
could  under  the  circumstances,  and  having  purchased  a 
yacht  of  140  tons  burden — The  Royalist, — in  her  he  set  sail 
towards  the  close  of  1838  from  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 
with  a  crew  trained  to  obey  him  and  feel  faith  in  his  com- 
mand, and  steered  straight  for  those  eastern  seas  of  which 
he  had  read  as  a  child,  and  which  he  now  resolved  to  penetrate 
again.  He  had  heard  much  of  the  wretched  condition  of 
the  natives  of  some  of  those  eastern  islands ;  of  their  habits 
of  plunder,  piracy,  and  murder ;  of  their  discontent  under  the 
rule  of  native  chiefs  almost  as  savage  and  lawless  as  them- 
selves ;  and  of  the  gradual  cessation  of  trade  and  commerce, 
which  threatened  to  plunge  them  deeper  in  the  gloom  of 
barbarism.  In  the  month  of  August,  in  1839,  having  already 
passed  the  southern  shores  of  India  and  Ceylon,  crossed  the 
Indian  Ocean,  and  landed  at  Singapore,  he  reached  Sarawak, 
which  is  situated  a  few  leagues  up  country  from  the  sea 
coast  of  Borneo. 

On  reaching  the  coast  of  Borneo  he  found  the  sovereign  of 
that  island  engaged  in  a  long  and  almost  hopeless  attempt  to 
suppress  one  of  those  rebellions  which  so  frequently  happen 
among  the  rival  rulers  of  subordinate  districts.  His  services 
were  lent  to  the  rajah,  Muda  Hassim,  uncle  of  the  sultan, 
and  they  secured  the  triumph  of  authority  and  law.  It 
appears  that  Muda  soon  afterwards,  being  called  to  the  post 
of  prime  minister,  recommended  the  sultan  to  entrust  Sara- 
wak to  the  care  and  government  of  the  able  Englishman. 


310  OBTTUABY  NOIIGES. 

The  advice  thus  tendered  was  accepted,  and  forthwith  James 
Brooke  was  duly  instaUed  as  r^jah. 

The  newly  appointed  rajah  immediately  set  about  the 
reform  of  the  local  government,  the  framing  of  new  laws, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  people  thus  strangely  sub- 
jected to  the  aU  but  irresponsible  sway  of  the  "  Tuaii  Besar,** 
or  great  man,  as  the  natives  persisted  in  calling  him.  Ue 
soon  attached  to  himself  the  native  rulers  by  the  tie  of 
affection ;  and  pursuing  war  as  a  pastime,  chased  the  pirates 
to  their  retreats,  and  scoured  them  from  the  seas.  The  result 
of  these  expeditions  was  the  shedding  of  a  great  deal  of 
blood ;  but  it  was  said  that  those  who  perish^  were  free- 
booters and  pirates,  and  the  outcry  raised  in  consequence  at 
home  against  the  rajah  gradually  died  away.  Captain  Kep- 
pel,  who  had  largely  assisted  him  in  the  suppression  of 
piracy,  on  his  return  to  England  in  1844,  published  a  Diary 
by  the  rajah  himself,  which  rendered  the  public  at  home 
familiar  with  the  true  state  of  the  case,  and  prepared  them 
to  welcome  him  on  his  return  with  suitable  demonstrations 
of  their  feelings.  On  reaching  London  in  1846,  or  early  in 
1847,  Bajah  Brooke  found  himself  famous,  and  more  than 
fiimous.  The  knighthood  of  the  Bath  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  her  Majesty;  the  University  of  Oxford  bestowed 
upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  D.C.L ;  and  he  was  fSted 
and  entertained  at  dinner  by  every  public  body,  from  the 
Queen  at  Windsor  Castle,  down  to  the  most  third-rate  and 
fourth -rate  of  city  companies.  He  also  reaped  the  more 
solid  and  substantial  reward  of  being  created  by  the  Queen 
"  Commissioner  and  Consul  to  the  native  states  of  Borneo, 
and  Governor  of  Labuan,"  the  latter  being  a  small  island  near 
Sarawak  purchased  from  the  sultan,  and  erected  into  a 
British  colony.  As  governor  he  enjoyed  a  salary  of  ;£2000 
a  year. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  this  time  he  had  no 
zealous  opponents  or  detractors  from  the  credit  and  fame 
which  were  his  due.  His  conduct  was  severely  criticised 
and  censured  by  Mr.  Joseph  Hume  and  other  members  of 
the  imperial  parliament ;  and  his  rule  was  made  the  subject 
of  official  enquiry,  which  he  felt  to  be  almost  equivalent  to 
an  official  censure.  Although  he  came  triumphantly  out  of 
the  enquiry,  yet  it  laid  the  foundation  of  great  mental 
suffering  and  bodily  illness  in  a  man  like  Brooke,  whose 
sensitive  and  chivalrous  nature,  as  Edmund  Burke  has 
pointedly  said,  "feels  dishonour  as  a  wound."  What  hard 
work  in  the  east  could   not  do  was   speedily  effected   by 


SIR  J.   BROOKE.  311 

mistrust  and  jealousy  at  home  working  upon  his  sensitive 
and  generous  disposition.  In  1858  he  returned  to  England, 
but  he  had  been  in  this  countiy  only  a  few  months  when  his 
health  received  a  serious  shock  in  the  shape  of  a  paralytic 
attack.  From  that  time  one  or  two  short  visits  paid  to  the 
island  of  his  adoption  filled  up  the  intervals  of  the  forced 
inaction  to  which  broken  health  and  spirits  reduced  him,  his 
rule  in  the  east  being  administered  by  the  hand  of  a  relative. 
To  add  to  his  troubles,  his  books,  private  papers,  and  house 
were  burnt  in  an  insurrection  in  Borneo,  which  he  was  not 
on  the  spot  to  quell.  A  public  meeting,  however,  was  held 
in  London,  and  a  sum  of  money  was  collected  among  his 
friends  and  admirers  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  replace  them 
and  purchase  the  estate  at  Burrator,  in  South  Devon,  where 
he  ended  his  days  in  peace  and  tranquillity. 

He  died  on  Thursday,  June  11th,  at  the  early  age  of  65, 
deeply  regretted,  especially  by  the  poor  of  many  parishes  in 
the  districts  around  Burrator,  to  whom  he  was  always  a 
friend,  and  to  whom  his  death  will  prove  a  great  loss.  His 
remains  were  interred  in  the  parish  church  of  Sheepstor,  near 
Horrabridge. 


ON  THE  SALMONID^  OF  DEVON. 

BT  DB.  800IT. 


At  a  former  meeting  of  this  association  I  introduced  the 
subject  of  the  fishes  of  Devonshire,  and  in  that  paper  I  dwelt 
at  some  length  on  the  important  fiEimily  of  the  salmonida. 

The  natural  history  of  this  class  of  fishes  has  always  been, 
and  indeed  still  is,  involved  in  considerable  obscurity;  and 
though  some  advances  have  been  made  in  later  years  in 
developing  a  knowledge  of  salmon  history,  there  are  yet  many 
points  left  for  future  observers  to  investigate ;  and  my  paper 
on  the  present  occasion  is  rather  to  point  out  the  direction 
in  which  our  observations  in  Devonshire  are  required  than  to 
throw  much  new  light  on  the  matter,  and  to  record  some 
detailed  descriptions  of  the  more  doubtful  species  captured 
in  our  rivers. 

The  members  of  the  salmon  family  found  in  Devon  are  con- 
siderable, and  under  their  local  names  are  known  as  follow : — 
The  Salmon,  the  Hepper,  the  Graveling,  the  Peal,  tbe  Trout, 
and  the  Trough. 

THE  SALMON. 

The  salmon,  when  full  grown  and  properly  developed,  is 
generally  well  known  and  easily  recognized.  It  is  the  laigest 
of  all  of  its  family,  and  has  been  known  to  reach  SOlbs.,  but 
seldom  reaches  a  weight  in  our  own  county  of  more  than 
from  ten  to  twenty  pounds. 

It  is  a  fish  that  migrates  between  salt  and  fresh  water,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  said  either  to  be  a  salt  or  a  fresh  water 
fish,  though  it  is  generally  considered  to  belong  to  the  salt 
water,  only  coming  into  the  fresh  water  to  deposit  its  spawn. 
Its  condition  reaches  its  best  in  the  sea,  and  as  soon  as  it 
enters  the  river  it  begins  to  decline — its  scales  lose  their 
brightness,  their  silver  becomes  tarnished,  and  the  flesh 
becomes  soft  and  flabby,  and  loses  its  fine  rich  pink  hue. 
Salmon  enter  rivers  generally  when  their  waters  are  swollen 
by  floods.  Such  a  season  as  this,  for  instance,  when  there  has 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DEVON.  313 

been  a  long  drought,  and  the  rivers  have  long  remained  low, 
the  salmon  will  have  congregated  in  numbers  about  the 
estuaries,  ready,  as  soon  as  the  flood  comes,  to  rush  up  the 
streams,  struggling  onwards  to  their  highest  parts,  where  they 
remain  in  pools  till  the  time  comes  for  them  to  deposit  their 
spawn,  for  which  purpose  they  then  seek  out  the  shallow 
parts,  and  commence  their  labours  in  water  of  from  8  to  IG 
inches  in  depth,  and  mostly  where  thei'e  is  a  gentle  current 
with  a  gi'avelly  bottom. 

In  our  own  rivers  the  salmon  seldom  enter  earlier  than 
August,  during  which  month,  and  the  following  ones  of  Sep- 
tember, October,  November,  and  December,  they  are  most 
plentiful.  In  these  latter  months  the  roe  becomes  greatly 
developed,  and  they  deposit  their  spawn,  during  which  period 
they  ai'e  protected  from  being  destroyed  by  law.  The  great 
breeding  season  in  England  and  Wales  is  in  the  months  of 
November,  December,  and  January,  while  in  the  north  of 
Scotland  it  is  somewhat  earlier.  From  this  difference  in  the 
period  when  salmon  deposit  tlieir  spawn,  we  hear  of  early 
and  late  rivers.  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
cause  of  early  and  late  rivers,  and  though  it  has  been  attributed 
to  several  causes,  the  true  one  has  not  as  yet  been  very  clearly 
shown.  When  the  fish  have  entered  the  rivers,  and  as  the 
roe  increases,  the  desire  becomes  greater  and  greater  to  ascend 
to  the  higher  parts  of  the  streams,  and  to  accomplish  this  they 
will  make  great  efforts  to  overcome  all  obstacles  that  may 
present  themselves.  In  doing  so  they  may  be  often  seen 
attempting  to  leap  over  dams  and  weirs  placed  across  rivers, 
and  spring  many  feet  out  of  the  water.  It  is  to  assist  fish 
over  such  obstacles  that  salmon  ladders  have  been  constructed. 
We  have  many  weirs  in  the  river  Exe  which  are  great  pre- 
ventives to  the  fish  ascending,  and  ladders  have  been  placed 
so  as  to  assist  the  fish  in  some  of  these,  but  not,  I  fear,  as  yet 
with  much  success.*  When  the  fish  have  ascended  the  river, 
and  deposited  their  spawn,  they  then  become  lean  and  lanky 
in  appearance,  and  are  called  with  us  hack  fish,  and  are  not 
allowed  to  be  captured  by  law,  as  they  are  in  a  great  degree 
tasteless,  and  unfit  for  human  food. 

The  fish  having  entered  the  rivers,  and  deposited  their 
spawn,  again  make  their  way  back  to  the  sea  in  an  exhausted 

*  During  tho  present  season  the  Exe  has  been  unusually  low,  offerinf^ 
great  facilities  for  constructins^  salmon  ladders ;  but- though  Mr.  F.  Buckland 
exhibited  at  Exeter  a  variety  of  ladders,  accompanied  with  hints  as  to  their 
application  to  the  Exe  weirs,  I  ro;^t  to  say  that  the  authorities  have  aUowed 
tfoch  an  opportunity  to  pass  without  taking  advantage  of  it. 


314  OK  THE  SALMONIDifi  OF  DEVON. 

condition,  having  expended  their  fetness  and  their  strength 
in  their  eiibrts  to  perpetuate  their  race.  On  reaching  the  sea^ 
say  about  February  or  March,  they  remain  there  till  the 
following  July  or  August,  when  they  again  seek  the  fresh 
waters,  to  again  go  through  the  same  operations. 

THE  HEPPER  AND  GBAVELIMG. 

If  the  spawn  has  been  deposited,  say  in  November  or 
December,  the  young  will  appear  about  February,  having 
required  for  incubation  a  period  of  from  70  to  100  da^s. 
They  may  be  then  observed  about  half  an  inch  long,  with 
part  of  the  ova  attached  to  their  abdomen,  where  it  remains 
for  nearly  a  month,  and  then  disappears  by  being  absorbed 
into  the  fish.  These  fry  are  at  this  period  shapeless  objects, 
with  small  head  and  large  protruding  eyes.  At  a  month  old 
they  become  more  fish-like,  and  have  grown  to  about  an  inch 
in  length.  In  a  month  more  they  are  two  inches  in  length, 
the  lateral  line  has  become  visible,  and  the  tail  notched. 
When  they  have  grown  to  three  or  four  inches  long,  in  our 
Devon  rivers  they  are  known  as  heppers. 

Many  of  you  are  doubtless  well  acquainted  with  the  fish 
in  this  stage ;  but  for  the  information  of  those  who  are  not^ 
I  may  say  that  we  find  the  hepper  varying  from  four  or  five 
inches  long  to  eight  Colour  of  the  back  and  sides,  olive  brown 
marked  by  a  number  of  dark  round  spots ;  pectoral,  dorsal, 
and  caudd  fins,  dusky ;  ventrals  and  anal  rather  lighter,  and 
with  several  broad  transverse  bands,  like  finger  marks,  ex- 
tending down  the  sides.  This  is  the  h^per  of  Devonshire 
and  the  parr  of  Scotland,  and  has  been  with  us  a  fish  regarding 
which  there  has  been  much  controversy.*  From  this  period 
of  salmon  life  to  that  of  tlie  full-grown  fish  the  changes 
which  it  undergoes  are  remarkable,  and  there  has  been  much 
of  its  history  obscure.  Owing,  however,  to  the  success  which 
has  attended  the  artificial  cultivation  of  this  fish,  part  of 
what  was  obscure  has  been  cleared  away,  and  we  have  now  a 
better  knowledge  of  some  of  its  changes.  These  heppers  remain 
in  the  river  where  they  are  bred  till  they  attain  a  length  of 
seven  or  eight  inches,  when  tliey  somewhat  suddenly  assume 
another  dress — new  scales  appear  to  cover  the  old  ones,  and 
they  present  a  colour  and  form  much  more  resembling  those 
of  a  true  salmon — the  back  is  a  glossy  blue,  and  the  sides 
and  belly  of  a  silvery  white.  In  this  dress  they  are  called 
with  us  travelings,  and  with  the  Scotch  smolts;  and  as  soon 
as  they  have  put  on  this  new  form  they  make  their  way  to 
the  sea,  which  generally  takes  place  in  the  month  of  May.   It 


\ 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiB  OF  DEVON.  315 

was  long  believed  in  Devonshire,  and  indeed  is  yet  by  many, 
that  the  hepper  and  graveling  were  distinct  fish;  and  the 
argument  used  by  those  who  contended  for  this  being  the 
ease  was,  that  heppers  can  be  taken  in  our  rivers  at  all  seasons 
tliroughout  the  year,  while  gravelings  cannot.  This  no  doubt 
is  the  case ;  but  the  fact  is  explained  in  the  following  way. 
When  heppers  change  into  gravelings  it  is  found  that  only 
part  of  a  brood  do  so,  not  £dl,  the  other  part  not  taking  on 
their  graveling  dress  till  the  year  following.  Whereas  grave- 
lings never  remain  in  the  river  after  assuming  the  graveling 
dress.  I  was  informed  by  an  attendant  at  the  Zoological 
Gardens  of  a  curious  fact  he  had  observed  connected  with 
the  heppers  they  had  in  confinement.  These  heppers  changed 
their  dress  at  the  usual  period  to  that  of  a  graveling,  and 
having  worn  this  some  time,  and  found  no  means  of  escaping 
out  of  fresh  water,  gradually  changed  back  again  to  heppera. 
This  is  a  change  I  have  not  elsewhere  seen  alluded  to. 

Had  the  changes  we  have  just  explained  been  confined 
only  to  the  true  salmon,  we  might  have  at  once  pronounced 
upon  the  young  heppers  and  gravelings  found  in  our  waters ; 
but  such  is  not  the  case ;  for  similar  changes  are  common  to 
the  other  two  migratory  species  of  the  salmonidae;  viz., 
Salmo  eriox  and  Salmo  tinUta— the  bull  trout  and  the  salmon 
trout.  And  a  mode  of  distinguishing  these  in  their  young 
stage  from  each  other  is,  according  to  Gunther,  a  discovery 
left  for  future  naturalists.  Besides  the  young  of  these 
migratory  species,  we  find  another  species  in  our  rivers,  pos- 
sessing in  early  life  much  of  the  same  appearance  as  the 
species  already  mentioned ;  viz.,  the  young  of  the  Salmo  fario 
or  common  trout ;  but  this  last  is  always  to  be  separated  from 
the  others  by  its  having  a  vermilion -coloured  spot  on  the 
point  of  the  second  dorsal  or  adipose  fin. 

In  the  paper  I  had  the  honour  of  reading  before  the 
society  at  Torquay,  I  then  showed  the  hepper  and  the 
graveling  to  be  the  same  fish  at  different  stages  of  growth, 
and,  as  I  thought  then,  of  the  salmon  alone ;  but  more  recent 
observations  have  led  me  to  modify  this  opinion,  and  to 
believe  that  the  heppers  and  gravelings  of  our  rivers  are  not 
only  the  young  of  the  true  salmon,  but  include  also  specimens 
of  the  eriox,  and  possibly  the  trutta,  which  are  all  so 
similar  to  each  other,  that  as  yet  no  acknowledged  mode  is 
known  of  separating  them. 

This  similarity  of  the  young  in  different  natural  groups  of 
animals,  where  the  adults  differ  considerably,  has  long  been 
observed,  as  also  the  fact  that  species  of  an  inferior  size 


N 


316  ON  THE  SALMONIDiB  OF  DEVOK. 

retain  permanently  characteristics  possessed  in  common  with 
'the  young  of  larger  species,  out  of  which  the  larger  species 
grow.  So  it  is  in  the  family  of  the  salmonidaB.  The  vomer 
teeth  are  possessed  by  the  young  of  all  the  species  I  have 
named  through  the  whole  vomer  ridge;  but  I  believe  the 
common  trout  is  the  only  species  that  retains  this  mark 
permanently,  since  I  have  met  with  specimens  in  the  other 
three  varieties  where  it  has  beeen  wanting,  or  reduced  to  a 
very  few  in  number. 

The  hepper  and  the  graveling,  then,  are  not  distinct  species 
as  was  so  long  believeil,  but  only  stages  of  growth  of  other 
fish,  including  the  mlar,  the  ei'iox,  and  the  trutta;  and  as  yet 
no  acknowledged  marks  are  known  by  which  we  are  enabled 
to  distinguish  any  one  species  of  these  from  the  other. 

THE  SALMON  PEAL. 

Between  the  graveling  stage  and  that  of  the  full-developed 
fish,  whether  of  the  salmon,  the  bull  .trout,  or  the  salmon 
trout,  there  is  another  stage  approaching  nearer  to  the  full- 
grown  fish,  and  that  stage  in  our  Devonshire  rivers  I  believe 
to  be  represented  by  the  salmon  peal.  What  is  the  peal  of 
Devon  ?  has  been  a  vexata  qutUio  as  tough  and  as  difficult  of 
solution  as  any  ever  fought  over  by  the  schoolmen  of  the 
middle  ages ;  and  now,  while  many  believe  it  to  be  as  I  have 
stated,  the  young  of  more  developed  fish,  some  still  strongly 
maintain  its  being  an  independent  species. 

In  the  paper  read  by  me  at  Torquay,  I  there  stated  my 
belief  that  the  peal  was  a  stage  of  growth  of  the  true  salmon, 
but  tliat  other  fish  besides  young  salmon  were  sold  as  peal. 
Further  observations  have  confirmed  me  in  this  opinion,  and 
shown  that  our  Devonshire  peal  include  young  salmon, 
young  ball  trout,  and  probably  young  salmon  trout,  and  are 
only  the  further  developed  heppers  and  gravelings  of  our 
rivers. 

Daring  the  present  season,  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  San- 
ders, the  intelli;];ent  fishmonger  of  St.  Martin's  Lane, 
Exeter,  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  many 
specimens  of  the  various  sahnonoids  which  have  been 
caught  in  Devonshire  rivers,  and  the  three  here  presented 
to  you  in  pliotogi-aph  represent  three  fish  that  were  sold  as 
peal  to  nie. 

In  looking  at  tliese  fish,  an  ordinary  observer  may  not  per- 
haps perceive  any  great  difference ;  yet  no  one  can  examine 
them  carefully  without  seeing  even  in  the  general  appear- 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DEVON.  317 

ance  of  Nos.  1  and  2,*  which  are  about  the  same  size,  that 
there  is  a  diflference.  If  compared  through  the  whole  length, 
it  will  be  seen  that  No.  1  is  more  elegant  in  its  form.  The 
portion  behind  the  dorsal  fin  is  not  so  heavily  and  thickly 
formed ;  the  extremities  of  the  tail  and  head  are  both  smaller 
in  No.  1  than  they  are  in  No.  2 ;  and  the  tail  is  sharper  and 
more  elegant  in  its  lunation.  Thus  for  a  general  examina- 
tion. If  we  descend  to  a  more  particular  and  detailed  com- 
parison— if  we  compare  the  length  of  the  head  with  the 
length  of  the  body,  we  shall  find  that  in  No.  1  the  proportion 
is  as  about  one  to  five  measuring  to  the  insertion  of  the 
caudal  fin,  while  it  is  in  No.  2  as  one  to  five  including  the 
caudal  fin.  Again,  if  we  look  closer  at  the  caudal  fin,  we 
shall  find  that  while  the  central  rays  of  this  fin  in  No.  1  are 
less  than  half  the  length  of  the  longest  ray  of  the  same  fin, 
that  of  No.  2  is  different.  Here  the  central  rays  are  more 
than  half  the  length.  Parnell  gives  this  as  a  test  to  dis- 
tinguish the  true  salmon  from  either  of  the  other  migratory 
species  at  any  peiHod  of  their  growth.  The  true  salmon  having 
the  central  rays  less  than  half  the  longest,  and  the  other 
species  more  than  half  the  length. 

This,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  is  a  safe  guide  in  the  peal 
stage,  and  up  to  a  moderate  age  in  the  salmon ;  but  in  a  fish 
of  advanced  years  I  believe  it  fails,  and  I  have  not  tested  it 
in  the  hepper  and  graveling  stages  sufficiently  to  speak  with 
certainty. 

I  deduce  from  this  examination,  and  from  a  stiU  more 
detailed  one,  that  No.  1  is  the  young  of  the  true  salmon, 
while  No.  2  is  not.+  What,  then,  is  No.  2  ?  and  is  it  the 
same  as  No.  3  ?  From  a  careful  examination  of  this  fish, 
I  believe  it  to  be  a  young  bull  trout  or  Salmo  eriox;  and 
it  is  possible  that  No.  3  is  the  same,  though  there  are  some 
differences  of  importance.  In  No.  2  the  teeth  on  the  vomer 
are  confined  to  the  anterior  of  the  vomer,  and  only  two  in 
number ;  while  in  No.  3  the  vomerine  teeth  extend  far  back, 
and  are  several.  This  distinction  of  teeth  has  been  con- 
sidered one  of  importance  in  distinguishing  species ;  but 
from  so  many  individuals  of  otherwise  apparent  identity 
differing  in  this,  I  have  been  led  not  to  lay  much  weight 
upon  this  "mark  of  mouth." 

Dr.  Parnell,  in  his  admirable  volume  on  the  fishes  of  the 
Frith  of  Forth,  gives  nine  varieties  of  the  8,  eriox,  and  in 

•  The  paper  was  illustrated  by  figures  to  which  these  Nob.  refer, 
t  Appended  to  this  paper  wUl  be  given  a  detailed  deacription  of  these 
three  Mi. 

VOL.  IL  Y 


318  ON  THB  BAIMOmOM  OF  DETOK. 

these  the  teeth  on  the  vomer  vaiy  from  two  to  fiva  Thia 
shows  that  this  fish  has  a  tendency  to  assume  several  modified 
forms;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  Nos.  2  and  3  are  the 
same  fish,  viz.,  S.  eriax.  Though  it  is  possible,  firom  the 
vomerine  teeth  and  its  o^-like  shaped  spote,  that  Ka  3  mav  be 
tiie  8.  trutta,  which,  however,  from  the  scarcity  of  this  fish  in 
the  adult  state  in  the  West  of  England,  is  not  very  probabl& 
You  will  see  from  these  remarks  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
pronounce  positively  on  these^fish  as  to  the  exact  place  they 
occupy  in  the  salmon  family ;  but  I  have  added  a  detailed 
description  of  them  in  an  Appendix  to  this  paper,  which  may 
enable  others  to  compare  them  with  fish  of  different  livers, 
and  so  lead  to  more  positive  knowledge  r^arding  them. 

THE  nrVEB  TROUT,  OR  COMMON  TROUT. 

This  fish  is  so  well  known  and  so  common  in  all  our 
streams  that  little  need  be  said  here  regarding  it  The  trout 
varies  considerably  in  different  localities  both  in  size  and 
colour,  so  much  so,  indeed,  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  there 
may  be  more  than  one  species.  The  trout  of  the  Otter  or  the 
Culm  compared  with  the  trout  of  several  of  the  Dartmoor 
streams  present  a  very  remarkable  difference,  yet  not  more 
than  the  difference  presented  by  the  districts  in  which  they 
are  found.  It  has  therefore  b^n  considered  that  these  dif- 
ferences presented  by  the  trout  of  different  localities  are 
sufficiently  accounted  for  by  tlie  different  circumstances  by 
which  they  are  surrounded ;  yet  it  is  worthy  of  investigation 
whether  or  not  differences  of  organization  exist  in  the  dif- 
ferent specimens  presented  to  us  by  the  streams  and  brooks 
of  Dartmoor,  and  the  rivers  of  the  Culm,  the  Otter,  the  Axe, 
and  the  Exe ;  for  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  long-continued 
influence  of  different  circumstances  may  have  produced 
modifications  of  form  as  great  as  some  of  those  by  which 
species  are  sometimes  established. 

THE  TROUGH. 

The  trough,  like  the  peal,  is  a  fish  not  very  well  defined, 
and  the  term,  like  that  of  peal,  I  believe  to  have  been  applied 
to  several  kinds  of  fish.  Indeed,  any  fish  not  recognised  as 
peal  or  salmon  get  the  name  of  trough,  though  probably  the 
Salmo  eriox  in  an  advanced  stage  of  growth  to  that  of  peal  is 
the  most  generally  recognised  trough  of  Devon. 

Two  of  the  largest  fish  I  have  ever  seen  caught  in  the 
Devonshire  rivers  have  been  shown  to  me  as  trough.  The  one 


ON  THE  SALMONID^  OF  DEVON.  319 

(No.  5)  caught  July  16th,  and  the  other  (No.  6)  July  20th,  of 
the  present  year.  The  first  weighed  20  lbs.,  and  the  last  36  lbs. 
Except  in  size  these  fish  closely  resembled  each  other.  The 
one  that  was  20  lbs.  was  a  female,  that  36  lbs.  a  male.  If  the 
trough  is  a  bull  trout,  as  given  by  Couch,  and  these  fish  are 
of  this  species,  then  that  of  36  lbs.  weight  is  considerably  the 
largest  specimen  on  record.  The  general  aspect  of  these  fish 
was  somewhat  trout-like,  and  their  brown  and  greyish  green 
colours  of  various  shades,  and  their  black,  dark  brown,  and 
red  spots  all  added  to  their  trout-like  appearance.  The  figures 
6  and  6  are  photographs  of  these  fish,  while  figure  7  repre- 
sents the  head  of  the  one  weighing  36  lbs.  The  larger  fish 
measured  47  inches  from  the  snout  to  the  extreme  end  of  the 
central  rays  of  the  caudal  fin,  and  23  inches  roimd  imme- 
diately in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin.  In  general  proportions 
the  fish  was  thick  for  its  length,  and  it  waa  well  grown  in 
girth  towards  the  second  dorsal  fin,  giving  it  somewhat  of 
a  pike-like  growth.  The  base  of  the  first  ray  of  the  dorsal 
fin  was  situated  midway  between  the  snout  and  the  central 
rays  of  the  caudal  fin,  while  the  length  of  the  head  from 
snout  to  posterior  margin  of  gill-covers  was  10^  inches.  In 
the  smaller  fish  the  full  length  was  39  inches,  and  from  snout 
to  end  of  gill -covers  8  inches.  In  the  large  fish  the  eye 
was  situated  about  midway  between  the  posterior  margin 
of  gill-covers  and  the  end  of  the  snout,  while  in  the  lesser 
specimen  it  was  much  nearer  the  snout.  The  flesh  of  both 
when  cut  into  was  good  and  of  a  rich  pink  colour.  It 
will  be  seen  from  the  photographs  that  in  the  large  fish  the 
head  was  larger  in  proportion  to  the  body  than  is  usually 
found  to  be  the  case  in  salmon,  while  the  formation  of  the 
head  was  very  peculiar.  The  upper  jaw  was  long  and  com- 
pressed, having  a  considerable  curve  from  the  end  of  the 
mystache  to  the  point  of  the  snout,  while  the  under  jaw  was 
narrow,  elongated,  and  hooked  considerably  upwards  at  the 
end.  The  teeth  were  large,  incurved,  and  few,  as  if  many 
had  been  broken  off,  while  there  were  three  on  the  middle  of 
the  vomer.  The  caudal  fin,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  figure, 
was  nearly  straight,  departing  in  its  proportions  between  the 
shorter  and  longer  rays  from  those  already  stated  to  exist 
in  salmon,  though  not,  as  I  found  by  actual  measurement, 
very  much. 

In  comparing  the  forms  of  the  oi)erculum  and  pre-oper- 
culum  with  those  given  by  Yarrell  of  the  three  migratory 
species,  it  was  found  that  they  corresponded  most  nearly 
with  those  of  the  true  salmon,  while  in  a  comparison  of  other 

Y  2 


\ 


320  ON  THE  fiULLMONIDiB  OF  DEVON. 

points  some  agreed  and  some  disagreed  with  those  especially 
given  as  salmon  characteristics. 

In  comparing  this  fish  with  the  plates  of  the  Tarious 
authors,  I  find  it  most  resembles  the  xcviiL  plate  of  Bloch,* 
which  is  a  figure  of  the  male  salmon.  Here  the  peculiarily 
of  the  head  is  remarkably  similar,  and  the  colouring  and 
spots  greatly  alika  In  Bloch's  plate  the  tail  is  much  lunated, 
while  in  tlus  fish  it  is  not;  but  altogether  Bloch's  figure  is 
not  a  bad  representation  of  the  fish.  Taking  this,  with  the 
size  and  the  other  particulars  in  which  it  agrees  with  the 
9alar  rather  than  the  eriox,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  to  be 
a  true  salmon,  modified  from  the  forms  usually  met  with  by 
age.  The  head  of  the  male  salmon  generally  gets  more 
mumty  than  that  of  the  female,  but  it  appears  when  a  fish 
gets  old,  there  is  a  considerable  elongation  of  the  head  in 
Both  sexes. 

Since  tiie  above  was  written  I  have  had  some  conversation 
with  Fulford  Vicary,  Esq.,  of  North  Tawton,  on  the  subject 
of  this  fish.  Mr.  Vicary  is  a  gentleman  who  has  had  much 
experience  in  salmon,  visiting  Norway  annually  as  a  salmon 
fisher.  On  seeing  the  phot^raph  of  this  fish,  he  at  once 
pronounced  it  to  be  a  true  sidmon,  and  of  considerable  aga 
Me  kin^y  proffered  to  send  me  the  head  and  tail  of  a  fish 
killed  by  himself  of  very  nearly  the  same  size.  This  head  is 
now  before  you,  and  it  certaiidy  resembles  very  closely  the 
head  of  this  fish.  In  connection  with  the  head  and  tail  sent 
by  Mr.  Vicary,  he  writes  as  follows : — 

"  This  salmon  measured  47^^  inches  long ;  it  was  38  J  lbs. 
weight ;  and  was  a  female  fish.  I  mention  this,  as  we  all  at 
first  adjudged  it  a  male ;  but  I  cut  it  up  for  kippering,  and 
found  it  to  be  a  female  with  roe,  and  the  unusual  shape  of 
the  head  was  at  once  attributed  by  the  Norw^ians  to  aga 
1  recollect  many  circumstances  about  this  fish  very  vividly, 
as  I  had  previously  caught  a  fish  half  an  hour  before  34J  lbs., 
which  measured  45  inches,  and  I  imagined  I  should  never 
get  another  so  large,  when  almost  the  first  cast  afterwards 
yielded  the  fish  I  now  send  the  head  of  The  tail,  when  the 
fish  was  caught,  was  nearly  square,  but  the  drying  up  it  has 
undergone  has  made  it  appear  circular." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  remarkable  head  is  common 
to  both  sexes,  and  attributed  by  the  Norwegians  to  age,  who, 
as  Mr.  Vicary  remarks,  '*  know  a  salmon  as  well  as  a  Devon- 
shire farmer  does  a  sheep." 

♦  Soe  "Ichtyologie  ou  llistoiro  Naturello  genorale  et  particuliere  des 
Poiflsons.'*    Par  Marc  £.  Bloch,  vol.  iii.  p.  112. 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DEVON.  321 

I  have  added  in  the  Appendix  already  mentioned  a  detailed 
description  of  the  two  Devonshire  fish,  which  will  help  those 
who  are  interested  in  the  subject  to  examine  more  particularly 
the  characteristics  they  present,  and  enable  other  observers  to 
make  a  more  minute  comparison  with  them  on  points  not 
already  alluded  to. 

THE  SALMO  GRACILIS,  OR  SLENDER  SALMON  OF  COUCH. 

A  species  of  salmon,  differing  in  several  points  from  the 
ordinary  ScUmo  salar,  has  been  observed  by  several  naturalists 
as  occurring  occasionally  in  various  parts  of  our  island.  It 
was  recorded  by  Fleming  as  S.  hucJw,  from  his  belief  that  it 
was  similar  to  a  fish  taken  in  the  Danube  of  that  name ;  but 
since  then  Dr.  Gunther  has  shown  that  the  characters  assigned 
to  the  English  fish  do  not  apply  to  the  German  species. 
Mr.  Couch  in  his  work  on  fishes  records  this  fish  as  the 
"  Slender  salmon,"  and  states  that  the  example  fi*om  which 
his  figure  was  taken  was  caught  in  the  river  Fowey  in  the 
month  of  January,  and  that  a  copy  of  it  was  sent  to 
Mr.  Yarrell,  who,  in  his  reply,  did  not  think  it  a  distinct 
species,  but  a  fish  that  had  suffered  from  some  cause  of  an 
adverse  character  to  its  healthy  development. 

In  the  examinations  I  have  made  of  the  Devonshire 
caught  specimens  of  the  salmonidae  during  this  year,  and 
which  have  been  very  many,  I  have  met  with  two  specimens 
agreeing  with  the  description  of  Mr.  Couch's  slender  salmon. 
These  fish  were  caught  in  the  river  Taw  in  the  month  of 
July,  and  in  weeks  immediately  following  each  other. 

The  fish  I  more  particularly  examined  measured  from 
point  of  snout  to  end  of  the  middle  rays  of  the  caudal  fin 
28  inches,  and  the  girth  immediately  in  front  of  the  dorsal 
fin  13  inches.  The  scales  were  rather  large,  giving  a  coarse 
appearance  to  the  fish;  the  general  colour  a  little  darker 
than  an  ordinary  salmon.  From  the  lanky  growth  of  the 
fish  it  had  the  appearance  of  a  salmon  out  of  condition 
excepting  the  head,  which  was  not  large,  but  small  and  neat 
looking.  The  palatines  and  jaws  were  well  supplied  with 
teeth,  but  there  were  none  on  the  vomer ;  and  the  description 
of  Couch's  fish  so  closely  applied  to  this,  and  his  plate  so 
nearly  resembled  it,  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing 
it  to  be  a  specimen  of  the  slender  salmon. 

Fleming  states  that  the  flesh  of  S.  ffucfio,  described  by 
him,  was  pale  and  white-looking;  and  Yarrell  believes  the 
skin  he  had  to  have  been  from  a  fish  out  of  season ;  and,  as 
above  stated,  the  general  aspect  of  this  fish,  except  from  the 


322  OK  THB  BAUfONIDiB  01  DIVON. 

small  appearance  of  its  head,  gi^ve  the  same  impresdon.  But 
such  was  not  the  case.  In  cutting  into  the  fish,  the  flesh 
proved  of  a  high  pink  colour,  deeper  than  in  oidinanr  cases, 
and  layers  of  fi&t  were  seen  between  the  fine  pink  flakes  of 
flesh,  showing  it  to  be  in  high  season.  From  these  circum- 
stances then  it  cannot  be  considered  a  fish  like  Mr.  Yarreli's* 
which  "received  its  form  from  being  detained  for  some 
time  in  a  fresh-water  pond,  or  in  some  river,  the  water 
of  which  did  not  suit  it ;"  but  on  the  contrary,  a  fish  in  full 
condition,  and,  however  rarely  met  with  in  our  rivers,  one 
having  an  independent  existence,  and  well  named  by  Couch 
Salmo  gracilis, 

CONCLUSION. 

I  have  now  noticed  the  various  members  of  the  salmon 
fiunily  found  in  Devon,  and  from  what  has  been  said  it  will 
be  seen  that  much  of  their  history  still  remains  doubtful  and 
obscure.  Let  us  hope  that  as  our  society  carries  its  labours 
into  difierent  parts  of  the  county,  and  the  subject  is  discussed 
at  its  various  meetings,  that  a  more  extended  interest  upon  it 
will  be  created,  and  new  enquirers  will  enter  this  field  of 
observation.  That  such  extended  observations,  carefully  re- 
corded, will  do  much  to  clear  away  the  difficulties  lyjr  which 
the  question  is  surrounded  I  fully  believe,  and  from  such 
belief  I  have  ventured  to  again  bring  the  subject  under  the 
notice  of  the  society. 


r\ 


APPENDIX. 


coNTAnmro  ▲  fubtheb  description  of  ths  fish  alluded  to 

IN   TOIS   PAPEB. 

No.  1.  Length  from  point  of  snout  to  the  extreme  end  of 
the  central  rays  of  caudal  fin,  17  inches.  Greatest  girth, 
8}  inches.  Length  from  point  of  snout  to  extreme  point  of 
gill-covers,  3  inches.  Length  from  point  of  snout  to  centre 
of  eye,  IJ  inch.  Length  of  the  longest  ray  in  caudal  fin, 
2f  inches;  and  shortest  ditto,  J  of  an  inch.  Length  of 
pectoral  fin,  2  inches.  Head  to  end  of  gill-cover,  about  |  of 
the  whole  fish  to  the  insertion  of  caudal  fin.  Posterior 
margin  of  gill-cover  rounded,  and  the  lower  margin  directed 
obliquely  upwards  and  backwards  in  a  line  with  the  base  of 
the  first  ray  of  the  dorsal  fin,  that  fin  having  twelve  rays. 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DEVON.  323 

Pre-operculum  rather  angular.  Dorsal  fin  situated  exactly 
half-way  between  the  point  of  upper  jaw  and  the  base  of 
the  central  caudal  rays;  the  first  ray  short  and  simple,  the 
second  also  simple,  the  rest  branched;  the  third  ray  the 
longest,  and  as  long  as  the  distance  from  its  base  to  the  end 
of  the  fin.  Adipose  fin  situated  a  little  nearer  to  the  dorsal 
fin  than  to  the  end  of  the  caudal  rays,  and  in  a  vertical  line 
over  the  base  of  the  last  anal  ray.  Pectoral  fins  as  long  as  the 
base  of  dorsal  fin;  the  first  ray  simple,  the  others  branched, 
and  second  and  third  longest.  Ventral  fin  rising  in  a  line 
under  the  insertion  of  the  eighth  ray  of  the  dorsal ;  the  first 
ray  simple,  the  others  branched,  the  second  the  longest.  The 
eye  situated  half-way  between  the  point  of  the  snout  and 
upper  comer  of  gill-cover.  Mouth  large,  maxillaries  reaching 
so  far  back  as  to  be  in  a  vertical  line  with  the  posterior 
maigin  of  the  orbit.  Teeth  full  on  the  palatines  and  jaws ; 
three  on  the  tongue,  one  having  apparently  been  broken  ofiF, 
and  two  on  the  vomer  placed  in  quite  the  anterior  portion. 
The  colour  of  back  and  sides  a  blue -grey,  being  lighter 
towards  the  belly,  which  becomes  a  silvery-white.  Above 
the  lateral  line  are  many  black  spots,  and  below  it  towards 
the  forepart  about  six.  Operculum,  with  one  round  black 
spot.  Number  of  scales  from  medial  line  to  dorsal  fin  21, 
and  14  from  medial  line  to  anal  fin.  Number  of  coecal 
appendages,  56.  Fin  rays-D,  12;  P,  13;  V,  9;  A,  10;  C,  19. 
Number  of  vertebrae,  60.  Flesh  when  boiled,  a  deep  pink, 
but  with  little  fat.     Sex,  male. 

No.  2.  Length  from  snout  to  the  extreme  end  of  the 
central  rays  of  caudal  fin,  16J  inches.  Greatest  girth  in 
front  of  dorsal  fin,  8^^  inches.  Length  from  snout  to  end  of 
gill-cover,  3J,  being  as  one  to  five  of  the  whole  fish,  caudal 
fin  included.  Eye  about  J  of  an  inch  nearer  the  snout  than 
the  corner  of  gill  cover.  Dorsal-fin  situated  rather  nearer 
the  snout  than  the  base  of  the  central  caudal  rays:  first 
dorsal  ray  not  half  a  length  of  second,  and  both  simple; 
third  longest,  and  it  and  the  remainder  branched;  the  last 
two  of  equal  length,  and  half  the  length  of  the  fourth. 
Central  rays  of  caudal  fin  much  more  than  half  the  length 
of  the  longest  ray  in  the  same  fin.  Ventral  fin  rising  in  a 
vertical  line  under  the  last  ray  but  four  of  the  dorsal  fin; 
second  and  third  rays  the  longest,  and  the  last  shortest. 
Pectorals  much  longer  than  the  base  of  the  dorsal  fin,  and 
nearly  the  same  in  length  as  the  longest  caudal  ray;  first 
simple,  second  and  third  longest,  and  the  last  shortest. 
Head  rather  large.    Teeth  on  the  palatines  and  maxillaries. 


324  ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DEVON. 

and  two  on  the  anterior  of  the  vomer,  six  on  the  tongue; 
the  under  jaw  filieA  Colour,  brownish-blue;  darker  on  the 
back  and  sides,  and  becoming  lighter  under  the  medial  line, 
under  which  a  kind  of  creamy  white.  Dorsal  fin  light 
grey,  with  slight  indication  of  spots.  Caudal  fin  dusky-grey. 
Pectorals  dusky -grey  on  upper  half,  and  lighter  below. 
Ventrals  dull-whita  Spots  above  lateral  line  extending  to 
base  of  tail,  and  broken  in  form;  spots  below  the  line  about 
fourteen,  and  chiefly  towards  the  anterior  part  of  the  fish; 
spots  not  so  conspicuous  on  shoulders  and  dorsal  line,  being 
hardly  traceable  in  the  darker  shade;  three  round  spots  on 
operculum,  and  one  on  the  pre -operculum.  Number  of 
scales  from  dorsal  fin  counted  backward  to  lateral  line,  23. 
Fin  rays— D,  11  ;  P,  13;  V,  9;  A,  10;  C,  19.  Vertebrae,  59. 
Flesh  when  cooked,  rather  a  light  pinkish-orange,  but  juicy 
when  tasted.     Sex,  femala 

No.  3.  Length  from  point  of  snout  to  end  of  central  rays 
in  caudal  fin,  13  inches.  Head  rather  less  than  ^  of  whole 
length,  caudal  fin  included.  Girth  seven  inches.  Dorsal  fin 
half-way  between  point  of  nose  and  the  base  of  long  caudal 
ray.  Third  ray  longest,  but  not  quite  so  long  as  the  base  of 
the  fin.  First  and  second  rays  simple,  and  the  rest  branched. 
Caudal  ray  slightly  forked,  and  the  middle  ray  of  that  fin  a 
little  more  than  half  the  length  of  the  longest  ray  of  the 
same  fin.  Third  ray  the  longest,  and  much  longer  than  any 
ray  in  the  dorsal.  Origin  of  the  ventral  under  the  last  but 
six  of  dorsal,  and  the  third  ray  the  longest.  Pectorals  pointed, 
and  second  and  third  rays  the  longest,  and  nearly  as  long  as 
the  longest  caudal  ray.  The  last  pectoral  ray  the  shortest 
Adipose  fin  in  a  line  a  little  behind  the  insertion  of  the  last  ray 
of  the  anal,  and  a  little  nearer  to  the  tip  of  the  tail  than  to  the 
last  ray  of  the  first  dorsal.  The  mouth  well  filled  with  teeth, 
those  on  the  vomer,  extending  towards  the  back,  and  six  on 
the  tongue.  The  spots  inclining  to  x  shaped,  but  not  all 
definitely  so.  The  colour  of  the  back  darkish  blue,  sides 
lighter  and  of  a  more  glossy  blue,  running  into  white  on  the 
belly.  Anal  fin  white ;  ventral  white ;  pectorals  bluish- 
grey,  and  lighter  towards  the  end.  Head  dark  greenish-blue, 
and  cheeks  and  gill-covers  lighter  blue..  Spots  on  sides  not 
very  numerous,  about  60  above  lateral  line  and  20  below, 
and  no  spots  on  gill-cover.  Dorsal  fin  dusky  grey,  and  in- 
distinctly spotted.  Caudal  very  dusky-blue.  Twenty-two 
scales  counted  obliquely  backwards  from  the  middle  of  dorsal 
fin  to  lateral  line.  Ccecal  appendages,  48.  Fin  rays— D.  12 ; 
P.  13 ;  V.  10 ;  A.  Vertebrai,  58.  Flesh  of  a  pale  orange 
pink,  and  rather  juicy. 


<>^t^ 


l^^ 


i^^ 


<D 


1 


ON  THE  SALMONIDiE  OF  DKVON.  325 

No.  4.  AmoDgst  the  numbers  of  peal  examined  by  me 
this  season  I  met  with  another  fish  which,  in  colour  and 
general  form,  resembled  No.  2,  but  which  presented  a  very 
remarkable  look  from  the  large  size  of  its  head.  Its  full 
length,  from  point  of  snout  to  middle  of  caudal  fin,  23  inches ; 
its  greatest  girth  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin,  11  inches ;  from 
snout  to  posterior  point  of  gill-cover,  5|  inches ;  from  point 
of  snout  to  posterior  margin  of  orbit,  2^  inches ;  gape,  3J 
inches ;  large  and  incurved  teeth  on  tlie  palatines  and  jaws, 
and  on  the  vomer,  extending  back,  and  on  the  tongue.  The 
head  altogether  coarse-looking,  and  approaching  the  appear- 
ance of  a  pike.  Middle  rays  of  caudal  fin  more  than  half  the 
length  of  longest  ray  of  same  fin.  Ventral  fin  inserted  in  a 
vertical  line  with  the  eighth  ray  of  the  dorsal  fin.  Fin  rays 
— D.  13;  P.  13;  V.  9;  A.  11;  C.  This  fish  agreed  in 
appearance  with  Parnell's  plate  of  the  large-headed  bull 
trout. 

No.  5.  The  weight  201bs.  The  length  from  point  of  snout 
to  extreme  of  central  of  caudal  rays,  39  inches.  Length 
from  snout  to  posterior  point  of  gill-cover,  8  inches.  Girth 
in  front  of  caudal  fin,  19  inches.  Length  from  snout  to  pos- 
terior margin  of  orbit,  3f  inches;  and  from  that  point  to  end 
of  gill-cover,  4 J  inches.  Dorsal  fin  situated  nearly  half-way 
between  the  head  and  point  of  caudal  fin.  Second  dorsal  ray 
the  longest,  and  the  last  but  one  the  shortest.  The  second 
dorsal  fin  in  a  vertical  line  over  the  last  ray  in  the  anal  fin. 
Central  rays  of  the  caudal  fin  more  than  half  the  length  of 
the  longest  rays  in  the  same  fin.  Insertion  of  ventral  fin  in 
a  vei-tical  line  with  the  eighth  ray  of  the  dorsal.  Teeth  on 
the  palatines  and  jaws,  and  three  in  the  centre  of  the  vomer, 
and  one  on  each  side  of  the  tongue.  Twenty-one  scales  from 
dorsal  fin  to  lateral  line;  scales  generally  large.  The  colour 
much  darker  in  general  aspect  than  salmon  generally, 
having  more  of  a  green  and  brown  hue  than  one  of  blue. 
Colour  of  head  an  olive-green ;  the  sides  behind  the  mouth 
lighter  yellowish-green.  Back  dark  bluish-brown,  the  sides 
lighter,  and  yellowish  lower  down,  belly  creamy-white.  The 
back  and  sides  with  large  black-brown  spots,  intermingled 
with  red  ones.  On  the  operculum  twenty-one  spots  of  the 
same  colour,  and  on  the  pre-operculum  seventeen  on  one  side, 
and  fifteen  on  the  other.  Dorsal  fin  dusky  brown,  with  seven 
spots.  Pectorals  dusky,  darker  towards  the  point.  Ventral 
and  anal  fins  yellowish-white.  The  body  thicker  and  more 
clumsily  made  than  salmon  generally,  tapering  less  behind 
the  anal  fin.     Head  not  large,  but  more  of  a  trout  look  about 


326  ON  THE  SALMONlDiB  OF  DEVON. 

the  general  aspect  of  the  fish  than  that  of  a  salmon.  The 
flesh  cut  pink.  Fin  rays— D.  13;  P.  18:  V.  9;  A.  10;  C.  19. 
(General  aspect  heavy  and  stout  rather  than  elegant  Brachioa- 
t^geous  rays  on  each  side,  10. 

No.  6.  Colour  and  general  appearance  similar  to  Na  5, 
but  its  dimensions  much  greater.  Length  from  snout  to  end 
of  centre  rays  of  caudal  fin,  47  inches.  Its  greatest  girth  in 
front  of  caudal  fin,  23  inches;  weight,  36 lbs.  From  nose  to 
posterior  portion  of  gill-cover,  10|  inches;  from  nose  to  pos- 
terior of  orbits  5|  inches;  from  posterior  of  orbit  to 'Corner 
of  gill-cover,  3i  inches.  Dorsal  fin  situated  midway  between 
iiOse  and  posterior  portion  of  caudal  fin.  Second  dorsal 
opposite  last  ray  in  anal  fin.  Longest  ray  in  caudal  fin, 
6  inches;  shortest^  3^  inches.  Eye  midway  between  point 
of  nose  and  posterior  point  of  gill-cover.  Second  ray  in 
dorsal  fin  the  longest,  being  5  inches.  Length  of  pectoral 
fin  5^  inches,  same  as  base  of  dorsal  The  teeth  on  the  pala- 
tines and  maxillaries  were  few,  having  been  apparently 
broken  off;  three  on  the  vomer,  about  the  middle  of  the  month, 
and  three  on  the  tongua  Number  of  scales  on  the  lateral 
line,  117 ;  and  on  a  biMskward  line  from  dorsal  to  lateral  line, 
21  scales.  Caudal  fin,  when  spread,  about  straight  Its 
colour  dusky,  with  spots.  Dorsal  fin  also  dusky,  with  spots. 
Pectorals  dark  on  the  upper  sides  and  lighter  under,  and  the 
lower  half  also  lighter.  Ventrals  darker  on  the  upper,  ^; 
and  the  anal  fin  on  the  lower,  f  dark.  The  general  colour 
and  appearance  the  same  as  No.  5.  Coecal  appendanges,  66. 
Fin  rays— D.  13;  P.  13;  V.  9;  A.  9;  C.  19.  Branch.  10  on 
a  side. 


\ 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  MOUNT  CENIS. 

BT  GEORGE  NEUMANN, 
uniBm  or  thb  inst.  of  citil  bmoikksbs,  amd  chevalieb  de  la  lboiom  d*  hoxnevb. 


DUBING  a  long  period  of  years  suggestions  had  been  made 
for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  time,  cost,  and  the  fatigue 
of  the  journey  across  the  Alpine  range  separating  France 
and  Switzerland  from  Italy.  One  of  the  most  frequented 
and  direct  routes  from  Paris  into  Italy  is  that  which  passes 
through  Chambery  in  Savoy,  and  up  the  valleys  of  the  Isere 
and  Arc  as  far  as  Lanslebourg,  whence  it  ascends  the  Mount 
Cenis,  in  a  zig-zag  direction,  to  an  elevation  of  6,900  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  then  descends  by  a  variety  of 
contours  into  the  valley  of  the  river  Dora  in  Piedmont,  at 
the  head  of  which  the  town  of  Susa  is  situated.  Having 
thus  briefly  given  a  geneml  idea  of  the  carriage  road  across 
this  chain  of  mountains,.  I  will  now  describe  the  newly 
completed  works,  and  those  in  course  of  construction. 

The  railway  system  has  gradually  been  extended  across 
France  to  St.  Michel,  a  small  town  situated  in  the  valley  of 
the  Arc,  and  also  throughout  the  north  of  Italy  to  the  town 
of  Susa  above  mentioned ;  so  that  at  the  present  time  this 
one  link  between  St.  Michel  and  Susa  is  only  wanting  to 
unite,  by  an  iron  road.  Home  and  Naples  with  Paris  and 
other  capital  cities  in  northern  Europe.  To  England,  the 
Mount  Cenis  pass  is  of  very  great  importance,  as  the  establish- 
ment of  a  railway  in  that  direction  enables  passengers  on 
their  way  to  India  to  embark  at  Brindisi  for  Alexandria, 
instead  of  following  the  usual  route  via  Marseilles ;  and  thus 
saving  twenty-four  hours  in  their  journey. 

In  1852  and  the  following  years  I  laid  out  the  railway  line 
in  Savoy  on  the  French  side  of  the  Alps,  sixty  miles  of  which 
were  constructed  under  my  superintendence ;  and  in  1854  1 
was  charged  by  the  Victor  Emmanuel  Railway  Company  to 
report  as  to  the  shortest  and  best  direction  for  a  railway  to 
connect  their  line  with  the  Italian  one,  commencing  at  Susa. 


328  PASSAGE  OF  THE  MOUKT  CENI8. 

The  line  then  selected  was  near  to  that  previously  proposed 
by  Mr.  Maus,  a  Belgian  engineer,  and  on  which  a  long  tunnel 
would  be  required.  The  tunnel  as  proposed  by  me  was 
slightly  curved  so  as  to  pass  it  under  some  of  the  lowest 
ground,  and  obtain  thereby  the  advantage  of  sinking  a  few 
shafts  for  the  first  three  miles  at  each  end  of  it.  The  Kailway 
Company  was  not  however  sufficiently  powerful  in  a  financiid 
point  of  view  to  undertake  such  a  work;  and  during  the 
summer  of  1857  a  law  was  passed  by  the  Parliament  at 
Turin,  authorizing  the  government  to  make  a  straight  tunnel 
nearly  eight  miles  in  length,  and  to  construct  and  employ  a 
system  of  drilling  machinery  invented  in  England.  In  1864 
I  presented  a  paper  to  the  institution  of  Civil  Engineers  in 
London  by  which  I  demonstrated  that  eight  years  of  time 
might  have  been  saved  by  the  adoption  of  shafts  as  I  had 
suggested 

THE  TUNNEL. 

On  the  31st  of  August,  1857,  the  construction  of  a  tunnel 
26  feet  wide,  24  feet  high,  and  7^^  miles  long  was  formally 
commenced;  the  northern  end  being  3,945  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  the  southern  end  4,379  feet.  By  an 
agreement  made  between  the  French  and  Italian  governments 
each  state  is  to  participate  in  the  cost  of  the  works ;  and  the 
year  1887  is  fixed  as  the  latest  period  for  the  completion  of 
the  tunnel  with  its  approaches  extending  from  St.  Michel  to 
Snsa.  The  tunnel  is  only  being  pierced  from  each  end,  and 
at  the  end  of  June  last  the  length  completed  was  about  5^ 
miles.  During  the  month  of  June  122  yards  were  pierced, 
the  number  of  men  employed  in  and  about  the  tunnel  being 
about  2500. 

DRILLING  MACHINERY. 

At  each  working  face  of  the  tunnel  there  is  a  leading 
gallery  or  heading  10  feet  square,  iu  which  is  placed  a  frame 
carrying  10  drilling  engines,  each  of  which  is  worked 
separately  by  atmospheric  pressure.  In  the  course  of  six  to 
eight  hours  these  engines  pierce  80  holes,  each  3  feet  deep ; 
four  of  the  holes  being  3  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  re- 
mainder 1^  inches.  The  larger  holes  are  placed  in  the  centre 
of  the  gallery,  and  used  only  to  give  effect  to  the  explosion ; 
the  smaller  holes  are  divided  over  the  surface,  and  charged 
with  gunpowder  cartridges,  those  near  the  large  centre  holes 
being  first  fired.  Previous  to  the  blasting  the  frame  carrying 
the  ten  drilling  engines  is  withdrawn  to  a  certain  distance 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  MOUNT  CENIS.  329 

from  the  face,  and  as  soon  as  the  explosions  are  accomplished 
the  loose  material  is  cleared  away.  This  process  is  repeated 
once  in  every  t^n  or  fifteen  hours,  as  follows :  six  to  eight 
hours  adjusting,  drilling,  and  removing  the  engines ;  one-and- 
a-half  to  two  hours  charging  and  firing;  and  three  to  five 
hours  removing  the  debris. 

The  widening  out  of  the  gallery  to  the  full  size  of  the 
tunnel  is  accomplished  by  manual  labour  in  the  usual  manner. 
The  drilling  engines  are  each  provided  with  two  atmospheric 
cylinders,  one  containing  a  piston  and  piston  rod,  at  the  end 
of  which  a  steel  pointed  drill  is  fixed.  This  with  the  piston 
is  carried  backwards  and  forwards  by  the  admission  of  the 
air,  and  it  performs  200  to  250  strokes  per  minute,  striking 
the  rock  at  each  stroke.  The  second  cylinder  is  used  to  work 
a  rack  and  pinion  wheels,  by  which  a  forward  movement  is 
given  to  the  first  cylinder  as  the  drilling  advances,  and  a 
rotary  motion  to  the  drill  after  each  stroke.  A  jet  of  water 
is  kept  constantly  playing  into  the  holes  for  the  purpose  of 
clearing  out  the  debris.  By  means  of  an  experimental 
machine  made  in  England  I  have  seen  a  two-inch  hole  drilled 
in  hard  limestone  two  feet  deep,  in  eight  minutes;  this 
however  far  exceeds  the  average  of  the  work  done  at  the 
tunnel. 


AIR  COMPRESSING  APPARATUS. 

The  system  employed  until  recently  at  the  south  end  of  the 
tunnel  for  compressing  the  air  was  by  means  of  hydraulic 
rams,  worked  by  a  vertical  column  of  water  85  feet  high, 
obtained  by  diverting  a  mountain  stream.  At  the  north  end 
of  the  tunnel  water  power  is  also  employed  in  the  following 
manner  for  compressing  the  air :  On  the  river  Arc,  which 
passes  at  a  distance  of  one-third  of  a  mile  from  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel,  and  300  feet  below  it,  a  number  of  large  over- 
shot water-wheels  are  placed,  each  working  two  atmospheric 
pumps ;  these  force  the  air  into  large  iron  reservoirs,  com- 
pressing it  to  seven  or  eight  atmospheres.  These  pumps  ai-e 
surrounded  by  cold  running  water  so  as  to  prevent  them 
becoming  hot  by  the  heat  thrown  off  from  the  air  whilst 
being  compressed  The  temperature  in  the  compressers  is 
40**  centigrade  (=  105°  Fahrenheit),  but  in  the  receivers  the 
same  as  the  adjacent  atmosphere.  The  air  is  conveyed  from 
the  reservoirs  to  the  tunnel  mouth  in  7^  inch  iron  pipes,  and 
thence  to  the  working  gallery,  where  it  is  found  to  have  nearly 
the  same  pressure  as  in  the  lower  reservoirs. 


830  PASSAGE  OF  THE  MOUNT  CENI8. 

STRATA,  COST  OF  THE  TUNKEL,  AKD  TIME  OF  OOMFLBTEOV. 

The  material  through  which  the  tanud  has  been  pieroed 
is  of  a  schistose  nature,  and  lai^ely  mixed  up  wiUi  quarts. 
It  is  very  variable  as  to  hardness,  and  the  strata  at  the  south 
end  is  more  slaty  and  of  a  softer  nature  than  that  at  tito 
nortL 

There  are  now  5^  miles  of  tunnel  completed,  and  the  total 
length  is  7^  miles;  2^  are  not  yet  pierced.  Allowing  tiie 
progress  to  be  at  the  rate  of  122  yards  per  month  at  the  two 
faces,  the  whole  length  will  be  pierced  by  the  spring  of  1871. 
The  cost  of  the  Mount  Cenis  tunnel  is  not  yet  well  ascertained, 
but  it  cannot  be  taken  at  less  than  Jg200  per  lineal  yardL 
This  (compared  with  the  cost^  say  of  £30  per  yard,  of  rook 
tunnds  mined  in  the  usual  manner  by  manual  labour)  is 
excessive,  and  it  cannot  be  attributed  solely  to  the  use  of 
machinery.  It  has,  however,  been  proved  at  this  tunnel  that 
the  rate  of  progress  is  much  greater  than  it  would  have  been 
if  drilling  machinery  had  not  been  employed  at  alL 

TEMPOBABT  RAILWAY  OYER  THE  MOUIVT  CKtUSk 

An  English  company  (having  taken  into  consideration  the 
probable  time  which  may  elapse  before  the  great  tunnel  and 
the  thirty-four  miles  in  length  of  costly  railway  works 
required  to  connect  it  with  the  present  lines  are  completed) 
has  constructed  a  temporary  railway,  48  miles  long,  over  the 
top  of  the  Mount  Cenis.  This  line  extends  from  the  Italian 
station  at  Susa  to  the  French  station  at  St  Michel,  and  it 
surpasses  any  other  yet  made,  both  as  regards  the  steep 
gradients,  the  sharp  curves,  and  the  great  elevation  it  attains. 
It  follows  the  direction  of  the  carriage- road,  being  generally 
laid  on  the  outside  edge  of  it,  except  at  the  sharp  turns, 
where  deviations  are  made  in  order  to  obtain  curves  of  not 
less  than  44  yards  radius.  The  line  is  a  single  way,  with  a 
guage  of  3ft.  7^in.,  sufficient  sidings  being  provided  at  the 
stations.  The  summit  level  is  6907  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
the  rise  from  Susa  on  the  first  17  miles  is  5225  feet^  averaging 
a  rise  of  307  feet  per  mile.  The  steepest  gradients  are  1  in 
12  for  many  miles  in  length  ;  that  is,  such  an  inclination  as 
we  should  allow  our  horses  to  walk  up  on  a  turnpike  road. 
In  the  districts  most  exposed  to  avalanches  of  snow,  or  to 
the  fall  of  mountain  debris,  the  line  is  protected  by  strong 
masonry  arches;  and  for  several  miles  where  the  snow  is 
most  subject  to  drift  a  corrugated  iron  roof  has  been  con- 
structed over  it. 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  MOUNT  CENIS^  331 

This  railway  was  projected  by  Mr.  Fell,  to  whom  great 
credit  is  due  for  the  application  of  a  centre  rail  placed  on  its 
side,  and  about  nine  inches  above  the  ordinaiy  rails.  The 
engines  are  provided  with  four  horizontal  wheels,  which 
work  against  the  centre  rail,  and  are  set  in  motion  by  the 
same  cylinders  which  drive  the  vertical  wheels.  A  very 
great  additional  traction  power  is  thus  obtained  without 
materially  increasing  the  weight  of  the  engine.  In  descend- 
ing the  inclines,  not  only  are  ordinary  breaks  used,  but  the 
horizontal  wheels  on  the  engines  can  be  employed  for  the 
same  purpose,  and  the  carriages  are  also  each  provided  with 
a  pair  of  horizontal  friction  wheels  in  addition  to  the  common 
breaks.  At  all  road  crossings  an  ingenious  plan  has  been 
adopted  by  which  twenty  or  thirty  feet  of  the  central  rail 
can  easily  be  lowered  so  as  to  allow  carts,  &c.,  to  pass.  The 
engines  weigh  22  tons  with  fuel  and  water,  and  the  pas- 
senger trains,  consisting  of  four  carriages  and  a  van,  weigh 
about  17  tons  each.*  In  October  last  Mrs.  Neumann  and  I, 
accompanied  Mr.  Brassey,  the  constructor  of  the  works,  in 
the  first  passenger  train,  and  I  could  hardly  imagine,  whilst 
we  were  looking  up  the  mountain  side  into  the  fir  plantations, 
clad  with  snow  and  thousands  of  feet  above  us,  that  we 
were  actually  trying  to  see  an  approaching  railway  engine 
descending  towards  us.  At  last,  however,  we  obtained  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  it  as  it  passed  round  some  of  the  pre- 
cipitous rocks,  and  in  half  an  hour  it  arrived  at  our  feet  In 
June  last  the  line  was  opened  to  the  public,  and  the  trains 
have  since  run  regularly,  accomplishing  the  distance  from  St. 
Michel  to  Susa  in  rather  more  than  four  hours.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  some  of  those  present  to  know,  that  near  the 
summit  of  the  pass,  and  at  an  elevation  of  6365  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  there  is  a  lake  about  1^  mile  long  and 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  containing  very  good  trout. 

*  I  have  just  received  a  letter  £rom  St.  Michel,  stating  that  the  engines 
are  now  drawing  32  tons. 


ON  THE  MINERAL  LOCALITIES  OF  DEVONSHIBK 

BT  T0WN8H»n>  X.  HALL,  V.O.a,  BI€L 


In  studying  the  various  branches  of  natural  history^  it  la 
often  necessary  that  the  specific  productions  of  acme  par- 
ticular district^  or  of  one  county,  should  be  grouped  tpgettier^ 
and  viewed  separately  and  by  themselves,  rather  than  mixed 
up  with  a  number  of  similar  productions  from  other  districts 
or  other  counties. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  object  in  the  best  poisiUa 
manner,  it  is  most  desirable  that  each  of  our  piovindal 
towns  should  have  its  own  local  museum,  in  which  could  be 
deposited  specimens  of  all  kinds  found  in  the  neighbooriKMxL 
Thus  a  lasting  record  of  each  new  discovery  would  be  formed, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  good  work  would  be  done  by  gather- 
ing together  and  classifying  some  of  the  common  objects  of 
nature,  which,  although  surrounding  us  on  all  sides^  are  pei^ 
fectly  unknown  and  uncared  for  by  the  migority  of  peopla 
Much  time  and  labour  would  also  be  spared  to  many  a  hard- 
working inquirer,  who,  in  prosecuting  some  special  branch 
of  study,  often  finds  it  necessary  either  personally  to  examine 
particular  localities,  or  to  search  into  the  conditions  under 
which  certain  specimens  have  been  found. 

In  default  of  good  local  museums,  much  mfiy,  however,  be 
done  by  means  of  catalogues  embracing  the  names  of  the 
localities  which  afford  specimens  in  some  well-defined  class 
of  either  the  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral  kingdom.  Many 
such  lists  have  already  been  compiled,  but  many  more  are 
still  required  in  order  to  complete  the  series  in  the  manner 
which  is  due  to  our  county,  not  only  on  account  of  its  sixe, 
but  also  for  its  geological,  botanical,  and  zoological  wealth. 

All  lists  of  this  description  will,  no  doubt,  in  course  of 
time  be  necessarily  subject  to  a  slight  amount  of  variation, 
caused  by  the  exhaustion  of  some  of  the  localities ;  but  the 
discovery  of  fresh  habitats  will  generally  be  found  (except  in 
the  case  of  some  of  the  rarer  plants)  to  keep  up  the  supply 
of  specimens. 

Thus  far  these  remarks  apply  to  the  natural  history  of  our 
county  in  general.  I  now  come  to  one  branch  of  it  in  particular. 


ON  THE  MINERAL  LOCALITIES  OF  DEYONSHIKE.         333 

The  minerals  of  Cornwall  were  catalogued  some  twenty 
years  ago  by  the  late  Mr.  Garby  for  the  Eoyal  Greological 
Society  of  Cornwall;  but  no  good  list  of  our  Devonshire 
localities  has,  I  believe,  ever  been  published.  Much  of  the 
information  contained  in  the  following  notes  has  been  derived 
from  personal  knowledge,  and  in  such  cases  the  minerals  are 
described  from  specimens  now  in  my  collection.  To  this 
have  been  added  numerous  memoranda  collected  during  the 
preparation  of  a  more  extensive  work  on  the  same  subject,* 
in  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  tabulate  the  mineral  locali- 
ties in  each  county  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  Lastly, 
Phillips's  Mineralogy  has  been  consulted  with  reference  to 
the  occurrence  in  former  years  of  minerals  in  localities  where 
the  specimens  are  now  either  rare,  or  totally  exhausted. 

In  making  such  a  catalogue  a  difficulty  arises  at  the  very 
outset,  which  does  not  extend  to  corresponding  lists  in  the 
other  departments  of  natural  history.  This  has  regard  to 
the  insertion  or  omission  of  those  species  which  are  found 
almost  universally  distributed  throughout  a  large  area.  For 
instance,  if  all  the  localities  of  Towanite  (copper  pyrites) 
were  inserted,  we  should  be  obliged  to  give  the  name  of 
nearly  every  mine  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tavistock, 
although,  practically,  with  such  a  common  mineral  it  is 
sufficient  to  include  the  names  of  those  places  only  which 
aflford  well -crystallized  specimens.  On  the  other  hand, 
throughout  the  great  range  of  carboniferous  rocks  which 
extend  from  Barnstaple  on  the  north,  to  near  Okehampton  on 
the  south,  Towanite  is  extremely  rare,  and  the  occurrence  of 
any  kind  of  specimen  would  be  of  sufficient  importance  to 
be  noticed. 

As  a  rule  the  following  list  contains  the  names  of  all 
localities  from  which  specimens  can  be  obtained  sufficiently 
good  to  occupy  a  place  in  a  local  museum.  It  may,  perhaps, 
be  considered  somewhat  premature  to  speak  of  museums 
devoted  wholly  and  solely  to  the  natural  history  of  a  limited 
and  well-defined  area;  but  I  trust  before  many  years  elapse 
their  utility  will  be  recognised,  and  they  will  be  established 
and  maintained  not  only  in  the  city  of  Exeter,  but  also  in 
each  of  the  provincial  towns  which  are  sufficiently  important 
to  be  visited  by  this  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science. 

^  <<The  Mineralogists*  Directory;  or  a  Guide  to  the  Principal  Mineral 
Localitiee  in  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 


VOL.   II. 


334  CATALOGUE  OF  DI70NBHIU  KUniALB. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DEVONSHIRE  MINESAI^S^ 

WRH  THSXK  PBOrCIFAL  LOCAUmf. 


CLASS  L-METALLIC  MINERALS. 
ANTIKOHY. 

SULPHUBST  07  AVTIMOirT. 

AniifMmU.  Fonnd  sparingly  in  fibrous  masses,  and  in  •i«<w»lj^ 
Giystals  associated  with  argentiferous  galena,  in  tlie  minea  at 
Comlnnartui. 

BISMUTH. 

SULFUUJCSI   OF  BJUmUTU. 

BitmuMne  has  recently  been  fonnd  in  minnte  arioolar  cmtals 
in  the  Devon  and  Cornwall  United  Mines,  and  in  the  neif^Doar- 
hood  of  Tayistodk.  Also  at  the  Ivy  Tor  Mine,  near  Oksehan^toB. 

COBALT. 

ASSEinATB   OF  COBALT. 

Erytkrine^  or  Cobalt  Bloom,  From  Willsworthy  Mine,  near 
Tavistock. 

COPPEB. 

Native  Copper  occurs  massive,  crystallized,  and  in  mossy  or 
dendritic  forms,  at  the  Devon  and  Courtenay  Mine,  Great  Devon 
Consols,  Huel  Crebor,  and  in  numerous  other  mines  near  Tavistock. 

SULPHUBETS   OF   COPPEB. 

Bomite,  or  Purple  Copper.  Fine  massive  specimens,  which 
acquire  an  iridescent  tarnish  on  exposure  to  the  air,  are  found  at 
the  Britannia  and  Prince  Regent  Mines,  near  North  Moulton. 

Fahlert,  Grey  Copper^  or  Tetrahedrite,  Found  massive  in  the 
Britannia  and  MoUand  Mines,  near  North  Moulton.  Massive  and 
crystallized  at  Combmartin,  Beer  Alston,  and  Tavistock. 

Towanite^  or  Copper  Pyritee.  This  is  the  most  abundant  of  all 
the  ores  of  copper.  It  occurs  massive,  disseminated,  and  crystal- 
lized, at  Ashburton,  and  Huel  Franco.  In  large  tetrahedrons  at  the 
Virtuous  Lady  Mine,  Buckland  Monachorum ;  Huel  Robert,  Sam- 


CATALOGUfi  OP  DEYONSHIBE  MINEBAIA  335 

ford  Spiney;  Devon  and  Courtenay,  Great  Devon  Consols,  Huel 
Friendship,  and  Willsworthy  Mines,  near  Tavistock;  at  Copper 
Hill,  Fursdon  Manor,  and  other  mines,  near  Okehampton.  In 
North  Devon  it  is  found  in  the  Combmartin,  North  Moultcm,  and 
MoUand  Mines.     Also  in  Lundy  Island. 

OXIDES  OF   COPPEB. 

CupriU,  or  Red  Copper,  The  massive  varieties  occur  in  most  of 
the  Devonshire  copper  mines.  Crystallized  specimens  are  found 
in  the  Bedford  United  Mines,  and  at  Huel  Crebor,  near  Tavistock. 

Chalcotrichite  is  a  sub-species  of  the  above,  occurring  in  reticu- 
lated crystals,  and  in  fibrous  masses.  It  is  found  with  cuprite  in 
the  Bedford  United  Mines. 

ABSENIATES   OF   COPPEB. 

CUnoekue.  Found  in  hemispherical  and  reniform  masses,  struc- 
ture columnar  and  radiated.     From  the  Bedford  United  Mines. 

Olwenite.  In  olive-green  prismatic  crystals;  also  fibrous  and 
acicular.     Bedford  United  Mines,  near  Tavistock. 

TamariUy  or  Copper  Mica,  Found  in  the  Tamar  mines,  near 
Beer  Ferris. 

HTDBOnS  CiJLBONATES  OF  COPPEK. 

CheuyUte^  or  Azurite.  Occurs  rarely  in  Devonshire.  It  is  found 
lining  cavities,  or  coating  other  ores  of  copper;  also  in  good  crystals 
at  East  Tamar  Mine,  near  Beer  Ferris.  Small  fragments  have  been 
observed  amongst  the  refuse  from  the  Combmartin  Mines. 

Malachite,  Found  in  small  fragments,  generally  associated  with 
cuprite,  in  several  copper  mines;  also  at  BuckfasUeigh;  Hennock, 
near  Chudleigh ;  and  at  Combmartin. 

GOLD. 

Native  Chid,  Phillips's  Mineralogy,*  published  in  1823,  con- 
tains the  following  notice  relative  to  this  metal : — '*  Native  gold 
has  lately  been  found  in  the  refuse  of  the  Prince  Regent  Mine,  vol 
the  parish  of  North  Moulton,  in  Devonshire.  It  is  imbedded  in 
grains  and  plates  in  a  ferruginous  fragmented  quartz  rock."  The 
occurrence  of  gold  at  North  Moulton  was  also  noticed  in  Lpon's 
Magna  Britannia,  Some  of  the  so-called  gold  gossan,  found  in  the 
North  Moulton  mines  since  1S50,  has,  however,  on  examination 
failed  to  afford  me  any  trace  of  the  precious  metal,  and  I  therefore 
do  not  insert  it  amongst  the  North  Devon  species,  except  on  th^ 
authority  of  the  two  writers  before  mentioned.  Small  particles  of 
gold  are  said  to  have  been  discovered  on  Sheepstor,  DartmofNr. 

•  Page  323. 
z  2 


836  CATALOGUE  OF  D1C70K8H1BI  imnERAIA 

TBOV. 

SULPHnBE7tf  OV  IBOV. 

MarcanU — White  Iron  PprUe$,  Fine  crystallised  ipeefaiieiia 
occur  at  the  Tamar  mines,  near  Beer  Ferris.  Aggregated  eEyrtals 
of  a  large  size  have  been  found  at  the  Yirtnous  Ladv  IGney  near 
Buckland  Monachorom,  on  crystallized  quartz;  also  at  Hnel 
Crowndale,  Huel  Crebor,  and  other  mines  in  the  vieinity  of  Tavis* 
tock.  In  ITorth  Devon,  at  Gombmartin.  Formerly  found  in  eEyrtals 
peeudomorphous  after  calcite  in  modified  hexagonal  prinna  it  Hm 
Tamar  mines,  Beer  Ferris. 

Mtipiekd — Anmieal  Inm.  The  massive  varietiea  of  this  minflnl 
are  very  common  in  the  various  Tavistock  mines.  In  the  Tamar 
mines,  near  Beer  Ferris,  large  crystals  are  found;  also  at  fbe 
Virtuous  Lady  Mine,  near  Buckland  Monachorum ;  and  at  the  Ivy 
Tor  Mine,  near  Okehampton. 

Pyrits — Iron  Pyrites.  Almost  universaUy  distributed  thnnii^Miiit 
the  county.  Disseminated  in  the  rocks  at  Bishop's  Tawton,  YcdBi 
Biddngton,  Yiveham,  and  other  places  near  Barnstaple  .  jCmtal- 
lized  in  cubes  at  Gombmartin,  and  in  trap  ash  at  Pan«op8iiiaw<  In 
the  interior  of  fossil  shells  in  a  quarry  near  Tiverton^,. Lai^gj^ifialMi^ 
sometimes  H  inch  iusross,  are  found  at  the  Yii tiMiiin  Jiitjl ICiiiit 
imbedded  in  decomposing  chlorite;  at  Huel  Bobei^  Saai&vd:  9|iU 
ney;  Huel  Friendship  and  other  mines  near  Taviatodk.  G^rpftab 
peeudomorphous  after  calcite  are  found  near  Tavistock,  and  hoUoir 
cubes  after  fluor  at  Beer  Alston. 

Pyrrhotine — Magnetic  Iron  lyritee.  Found  in  the  mines  at  Beer 
Alston,  and  at  Mddon  Quarry,  about  two  miles  firom  Okehampton. 

OXIDES  OF  IBON. 

Ooethite,  Found  accompanying  hematite,  limnite,  and  other  ores 
of  iron  on  Exmoor. 

Hematite — Specular  Iron,  or  Red  Iron  Ore,  Occurs  abundantly 
throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  county.  Fine  specimens  are 
found  at  Birch  Tor  Mine,  near  North  Bovey;  Lustleigh;  Buckfeist- 
leigh ;  Huel  Forest,  near  Okehampton ;  Hennock,  near  Ghudleigh ; 
and  in  several  places  on  Dartmoor.  In  North  Devon  it  is  found  at 
Bratton  Fleming,  Shirwell,  East  Down ;  Yiveham,  Georgeham,  and 
elsewhere  near  Barnstaple;  at  Bideford;  and  in  green  sand  at 
Buckland  Brewer.  At  Ilfracombe,  Combmartin,  Lynton,  West 
Down,  North  Moulton,  and  in  several  localities  on  Exmoor. 

Limnite,  Brown  Hematite,  or  Wood  Iron  Ore,  is  almost  as 
widely  distributed  as  the  preceding  species.  Occurs  with  hema- 
tite at  Buckfastleigh ;  Huel  Robert,  Sampford  Spiney;  Huel  Betsy, 
near  Tavistock ;  and  at  Copper  Hill  Mine,  near  Okehampton ;  on 

«  Op.  cit.,  page  70. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DEYONSHIHU   MINERALS.  337 

Ezmoor,  and  at  East  Down  and  Yivcham,  near  Barnstaple ;  also 
at  Buckland  Brewer,  near  Bideford.  Pseudomorphous  after  pyrite, 
at  Hennock,  near  Chudleigh. 

Umber  is  an  earthy  variety  of  limnite,  found  with  iron  ores  at 
Combmartin.  It  was  also  formerly  raised  in  considerable  quantities 
in  the  parishes  of  East  Down  and  Berry  Narbor ;  also  at  Ugbrook 
Parky  near  Chudleigh. 

YfUow  Oehre  is  another  sub-species  of  limnite,  and  is  found  in 
the  same  localities  as  umber. 

These  two  last  minerals  are  thus  noticed  in  1797  by  Polwhele 
in  his  "  History  of  Devonshire : " — 

^'The  parish  of  East  Down  (7  miles  from  Barnstaple)  and  its 
neighbourhood  abound  with  umbers  and  ochres  of  a  variety  of 
colours ;  as,  red,  yellow,  orange,  white,  brown,  pearl  coloured,  and 
sometimes,  not  often,  blue."* 

Further  information  on  the  same  subject  is  given  by  Lysons, 
in  << Magna  Britannia."  1822.  ''Large  quantities  of  ochre  occur 
in  the  parish  of  East  Down.  In  the  year  1785  Mr.  Pine  Coffin 
set  np  d  manufactory  there  for  grinding  it.  Timber  raised  at  Berry 
Karbor  was  sent  thither  to  be  ground  with  it ;  and  for  three  years 
45  tons,  on  an  average,  were  shipped  and  consigned  to  London;  but 
fitom  diftonlties  which  occurred  in  managing  the  concern,  Mr.  Pine 
Coffin  was  induced  to  discontinue  it.  Whilst  the  conoem  was 
carried  on,  these  articles  were  much  in  use  by  the  paper  stainers. 
The  timber  was  esteemed  to  be  of  particularly  good  quality."* 

Magnetite — Magnetic  Iron  Ore,  Found  at  Buckland-in-the-Moor, 
near  Ashbnrton ;  at  Ilsington  and  Hay  Tor,  on  Dartmoor, — ^in  the 
latter  locality  associated  with  felspar  and  hornblende, — ^near  Tavi- 
stock, and  also  in  veins  at  Lundy  Island. 

TUWOSTATE   OP   IRON. 

Wolfram  has  been  found  in  the  Tavistock  Mines. 

PHOSPHATE   OF   IBOIT. 

Vivumite.  Fine  crystallized  specimens  have  been  found  at  Huel 
Betsy,  near  Tavistock,  accompanying  chalybite  and  limnite. 

Childrenite.  This  rare  species  was  first  discovered  in  cutting  a 
canal  near  Tavistock.  It  occurred  in  minute  crystals  in  chalybite 
and  pyrite.  More  recently  it  has  been  found  at  the  Devon  and 
Cornwall  United  Mines,  and  at  Huel  Crebor,  near  Tavistock,  where 
the  crystals  are  imbedded  in  chloritic  earth.f 

•  Op.  oit.,  vol.  vi.  pa^  290. 

t  Although  childrenite  contains  upwards  of  30  per  cent,  of  protoxide  of 
iron,  it  has  been  omitted  from  the  list  of  metallic  minerals  by  nearly  all  our 
^  authorities."  In  **  Dana*8  Mineralogy  "  this  species  is  described  as  occur- 
rinff  in  Derbyshire,  whereas  it  has  never  yet  been  found  out  of  Devonshire 
uid  Com  wall. 


838  OATALOGUB  OF  DXVONSHIBB  MDnERAUL 

CABBOVAIK  07  IBOir. 

ChaUfhiUf  SideriU,  or  8paiho9$  Iron,  MaMive  dialyUie  of  a 
beautifol  white  colour  was  found  in  a  railway  catting  at  ELjnij^toiL 
Fine  cryBtals  occur  in  many  of  the  mines  near  Tayistoeik,  eapeeaMllj 
in  the  following :  Huel  Betsy,  Huel  Crehor,  Hnel  ErieiKlBhipy  and 
the  Bedford  United  Mines.  Crystals  pseudomorphoos  after  caleite 
are  found  in  the  Beer  Alston  Minea  Hollow  cabes  of  dudyiiite^ 
which  had  originally  been  deposited  as  a  coating  over  oryiteb  of 
either  fluor  or  pyrite,  occur  at  the  Virtuous  Lady  Mine.  In  flw 
same  locality  are  found  large  flat  hollow  crystals,  which  from  their 
shape  are  called  ''Slippers."  Inferior  specimens  of  the  tamtf 
variety  have  also  been  met  with  at  Huel  Friendship  and  the  Beer 
Alston  Mines.  Curved  tabular  crystals  are  found  in  groups  of  a 
rich  brown  colour  at  the  Virtuous  Lady  Mine.  In  the  nortbem 
diviaion  of  the  county  chalybite  is  found  at  Combmartin  and  Ml 
Ezmoor. 

liSAD. 

SULPnUKEIS  07  LEAD. 

OtUtna.  Crystals  of  galena  occur  at  the  Tamar  H]iie%  aal 
Bast  Tamar  Mines,  near  Beer  Ferris;  at  Hennodk^  near  C'hufflffigfci 
The  principal  localities  near  Tavistock  are  the  Devon  and  ConttsDaj 
Mine,  Hud  Betsy,  and  Huel  Friendship. 

Argentiferous  galena  is  found  in  the  Beer  Alston  Miasi^  whii« 
the  ore  often  contains  firom  80  to  120  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton 
of  lead.*  In  the  same  vicinity  the  South  Hoo  Mine  formerly 
afforded  a  large  per  centage  of  silver.  Near  Okehampton  it  is 
found  at  the  Okehampton  Consols,  and  at  Holestock.  In  North 
Devon  galena,  containing  as  much  silver  as  that  from  Beer  Alston, 
is  found  at  Combmartin,  where  it  has  been  worked  since  the 
twenty-secx)nd  year  of  King  Edward  I.  (1294),  and  it  has  recently 
been  worked  in  the  adjoining  parish  of  Berry  Narbor.  Small 
fragments  of  argentiferous  galena  were  found  some  years  ago  in 
the  carboniferous  rocks  in  the  parish  of  Landkey,  near  Barnstaple. 

BoumoniU — Antimonial  Sulphur et  of  Lead,  Has  been  found  in 
the  Boer  Alston  Mines,  near  Beer  Ferris,  associated  with  galena. 

ABSENIATE   OF   LEAD. 

MimetiU  is  found  with  the  other  lead  ores  at  the  Beer  Alston 
Mines. 

PHOSPHATE   OF   LEAD. 

Pyromorphite,  Occurs  with  the  preceding  species  at  Beer 
Alston,  in  a  masses  of  a  grey  colour. 

*  Dd  la  Beche's  Report,  p.  612. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DEVONSHIRE   MINEBALS.  389 

SULPHATE   OF  LEAD. 

AngUnU.  Found  about  ten  years  ago  in  fine  colourless  crystals 
at  the  East  Tamar  Mine,  in  geodes  of  decomposed  galena.  Also 
at  Beer  Alston. 

CABBONATB   OF   LBAD. 

CerumU,  Associated  with  anglesite  in  decomposed  galena,  at 
the  East  Tamar  Mine,  Beer  Perris.  Also  at  the  Tamar  Mines  in 
the  same  vicinity,  and  at  Hennock,  near  Chudleigh,  in  small 
acicular  crystals. 

MANGANESE. 

OXIDES   OF   MANGANESE. 

Manganite — Or ey  Manganese.  In  fine  prismatic  crystals  at  Upton 
Pyne,  near  Exeter.  Also  at  Doddiscombleigb,  near  Chudleigh.  In 
North  Devon.     At  West  Devon,  imbedded  in  sandstone. 

Psilomelane,  Pound  at  Chudleigh,  and  at  Ashton,  near  Chud- 
leigh. In  fine  botryoidal  and  stalactitic  specimens  at  Black  Down 
and  Brent  Tor,  near  Tavistock.  At  East  Down,  Georgeham,  West 
Down,  and  Yiveham,  all  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barnstaple. 
Near  Bideford,  and  at  Orleigh  Court,  in  the  parish  of  Buckland 
Brewer. 

Pyrolunte,  Occurs  at  Brent  Tor  and  Tavistock.  Associated  with 
other  manganese  ores  at  Upton  Pyne,  near  Exeter;  and  near  Barn- 
staple at  Georgeham  and  Yiveham. 

Wad — Earthy  Manganese,  In  earthy  masses  of  a  dark  brown 
cdoar  at  Upton  Pyne,  near  Exeter. 

SILICATE   OF   MANGANESE. 

Rhodonite — Red  Manganese,  Found  with  psilomelane  at  Black 
Down,  near  Tavistock,  and  with  the  other  ores  of  manganese  at 
Upton  Pyne. 

CABBONATS   OF   MANGANESE. 

DiMogite,     Supposed  to  have  been  found  at  Bovey  Tracey. 
NICKEL. 

AB8ENICAL   NICKEL. 

Xupfemickeh  From  Blackdown,  near  Tavistock,  where  it 
occurs  with  rhodonite  and  psilomelane. 

SULPHUEET   OF  NICKEL. 

Millerite,  This  very  rare  mineral  has  been  found  in  minute 
filaments  lining  cavities,  and  dispersed  amongst  crystals  of  galena, 
at  Combmartin  and  near  Ufracombe. 


840  CATALOGUE  OF  DKVORSHIBE  inHSUUL 

SXLySB. 

Native  SUner.  Ocean  rarely  in  DevoiiBhire.  It  has  been  Ibaiid 
at  the  Willsworthj  Mine,  near  Tayistock,  acoompamed  hj  elythzine 
and  towanite.  Small  filaments  have  been  obsenred  in  gahana,  in 
the  Combmartin  mines.  By  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  iQTer 
obtained  firom  the  mines  in  this  county  is  extracted  from  lead  ore; 
and  its  principal  localities  has  been  before  noticed  under  the  head 
of  Argentiferous  Gkdena. 

TIV. 

OXIDE   OF  TUT. 

Catiitertte.  Has  not  been  found  in  any  part  of  the  notfhen 
division  of  the  county,  its  localities  being  confined  to  the  borden 
of  Dartmoor.  Crystals  are  found  near  Tavistock,  at  Bix  Hill;  at 
Huel  Sidney,  near  Flympton;  at  Huel  Franco  and  Tedand  Cooeoila, 
near  Buckland  Monachorum ;  Bircli  Tor  Mine,  near  North  Bovej; 
AshburtonMine;  Chagford;  and  other  localities  on  Baitmoor. 

r 

TXTAVZUM. 

OXIDES  OF  TirAKIUM. 

Anaiats,    Occurs  near  Tavistock,  and  in  smaU  but ' 
oiystals  imbedded  in  chlorite  at  the  Virtuous  Lady  Mme,  ] 
Monachorum. 

BrookiU,     Has  been  found  "with  the  preceding  speoiea 
Tavistock,  and  at  the  Virtuous  I>dy  Mine  in  microacopio  OTitds^ 
which  are  imbedded  in  chalybite, 

SILICATE   OP  TITAiriUH. 

Sphene.  Very  rare ;  not  only  in  Devonshire,  but  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom.  It  has  been  found  accompanying  anatase  at  the 
Virtuous  Lady  Mine,  where  it  occurs  in  smaU  yellowish  crystals  in 
chlorite. 

TUNGSTEN. 

Wolfram.     See  Iron^  Tungntate  of, 

Scheelite.     See  Limej  Tungstate  of 

UBANIXTM. 

PH08P0ATE   OF   UBANIUM    AKD   OOPPEB. 

Torherite  occurs  in  small  crystals  with  the  ores  of  copper  at  the 
Bedford  United  Mines,  near  Tavistock. 

ZINO. 

SVLPHURET   OF  ZTSC, 

Blende,  Generally  associated  with  galena.  Found  at  the  Beer 
Alston  Mines  and  Tamar  Mines,  near  Beer  Ferris ;  Huel  Betsy  and 
Huel  Friendship,  near  Tavistock;  Hennock,  near  Chudlcigh; 
Landkey,  near  Barnstaple ;  and  in  the  mines  at  Combmartin. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DEVONSHIKE  MQIERALS.  341 


CLASS  II.-NON-METALLIC  MINERALS. 

ALUMINA  AND  ITS  C0MP0T7NDS. 

SILICATES   OF   ALUMINA. 

AndalusiUf  in  attached  and  imbedded  crystals,  is  said  to  occur 
on  Dartmoor,  and  also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Okehampton. 

Chiastolitej  a  variety  of  the  above  species,  is  found  in  small 
crystals  penetrating  an  altered  Bevoniun  slate  at  Ivy  Bridge,  and 
also  associated  with  axinite  at  Holestock,  near  Okehampton. 

HTDBOrS   SILICATE   OF   ALT7MINA. 

Kaolin — China  Clay^  arises  from  the  decomposition  of  felspathic 
granite.    Is  found  in  large  quantities  at  Plympton  and  near  Bovey. 

Liihomarge,  In  amorphous  yellow  masses,  associated  with  agate, 
at  Hay  Tor,  and  with  apatite  and  tourmaline  at  Bovey  Tracey. 

HTDKOUS   PHOSPHATE   OF   ALUMINA. 

WaveUiU,  This  rare  mineral  has  hitherto  been  found  in  only 
one  locality  in  this  county — ^Filleigh,  near  South  Moulton.  It  was 
first  discovered  about  the  year  1785,  by  Mr.  I.  Hill,  of  Tawstock, 
and  being  mistaken  for  a  pure  hydrate  of  alumina,  it  was  called 
Hydrargillite,  until  Dr.  Wavell,  of  Barnstaple,  about  thirty  years 
afterwards,  showed  that  phosphoric  acid  was  present  in  large  quan- 
tities ;  and  the  substance,  which  thus  constituted  a  new  species,  was 
named  Wavellite.  The  usual  form  of  this  mineral  is  that  of  a 
hemisphere,  varying  in  size  from  -^j^  of  an  inch  to  one  inch  in 
diameter.  When  broken,  the  internal  structure  is  found  to  bo 
composed  of  acicular  crystals  finely  radiated.  Wavellite  is  also 
frequently  found  filling  small  crevices  in  the  slate  rock,  and  not 
having  had  sufficient  space  to  crystallize  in  its  primary  form,  it  has 
accommodated  itself  to  the  breadth  of  the  fissure,  spreading  out  and 
covering  the  surfaces  of  the  rock  with  a  profusion  of  radiated 
circles,  which  are  sometimes  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  vary  in 
thickness  from  ^  inch  to  a  film  not  more  than  ^^  inch  in  thickness. 
Colour,  generally  white,  but  also  occasionally  shaded  with  grey, 
yellow,  brown,  and  blue. 

ALUMINA   ANO   OLUCINA,    SILICATE   OF. 

Beryl,  Bough  crystals  have  occasionally  been  found  with  garnet 
at  Lustleigh,  near  Bovey. 

ALUMINA   AND    IRON,    SILICATE   OF. 

StawroliU.  In  Bristow's  "Glossary  of  Mineralogy"  staurolite 
is  deaeribed  as  occurring  in  clay  slate  in  Devonshire.  No  locality 
if  q>ecified,  but  it  woidd  probably  be  found  along  the  borders  of 
Dartmoor* 


842  GATALOOUX  OF  DK70HBHIB1  UHIEAUB. 

ALUlCarA,   IBOK  AXB  XAaiTESIAy    HTOBOUS  8QJGATB  07. 

ChloriU.  Amorphous  chlorite  is  found  in  most  of  the  oof^or 
mines  in  South  Devon,  especially  at  the  Yirtooiis  Lidj  lixoB^ 
Buckland  Monachorum,  with  anatase  and  sphene.  At  the  Beron 
and  Cornwall  United  Mines ;  Huel  Friendship,  near  Tayistock,  ftc. 
Crystals  of  chlorite,  pseudomorphous  after  azinitei  are  met  with 
on  Dartmoor. 

ALUMIKA   AVD  POTASH,    HTTJCATIW  OF. 

FeUpar^  as  a  constituent  of  granite,  is  found  tfaroo^oat  the 
whole  of  the  Dartmoor  district.  It  occurs  in  czystals  at  Birdi 
Tor  Mine,  North  Bovey ;  Hay  Tor ;  Ivy  Bridge ;  and  in  ihie  led 
crystals  at  Bovey  Tracey.  Also  with  rock  crystals  and  schodL  oil 
Lundy  Island. 

Murehuonite  is  a  red  or  flesh-coloured  variety  of  fblspar,  found 
at  Heavitree,  near  Exeter,  Dawlish,  and  in  many  other  places.  It  is 
found  in  soiled  pebhles  imbedded  in  the  sandstones,  and  oongUmie- 
rates  of  the  Trias  formation. 

Mtca,  Occurs  as  an  essential  ingredient  in  the  graaitea  of 
Dartmoor  and  Lundy  Island.  In  while  silvery  plates  neiur  Bevey 
Tracey. 

ALUIOKA  AND  POTASH,    BTDBOXTS  SULPHATE  OF. 

Alum.    In  clay  at  Chudleigh. 

ALUXnrA,    ETC.,    BOBO-SILICATE  07. 

Tourmaline.  Yery  largo  black  crystals  were  found  some  years 
ago,  accompanied  by  crystals  of  apatite,  in  a  quarry  of  red  granite 
near  Bovey  Tracey.  It  occurs  also  at  North  Bovey,  Chudleigh, 
and  in  several  localities  on  Dartmoor. 

Schorl  is  a  variety  of  the  above.  It  occurs  massive  or  dissemi- 
nated in  granite  at  many  localities  on  Dartmoor.  At  Birch  Tor 
Mine,  North  Bovey,  Bovey  Hoathfield,  Chagford,  Chudleigh,  Hay 
Tor,  and  near  Okehampton.     Also  on  Lundy  Island. 

BABYTA. 

SULPHATE   OF   BABTTA. 

Baryte.  Found  in  tabular  crystals  at  Babbicombe  Bay,  near 
Torquay.  Massive  at  Honnock,  near  Chudleigh,  and  occasionally 
near  Okehampton. 

LIME. 

TUNGSTATE    OF   LIME. 

Scheelite,  In  crystals,  sometimes  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length, 
at  Huel  Friendship,  near  Tavistock.  They  are  of  a  rich  yeUow 
colour,  and  are  imbedded  in  chlorite,  and  associated  with  Wolfram. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DE70K8HIRE  MINERALS.  343 

SULPHATE   OF  LDCB. 

Oppium.  Although  abandant  in  Somersetshire,  gypsum  is 
rarely  met  with  in  Devon.  It  is  said  to  have  been  found  near 
Sidmouth  in  the  red  sandstonoi  associated  with  celestine. 

PHOSPHATE   OF  UHE. 

Apatite.  Found  in  cream-coloured  translucent  crystals,  occa- 
sionally two  inches  in  length,  at  Bovey  Tracoy,  associated  with 
tourmaline.  In  crystalline  masses  at  Huel  Franco,  near  Buckland 
Monachorum ;  and  in  crystals  with  schorl  at  Chudleigh  and  Bovey 
Heathfield. 

CASBONATES   OF   LIME. 

Aragonite,  Occurs  along  the  shores  of  Torbay  in  acicular 
crystals ;  also  at  Buckfastleigh.  The  white  compact  form  is  found 
at  Ufracombe,  together  with  the  fibrous  variety,  in  thin  seams  or 
veins  traversing  the  slate.  The  coralloidal  aragonite,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  fla»  ferriy  occurs  at  Combmartin  lining 
cavities  in  the  limestone.  Some  of  the  finest  specimens  in  the 
county  have  been  met  with  in  these  two  last  localities. 

Calcite.  This  species  is  almost  universally  distributed  throughout 
the  county.  In  crystals  at  the  Beer  Alston  mines,  Beer  Ferris; 
Huel  Friendship,  near  Tavistock;  at  the  limestone  quarries  at 
Plymouth  and  Torquay.  In  North  Devon,  at  Combmartin ;  and  at 
Venn  limestone  quarry,  near  Barnstaple. 

Dolomite — Magnesian  Lime.  Occurs  in  crystals  with  fluor  at  the 
Beer  Alston  and  South  Hoo  mines,  near  Beer  Ferris. 

FLUATE   OF   LDCE. 

Fluor — Fluor  Spar.  Found  in  cubes  and  octahedrons  of  a  large 
size  at  the  Beer  Alston  mines;  also  fibrous  and  compact.  On^ 
crystal  from  this  locality,  described  by  Phillips,  would,  if  perfect, 
have  been  bounded  by  no  less  than  322  planes.  Also  at  the  Tamar 
mines ;  Huel  Franco ;  and  the  Virtuous  Lady  Mine,  near  Buckland 
Monachorum ;  and  at  Huel  Friendship,  near  Tavistock.  Fluor  is 
not  known  to  occur  in  North  Devon. 

LDCB,    ALUMIVA,    ETC.,    SILICATE   OF. 

Qamet.  Found  generally  on  Dartmoor;  at  Hay  Tor;  Brent  Tor, 
near  Tavistock;  Lustleigh,  near  Bovey;  Huel  Forest;  Fursdon 
Manor  Mine;  Meldon  Quarry;  and  Copper  Hill  Mine;  all  near 
Okehampton.  In  the  latter  locality  it  is  described  by  Mr.  Ormerod* 
as  forming  a  vein  at  least  180  feet  in  thickness,  and  having  lodes 
of  copper  on  each  side. 

^  Tnuuaotioiis  of  the  Devonshize  Aasociation,  voL  ii  p.  136w 


844  GATALOGITE  OF  DXVOHBHISI  XIHBiia 

UMB,   ALUIOVA,   XTC.,   BOmtHOUCAXm  OF.  ' 

AxiniU,  Found  near  Tavistock,  at  Brant  Tor,  witli  actmiMte 
and  gamet;  also  at  Had  Friendship.  Fine  speoimflna  ooeur  at 
Stioldepath,  near  Okehampton,  and  in  several  pliibea  in  Hie  Tkimtj, 
sach  as  Ivy  Tor  and  Copper  Hill  mines,  Hod  Foreati  Fondoa 
Manor  Minei  and  Meldon  Qoarry. 

KAONBSZJu 

XAGVESIAy   LDCB,    AHB  IBOK,   SHICATB  OF. 

JlanMmde.  Massive  hornblende  is  oommon  in  the  neifl^ilioiuliood 
of  Dartmoor.  Hay  Tor,  Bovey  Tracey,  and  StioUepath  aiBrad  good 
specimens.  Several  dykes  of  black  hornblende  ooeor  in  Luady 
Island. 

AetinoUU  is  a  fibrons  or  radiated  variety  of  the  abovei  It  oeonii 
frequently  in  the  vicinily  of  Okehampton,  as  at  Stiddepitb^  Inir 
Tor  Mine,  and  Hud  Forest.  Fine  specimens  oooor  at  Bmi  Xoi^ 
near  Tavistock,  associated  with  gamet 

AikMtoi.  Another  fibrous  variety  of  hornblende.  Thete  aonft  tWD 
specimens  of  it  in  the  Museum  of  I^ticd  Geology,  JfUmlpk  StveeCi 
which  are  described  as  occurring  in  fissures  of  the  new  t&  ittiiEl  aA 
Seaton,  Devonshire.  They  wera  presented  by  Sir  W.  C.  Tievdyan* 

8ILI0A. 

oxmss  OF  snjcov. 

Opal.  Common  opal  is  found  at  Hay  Tor,  on  Dartmoor,  Lust- 
leigh,  near  Bovey,  and  near  Okchampton. 

Quart%.  In  beds  or  veins  quartz  is  found  more  or  less  abundantly 
in  every  part  of  the  county.  Pscudomorphous  after  fluor  in  cubes 
and  octohedrons  at  Beer  Alston  and  South  Hoo  Mines,  near  Beer 
Ferris ;  after  calcite  at  Hay  Tor  Iron  Mines. 

The  following  arc  all  varieties  of  quartz : — 

Agate.  Found  at  Mary  Church,  near  Torquay ;  in  pebbles  at 
Sidmouth ;  and  with  rock  crystal  at  Hay  Tor. 

Amethffst.  Kadiated  at  Whitchurch  Down,  near  Tavistock.  It 
is  found  also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Okehampton,  and  on  Dart- 
moor. 

Chalcedony.  Stalactitic  chalcedony  has  been  found  in  the  Beer 
Alston  Mines.  Fine  botryoidal  specimens  occur  at  Hay  Tor,  where 
it  is  also  met  with  pscudomorphous  after  calcite.  It  is  also  found 
near  Sidmouth. 

Cherl  is  abundant  on  Haldon,  near  Exeter,  and  in  the  adjoining 
green  sand  district ;  also  in  the  green  sand  at  Orleigh  Court,  in  the 
parish  of  Buckland  Brewer,  near  Bideford. 


CATALOGUE  OF  DSYONSHIBE  lOKERALS.  345 

Flint  is  found  in  tho  same  localities  and  under  the  same  con- 
ditions as  chert ;  also  at  Sidmouth. 

Haytorite  consists  of  chalcedony  in  crystals,  pseudomorphous 
after  datholite.  This  is  an  extremely  rare  mineral,  and  only  found 
at  Hay  Tor,  on  Dartmoor,  whence  it  derives  its  name. 

JBTonutone  occurs  frequently  in  this  county,  as  at  the  East 
Tamar  Mine,  Beer  Ferris,  and  at  Beer  Alston,  where  it  also  is 
found  pseudomorphous  in  the  form  of  octahedral  fluor. 

Jaap&r  is  found  at  Ivy  Bridge;  Doddiscombleigh,  near  Chudleigh; 
Okehampton ;  Brent  Tor,  near  Tavistock ;  and  occasionally  in  the 
green  sand  at  Buckland  Brewer,  near  Bideford. 

Moek  Cryital.  The  finest  crystals  were  discovered  some  years 
ago  at  Huel  Friendship,  near  Tavistock.  They  were  associated 
with  chlorite,  and  occasionally  attained  the  length  of  five  or  six 
inches.  In  the  same  neighbourhood  crystals  are  found  at  Huel 
Bet^  and  ol^er  localities ;  also  at  Gidleigh,  near  Moreton  Hamp- 
stead ;  Huel  Bobert,  at  Sampford  Spiney ;  and  near  Okehampton. 
Large  twin  crystals  are  found  at  North  Bovey.  In  the  noiih  of 
Devon  small  but  very  brilliant  crystals  occur  imbedded  in  hematite 
at  Georgeham  and  Yiveham,  near  Barnstaple ;  also  with  pyrite  at 
Combmartin.  Very  large  crystals,  sometimes  of  a  black  colour, 
have  been  found  in  the  granite  of  Lundy  Island. 

8TB0NTIAN. 

SULPHATE   OF   STBOKTIAN. 

CeUitine.  My  only  notice  of  the  occurrence  of  this  mineral  in 
Devonshire  is  taken  from  Greg  and  Lettsom's  Manual  of  Mine' 
ralogy^  where  it  is  described  as  found  in  transparent  crystalline 
plates  on  gypsum  at  Sidmouth.  It  also  is  said  to  occur  in  flints  in 
the  same  locality. 


CLASS  in.--CAEBON  AND  ITS  COMPOUNDS. 

Awtkraeite.  Thin  intermittent  beds  of  anthracite  stretch  east- 
wards from  Abbotsham,  on  the  shores  of  Barnstaple  Bay,  through 
Bideford  in  a  straight  line  to  Hawkridge  Wood,  near  TJmberleigh, 
a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  At  Bideford  the  works,  which 
have  only  recently  been  abandoned,  are  of  very  great  antiquity, 
and  extend  for  some  distance  underground.  Sir  H.  De  la  Beche,* 
writing  in  1838,  states  that  the  mines  which  were  then  at  work 
product  in  a  short  period  from  600  to  700  tons  of  anthracite. 
From  the  western  mine  1500  tons  were  raised  during  one  year; 

^  Beport  on  the  Geology  of  CknnwaU,  Devon,  and  West  Sosnerset,  p.  614. 


346  oJkTJOjyam  ow  divohbhiu  koomaul 

whilst  iiho  Mstem  mine,  when  in  foil  work,  prodnoed  68  tons  per 
week.  The  hed,  which  has  eyerywhere  heea  renuyrad  hj  old 
workings  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  fathoms,  Ysiies  in  ihinknww 
from  six  inches  to  fourteen  feet,  the  ayerage  being  seven  fset. 

The  culm  or  anthracite  at  Tawstock  is  mentiflaied  bj  PolwheLs 
in  1797 ;  and  Lysons*  describes  the  works  as  being  eztensiTely 
carried  on  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  After  befaig 
abandoned  for  a  time  they  were  re-opened  about  1790,  and  ten 
years  later  they  produced  900  bushels  per  wedk,  the  depth  of  the 
pit  being  then  about  25  fathoms.  There  were  two  fmBB,  dbant 
nine  feet  in  thickness. 

Zi^ttSy  or  Bovey  Cwd.  The  lignite  of  Bovey  Traoey  is  so  wdl 
known,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  refiar  to  it;  end  so 
numerous  have  been  the  papers  on  the  subject  reed  befim  tbe 
principal  scientiflc  societies,  that  its  histoiy  alone  woeld  oooofj'  a 
tonsiderable  space.  For  a  deecripticm  of  the  lignite  depooti  in- 
elnding  the  intercalated  clay  beds,  see  Mr.  Pengelly's  intweeting 
fKg&t  in  the  first  report  of  tiiis  Association. 

KXHSBAL  BBSnfS. 

BUumm,  Found  many  years  ago  at  Chudleie^  wiQi  lyatiie; 
also  at  Hud  Crebor,  near  Tayistook. 

PfihijiUum^  a  semifluid  variely  of  the  above,  has  been  found  at 
Chudleigh. 

Retinite,  or  ReUtMsphdltmm.     In  yellowish  brown  massos,  with 

an  earthy  texture.     Accompanies  lignite  at  Bovey  Tracey. 

*  Magna  Britannia,  toI.  vi.  p.  292. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    HISTORY. 

BT  J.   ER8KINE   RISK,  M.A. 


OxTB  neighbouHB  on  the  continent,  who  often  flatter  them- 
selves on  having  got  the  start  of  the  children  of  perfidious 
Albion,  have  for  some  time  plumed  themselves  on  having 
obtained  the  key  to  a  science,  the  very  existence  of  which  is 
far  from  clear  to  most  of  our  English  philosophers.  That 
so-called  science  is  "the  science"  of  history.  "The  sole 
foundation  for  belief  in  the  natural  sciences,"  says  Condorcet,* 
"is  this  notion  that  the  general  laws,  known  or  unknown, 
which  govern  the  phenomena  of  the  universe,  are  necessary 
and  constant.  And  why  should  this  principle  be  less  true  for 
the  development  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  faculties  of 
man  than  for  the  other  operations  of  nature?"  (Simply 
because  they  are  not  in  pari  materid.)  "Finally,"  he  goes  on 
to  say,  "  since  opinions  formed  after  experience  are  the  only 
rule  of  conduct  of  the  wisest  men,  why  should  the  philoso- 
pher be  forbidden  to  rest  his  conjectures  on  the  same  basis, 
provided  he  does  not  attribute  to  them  a  certainty  superior 
to  that  which  may  arise  out  of  the  number,  constancy,  and 
exactness  of  his  observations  ?"  Just  so.  But  conjectures  of 
such  limited  certainty  can  hardly  form  the  basis  of  a  true 
science.  The  question  then  proposed  to  us  by  continental 
philosophers,  and  echoed  to  us  from  them  by  a  few  of  our 
own  writers,  is  just  this :  Is  not  a  science  of  history  pos- 
sible? If  physical  phenomena  may  be  regarded  as  being 
governed  by  fixed  and  necessary  laws,  may  not  moral  and 
social  phenomena  be  proved  to  be  subject  to  the  same  rule  ? 
Hiere  are  upon  this  subject  two  widely  separated  schools  of 
thought — the  necessarian  and  the  libertarian ;  while  to  these 
may  be  added  a  third  or  intermediate  school,  which,  attempt- 
ing to  effect  a  compromise  between  both  the  former,  borrows 
from  each  only  so  much  as  may  make  its  own  position 
tenable,  forgetful  all  the  while  that  thus  it  abdicates  for  its 

.  *  /'Eaqiiiflse  d'un  Tableau  Historiqae  des  Progr^s  de  rjBsprit  Homain." 


348  THB  8C1SNCB  OF  HUTTOBT. 

fiavoarite  study  the  position  of  a  science.  Stoart  Mill,  in  his 
exposition  of  the  necessarian  doctrine,  is,  I  moat  lemind 
you,  particularly  careful  to  prevent  its  being  confounded  with 
fatalism ;  a  mistake  which,  even  by  his  own  showing;  must 
be  a  very  natural  one  to  fall  into.  According  to  this  writer, 
''the  true  necessarian  doctrine  is,  that  whatever  is  aboofc  to 
happen  will  be  the  infallible  result  of  the  causes  which  pro- 
duce it;"  while  fatalism  maintains  that  "it  is  of  no  use  strag- 
gling to  prevent  it— it  will  happen,  however  we  may  strivQ  to 
prevent  it"  And  yet,  as  Mill  admits,  that  when  a  neceasaiian 
comes  to  believe  that  our  actions  follow  from  our  chanuten^ 
he  holds  that  these  again  are  the  inevitable  result  of  oiganiJtir 
tion,  education,  and  circumstances,  it  seems  t>nly  fSeur  for  aoeh  a 
one  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  nature  is  now  so  fimued 
that  he  cannot  act  otherwise  than  he  is  in  the  habit  of  acting. 
Mill  indeed  attempts  to  escape  from  this  vicious  eirole,  and 
complains  most  pathetically  of  being  misunderstood  by  thoan 
who  insist  that  "this  great  doctrine,"  as  he  calls  it,  means 
that  a  man's  character  is  not  made  by  him,  but^br  him.  Bat 
the  way  in  which  he  seeks  to  evade  the  dUemma  is  not^  at 
least  to  me,  satisfactory.  "  We  are  exactly,  as  oapaUa  of 
making  our  own  character,  if  we  wiU,  as  others  axe  dT  makii^ 
it  for  us."  The  element  of  will,  you  will  observe^  is  thus 
introduced  to  prevent  necessarianism  from  lapsing  into  fiital- 
ism;  but  that  is  precisely  the  point  for  which  the  second 
school,  or  the  Libertarians,  contend.  It  is  in  vain  that  Mill 
endeavours  to  explain  away  the  concession  he  is  thus  forced 
to  make,  by  the  assertion  of  the  identity  of  the  will  to  form 
one's  character  with  the  vnsh  so  to  form  it  The  wish,  he 
would  have  us  believe,  arises,  not  from  our  organization,  but 
from  experience — experience  either  of  the  painful  conse- 
quences of  our  former  character,  or  "  some  strong  feeling  of 
admiration  or  aspiration  accidentally  aroused."  In  other 
words,  the  wish  for  reformation  arises  either  from  some  sense 
of  pain,  or  some  accidental  longing.  It  is  either  the  result 
of  circumstances  beyond  our  control,  or  some  chance  medley 
of  desire;  both  of  which  causes — whether  the  neoessary  or 
the  accidental  one — however,  would,  according  to  his  theory, 
be  equally  governed  by  his  invariable  sequence  of  events, 
and  so  by  limiting  the  real  operation  of  the  will  reduce  the 
necessarian  under  the  yoke  of  fatalism.  When,  moreover, 
you  remember  that  Mill  quotes  with  approbation  the  saying 
of  Novalis,  that  "character  is  a  completely  fashioned  will" 
— a  will,  i.e.,  completely  fashioned  by  organization,  education, 
and  circumstance,  his  attempt  to  relieve  the  necessarian  from 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  349 

the  yoke  of  fatalism  appears  still  more  futile.  The  effort  to 
make  desiie  a  means  of  change  of  character,  when  that  desire 
itself  arises  from  causes  quite  beyond  our  own  power,  thus 
proves  quite  ineffectual  as  an  outlet  to  comparative  freedom. 
The  real  explanation  of  the  whole  of  this  confusion  in  which 
Mill  has  thus  involved  himself,  to  my  mind,  lies  in  this: 
He  entirely  ignores  the  existence  of  the  will  as  an  indepen- 
dent and  governing  faculty  of  the  soul.  What  he  calls  will 
is  rather  the  final  resultant  of  the  desires  and  tendencies  of 
the  whole  spiritual  being.  The  mind,  as  he  conceives  it,  is 
determined  by  the  weightiest  motive,  or  body  of  motives:  it 
can  in  no  sense,  according  to  him,  be  said  to  determine  itsell 
There  is  in  it  no  goveraing  will  with  a  power  of  choice.  The 
whole  thing  is  a  matter  of  calculation.  Determine  the  ele- 
ments at  work,  and  you  can  at  once  predict  the  line  of 
conduct  which  will  be  pursued  under  given  circumstances. 
Such  is  the  mode  of  reasoning  which  the  necessarians  adopt 
with  respect  to  individuals,  or  the  masses,  as  they  are  pleased 
to  term  them,  and  such  is  the  foundation  of  their  science  of 
history.  Admit  the  power  of  the  strongest  motive,  and  you 
have  this  science.  Maintain  the  power  of  independent  choice 
in  the  will,  and  you  deny  it.  Attempt  to  amalgamate  these 
two  doctrines,  and  you  have  the  doctrine  of  the  third  school. 
I  referred  to  a  school  of  thought  to  which  Mill  sometimes 
appears  to  incline,  while  Buckle  as  sti*enuously  and  inflexibly 
maintains  the  doctrine  of  'the  first,  or  necessarian  school 
The  opinions  of  Buckle  may  be  summed  up  in  one  sentence 
*— •"  the  variations  in  the  actions  of  men  {i.  e.,  their  virtuous 
and  vicious  actions)  are  the  result  of  large  and  general  causes, 
which,  working  upon  the  aggregate  of  society,  mmt  produce 
certain  consequences,  without  regard  to  the  volition  of  those 
particular  men  of  whom  society  is  composed."  Let  us  con- 
sider how  far  facts  bear  out  or  contradict  such  a  sweeping 
statement  as  this.  Buckle's  allegation,  of  course,  rests  upon 
the  so-called  uniformity  of  moral  statistics.  It  is  found, 
says  he,  that  so  many  die,  so  many  steal,  so  many  forget  to 
direct  their  letters,  within  a  certain  space  of  tima  Free  as 
we  may  feel  ourselves  to  be,  he  maintcdns  our  will  is  still 
bound  by  a  law  compelling  the  same  number  of  men  to 
commit  the  same  number  of  crimes,  let  us  say,  within  a 
certain  period.  But  what  is  the  period  alleged?  Is  it  a 
period  of  such  a  length  as  to  take  into  account  the  possible 
emeiging  varieties  of  character  and  of  circumstances  which 
oettainlv  require  time  for  their  development  ?  On  the  con- 
trary, the  returns  relied  on  are  the  yearly  returns  of  the 

VOL.  IL  A  A 


350  THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY. 

registrar  general,  where  the  segments  of  the  great  arc  of  time 
are  practically  so  small  as  to  afford  no  scope  for  variation. 
But  again,  even  for  those  limited  periods,  the  data  which  are 
assigned  cannot  be  said  to  point  to  a  law,  but  to  indicate  an 
average,  and  so  to  show  the  more  unmistakably  the  nnr 
certainty  and  variability  of  the  basis  on  which  the  followers 
of  Buckle  seek  to  erect  their  science  of  history.  Their  data 
are  collected  from  limited  cycles  of  duration ;  they  are  not 
drawn  from  times  and  conditions  widely  remote;  tiie  statistics 
so  supplied  are  not  moral,  but  legal.  Thu8»  for  example^ 
similar  types  of  crimes  are  not  grouped  together,  bat  the 
most  diversa  The  outward  acts  are  reckoned  up,  but  their 
varying  moral  characters  are  not  classified  and  estimated. 
Under  the  head  of  murder,  all  manslaying  is  registered 
without  reference  to  the  causes  which  modify  its  character. 
So  many  men  have  been  slain,  and  so  many  have  killed 
them ;  and  this  is  all  your  statisticians  care  to  register.  The 
level  passages  of  history  are  carefully  mapped  out;  the 
rugged  irregularities  of  revolutionary  epochs  are  entirely 
ignored.  Thus  Quetelet  gives  the  averages  for  the  years  1826 
to  1829,  though  even  there  the  differences  of  average  are  great 
(so  much  as  300  from  year  to  year),  and  says  nothing  of  1830. 
And  yet,  if  there  is  anything  in  the  science  of  history,  a  period 
of  popular  revolution  and  a  time  of  public  calm  should  both 
be  passed  under  review,  and  have  their  respective  laws 
assigned.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the  analogy  of  the  physical 
sciences,  as  applied  to  the  moral  and  social,  is  entirely  out  of 
place.  The  term  "  law,"  even  as  regards  physical  science,  is 
calculated  to  mislead,  if  intended  to  represent  more  than  the 
general  regular  recurrence  of  certain  facts  which  have  always 
been  hitherto  observed  to  happen  in  a  certain  order. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  upholders  of  inductive  science  have 
endeavoured  to  extend  the  application  of  these  general  laws 
univei^ally  over  nature.  But  what  is  the  supposition  on 
which  this  extension  rests  ?  Has  it  not  been  found,  as  has 
well  been  observed,  that  "  the  ground  of  universals  and  the 
basis  of  science  is  instinctive  reliance  in  the  wisdom  and 
unity  of  the  Creator?— or,  as  some  prefer  to  phrase  it, — "the 
constancy  of  the  laws  of  nature?"  The  argument  then  in 
favour  of  the  science  of  history,  which  is  drawn  from  such 
a  source,  is  altogether  baseless ;  for  observation  shows,  that 
moral  and  social  data  are  not  as  exempt  from  liability  to 
change,  as  physical  phenomena  may,  for  the  most  part,  be 
assumed  to  be.  But  again  ;  Mr.  Buckle  is  of  opinion  that  the 
intellectual  element  in  man  is  the  chief  cause  which  operates 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  351 

in  the  promotion  of  his  progress.  By  the  intellectaal  ele- 
ment, he  means  the  nature  of  his  beliefs,  the  amount  of  his 
knowledge,  and  degree  of  cultivation  of  his  intelligence. 
The  chief  strength  of  this  opinion  lies  in  the  way  in  which 
he  seeks  to  enforce  it.  He,  as  well  as  Mill,  would  make 
man's  moral  condition  the  consequence,  to  a  great  extent,  of 
his  intellectual  state,  Nand  would  hold  it  in  all  cases  to  be 
limited  by  it.  In  this  way,  the  more  cultivated  and  wise 
mankind,  the  more  ameliorated  their  moral  condition  would 
become.  And  so  Buckle's  argument,  on  the  one  hand, 
would  go  to  make  out  the  ruthless  persecutors  of  heathen 
and  later  Some  te  have  been  among  the  most  moral  and 
sincere  of  their  times;  while  increased  knowledge  and 
greater  intelligence  have  on  the  other  hand,  he  thinks, 
contributed  much  to  i^educe  religious  persecution  and  war. 
It  is  somewhat  singular  that  the  instance  which  he  cites, 
in  proof  of  the  influence  of  knowledge  in  reducing  the 
prevalence  of  war,  should  be  the  disinclination  of  the  civil- 
ized stetes  of  Europe  to  conflict  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean 
war,  as  contrasted  with  the  headlong  ambition  of  the  ''  only 
empire  Bussia,  which  was  then  at  once  powerful  and  uncivil- 
ized." "  No  one,"  he  adds,  "  will  pretend  that  the  military 
predilections  of  Russia  are  caused  by  a  low  state  of  morals, 
or  by  a  disregard  of  religious  duties.  It  is,"  he  concludes, 
**  clear  that  Bussia  is  a  warlike  country,  not  because  the  in- 
habitants are  immoral,  but  because  they  are  unintellectuaL" 

Now  it  is  a  very  remarkable  thing  that  this  discovery  of 
Buckle's  respecting  Bussia  is  one  which  is  quite  peculiar  to 
himself — as  even  the  authorities  he  cites  do  not  prove  it. 
PLakerton  and  Sir  John  Sinclair  may  both  testify  to  the 
kindness  and  charity  of  the  Bussians,  but  that  does  not 
prove  their  high  or  average  state  of  morality.  Buckle  insists 
much  on  the  reverence  of  the  Bussian  people  for  their  reli- 
gion, but  there  are  others  who  may  think  such  reverence  as 
the  Bussians  display  savours  rather  of  superstition.  But 
one  thing  is  certain,  the  general  opinion  of  Europe  is  that 
they  are  not  particularly  moral  or  religious. 

Let  us  hear  Buckle  further  on  this  most  striking  of  his 
paradoxes.  I  will  give  you  extracts  from  a  passage  of  his, 
which  is,  I  believe,  now  pretty  generally  known.  Let  us  seek 
to  guage  its  truth  or  falsehoi^  "As  the  tide  rolls  on — 
there  is,  amid  its  endless  fluctuations,  one  thing,  and  one  alone, 
which  endures  for  ever.  The  actions  of  bad  men  produce 
only  temporary  evil,  the  actions  of  good  men  only  temporary 
good— eventually  they  are  neutralized  by  subsequent  genera- 

A  A.  2 


352  THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY. 

tions,  absorbed  by  the  incessant  movements  of  future  ages. 
But  the  discoveries  of  great  men  never  leave  us,  they  are 
immortal,  and  contain  those  eternal  truths  which  survive  the 
shock  of  empires,  outlive  the  strugglies  of  rival  creeds^  and 
witness  the  decay  of  successive  religions.  All  these  have 
their  different  measures  and  their  different  standaids— one 
set  of  opinions  for  one  age,  another  set  for  another.  The  dis- 
coveries of  genius  alone  remain ;  they  are  essentially  cumu- 
lative, and  giving  birth  to  the  additions  which  they  subse- 
quently receive,  they  thus  influence  the  most  distant  posterity, 
and,  after  the  lapse  of  centuries,  produce  more  effect  tluui 
they  were  able  to  do  even  at  the  moment  of  their  promulga- 
tion/* Such  is  the  substance  of  Buckle's  famous  passage  on 
the  relative  vitality  of  moral  and  int43llectual  truths,  and  their 
respective  influence  on  the  progress  of  mankind.  And  yet 
all  through  this  eloquent  eulogium  on  knowledge,  he  foigeta; 
or  refuses  to  see,  that  knowledge,  merely  as  such,  has  not  been 
of  any  lasting  benefit  to  mankind.  It  is  only  in  their  moral 
bearing  on  the  spiiitual  being  of  man  that  "  the  discoveries 
of  genius  **  can  send  their  influence  down  the  ages  in  the 
manner  which  he  mentions  The  most  civilized  of  modem 
nations  may  also  be  the  most  fratricidal  if  mere  intellectual 
cultivation  be  the  sole  guiding  star, — and  all  the  noblest  dis- 
coveries in  astronomy  and  political  economy  will  not,  if  only 
replete  with  the  siccum  lumen  of  mere  knowledge,  succeed  in 
raising  a  nation  which  is  not  also  rising  in  moral  elevation. 
And,  indeed.  Mill,  who  generally  supports  Buckle's  views  on 
this  point,  seems  to  be  conscious  of  this;  for  he  is  found, 
within  the  compass  of  a  few  short  sentences,  fiwt  giving  in 
his  general  adhesion  to  Buckle's  doctrine,  and  then  accounting 
for  it  in  the  following  rather  inconsistent  manner : — "  The 
intellectual  changes  are  so  much  the  most  conspicuous  agency 
in  history,  not  from  their  sfitperior  farce,  considered  in  tfiemselves, 
but  because,  practically,  they  work  with  the  united  power 
belonging  to  all  three  agencies, — viz.,  the  moral,  economi- 
cal, and  intellectual."  In  a  similar  way  Mill,  when  speaking 
of  the  general  theory  of  the  subjection  of  social  progress  to 
invariable  laws,  under  another  point  of  view,  proceeds  to 
show  a  marked  divergence  from  the  written  sentiments  of 
Buckle.  I  have  already  quoted  Buckle's  statement  to  the 
effect  that  the  variation  in  the  actions  of  men  is  the  result  of 
large  and  general  causes,  irrespective  of  the  particular  volitions 
of  the  individual  men  who  go  to  make  up  society.  Now 
what  says  Mill  ?  "  Because  whatever  happens  will  be  the 
effect  of  causes,  volitions  among  the  rest,  it  does  not  follow 


THE  SCIBNCE  OF  HISTORY.  353 

that  volitions,  even  those  of  peculiar  individuals,  are  not  of 
great  eiBciency  as  causes."  Take  his  own  instance.  Because 
a  certain  number  of  persons  die  every  year  of  shipwreck,  it 
would  be  sheer  fatalism  in  any  one  in  a  storm  at  sea  to  con- 
clude, merely  on  this  account,  that  it  would  be  useless  to  try 
and  save  himself  Why  I  the  voluntary  efforts  of  those  who 
escape  annually  are  the  very  causes  why  the  rates  of  mortality 
from  shipwreck  are  kept  down  at  their  present  level  And 
again,  in  further  maintaining  the  compatibility  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  exertions  of  individual  persons,  with  the  action 
of  invariable  laws  on  human  progress,  he  declares  his  belief 
in  the  following,  as  the  only  tenable  form  of  the  theory. 
"The  volitions  of  exceptional  persons,  such  as  Luther  or 
CfiBsar,  may  be  indispensable  links  in  the  chain  of  causation  by 
which  even  the  general  causes  produce  their  efifects."  Precisely 
80 ;  but  in  that  case  what  grounds  has  Buckle  for  maintaining 
that  the  action  of  general  causes  operates  to  include  the 
efficacy  of  the  volitions  of  particular  persons  ?  Mill,  thei*e- 
fore,  considers  the  great  men  of  any  age  to  wield  a  certain 
influence  in  giving  celerity  to  the  movement  of  the  age  which 
takes  its  initiative,  as  he  rightly  holds,  from  their  hands — and 
their  hands  alone.  Buckle  would  maintain  these  great  men 
to  be  inoperative.  Indeed,  I  am  not  certain  whether  he 
would  even  go  the  length  of  Lord  Macaulay,  who  in  illus- 
trating the  relative  nullity  of  great  men,  and  the  absolute 
importance  of  their  age,  compares  them  to  standers  on  the 
mountain-top,  who  can  see  the  rising  sun  a  little  sooner  than 
those  on  the  plain — to  whom  the  sun  would  still  appear  below 
the  horizon.  But  what  would  this  comparison  of  Macaulay's 
justly  imply  ?  Would  it  not  imply  that  the  world,  without  a 
Newton,  would  have  risen  to  the  height  of  his  glorious  dis- 
covery almost,  if  not  quite,  as  soon  as  with  a  Newton  ?  The 
contrary  we  all  know  to  be  the  fact.  Taken  absolutely, 
the  age  of  Newton  was  about  as  little  prepared  for  his  dis- 
coveries as  any  that  preceded.  It  was  the  man  who  prepared 
the  age  for  his  discoveries,  and  not  the  age  that  bore  the  man 
aloft  to  those  discoveries  on  its  topmost  wave  of  progress. 
What  would  China  have  been  without  Confucius,  Moslemism 
without  Mahomet^  or  French  Imperialism  without  Napoleon  ? 
The  progress  therefore,  whether  of  truth  or  of  nations,  is  the 
fruit,  not  simply  of  internal  development,  but  of  individual 
efifort  So  much  then  we  have  been  able  to  conclude,  even 
from  the  admission  of  the  advocates  of  necessary  laws  in  the 
domain  of  history.  But  there  is  a  still  further  proot  which 
might  be  given,  of  the  freedom  of  the  individual  will,  from  the 


354  THE  SCIENCE  OP  HISTORY. 

judgments  of  the  retrospective  conscience.  How  can  we 
reconcile  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  particular  actions  with  any 
other  belief  than  that  which  holds  that  they  might  have  been 
done  or  let  alone  at  the  individual  choice  ?  How  are  we  else 
to  account  for  the  diminished  criminalby,  in  some  cases 
reduced  to  the  vanishing  point,  of  actions  done  under  com- 
pulsion ?  Were  it  not  so,  it  would  be  hard  to  say  why  a  good 
king  is  more  worthy  of  our  approval  than  a  good  harvest^  or 
a  bad  man  more  deserving  of  our  censure  than  a  pestilence. 
If  our  actions  are  to  be  at  all  regarded  as  the  results  of  causa- 
tion, in  the  same  sense  as  events  are  in  the  physical  world, 
how  can  such  a  theory  be  possibly  reconciled  with  those 
inextinguishable  facts  of  our  moral  nature  by  which  praise 
and  blame,  reward  and  condemnation,  are  invariably  meted 
out  in  the  case  of  actions,  which  could  either  have  been  done 
or  avoided.*  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  necessary  laws 
be  explained  to  mean  that  no  event  happens  in  history  with- 
out some  fitting  antecedent  sufficient  to  produce  it,  (and  this 
is  what  Mill  seems  to  hint  at,)  why  this  is  a  mere  truism,  and 
such  a  necessarian  theory,  so  far  from  being  opposed  to  the 

*  Or,  again,  I  might  refer  to  the  verdict  of  our  consciousneBS.  If  ire  «ra 
free,  we  ought  to  know  it.  If  wo  are  bound,  we  should  groan  under  it.  W0 
know  that  tee  are  free,  I/ct  that  be  enough.  Of  course,  when  the  wiU  bo- 
comes  fettered  by  evil,  that  results  from  a  decision  of  tiie  will,  in  the  fixrt 
instance.  It  is  to  no  purpose  that  Buckle  tries  to  explain  away  this  by 
making  out  consciousness  merely  to  be  a  condition  ot  the  mind.  If  he 
does  not  credit  the  concurrent  impression  of  all  the  powers  of  the  mind, 
with  respect  to  the  mind  its(flf,  ho  can  beliovo  nothing.  If  the  mind  be 
not  trustworthy  in  this  decision  of  the  full  court  of  its  faculties,  it  is 
not  to  bo  relied  on  in  the  cxcjixise  of  any  ono  of  them.  Buckle's  own 
reasonings  are  inferences  drawn  from  previous  acts  of  consciousness,  or 
of  the  mind,  of  which  the  mind  was  conscious;  and  if  the  mind  be  not 
worthy  of  credit  in  any  of  its  ])rocesses,  Buckle's  elaborate  reasonings  are 
nothiiis^  but  so  nmch  paper  8i>oiled — he  himself  is  guilty  of  so  much  drivel- 
ing folly — while  his  opponents,  if  they  believe  like  him  as  to  consciousness, 
have  no  assurance  that  they  are  any  better.  Tlie  present  note  affords  as 
favourable  opportunity,  as  any  in  the  course  of  this  paper,  for  noticing  an 
objection  which  is  sometimes  made  to  the  introduction  of  ethical  considera- 
tions into  the  discussion  of  the  science  of  history.  Why,  it  is  said,  discuBS 
the  possibility  of  the  estiblishment  of  a  necessarj'  connection  of  events  bv 
the  elimination  of  free  will,  when  you  cannot  ascertain  the  existence  of  all 
those  instances  of  necessary  connection,  even  were  their  possibility  estab- 
lished ?  I  am  quite  content  to  leave  the  reply  in  Froude's  hands.  In  his 
first  volume,  p.  11,  of  '*  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects,"  ho  writes:  *'A 
science  of  history,  if  it  is  more  than  a  misleading  name,  implies  that  the 
relation  between  cause  and  effect  holds  in  human  beings  as  completely  as 
in  all  others,  that  the  origin  of  human  actions  is  not  to  be  looked  for  in 
mysterious  properties  of  the  mind,  but  in  influences  which  are  palpable  and 
ponderable.  ...  If  it  is  free  to  a  man  to  choose  what  he  will  ao  or  not  do, 
there  is  no  adequate^  science  of  him.  If  there  is  a  science  of  him,  there  is 
no  free  choice,  and  the  praise  and  blame  with  which  we  regartl  one  another 
is  impertinent  and  out  of  place.  Without  trespassing  on  these  ethical 
grounds,"  adds  Froude,  "the  subject  cannot  be  made  intelligible.'* 


THE  SCIENCE  OF   HISTORY.  855 

free  will  hypothesis,  is,  iu  fact,  its  fittest  supplement.  Hence, 
I  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  third  or  intermediate  school, 
to  which  I  think  Mill  makes  some  approaches,  but  which  I 
think  might  be  more  sharply  defined  by  a  more  logical 
development  than  he  has  given  of  his  views  in  that  direc- 
tion. But  after  all,  what  is  the  verdict  which  history  herself 
gives  in  her  own  cause  ?  Have  we  anywhere  evidence  of  the 
events  of  history  unfoldiug  themselves  in  an  inevitable  series 
— unalterable  by  the  resolves  of  individual  wills,  or  the  de- 
flexions of  supernatural  interference?  There  are  of  course 
persons  now-a-days  who,  when  they  see  links  in  the  chain  of 
history  for  which  they  cannot  account  from  any  discovered 
so-called  law  of  the  general  order  of  events,  are  accustomed 
to  resort  to  any  explanation,  however  lame,  to  avoid  the 
admission  of  the  interposition  of  the  supernatural ;  but  the 
attempt  is  fruitless,  and  only  covers  the  authors  of  it  with 
confusion.  In  the  same  way  the  denials  of  the  efficacy  of 
individual  human  agency  fall  to  the  ground  through  their  in- 
trinsic incredibility.  The  innate  beliefs  of  the  human  con- 
stitution assert  their  native  sway,  and  the  sceptic,  save  as 
r^ards  the  powers  of  the  race  in  general,  is  compelled  to 
acknowledge  them  at  last  as  respects  himself. 

Nor  can  the  results  of  such  enlarged  views  of  history,  as 
continued  inquiry  is  daily  bringing  to  lights  be  without  their 
efiect  on  the  progress  of  history  itself,  whether  as  regards  the 
occurrence  of  the  facts  which  history  records,  or  the  manner 
of  their  record  in  future  historical  works.  The  science  of 
history,  in  the  sense  of  a  science  which  will  make  out  such 
an  inter-dependence  of  the  facts  of  history  as  would  show 
their  course  to  be  as  distinctly  traceable  as  the  steps  in  a 
mathematical  problem,  such  a  science  is  being  made  to  appear 
manifestly  impossible.  But  a  philosophy  of  history  there  as 
manifestly  may  be.  The  past  phenomena  of  history  cannot 
of  course  reappear  precisely  in  their  primitive  order.  But 
the  study  of  the  connections  of  events,  and  their  order  of 
sequence,  can  never  be  devoid  of  profit  and  instruction.  We 
cannot  predict  the  events  of  the  future  in  the  moral  and 
social  world  with  anything  like  the  same  certainty  with 
which  we  can  foretell  the  places  of  the  planets  or  the  so-called 
fixed  stars  a  thousand  years  hence,  or  a  million.  But  we  can 
fill  our  memories  with  old  historical  combinations,  and  from 
these  our  judgments,  when  assured  of  as  full  knowledge  as 
is  attainable  of  all  the  circumstances,  may  venture  to  come 
to  some  trustworthy  conclusion  as  to  the  course  which  similar 
contingencies  are  likely  to  take.    It  is  on  these  previsions 


356  THE  SCIENCE  OF   HISTORY. 

that  all  genuine  sociology,  all  credible  political  vdsdom,  are 
founded  Those  who  expect  from  history  those  lessons  which 
true  scientific  inquiry  can  give,  and  not  those  which  only 
scientific  quackery  can  promise,  will  surely  not  be  dis- 
appointed. History,  with  such  honest-minded  men  as  these 
for  its  actors,  may  enter  on  a  new  and  much  accelerated 
course.  The  greater  number  of  large  and  liberal-minded 
men  there  are  in  any  age,  the  greater  probability  there  is  of 
that  age  being  of  the  number  of  those  which  far  distance 
the  ages  which  preceded.  There  will  always  be  the  original, 
powerful  mind,  which  will  not  only  guide  but  make  its  age. 
But  such  minds  are  necessarily  few.  They  are  something 
more  than  the  foremost  exponents  of  their  age, — they  are,  I 
believe,  the  direct  gift  of  heaven.  Just  as  when  a  new  set,  if 
I  may  so  say,  requires  to  be  given  to  the  laws  of  nature,  the 
direct  impulse  of  the  supreme  will,  which  is  the  source  of 
all  law,  becomes  once  more  evident,  just  so  is  it  when  the 
necQSsity  for  an  extraordinary  work  in  history  involves  the 
necessity  for  the  rise  of  an  extraordinary  worker.  When  the 
hour  has  struck,  then  comes  the  man,  with  this  difference, 
that  to  the  common  ear,  had  the  man  not  made  his  appear- 
ance too,  the  hour  would  never  seem  to  have  struck  at  alL 
So  must  the  supreme  will  be  interpreted  to  mankind  by 
earthly  units  of  the  species.  And  hence  all  the  errors  on  this 
point  to  which  I  have  adverted.  Mankind,  when  they  see 
the  work  being  done,  which  they  all  acknowledge  to  be  so 
necessary,  believe  that  the  hour  has  struck  upon  the  clock  of 
their  own  race — that,  in  short,  it  is  the  race  which  produces 
the  exceptional  man,  and  not  the  man  in  fine  who  is  sent 
exceptionally  to  elevate  the  race.  No.  The  truth  is,  it  is 
the  man  who  reveals  the  exceptional  emergency,  and  who 
speaks,  not  merely  as  the  exponent  of  an  internal  develop- 
ment, but  as  the  embodiment  of  an  external  will.  And  let  no 
one  think  that  by  thus  exalting  the  supreme  will,  which  is 
the  source  of  all  law,  we  are  detracting  from  the  importance 
of  law  itself  The  so-called  entity  of  law  becomes  a  far 
sublimer  thing  when  regarded  as  the  final  expression  upon 
earth  of  the  dispositions  of  a  supreme  will,  than  when  looked 
at  as  the  unalterable  decree  of  a  blank  and  unsympathetic 
necessity.  On  the  one  theory,  all  hangs  on  the  almighty  fiat 
of  a  living  person  ;  on  the  other,  all  is  inextricably  shut  up 
in  the  inevitable  labyrinth  of  an  immoveable  system.  The 
human  mind  instinctively  shrinks  from  the  bondage  of  its 
own  imperfect  generalisations ;  and  the  teachings  of  instinct 
and  of  truth  are  here  happily  at  one.  Let  us  try  never  to 
forget  their  instructions ! 


THE 

EVIDENCES  OF  GLACIAL  ACTION  IN  SOUTH  DEVON. 

BY  S.   VIVIAN. 


The  harmony  of  literary  and  scientific  evidence,  and  especially 
the  reduction  of  geological  into  astronomical  time,  is  one  of 
the  most  urgent  and  interesting  problems  which  yet  remain 
to  be  solved.  The  high  antiquity  of  the  earth  and  man  is 
now  admitted  almost  as  universally  as  the  revolution  of  the 
earth  around  the  sun,  or  its  rotation  on  its  axis;  and  the 
chronology  of  Usher  has  become  as  much  out  of  date  as  the 
Ptolemaic  astronomy. 

The  solution  will  most  probably  be  found  by  comparing 
the  corresponding  phenomena  in  astronomiced  and  geological 
science,  and  amongst  these  the  most  promising  are  the  alter- 
nations of  climate  known  as  the  glacial  periods. 

An  admirable  summary  of  all  that  was  known  upon  this 
subject  up  to  our  last  anniversary  will  be  found  in  Sir  Charles 
Lyell's  Principles  of  Geology,  vol.  i.  tenth  edition.  The  only 
treatises  of  later  date  to  which  I  shall  refer  are  Crolls 
Essay  in  the  London,  Edinburgh,  and  Dublin  Fhilosophical 
Magazine,  as  bearing  upon  the  astronomical  branch  of  the 
question,  and  Mr.  N.  Whitley  s  paper  in  the  last  Report  of 
the  Boyal  Agricultural  Society,  on  the  changes  of  climate 
effected  by  the  gulf  stream  and  physical  geography. 

The  evidences  to  which  I  would  specially  call  attention 
are — 1.  A  section  of  the  Devonian  slate  near  Torquay,  with 
the  deposits  in  the  Torwood  valley ;  and,  2.  The  condition  of 
the  stfidagmitic  floor  and  successive  fillings  in  Kent's  Cavern. 

The  Torwood  valley,  now  occupied  by  the  Torquay  Public 
Gkrdens,  with  the  Braddons  and  Woodfield  on  either  side, 
has  evidently  been  cut  by  the  long-continued  action  of  a 
small  stream  (now  conveyed  through  the  sewer),  derived 
from  the  limited  area  of  the  Lincombes  and  Warberry  Hill. 
The  strata  on  both  the  northern  and  the  southern  slopes  are 
nearly  perpendicular,  with  a  slight  northern  dip.  The  bottom 
of  the  valley  is  tilled  with  loam  to  the  depth  of  from  three 
to  ten  feet,  beneath  which  is  a  bed  of  peat  similar  to  that 
at  Tor  Abbey  and  the  submerged  forest  in  Torbay.     On  the 


358   EVIDENCES  OF  GLACIAL  ACTION  IN  SOUTH  DEVON. 

northern  side  a  deep  excavation  for  buildings  has  laid  open 
the  flat  surface  of  the  slate,  the  cleavage  of  which  appears  to 
be  nearly  coincident  with  its  stratificatioiL  On  the  summit 
the  laminae  are  curved  over  to  the  uniform  depth  of  about 
six  feet^  in  the  line  of  least  resistance,  and  have  assumed  at 
their  extremities  the  slope  of  the  hill,  as  if  by  the  action  of 
some  expansive  substance  between  their  planes.  This  has 
been  assigned  by  Mr.  Godwin- Austen  and  other  writers  to 
the  action  of  ice  during  the  last  glacial  period.  If  so,  the 
valley  must  have  assumed  its  present  configuration  before 
that  date,  a  point  of  much  importance  a^afiecting  the  level 
of  the  stream  which  once  flowed  through  Kent's  Cavern.  The 
bulk  of  the  loam  might  have  been  deposited  above  the  peat 
by  the  action  of  the  melting  snows,  the  peat  itself  being  pos- 
sibly pre-glaciaL 

The  nature  and  condition  of  the  deposits  in  Kent's  Cavern 
appear  to  lead  to  the  same  conclusions.  On  the  surface  is  a 
black  mould  containing  relics  of  human  art,  from  the  present 
day  through  the  Roman  and  pre-Roman  periods  to  a  date 
which  corresponds  to  the  earliest  state  of  civilization  in  the 
pre-historic  Swiss  lake  dwellings — spindle- whorls,  bone 
combs,  amber  beads,  &c.,  with  lumps  of  native  copper  being 
common  to  both.  Beneath  this  is  an  unbroken  floor  of 
stalagmite,  varying  from  a  few  inches  to  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, containing,  at  about  a  third  of  its  depth,  teeth  and  bones 
of  the  extinct  mammalia,  and  beneath  these  a  human  jaw. 
This  floor  overlies  a  mass  of  red  loam,  containing  similar 
animal  remains,  with  flint  implements  of  the  Palaeolithic 
period,  and,  intermixed  with  these,  massive  fragments  of  more 
ancient  stalagmite,  containing  bones  of  the  cave  bear.  The 
floor  from  which  these  were  derived  is  found  in  situ  in  one 
of  the  small  galleries,  at  a  higher  level  than  the  new  floor 
which  has  since  been  formed  below  it.  In  other  more  remote 
parts  of  the  cavern  the  old  stalagmite  is  m  situ  below  the 
new,  with  red  loam  intervening.  Now,  it  appears  certain  that 
the  loam  was  introduced,  or  at  least  moved,  by  the  action  of 
flood  water  subsequently  to  the  disruption  of  the  ancient 
floor.  I  would  suggest  that  this  occurred  on  the  breaking  up 
of  the  last  glacial  period,  when  the  valley,  now  at  the  depth 
of  about  sixty  feet  below  the  cavern  s  mouth,  was  filled 
with  a  glacier  or  compact  snow,  the  water  being  derived 
from  the  bursting  of  debacles  or  ice  lakes,  and  heavy  rains  at 
higher  levels. 

If  these  interpretations  are  correct,  we  have  evidence  of 


BVIDENCES  OP  GLACIAL  ACTION  IN  SOUTH  DEVON.   359 

frost  to  the  depth  of  about  six  feet  over  the  whole  surface  of 
the  district;  and  it  is  quite  consistent  with  this  that  the  floor 
of  the  cavern  should  have  been  fissured  or  broken  up  by  the 
congelation  of  the  loam  beneath  it,  and  that,  being  subse- 
quently undermined,  and  fractured  by  masses  of  rock  from 
the  roof,  it  fell,  and  became  entombed  in  scattered  fragments, 
as  we  found  it. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell  considers  it  probable  that  the  valleys  had 
not  been  formed  below  the  level  of  the  cavern's  mouth  when 
the  bones  of  extinct  animals  and  implements  of  man  were 
introduced.  Even  the  submerged  forest  of  Torbay,  he  says, 
"may  belong  to  the  close  of  the  Palaeolithic  era,  although 
long  subsequent  to  the  filling  of  the  caves  of  Brixham  and 
Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay,  when  the  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
and  cave  bear  co-existed  with  man  before  the  excavation  of 
some  of  the  valleys  which  now  descend  to  the  sea  on  that 
coast."  (Principles,  i.  p.  544.)  This  would  make  man  pre- 
glacial ;  but  as  there  appears  to  be  no  sufficient  evidence  of 
this  from  other  sources,  I  would  submit,  as  the  more  probable 
interpretation,  that  the  valley  was  already  formed,  but  filled 
with  a  glacier  which,  from  its  limited  extent  and  the  angular 
chahuiter  of  the  valleys,  was  stationary,  and  left  no  traces. 
The  usual  striae  and  moraines  are  found  as  near  as  Snowdon ; 
but  even  on  Dartmoor  the  gorges  are  not  sufficient  to  have 
had  glaciers  in  motion. 

According  to  this  theory  the  cavern  bear  would  have  been 
pre-glacial,  his  remains  being  found  in  a  compact  bone 
breccia  at  the  base  of  the  ancient  stalagmite,  and  imbedded 
in  its  substance.  He  was  also  in  the  caverns  after  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  floor,  teeth  and  bones  being  found  abundantly 
in  the  loam,  together  with  those  of  the  hyena  and  the  animals 
upon  which  it  preyed,  and  relics  of  man  in  the  PalsBolithic 
period,  which  would  thus  be  post-glacial.  If  CroU's  astro- 
nomical calculations  are  correct,  the  latest  glacial  period  was 
at  its  height  about  B.C.  200,000. 

This  chronology  is  quite  consistent  with  the  present  rate 
of  formation  of  the  stalagmite.  Forty  years  have  scarcely 
left  a  trace  upon  Mr.  McEnery's  excavations.  In  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  a  slight  film  has  formed  over  an  in- 
scription A.D.  1688 ;  and  no  relic  marking  the  Soman  period 
has  been  incrusted  to  the  depth  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  an 
inch.  So  that,  assuming  one-tenth  of  an  inch  as  the  rate  of 
deposit  during  each  1(X)0  years,  it  would  reauire  150,000 
years  to  form  the  last  floor  of  stalagmite.    Tliis  would  be 


360      EVIDENCES  OF  GLACIAL  ACTION   IN  SOUTH  DEVON. 

about  the  astronomical  date  of  the  passing  away  of  the  snows 
on  the  Torquay  Alps,  and  the  return  of  the  regular  drip  of 
water  from  the  roof  containing  carbonate  of  lime,  the  result 
of  returning  vegetation. 

If  it  be  asked  why,  if  dependent  upon  astronomical  causes, 
glacial  phenomena  do  not  present  themselves  at  regularly 
recurring  intervals  throughout  the  whole  of  the  geological 
record,  it  may  be  replied  that  the  successive  conditions  of 
physical  geography  sometimes  increase  and  sometimes 
neutralize  the  variations  of  solar  influence.  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
considers  that  alterations  in  the  distribution  of  land  and 
water,  and  the  currents  thus  occasioned,  would  alone  have 
been  sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  changes  of  climate. 
Our  present  gulf  stream  is  an  illustration  of  this.  Mr. 
Whitley  states  that  the  temperature  of  the  western  coast  of 
this  country  is  raised  27  degrees  by  the  heated  water  from 
the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  and  that  if  instead  of  thb  we  had  the 
Arctic  current  upon  our  shores,  we  should  have  a  climate 
proportionately  reduced,  giving  a  total  variation  of  54  d^rees 
from  this  single  cause. 

The  most  clearly  marked  glacial  period  preceding  that  to 
which  I  have  referred  is  at  the  close  of  the  Miocene  era, 
about  RC.  1,000,000.  On  Bovey  Heathfield,  Mr.  Pengelly 
and  Professor  Heer  have  recognized  the  Betuia  nana  and 
other  Arctic  forms  of  vegetation  in  the  gravel  overlying  the 
lignite  beds  which  contain  the  Sequoia  Couttni,  a  species 
nearly  allied  to  the  Wellingtonia  gigantea,  now  only  found 
on  the  Pacific  shores  of  South  America  Boulders  transported 
by  icebergs  are  found  in  this  county  of  still  more  remote 
dates.  In  Croyle  Bay,  North  Devon,  a  mass  of  granite  is 
imbedded  at  the  base  of  the  cliff;  material  from  Dartmoor  is 
observed  in  districts  to  which  no  existing  agency  could  have 
transported  it ;  and  even  in  Kent's  Cavern  partially  rounded 
granite  pebbles  have  been  found  which  must  have  been 
derived  from  the  same  source. 

In  accepting  the  new  chronolgy  and  the  high  antiquity  of 
the  human  race,  I  may  add  that  there  need  be  no  conflict 
with  historic  dates.  The  scriptural  record,  as  originally  in- 
terpreted in  The  Genesis  of  the  Earth  and  Man,  edited  by  Mr. 
Stuart  Poole  of  the  British  Museum,  seems  distinctly  to 
recognize  the  existence  of  earlier  races  of  man,  as  well  as  of 
other  animals,  long  prior  to  the  last  centre  of  creation  in  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates,  from  which  the  religious  history  of 
the  world  commences,  and  with  it  our  modern  civilization, 
the  cereal  crops,  and  most  of  the  domesticated  animals. 


ON    VAGRANCY. 

BY   E.   VIVIAN,  J.  P. 


It  is  estimated  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  criminal 
population  of  this  country  fall  under  the  head  of  vagrants, 
amounting,  by  the  latest  reports,  to  nearly  100,000  per- 
sons.* This  is  also  the  class  from  which  other  criminals 
are  recruited ;  and  the  habits  of  the  wandering  mendicant 
afford  a  shelter  and  a  plea  to  those  who  are  bent  upon  the 
commission  of  greater  crimes. 

A  Vagrant  Act  is  the  logical  supplement  to  a  Poor  Law, 
and  it  is  only  on  this  ground  that  it  can  be  justly  enforced, 
almsgiving  being  recognized  both  by  divine  and  human  law 
as  a  virtue,  and  its  recipients  consequently  not  guilty  of  a 
crime. 

The  first  point  which  claims  attention  is,  whether  the  State 
provision  adequately  meets  all  the  requirements.  By  the  law 
of  Elizabeth,  employment  or  maintenance  was  secured  to  the 
entire  population.  By  the  Poor  Law  Amendment  Act,  the 
option  was  given  of  providing  this  in  the  Union  Workhouse. 
Is  either  provision  righteously  carried  out  ?  I  fear  that  recent 
investigations  throw  some  doubt  upon  this,  especially  in  the 
metropolis  and  populous  towns.  Out-door  relief  is  frequently 
insufficient  without  private  alms,  and  this  is  too  often  made 
the  ground  of  a  reduction,  thus  sanctioning  the  very  evil 
which  it  is  the  object  of  a  poor  law  to  repress.  In-door  relief 
is  also  very  defective,  especially  for  the  sick  and  aged. 

Whether  this  impression  be  correct  or  not,  it  is  very 
generally  accepted  by  the  humane  public;  and  until  it  is 
removed  it  will  be  in  vain,  indeed  it  would  be  wrong,  to  har- 
den their  heart  against  the  vagrant  Many  amongst  all  classes, 
especially  the  poor  themselves,  prefer  to  give  to  nine  un- 
deserving applicants  rather  than  incur  the  responsibility  of 

*  According  to  the  Home  Office  retuniB,  1S66,  there  were  118,560  known 
criminala  at  large,  of  whom  16,000  were  in  London.  In  Exeter  the  pro- 
portion was  1  in  every  93  of  the  population ;  Bath,  1  in  79. 


362  ON  VAGRANCY. 

rejecting  one  true  case  of  destitution.  It  is  only  when  full 
confidence  prevails  in  the  administration  of  the  Poor  Law 
that  any  of  us  could  say  with  Archbishop  Whately,  "  I  thank 
God  I  have  never  given  to  a  beggar."  I  saw  an  instructive 
illustration  of  this  at  Newton  a  few  weeks  since.  None  of 
the  guardians  who  had  just  passed  resolutions  against 
vagrancy,  and  defended  the  rigour  of  our  prison  discipline — 
plank  beds  and  the  treadmill — ^had  the  nei-ve  to  lay  an  infor- 
mation against  a  woman  whom  we  met  dragging  about  three 
wretched  children ;  and  a  philosophical  friend,  now  present, 
not  long  since  gave  his  pence  to  a  mendicant  to  whom  I  had 
been  preaching  a  homily  against  vagrancy.  The  first  point 
therefore  to  be  attended  to  is  to  reform  this  defective  adminis- 
tration of  the  Poor  Law.  I  am  quite  aware  of  the  difiBculty, 
but  hope  that  much  has  already  been  effected,  as  the  result 
of  the  recent  exposures,  by  opening  Casual  Wards,  and 
especially  by  appointing  the  sergeants  of  the  county  police 
to  administer  relief  to  vagrants.*  Pauperism  which  is  not  the 
result  of  misconduct  should  never  be  regarded  as  a  crime ; 
the  Sick  Ward  should  be  a  liberally-conducted  hospital;  and 
the  old  people's  apartments  almshouses.  Age  and  sickness 
are  a  branch  of  pauperism  which  no  indulgence  will  increase, 
and  may  be  treated  with  a  liberal  discretion.  I  am  happy  to 
add  that  this  is  invariably  practised  in  the  Newton  Abbot 
Union,  and  doubtless  many  others  in  this  county.  True 
Christian  charity,  which  "seeketh  not  its  own,"  would  gladly 
forego  the  luxury  of  private  almsgiving  if  the  welfare  of  the 
recipient  were  promoted,  and  there  is  no  better  field  for  the 
exercise  of  benevolence  than  the  administration  of  the  great 
national  charity  in  the  office  of  poor  law  guardian. 

The  only  real  and  efficient  remedy  would  be  that  which  on 
a  former  occasion  I  urged  before  this  association  as  applicable 
to  our  prison  discipline  for  all  classes  of  offenders — the  sub- 
stitution of  industrial  and  reformatory  occupation  for  mere 
confinement  and  punishment.  Not  only  would  this  by  its 
beneficial  influence  diminish  the  number  of  the  vagrant 
class,  but  it  would  give  an  assurance  to  the  benevolent,  that 
in  refusing  relief  or  even  in  assisting  to  enforce  the  law,  they 

♦  Since  the  adoption  of  this  system  in  the  Newton  Abbot  Union,  at  Mid- 
Bummer,  1864,  the  relief  of  vagrants  has  been  aa  follows: — 


1863  .... 

Indoor. 
&    $.    d. 

3  12  6  

3  4  11  .... 

Outdoor. 

£  $.    d. 

33  5  5  .... 

Total. 
ltd. 

36  17  11 

1B64 

33  19  9 

37  4  8 

1865 

....  2  0  4  .... 

16  16  11  .... 

18  17  8 

1866 

8  6  9  

3  8  6  

10  4  11 

...  13  11  8 

1867  .... 

11  11  7  

15  0  I 

1868  .... 

3  10  0  

18  16  6  

17  6  8 

ON  VAGBANCT.  363 

vrere  coDferring  a  greater  benefit  even  upon  the  objects  of 
their  compassion  than  by  enabling  them  to  continue  their 
present  reckless  course  of  life. 

A  system  has  been  proposed  for  the  relief  of  bond  fide 
industrious  persons  in  search  of  work,  under  which  they 
would  be  entitled  to  receive  lodging,  without  compulsory 
labour,  at  any  Union  House,  and  be  furnished  with  a  ticket 
authorizing  them  to  beg  for  food  on  the  road,  the  distance  to 
be  travelled  each  day  being  proportioned  to  their  ability. 
This  is  objectionable  on  economical  grounds  as  a  waste  of 
labour,  and  it  would  also  encourage  vagrant  habits.  A 
systematic  publication  of  the  rate  of  wages  in  different 
districts,  and  an  advance  of  tlie  fare  by  Parliamentary  train 
firom  the  rates,  would  be  far  preferable. 

One  of  the  principal  attractions  to  vagrancy  is,  that  it 
affords  the  means  of  gratifying  depraved  habits.  The  work- 
house is  a  teetotal  establishment,  almost  as  unpalatable  as  a 
jaiL  Could  not  therefore  some  check  be  imposed  upon  the 
public-houses  and  beershops — the  tramp's  club  ?  If  "  to  be 
drunk  on  the  premises"  were  prohibited,  few  vagrants  would 
frequent  the  tramp's  lodging-house. 

A  committee  has  recently  been  appointed  by  the  board  of 
guardians  of  the  Newton  Abbot  Union,  of  which  I  have  been 
an  elective  or  ex-officio  member  since  the  passing  of  the  new 
Poor  Law,  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  great  prevalence 
of  vagrancy,  and  the  best  means  for  suppressing  it;  and  I 
am  very  desirous  of  hearing  the  subject  fully  discuissed  by 
members  of  this  association. 


ON  PREDICTIVE  METEOROLOGY. 

BY  WBNTWORTH  W.   BULLKR. 


N 


I  HAVE  chosen  the  subject  of  meteorology  on  this  occcasioii, 
thinking  it  a  somewhat  neglected  part  of  science  in  which  I 
was  not  likely  to  clash  with  other  communications  which 
might  be  read  here.  Considering  that  the  changes  of  the 
weather  are  constantly  influencing  the  daily  life  of  all  people, 
especially  of  those  who  live  in  the  country,  it  seems  som^ 
what  strange  that  so  little  serious  attention  is  given  to  ascer- 
taining the  causes  which  bring  about  those  changes,  and  that 
so  little  progress  has  been  nmde  in  framing  any  theories  or 
rules  to  enable  us  to  predict  those  changes. 

Probably  the  circumstances  which  have  prevented  progress 
in  this  direction  are,  firstly,  that  we  happen  to  live  in  one  of 
the  most  variable  climates  in  the  world,  which  causes  the 
investigation  to  be  so  difficult  that  failures  have  discouraged 
first  attempts;  secondly,  the  changes  of  the  weather  in 
England,  and  even  in  Europe,  are  very  local,  which  makes  it 
difficult  to  lay  down  general  rules ;  and  that  local  observers 
with  no  pretensions  to  science  are  apparently  more  successful 
than  the  scientific  man  who  attempts  to  trace  the  causes  of 
weather  changes  to  ultimate  sources. 

And  this  may  be  the  excuse  for  the  fact  which  must  be 
confessed,  that  we  might  find  some  old  farmers  with  acute 
powers  of  general  observation  who,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
are  better  meteorologists  than  any  scientific  man.  As  the 
changes  of  the  weather  directly  affect  the  interests  of  farmers, 
their  attention  is  constantly  directed  to  them,  and,  by  the 
study  of  local  appearances,  they  attain  some  success  in  fore- 
telling immediate  changes  in  the  district  in  which  they  live. 

The  scientific  meteorologist  has  attempted  to  form  theories 
and  deduce  rules  applicable  to  a  wide  extent  of  country,  and 
has  been  baffled  by  local  causes  interfering  with  the  applica- 
tion of  his  theories. 

I  think  these  are  the  main  reasons  why  meteorologists 


ON  PBEDICTIVE  METEOBOLOGY.  365 

who  have  attempted  to  predict  weather  have  been  somewhat 
notoriously  unsuccessful;  in  feet,  until  lately  they  have 
almost  laid  themselves  open  to  the  same  imputation  as  has 
been  cast  on  metaphysicians ;  that  taunt  which  is  so  severe 
because  it  is  so  nearly  true,  that  "metaphysicians  have  talked 
for  2000  years,  and  have  proved  nothing."  Meteorologists 
have  not  talked  quite  so  much,  nor  quite  so  long ;  but  when 
we  consider  that  they  had  the  advantage  over  metaphysicians 
of  dealing  with  material  phenomena,  it  seems  almost  more 
di^racef^  that  they  should  have  proved  so  little. 

Since  meteorology  has  professed  to  be  a  science,  people 
have  looked  for  some  benefit  from  it,  and  the  first  desire  that 
arises  in  most  minds  is,  that  it  should  be  practically  applied 
to  predicting  changes  of  weather.  In  this  department  of 
meteorology  no  investigation  worthy  to  be  considered  scien- 
tific was  ever  attempted  till  within  the  last  fifteen  years. 
I  think,  however,  some  progress  has  now  been  made  in  pre- 
dicting weather,  and  it  is  to  discoveries  in  this,  which  I  call 
Predictive  Meteorology,  that  I  wish  to  direct  your  attention. 

The  investigation  I  have  attempted  further  resolves  itself 
into  two  parts.  Firstly,  As  to  the  nature  of  the  efiFect  of  the 
moon  on  the  weather.  Secondly,  As  to  how  far  the  character 
of  the  weather  in  one  part  of  the  year  enables  us  to  predict 
the  character  of  the  weather  which  will  follow. 

It  is  first  necessary  for  my  purpose  that  I  should  briefly 
describe  the  general  physical  condition  of  the  earth  in 
reference  to  its  atmosphere  round  it. 

The  solid  mass  of  the  earth  is  mostly  covered  with  fluid, 
the  sea  extending  over  the  greater  part  of  the  globe.  The 
whole  globe — sea  and  land — is  further  surrounded  by  an 
atmosphere  of  air  and  vapour.  This  atmosphere  should  also 
be  looked  upon  as  a  fluid  covering.  I  wish  to  consider  the 
solid  globe,  then,  as  mostly  covered  by  two  envelopes  of 
fluid,  that  is,  partly  by  the  denser  fluid,  water,  and  entirely 
by  the  lighter  fluid,  air  and  vapour. 

Placed  as  man  is  with  the  power  of  moving  over  the  sea, 
the  motions  of  that  denser  fluid  are  apparent  to  him  We 
are  tolerably  acquainted  with  its  waves,  its  tides,  its  currents, 
and  the  causes  of  them.  The  motions  of  the  lighter  fluid, 
the  atmosphere,  are  not  so  easily  investigated;  they  seem 
more  variable,  and  not  readily  to  be  traced  to  any  constant 
forces,  and  comparatively  little  is  known  about  them. 

But  looking  at  the  matter  in  this  way,  looking  at  the  earth 
as  covered  by  two  envelopes  of  fluids,  it  seems  probable  that 
these  two  fluids  placed  in  such  a  similar  position  in  reference 

VOL.  IL  B  B 


366  OK  PBSDionvi  mbibobologt. 

to  the  great  forces  of  xiatore  acting  on  them  will  be  found  to 
be  subject  to  similar  laws  and  similar  motiona  Their  posi- 
tion is  similar  as  regards  the  force  of  gravity,  the  attiaotion 
of  the  sun,  the  ear^  and  the  moon,  centrifugal  force,  and 
the  action  of  the  sun's  heat 

And  such  is,  in  fieu^t,  found  to  be  the  case:  Uie  sea  has  its 
waves,  its  tides,  its  currents,  and  storms,  and  so  has  the 
atmosphere  above  us.  We  cannot  see  the  waves  of  the 
atmosphere,  but  our  barometers  tell  us  when  these  w^avea 
pass  over  us.  Great  waves,  forty  miles  wide,  are  sometimes 
observed  by  means  of  the  movements  of  barometers  at  a 
series  of  stations.  Atmospheric  tides  are  also  by  similv 
means  known  to  exist  The  fluid  atmosphere,  like  the  fluid 
sea,  is  mostly  afiected  by  tide  movements  on  its  outer  sni&oe. 
As  the  atmosphere  is  now  known  to  be  about  lortyifitEe  miles 
thick,  it  would  not  be  exnected  that  these  tides  would  be 
very  apparent  .to  us,  placeol  as  we  are  in  the  lower  part  of 
these  forty-five  miles.  But  observations  of  the  barometeir 
allow  us  to  detect  diurnal  and  monthly  movements  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  atmosphere  just  as  regular  as  the  tides  of 
the  sea,  and  referable  to  similar  causes.  The  currents  of  the 
atmosphere  are  obvious  to  us  all  in  winds  and  storms. 

So  far  the  parallel  holds  good  between  these  two  envelopes 
of  fluid — the  fluid  sea,  and  the  fluid  atmosphere.  I  believa 
the  forces  of  attraction  act  in  a  precisely  similar  way  on  the 
envelope  of  water  and  the  envelope  of  air,  and  produce  like 
effects.  But  when  we  come  to  consider  the  effect  of  the 
sun's  heat,  we  find  that  mighty  force  acting  in  a  very  different 
way  on  the  water  to  what  it  does  on  the  atmosphere. 

I  must  avoid  touching  on  the  theory  of  radiant  heat  as 
causing  too  long  a  digression,  and  must  assume  the  fietct  that 
from  the  nature  of  the  atmosphere  the  rays  of  the  sun  pass 
through  it,  and  reach  the  surface  of  the  earth  or  sea  with 
little  or  no  loss  of  heat,  unless  clouds  inter\''ena 

When,  however,  they  strike  the  sea,  they  do  not  pass 
through  into  its  depths,  but  the  heat  is  almost  entirely 
absorbed  on  its  surface.  This  heat  is  mainly  expended  in 
turning  the  wator  into  vapour  which  rises  into  the  atmos- 
phere. 

When  the  rays  of  heat  passing  through  the  atmosphere 
strike  the  earth,  they  heat  its  surface.  The  heated  earth 
again  gives  upi;he  heat  to  tlie  air  above  it  The  air  could 
not  from  its  nature  receive  the  heat  from  the  rays  passing 
through  it,  but  is  able  to  receive  the  same  heat  from  contact 
with  the  earth. 


ON  PREDICTIVE  METEOEOLOOY.  367 

Thus  the  upper  portion  of  the  sea  is  warmed  by  the  same 
heat  which  warms  the  lower  portion  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  larger  proportion  of  the  sun's  heat  falls  on  the  tropical 
zona  It  warms  the  waters  of  the  tropical  seas,  and  loads 
the  atmosphere  with  warm  vapour.  By  ocean  currents  and 
wind  currents  that  warm  water  and  warm  vapour  is  dis- 
tributed into  countries  away  from  the  tropics,  which  would 
not  receive  enough  direct  heat  from  tlie  sun  to  make  them 
habitable. 

The  atmosphere  seems  marvellously  arranged  for  receiving 
and  retaining  on  the  earth's  surface  wliere  man  lives  the 
heat  of  the  sun.  By  means  of  the  different  properties  of 
water  and  air,  the  area  of  the  globe  suited  for  the  life  of 
man  is  extended.  The  tropics,  placed  under  the  vertical 
rays  of  the  sun,  have  their  heat  tempered  by  immense 
evaporation  and  cool  currents  of  air  from  more  temperate 
regions,  whilst  counter  currents,  both  of  air  and  water,  carry 
Awmf  the  heat  of  the  tropics  towards  the  poles. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  acting  on  the  tropical  zone  must  be 
looked  upon  as  the  chief  cause  of  the  great  movements  of 
the  atmosphere  over  the  whole  earth's  surface. 

In  the  tropics  meteorological  phenomena  are  comparatively 
simple,  and  easy  to  be  traced  to  their  causes.  Bainy  seasons 
and  dry  seasons  follow  each  other  with  regularity,  and  year 
after  year  these  changes  occur  at  the  same  periods. 

The  tropics  having  no  summer  and  winter,  the  sun's  heat 
remains  a  more  constant  force.  But  further  from  the  equator 
a  variety  of  forces  come  into  operation,  affecting  these  move- 
ments of  the  atmosphere,  and  in  latitudes  like  this  they 
seem  almost  to  defy  explanation. 

The  laws  of  the  propagation  of  motion  in  fluids,  and  espe- 
cially in  elastic  fluids  like  the  air,  is  one  of  the  most  abstruse 
parts  of  dynamical  science.  The  forces,  first  acting  at  the 
equator  before  they  reach  these  latitudes,  seem  complicated 
by  innumerable  considerations  of  latent  heat  carried  by 
vapour  and  currents ;  by  expansion  of  the  atmosphere  during 
the  day,  and  contraction  during  the  night ;  by  evaporation  of 
moisture  in  some  parts,  and  its  precipitation  in  others ;  by  the 
permanent  difierence  of  equatorial  and  polar  regions. 

As  if  the  problem  was  not  thus  made  sufficiently  complex, 
the  occupation  of  unequal  parts  of  the  surface  of  the  globe 
by  sea  and  land,  the  irregular  form  of  continents,  the  flow 
of  great  ocean  currents,  the  existence  of  mountain  chains 
obstructing  and  dividing  air  currents,  all  make  meteorology 

B  B  2 


368  OK  PBEDICnVE  MSrEOBOJU)OT. 

in  these  latitudes  one  of  the  most  complex  studies  with 
which  an  observer  in  nature  can  have  to  deal. 

Can,  then,  any  rules  be  evolved  out  of  this  confusioD  to 
enable  us  to  predict  weather  in  these  latitudes  ?    . 

I  believe  the  keeping  of  careful  meteorological  rggifltew 
has  enabled  observers  to  find  a  rule  which,  at  all  events  in 
some  seasons,  enables  them  to  predict  the  general  ghwactor 
of  the  weather  some  months  beforehand.  .   '    .. 

I  believe  also  that  a  study  of  the  tides  of  the  Btmwp^fon 
enables  us  to  predict  with  some  probability  the  imwftrtiirtft 
changes  of  the  wind. 

The  discoveries  on  this  point  enable  iU9  to  aay  Hba^  cer^fiiB 
winds  prevail  according  to  the  position  of  the  nuxwu       .  .     r 

Mr.  Glaisher  has  lately  gone  through  the  daily  TOgisten 
of  wind  for  more  than  fifty  years,  for  the  puroose  o£  aaoer- 
taining  the  prevalence  of  particular  winds  at  diffiproat  times 
of  the  moon.  I  have  also  examined  registers  kept  in  Devon 
over  a  shorter  period.  The  results  I  am  about  to  jzive  ^9 
mainly  Mr.  Glaisher^&  I  have  altered  them  slighfly.  mm  my 
own  observations,  believing  that  the  changes  of  the  wind  i^ 
Greenwich  are  not  precisely  the  same  as  in  Devcmahiia 

N.N.E.  winds  have  no  very  marked  period,  but  from  a 
long  series  of  observations,  they  seem  to  prevail  just  before 
or  just  after  the  new  moon. 

E.N.E.  winds  come  after  a  new  moon. 

E.S.E.  winds  generally  occur  on  the  20th,  21st,  22nd,  and 
23rd  days  after  new  moon. 

S.E.  winds  never  occur  at  new  moon,  and  are  most  frequent 
on  the  17th  day  after  new  moon.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
get  a  definite  fact  in  laws  governing  the  wind,  and  I  am  able 
to  say  that  in  the  registers  I  have  examined  not  a  single  case 
of  a  S.E.  wind  occurs  within  twenty  hours  before  or  after 
during  the  last  forty  years. 

S.S.E.  wind  very  seldom  occurs  at  new  moon.  I  found 
only  two  instances  in  forty  years.  S.S.E.  wind  generally 
comes  on  the  22nd  and  23rd  days  of  the  moon's  age. 

S.  winds  have  no  defined  period ;  but  if  a  S.  wind  sets  in 
at  full  moon,  it  lasts  but  a  short  time ;  if  at  a  new  moon,  it 
will  probably  last  two  or  three  days  or  longer. 

I  expected  at  first  to  find  that  the  converse  of  these  rules 
would  bold  good ;  but  such  is  not  generally  the  case.  But  it 
is  the  case  with  N.  and  S.  winds. 

Thus,  if  N.  wind  sets  in  at  full  moon,  it  lasts  longer;  but 
if  at  new  moon,  but  a  short  time. 


ON  PREDICTIVE   METEOROLOGY.  369 

S.S.W.  is  short  at  full  moon,  and  continues  longer  at  other 
times. 

W.S.W.  winds  may  set  in  at  almost  any  time,  but  continue 
longer  if  they  commence  a  few  days  previous  to  the  new 
moon. 

For  the  West  wind  I  have  found  no  certain  rule.  W.KW. 
and  N.W.  winds  may  occur  at  any  time,  but  seldom  follow 
E.  or  N.E. 

I  have  no  doubt  many  rules  might  be  found  in  reference  to 
wind  from  one  quarter  following  another,  and  it  would  be 
desirable  to  get  average  results  from  a  still  longer  period  than 
that  from  which  Mr.  Glaisher  has  taken  his  averages.  Mr. 
Glaisher  does  not  attempt  to  account  for  the  prevalence  of 
these  winds  according  M^ith  the  position  of  the  moon.  I 
venture  to  propose  an  explanation.  I  have  already  said  that 
it  is  certain  that  tides  exist  in  the  upper  portion  of  the 
atmosphere,  caused  by  the  attraction  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
like  the  tides  of  the  sea.  Heat,  however,  is  so  powerful  a 
distnrbing  force  in  the  atmosphere,  tliat  currents  and  storms 
in  the  lower  portion  of  the  atmosphere  often  overcome  these 
tidal  movements. 

Still,  these  tidal  movements  remain  a  constant  force, 
although  not  a  very  powerful  one ;  but  in  the  long  run  it  is 
probable  that  the  winds  of  the  lower  pail;  of  the  atmosphere 
have  a  general  tendency  to  follow  these  tides.  Take  the 
instance  of  S.  and  N.  winds.  I  have  said  that  if  S.  wind 
sets  in  at  full  moon,  it  will  only  last  a  short  time ;  but  N. 
wind  at  same  period  will  last  a  long  time. 

I  imagine  that  this  shows  that  the  tidal  current  of  the 
tipper  atmosphere  at  full  moon  is  from  N.  to  S.  If  a  wind 
sets  in  against  this,  it  lasts  but  a  short  time ;  but  if  it  is  in 
unison  with  it,  it  lasts  longer. 

I  suppose  I  need  hardly  say  that  rain  is  the  result  of  air 
charged  with  vapour  meeting  or  mixing  with  colder  currents 
of  air.  The  most  casual  observer  connects  rain  with  par- 
ticular winds ;  and  if  we  are  able  to  predict  changes  of  wind, 
it  is  a  fair  advance  towards  predicting  rain.  The  rules  I 
have  laid  down  are  by  no  means  infallible,  but  I  believe 
they  will  be  found  true  in  a  large  proportion  of  instances. 

This  is  all  I  have  to  record  in  reference  to  the  predicting 
of  immediate  changes  of  the  weather ;  but  there  have  lately 
been  discoveries  to  enable  us  to  predict  some  months  before- 
hand the  general  character  of  the  ensuing  weather.  For 
these  observations  I  am  mostly  indebted  to  Mr.  G.  Bramham, 
and  various  communications  of  his  to  the  Meteorological 


370  ON  ntEDicnvE  inrrsoBOiiOGT. 

Society.  By  the  study  of  registeTS  kept  over  many  veon  it 
is  observed  that  extremes  of  neat  and  cold  are  gencmJly  pte- 
ceded  by  several  months  of  uniform  temperatnreL  This 
sometimes  enables  observers  at  or  a  little  aft^  the  eoainoxes 
to  predict  with  considerable  certainty  the  general  chaiacter 
of  the  ensuing  summer  and  winter. 

Thus  I  believe  in  this  present  year  that  the  very  tmSffeim 
temperature  which  we  had  from  the  middle  of  Jaxnuo^  to 
March  6th  was  the  precursor  of  the  long  continuanoe  iolf 
dry  weather  with  high  temperatiires  that  we  have  laiify 
experienced. 

The  rules  enunciated  by  Mr.  Bramham  are  as  follows  :^^ 
^When  the  mean  temperatures  of  the  first  thito  monSbk' 
have  been  so  nearly  uniform  that  the  range  of  montibly  nleail 
temperature  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  year  has  been  only 
1*2^  or  less,  the  succeeding  summer  will  be  chamcteriied  l^ 
extreme  heat 

^When  the  mean  temperature  of  all  the  months,  frdtt 
November  to  March,  are  above  the  average,  the  enstdtjg 
summer  will  also  be  above  the  averaga 

''When  the  mean  temperature  of  June  is  below  May;  or 
if  there  is  no  progressive  increase  of  temperature  in  June^  a 
cold  and  rainy  July  and  August  may  be  expected. 

"  When  the  mean  temperature  of  December  is  more  thuk 
T  above  November,  January,  February,  and  March  will 
have  a  temperature  above  the  average,  and  January  and 
February  will  be  wet  and  rainy." 

I  have  spoken  of  mean  temperatures,  that  being  the  best 
form  of  registering  observations  for  the  purpose  of  these  pre- 
dictions. A  uniform  mean  temperature  may  be  looked  upon 
as  identical  with  settled  and  calm  weather  with  little  air 
disturbance.  These  rules  have  been  discovered  entirely  from 
a  comparison  of  the  registers  of  passed  years,  not  from  the 
study  of  the  complex  physical  forces  causing  the  changes  of 
weather.    I  will,  however,  attempt  some  explanation  of  them. 

Immediately  after  our  shortest  day,  of  course,  the  sun 
begins  to  approach  our  northern  hemisphere.  If  at  that 
time  up  to  about  the  period  of  the  equinox  (the  sun  being 
advancing  towards  us  then)  there  is  a  uniform  mean  tempera- 
ture, which  accompanies  calm  settled  weather,  then  there  will 
also  be  very  little  intenningling  of  air  currents,  and  conse- 
quently a  great  accumulation  of  heat  about  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  tropic.  This  accumulation  of  heat  is  after- 
wards sure  to  affect  the  temperature  of  the  ensuing  summer. 

On  the  same  principle,  when  after  our  longest  day  there  is 


ON  PREDICnVB  METEOKOLOGY.  371 

calm,  settled  weather  during  July,  August,  and  September, 
when  the  sun  is  receding  from  us,  there  will  be  a  great 
accumulation  of  cold  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  which  wUl 
make  the  ensuing  winter  unusually  cold. 

Our  ideas  of  the  extent  of  the  atmosphere  have  of  late 
years  been  much  enlarged,  and  there  seems  no  doubt  that 
it  extends  some  forty-five  miles  above  us.  It  is,  therefore, 
conceivable  that  vast  accumulation  of  hot  or  cold  air  should 
occur  which  have  this  subsequent  effect  on  the  temperature. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  these  rules  are  somewhat  incom- 
plete. In  fact,  they  amount  only  to  this — that  if  at  certain 
times  of  the  year  weather  of  a  certain  character  prevails, 
then  we  are  enabled  to  predict  the  character  of  the  weather 
of  the  ensuing  months. 

Still,  I  thii&  the  discoveries  already  made  are  a  step  in 
the  right  direction,  and  I  wish  to  suggest  to  observers  that 
the  careful  registering  of  maximum  and  minimum  tempera- 
tures is  the  best  means  of  getting  data  to  enable  them  to 
predict  weather. 

In  the  state  of  our  present  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
many  years  might  occur  in  which  the  weather  might  give  us 
no  opportunity  of  making  these  predictions ;  but  I  believe 
extremely  hot  summers  and  extremely  cold  winters  are 
al.ways  preceded  by  weather  which  will  enable  us  to  predict 
those  events. 


ON 


HILL  FORTRESSES,  SLING  -  STONES,  AND   OTHER 
ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN  DEVON. 


BT  PBTBR  ORLA9DO  HUTCHIVaOir. 


Im  the  summer  of  1861  the  Archaeolc^cal  Assooialion  of 
London  visited  Exeter,  and  on  the  22nd  of  August  in  that 
year  I  read  before  them  a  paper  on  "The  Hill  Fortresses^ 
Tumuli,  and  some  other  Antiquities  of  Eastern  Devon."  Since 
that  time  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  looking  up  and 
examining  several  other  objects  of  interest  scattered  over  this 
portion  of  the  county,  not  noticed  in  my  former  paper,  and  it 
is  to  these  that  I  wish  now  to  call  your  attention. 

DuMPDON.— The  first  place  to  which  I  will  advert  is  the 
great  camp  of  Dumpdon.  It  will  do  well  to  begin  with,  as  it 
Ues  only  two  miles  and  a  half  northward  from  the  town  in 
which  we  are  assembled.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  plan  of 
this  camp  has  been  published.  In  figure  and  size  it  very 
much  resembles  Hembury  Fort,  though  not  quite  so  long  it  is 
a  little  broader.  The  form  of  the  hill  on  which  it  stands  is 
very  like  that  of  Hembury,  being  a  sort  of  promontory  with 
the  point  tending  to  the  south.  The  north  end  in  both  is 
defended  by  bold  earthworks  cut  right  across  the  ridge  of  the 
hilL  This  is  the  broadest  part  of  each  camp,  and  from  which 
they  gradually  contract  to  a  rounded  point.  About  one-third  of 
the  pointed  end  of  Dumpdon  is  planted  with  beech  trees,  the 
space  being  shut  in  by  a  modem  hedge  run  transversely  across 
the  area.  Near  the  middle  of  the  camp,  namely,  at  450  feet 
from  the  south  point,  and  128  from  the  west  agger,  is  a 
mound  which  might  be  taken  for  a  tumulus,  but  I  understand 
it  was  thrown  up  a  few  years  ago  by  the  officers  of  the  Ord- 
nance Survey,  as  an  object  to  assist  them  in  the  triangulation 
of  the  country,  similar  ones  having  been  erected  on  several  of 
the  neighbouring  hills.  Across  this  mound  the  width  of  the 
caiiip  is  361  feet ;  the  whole  length  of  the  area  is  825  feet ; 
the  elevation  of  the  hill  is  879  feet  above  the  sea  level.    The 


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ANTIQUITIES  IN   SOUTH-EASTERN  DEVON.  373 

circumvallatioQ  consists  of  two  aggers  with  a  ditch  between 
them,  like  Sidbury  Castle,  the  sides  of  the  hill  being  very 
steep.  At  the  north  end  the  ground  is  level  as  at  Hembury, 
and  here  there  are  two  aggers  and  two  ditches ;  from  the  top 
of  the  first  to  the  top  of  the  second,  across  the  intervening 
ditch,  the  measurement  is  86  feet.  At  the  north-east  corner, 
or,  to  be  more  exact,  at  108  feet  south  of  that  point,  is  the 
original  entrance.  I  wish  to  direct  your  notice  to  this  en- 
trance, because  it  is  different  in  principle  from  any  that  we 
find  in  the  other  hill  fortresses  hereabout.  In  most  cases  the 
entrance  is  little  else  than  a  gap  left  in  the  surrounding 
earthworks,  which  of  course  bespeaks  great  rudeness  of  con- 
struction. Here,  however,  we  see  that  the  agger  is  inflected, 
and  carried  nearly  100  feet  back  into  the  body  of  the  camp, 
so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  passage  or  avenue,  up  which  an  enemy 
could  not  venture  without  being  exposed  to  the  spears  or 
other  missiles  of  the  defenders  on  either  hand  inside.  We 
here  discover  some  advance  over  the  simple  entries  before 
alluded  to,  and  perhaps  a  first  trace  in  the  science  of  fortifi- 
cation ;  and  this  may  perhaps  indicate  that  this  hill  fortress, 
or  at  all  events  this  entrance,  may  not  be  so  ancient  as  some 
of  the  others.  I  have  failed  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the 
derivation  of  the  word  Durapdon. 

WiDWORTHY  Camp. — Some  three  or  four  miles  eastward 
from  Honiton,  on  Widworthy  Hill,  nearly  a  mile  south  of  the 
church  of  that  place,  are  the  remains  of  a  circular  camp. 
Some  writers  have  just  alluded  to  it,  and  have  spoken  of  it  as 
destroyed ;  but  this  is  not  the  case,  for  it  still  exists  in  the 
middle  of  a  plantation.  On  walking  over  it  I  found  it  to 
measure  90  paces  north  and  south,  and  92  at  right  angles  to 
this  direction  :  allowing  two  feet  six  inches  to  a  step,  it  is  an 
oval  approaching  to  a  circle  whose  diameters  are  225  by  230 
feet. 

Castle  Wood. — A  few  hundred  yards  in  a  westerly  di- 
rection from  Widworthy  church,  on  a  small  hill,  there  are 
the  traces  of  an  earthwork,  the  nature  of  which  is  only  con- 
jecture. Some  have  thought  it  an  advanced  post  in  connection 
with  the  camp  on  the  top  of  the  hill  in  British  times ;  others 
that  it  may  have  been  a  castellum  of  the  Boman  period, 
placed  near  the  Ikenild,  much  used  by  that  people,  which 
runs  east  and  west  through  Wilmington,  and  employed  as  a 
place  for  protection  and  for  military  supplies:  and  still  others 
have  conjectured  that  in  later  times  the  De  Widworthy  family 
may  have  had  a  mediaeval  castle  on  that  spot.  The  place  is 
called  "  Castle  Wood,"  but  the  area  is  not  a  circle,  as  some 


374  AHnQurriEs  ik  south-eastesn  dxvqv. 

have  described  it,  but  rather  an  irregular  triangle.  The  north 
side  is  neariy  straight^  and  measoies  108  feet;  the  west 
neariy  straight,  and  measures  90 ;  whilst  the  south  and  east 
sides  are  portions  of  a  circle,  or  the  south-east  angle  is  veiy 
much  rounded  off  The  extent  of  these  two  sides  is  142  feet 
All  that  remains  is  a  flat  area  surrounded  by  a  tenaoe  some 
fiBet  lower,  which  perhaps  occupies  the  course  of  the  wncToring 
ditch. 

Oketstonk,  &o. — Whilst  in  this  valley  I  must  not  omit  to 
mention  the  Hoarstone  or  Oreystone  that  stands  on  tiie  north 
side  of  the  road,  at  about  half  a  mile  west  of  the  village  of 
WUmington,  and  almost  exactly  opposite  the  entrance  gate  of 
Widworthy  Court,  the  seat  of  Sir  Edward  Elton,  Bart  This 
mass  of  stone  stands  about  four  feet  out  of  the  ground, 
though  formerly  higher.  Great  antiquity  has  always  been 
attached  to  it  Some  writers  have  classed  it  as  a  Druidical 
monument^  and  others  as  a  Boman  milestone  or  way-mark. 
Further  west  on  this  road,  and  on  the  north  side  of  it^  there 
turns  off  a  branch  called  ''Drummer  Stone  Lfljie;*  and  at 
about  fifty  yards  up  this  lane,  on  the  left  or  west  side  going 
up,  there  is  a  stone  to  which  similar  traditions  attach.  Iliis 
stone  is  now  very  small,  as  if  it  had  been  broken,  being  only 
16  or  18  inches  out  of  the  ground.  The  country  peo^  will 
tell  you  that  a  r^ment  of  soldiers  was  once  passing  that  way, 
and  that  a  drummer  of  the  regiment,  worn  out  by  sickness  or 
fatigue,  sat  down  and  died  by  the  side  of  that  stone,  a  cir- 
cumstance to  which  it  owes  its  present  name.  Of  course  this 
is  a  modem  8to^)^ 

Stockland  Great  Castle.— On  Stockland  Hill,  north  of 
Widworthy,  lies  Stockland  Great  Castle.  The  public  road 
runs  east  and  west  right  thi-ough  the  middle  of  it^  and  this 
diameter  measures  810  feet.  The  north  and  south  diameter, 
consisting  of  the  south  half,  340  feet,  width  of  the  road  42, 
north  half,  513,  make  together  895  feet.  The  vallum  of  the 
southern  half  has  been  entirely  destroyed,  and  replaced  by 
modem  hedges;  so  that  this  portion  presents  only  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  oblong  square  field.  At  its  eastern  end  there 
is  a  long  narrow  plot  of  ground  occupying  the  place  of  the 
former  vallum.  The  northern  half  is  of  irregular  form,  and 
it  is  supposed  that  it  has  been  altered  or  added  to  since  its 
original  construction.  The  land  is  under  tillage,  and  if  there 
were  ever  an  elevated  spot  for  the  commander's  tent,  it  must 
have  been  levelled  and  obliterated  No  charcoal  or  vitrified 
stones  attract  the  attention  now,  though  they  were  formerly 
met  with  in  this  camp.     A  thumb-stone  or  scraper,  being  a 


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ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN   DEVON.  375 

circular  disc  of  flint  nearly  the  size  of  a  penny,  was  found 
here  by  Mr.  Heineken,  of  Sidinouth.  It  has  been  stated 
that  Athelstan  posted  himself  here  in  937,  when  the  Danes 
entered  the  river  Axe,  but  whom  he  overcame  and  destroyed 
in  the  valley  below  ;  seven  Saxon  earls,  slain  in  the  engage- 
ment, were  afterwards  buried  at  Axminster.  Having  observed 
that  some  of  our  local  writera  speak  of  sling-stones  as  being 
met  with  in  this  place,  and  that  a  rude  earthen  jar  filled  with 
them  had  been  discovered,  sufficient  inducement  was  held  out 
to  search  for  them.  On  my  last  visit  the  land  had  been 
recently  ploughed,  and  the  search  was  not  long.  They  were 
easily  seen  at  a  glance,  because  they  were  so  different  from 
all  the  stones  of  the  soil  of  the  district.  It  may  be  here 
remarked,  that  if  the  sling-stones  were  the  same  in  shape  and 
size  as  the  natural  stones  found  on  the  spot  they  could  not 
be  distinguished  from  them,  and  no  discovery  could  be  made; 
and  that  if  these  natural  stones  of  the  place  were  round, 
globular,  or  spherical,  there  would  be  no  need  to  fetch  stones 
from  a  distance,  because  the  slingers  would  only  have  to  stoop 
down  and  pick  up  the  pebbles  under  their  feet.  Now,  the 
stones  of  this  district  are  all  sharp  and  angular;  the  geological 
formation  is  the  greensand.  Perhaps  it  would  be  well  if 
every  archaeologist  were  something  of  a  geologist;  for  the 
sciences  assist  each  other,  as  if  not  he  may  overlook  important 
points  in  his  pursuit,  and  may  run  the  risk  of  arriving  at 
false  conclusions.  In  the  greensand  of  Stockland  Hill  the 
plough  turns  up  angidar  pieces  of  chert  and  sandstone  of  a 
buff  brown  colour,  mixed  with  sharp  flints  from  the  outliers 
of  the  chalk  in  the  neighbourhood ;  so  that  if  oval  grey 
beach  pebbles  are  seen,  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg  or  a 
small  hen's  egg,  they  are  so  obvious  as  to  attract  the  eye  in  a 
moment  The  ancient  Britons,  or  Eomans,  or  Saxons,  or  some 
other  people  who  have  now  passed  away,  gathered  them  on 
the  sea  shore  at  Beer  or  Seaton,  where  they  had  been  rounded 
by  the  action  of  the  waves,  and  stored  them  up  in  the  camp 
for  use  against  their  enemies.  From  the  period  when  David 
took  five  smooth  stones  out  of  the  brook  down  to  the  battle 
of  Cressy,  and  later,  the  sling  continued  to  be  an  engine  of 
war.  For  geological  reasons  it  would  be  useless  to  look  for 
sling-stones  at  Woodbury  Castle,  or  Belbury  Castle  on  Ottery 
West  Hill,  or  anywhere  where  the  stratum  of  Budleigh 
Salterton  pebbles  exists.  From  the  place  where  this  pebble 
bed  crops  out  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  at  Budleigh  Salterton,  I 
have  traced  these  materials  of  an  ancient  sea  beach  along 
Woodbury  Hill,  away  in  a  north-easterly  direction  near  Taun- 


376  ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN   DEVON. 

ton,  Glastonbury,  Dursley,  Worcester,  Broomsgrove,  Binning- 
ham,  Lichfield,  Normacott,  in  the  Potteries,  and  so  on ;  not 
far  from  most  of  these  places  traces  reveal  themselves,  and 
possibly  they  might  be  occasionally  detected  through  York- 
shire to  the  mouth  of  the  Tees,  or  in  a  north-westerly  course 
towards  Chester.  As  the  pebbles  of  this  stratum  are  well 
suited  to  the  purpose,  the  slingers  had  got  what  they  required 
on  the  spot.  I  have  looked  for  sling-stones  in  some  of  the 
hill  fortresses  on  tlie  Haldon  range,  but  observing  that^  though 
most  of  the  flints  are  mere  splinters,  still  many  of  them  are 
spherical,  I  at  once  gave  up  the  search. 

But  at  Sidbury  Castle,  in  March,  1864,  a  hoard  of  sling* 
stones  was  discovered,  and  as  I  was  the  first  on  the  spot  after 
the  workmen  had  disturbed  them,  I  can  speak  with  confidence.* 
Some  labourers  were  employed,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  to  break 
up  the  ground  too  near  the  camp,  and  to  bring  a  part  of  the 
south-west  flank  of  the  hill  into  cultivation.  In  digging 
against  the  outside  slope  of  the  inner  agger  they  came  upon 
a  sort  of  cavern  which  was  packed  full  of  round  pebbles ;  there 
may  have  been  as  many  as  would  have  filled  one  or  two  wheel- 
barrows. This  deposit  was,  in  fact,  the  stock  of  ammunition 
belonging  to  some  warrior  who  dwelt  there.  In  the  geological 
maps  Sidbury  Castle  Hill  is  marked  as  belonging  to  the 
greensand  formation,  but  |it  is  capped,  like  most  of  the  hills 
in  this  neighbourhood,  with  a  thick  stratum  of  yellow  clay 
mixed  with  sharp  splinters  of  chert  or  angular  flints, — and 
these  angular  flints  constitute  a  marked  feature  and  a  well 
known  character  in  the  stones  of  the  district.  Hence  it  is, 
that  when  the  men  dug  into  this  hoard,  and  began  to  scatter 
the  smooth  round  pebbles,  the  circumstance  immediately 
attracted  their  attention.  One  of  them  said  to  me,  "  We  could 
see  in  a  minute  that  those  stones  didn't  belong  to  this  hill ;" 
and  another  added,  *'  I  should  say  they  came  from  Sidmouth 
beach."  I  lay  some  stress  upon  the  particulars  of  this  dis- 
covery, because  they  assist  us  in  the  search  in  other  places. 
It  has  been  said  that  sling-stones  have  been  found  in  Hem- 
bury  Fort,  but  whenever  I  have  been  there  the  area  has  not 
been  under  tillage,  but  so  overgrown  with  grass  and  furze 
that  the  search  would  have  been  hopeless.  Whilst  we  are 
again  speaking  of  llembury  Fort,  I  beg  to  remind  you  that 
in  the  Itineraries  of  Antoninus  and  Eichard  of  Cirencester 
there  is  mention  made  of  a  Roman  station  called  Moridunum, 
lying  between  Durnovaria,  or  Dorchester,  on  the  east,  and 

•  Oommunicated  by  me  to  tho  Exeter  Gazeitty  April  9tb,  1864. 


AITHQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN   DEVON.  377 

Isca,  or  Exeter,  on  the  west,  and  situated  at  36  M.P.  or  Roman 
miles  from  Dorchester,  and  15  from  Exeter.  The  site  of  this 
station  has  been  altogether  lost ;  but  during  the  past  century 
or  more,  many  laudable  endeavours  have  been  made  to  re- 
discover it.  Several  places  have  been  suggested,  but  they 
have  all  been  gradually  abandoned  in  favour  of  the  claims  of 
Bampdon,  and  Hembury,  near  Honiton,  and  High  Peak  Hill, 
a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Sidmouth,  on  a  cliff  overhanging 
the  sea,  on  which  hill  there  are  the  remains  of  a  strong  fortress, 
the  greater  part  of  which  has  fallen  away  and  been  removed. 
Both  Hembury  and  High  Peak  tally  with  the  Itineraries,  and 
are  at  the  required  distance  from  Exeter.  The  word  Mori- 
dunum  is  said  to  be  a  Latinisation  of  the  more  ancient 
British  form,  M6r-y-dun,  signifying  a  town  or  fortress  upon 
a  bill  by  the  sea.  Here  the  first  syllable  Mor  means  the 
sea,  and  consequently  fixes  the  situation  on  the  coast.  Cam- 
den, Grale,  Stukeley,  and  others  whose  names  and  authority 
we  have  been  taught  to  respect,  all  accept  this  derivation, 
and  consequently  fix  the  lost  station  by  the  sea ;  and  in  the 
OentUmetis  Magazine  for  February,  1849,  there  is  an  article 
of  mine  on  this  subject,  in  which  I  contend  for  High  Peak 
Hill,  because  this  camp  meets  all  the  particulars  of  the 
Itineraries  and  of  our  best  writers.  However,  two  or  three 
years  ago,  when  I  was  sitting  alone  one  day,  a  new  light 
flashed  across  my  mind.  Why,  thought  I,  should  M6r-y-dua 
have  been  the  original  British  word  ?  why  not  More-y-dun  ? 
I  presume  it  was  only  guess  or  conjecture  that  suggested  the 
first  syllable  Mdr,  the  sea,  to  Camden  and  his  followers.  The 
word  More  simply  means  great,  and  gets  rid  of  the  maritime 
position  altogether ;  and  if  we  are  permitted  to  use  our  in- 
dependent judgment  the  name  More-y-dun,  standing  for  the 
Great  Castle,  or  Town,  or  Hill  Fortress,  will  well  apply  to 
Hembury  Fort.  Within  recent  times  two  or  three  Devonshire 
antiquarians  of  high  standing  have  been  inclined  to  think 
that  Moridunum  may  have  been  at  Hembury,  but  they  have 
offered  no  new  reading,  nor  any  reason  for  so  doing.  If  I 
have  lately  adopted  this  view  it  has  been  done  as  the  result  of 
reflection,  and  I  suggest  a  new  derivation  for  your  acceptance. 
Stockland  Little  Castle. — About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
more  to  the  north  of  Stockland  Great  Castle,  already  described, 
lies  Stockland  Little  Castle ;  it  is  nearly  a  circle  in  figure, 
being  372  feet  north-west  by  south-east,  and  331  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  agger  is  from  eight  to  ten  feet  high, 
and  composed  of  earth  and  stones  mixed ;  but  on  the  inside 
it  is  made  of  dry  stones  carefully  piled  up,  and  in  some  places 


ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN 

with  tolerable  regulanty^  like  a  wall.  \¥liether  this  ia  really 
ancient  and  original  work,  or  wht^ther  it  was  only  done  about 
18B0  to  1830,  when  the  land  was  first  bronght  into  cultivation, 
ia  a  question  for  couaideration,  and  should  not  be  overlooked. 
On  tlie  east  aide  of  the  area^  against  the  agger  or  hedge,  there 
lies  a  large  h^ap  of  loose  angular  flints,  which  look  as  if  they 
had  been  thrown  there  when  the  land  was  cleared.  It  is  said 
that  this  cainp  was  connected  by  a  road  with  the  larger  one. 
The  surrounding  fosse  has  been  entirely  filiod  up,  except  a 
email  portion  on  the  north  side,  where  the  vallum  is  tolerably 
perfect,  and  here  the  agger  ia  35  feet  on  the  slope. 

HocKSDoN,  OR  Hawksdown  Hill  Castle  —From  Stock- 
land,  some  eight  or  nine  miles,  in  a  direction  to  the  east  of 
south,  stands  Hawksdown  Hill,  crowned  by  a  camp,  which 
looks  down  upon  Axmouth  and  the  whole  estuary  of  the  river 
Axe.  The  hill  forma  a  sort  of  promontory  pointing  to  the  west; 
it  is  high  and  steep,  and  a  sort  of  natural  hollow  or  chasm  on 
the  north- west  flank  makes  its  inaccessibility  more  complete 
at  that  point  Those  who  have  described  this  camp  as  enclosed 
with  a  triple  vallum  and  fosse  must  have  been  labouring 
under  a  false  impression.  Like  Dumpdon,  and  Sidbury  Castle^ 
and  most  of  the  others,  it  is  enclosed  by  two  aggers  with  a 
ditch  between  them.  The  work  is  the  most  perfect  at  the 
east  end,  where  the  slope  of  the  agger  is  fifty  feet.  The  whole 
length  of  the  interior  area  is  852  feet,  46()  wide  at  the  east 
end,  and  420  about  two-thirds  towards  the  west,  beyond 
which  the  figure  contracts  to  a  rounded  point.  At  the  south- 
east comer  there  is  a  heap  of  rough  flints,  apparently  thrown 
there  by  the  labourers  when  clearing  the  land.  At  this  place 
and  at  the  north-east  point  there  are  gaps,  but  the  most  likely 
spot  for  the  original  entrance  seems  to  be  towards  the  north- 
west, just  where  the  camp  begins  to  contract,  and  where  there 
is  still  a  steep  path  outside.  Beyond  the  east  end  the  ground 
is  level,  where  there  is  a  field  about  200  feet  wide ;  at  the 
further  side  of  this  field  there  is  a  hedge  run  across  the  ridge 
of  the  hill.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  this  hedge  occupies 
the  place  of  an  old  out-work,  thrown  up  as  an  additional 
defence  to  the  fortress  itself.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  finding 
sling-stones  scattered  about  the  recently  tilled  ground  any 
more  than  at  Stockland  The  soil  of  the  district  is  the  same, 
and  all  the  natural  stones  and  flints  are  angular,  so  that  the 
smooth,  reund,  or  egg-shaped  pebbles,  which  had  probably 
come  froEu  Seaton  beach,  were  discerned  at  a  glance.  Before 
I  leave  the  subject  of  sUng-stones  I  would  beg  to  impress 
upon  my  hearers^  that  if  any  of  them  visit  these  places,  and 


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ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN  DEVON.  '   379 

see  them  lying  on  the  ground,  not  to  take  them  away.  I 
have  brought  away  a  few  for  a  certain  purpose;  they  are 
valuable  for  the  sake  of  illustrating  my  subject,  but  beyond 
that  they  are  much  more  interesting  on  the  spot  where  the 
ancient  Britons,  or  the  Eomans,  or  the  Saxons  left  them. 

Seaton  Down. — Eetuming  from  Hawksdown  Hill  across 
the  valley  of  the  Axe,  about  two  miles  westwards,  we  light 
upon  Seaton  Down.  Suppose  a  person  travelling  on  the  road 
between  Exeter  and  Lyme.  On  the  crown  of  the  hill  just 
before  descending  to  Colyford,  there  is  a  sort  of  spur  that 
runs  away  north  on  the  left  hand  side ;  at  its  furthest  end, 
where  it  is  in  its  wild  state,  a  ditch  and  agger  have  been 
carried  east  and  west  across  the  ridge,  extending  to  the 
length  of  770  feet.  The  slope  of  the  agger  is  33  feet.  The 
ditch  is  on  the  south  side,  towards  the  mouth  of  the  river  Axe, 
as  if  an  invading  enemy  were  expected  from  that  quarter.  As 
if  this  defence  were  not  enough,  a  second  of  a  similar  nature 
had  been  begun  466  feet  to  the  rear  of  it,  130  feet  long,  and 
left  unfinished.  These  works  are  very  similar  in  their  nature 
and  object  to  those  which  traverse  the  ground  at  the  Three 
Horseshoes,  presently  to  be  mentioned,  and  seem  to  have  been 
intended  to  guard  the  road,  and  to  oppose  the  passage  of  an 
enemy  coming  up  from  the  valley  of  the  river  Axe.  The 
completion  of  the  second  vallum  was  relinquished,  perhaps, 
because  the  makers  may  have  been  attacked  and  driven  out, 
or,  perhaps,  because  the  invaders  may  have  marched  off  in 
another  direction.  Possibly  these  things  may  have  occurred 
in  937,  when  Athelstan  successfully  opposed  an  inroad  of  the 
Danes  in  the  valley  below. 

HoNEYDiTCHES. — A  mile  south  of  Seaton  Down  lies  Honey- 
ditches,  or  Hannaditches.  On  the  east  side  of  the  road  there 
is  a  long,  narrow,  curved  field  leading  to  a  square  field,  in 
which  latter  are  the  remains  of  an  extensive  Boman  villa. 
The  long,  narrow  field  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  original 
approach  to  the  villa.  The  foundations  of  walls,  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles,  begin  close  under  the  hedge  at  the 
top  of  the  field,  to  the  width  of  40  feet  north  and  south,  and 
run  downwards  toward  the  east  145  feet.  In  the  field  above 
this  there  are  some  great  pits,  as  if  they  had  been  reservoirs 
of  water  for  the  use  of  the  house.  About  200  feet  below  the 
villa,  connected  apparently  by  a  drain  or  a  wall,  there  is  a 
rough  piece  of  ground,  measuring  48  by  56  feet.  These 
places  had  been  examined  befoi-e  by  Sir  Walter  Trevelyan, 
the  owner  of  the  land ;  but  Mr.  Heineken  and  myself  turned 
up  some  lai^  thick  tiles,  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick,  eleven 


880  AirnQuiTiES  ur  souTH-XAffnRir  vwosi 

inches  wide,  but  of  uncertain  lenffth,  as  they  Iraie  brokeo. 
The  under  edge  had  been  chipped  or  bevelled  off  by  tiie 
workman  when  he  bedded  them;  and  as  they  wwe  mostly 
found  apparently  at  the  bottom  of  a  cavity  measuring  about 
two  feet  by  three,  accompanied  by  traces  of  charooal,  it  is 
supposed  they  had  formed  some  portion  of  a  fnmaoeb  omn, 
or  hypocaust  We  also  found  flanged  roof  tiles^  and  mcntar 
mixed  with  pounded  brick.  Besides  these  evidences  of  Boman 
occupation,  many  evidences  of  much  later  occupation  ham 
been  discovered,  especially  in  the  upper  part  near  the  hedbs^ 
such  as  mediaeval  tiles,  thin  pieces  of  lias  from  the  duh 
towards  Lyme,  where  the  lias  crops  out,  with  holes  through 
for  the  p^  by  which  they  were  fixed  to  the  roof;  also  pieoas 
of  roofing  slate,  with  holes  for  the  pqgs*;  and  this  is  probaUy 
a  still  later  evidence  than  the  thin  pieces  of  lias  used  for  tM 
same  purpose.  One  fragment  of  tile  is  impressed  with  groups 
of  parallel  lines  with  traces  of  letters.  It  is  curious  that  the 
two  groups  of  lines  on  this  fragment  are  not  parallel  to  eadi 
other,  but  converge  to  a  point;  and  the  letters  on  the  spaoa 
between  them  converge  to  a  point  too;  that  is,  they  begin 
large  and  diminish  towards  the  end.  The  first  portion  looks 
somewhat  like  the  letters  fiUnXp  the  rest  being  broken  off  A 
friend  suggests  that  perhaps  there  may  have  been  a  ohapel 
or  ecclesiastical  building  Uiere  during  the  middle  agea^  and 
that  possibly  the  word  may  be  intended  for  fiUMXtiU 

But  most  of  our  old  writers  on  Devonshire  antiquities 
speak  of  Honeyditcbes  as  an  old  camp  nearly  circular,  but 
unfinished  on  its  western  side,  and  that  perhaps  it  was  thrown 
up  by  the  Danes  when  they  landed  in  the  memorable  year 
937,  as  before  observed.  From  the  situation  of  the  place  that 
now  goes  by  that  name,  and  from  the  objects  exhumed  there^ 
no  one  can  infer  that  this  was  a  Danish  camp,  or  anything  of 
that  nature.  The  conclusion  therefore  at  which  we  may 
arrive  is  this,  that  the  original  Honeyditcbes  (the  old  camp) 
was  somewhere  else  in  the  neighbourhood,  probably  not  far 
off,  and  that  the  name  has  been  shifted  or  transferred  from 
one  place  to  another.  Possibly  it  may  have  been  on  Coocbill 
or  Little  Coochill,  half  a  mile  south-west,  on  the  crown  of 
which  there  is  a  peculiarly  shaped  field  bearing  traces  of  a 
fortified  position.  Quantities  of  stones  were  dug  up  and 
removed  from  this  spot  in  or  about  1862,  and  one  of  the  men 
employed  in  so  doing  declared  that  the  stones  lay  in  lines  as 
if  they  had  been  thrown  into  trenches  and  covered  over,  or 
followed  the  course  of  walls.  Or  it  may  have  been  on  some 
hill  nearer  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Axe ;  for  some  speak  of 


ANTIQUITIES  IN   SOUTH-EASTERN  DEVON.  381 

it  as  having  been  at  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  that 
spot,  whereas  Coochill  is  nearly  double  that  distance. 

Earthworks. — In  my  paper  read  before  the  Archaeological 
Association  at  Exeter  in  1861,  as  before  observed,  I  mentioned 
the  traces  of  a  ditch  and  agger  behind  the  Three  Horseshoes, 
a  wayside  inn  on  the  road  from  Honiton  through  Eoncombe 
Gate  to  Colyfoi-d.  It  begins  in  a  field  behind  the  inn,  and 
runs  northward  for  more  than  1000  feet  to  the  declivity  of 
the  hill,  where  it  turns  eastward  by  a  rounded  corner.  At 
that  time  this  is  all  I  knew  of  it ;  but  since  then  oppor- 
tunities have  occurred  of  examining  a  continuation  in  the 
opposite  direction  for  nearly  another  1000  feet,  until  it  ap- 
proaches the  valley  on  that  side.  On  consideration  this  must 
appear  a  very  remarkable  work.  If  we  trace  it  from  the 
north  end  at  the  rounded  corner,  which  is  nearly  in  front  of 
Blackbury  Castle,  it  runs  in  a  direction  somewhat  to  the  west 
of  south  for  about  2000  feet,  right  through  the  position  of 
the  Three  Horseshoes,  though  at  this  spot  of  course  it  is 
obliterated,  but  the  ridge  is  continued  in  the  fields  below. 
An  old  man  living  near,  who  recollected  the  land  in  its  wild 
state  before  it  had  been  brought  into  cultivation,  declared  in 
my  hearing  that  at  that  period  the  ridge  was  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet  high,  and  that  the  ditch  was  on  the  east  side  of 
it — that  is,  the  side  towards  Colyford.  At  first  this  appeared 
very  strange,  because  it  put  the  ditch  on  the  inside  of  the 
corner.  On  reconsideration,  this  vallum  could  not  have 
formed  any  part  of  an  ancient  camp.  It  had  been  drawn 
across  the  top  of  the  hill  at  right  angles  to  the  public  road ; 
and  the  ditch  being  on  the  east  side,  or  the  side  of  the  enemy, 
may  lead  to  the  inference  that  this  work  was  made  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  at  bay  or  checking  the  advance  of  some 
force  expected  from  the  valley  of  the  Axe.  As  it  is  just 
opposite  Blackbury  Castle,  possibly  it  may  have  been  thrown 
up  by  the  occupiers  of  that  camp;  perhaps  by  the  Britons  to 
resist  the  Romans;  perhaps  by  the  Saxons  to  resist  the 
Danes ;  and  it  might  be  at  the  same  time  when  the  similar 
intrenchments  were  drawn  across  Seaton  Down. 

I  may  here  observe  that  the  field  opposite  the  Horseshoes 
is  called  "  Chapel  Close."  A  few  paces  from  the  west  hedge, 
and  at  72  from  the  north  one,  the  plough  had  often  been 
obstructed  with  stones,  so  an  excavation  was  made,  June 
17th,  1862.  I  saw  the  south-west  corner  of  a  building  laid 
bara  The  walls  were  three  feet  thick.  Perhaps  some  medi- 
aeval chapel  may  have  stood  there.  The  next  field,  on  the 
west  of  this  is  known  as  "Chapel  Meadow;*'  and  near  the 

VOL.  II.  c  c 


382  ANTIQUITIES  IN  SOUTH-EASTBRN  DSVQN. 

middle  of  this,  and  not  far  from  the  road,  stones  and  traces 
of  walls  have  been  met  with. 

Ibon  Pits. — Several  of  our  local  writers  have  spoken  of 
the  existence  of  pits  of  various  sizes  and  depths  met  with  on 
the  wild  tops  of  many  of  the  high  hilLs  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, but  they  all  seem  to  speak  from  hearsay  only.  I  am 
happy  to  say  I  can  speak  with  more  confidence.  Where  these 
pits  have  not  been  obliterated  in  the  process  of  cultivation, 
they  occur  on  the  Blackdown  range  of  hills,  Ottery  East  HUl 
(just  over  Lincombe  Farm),  on  Dunkeswell  Common,  and 
other  places.  The  nearest  spot  to  Honiton  that  I  know  of  is 
a  short  distance  beyond  Woolford  Lodge,  and  of  these  I  will 
speak  more  particularly.  The  way  to  find  them  from  Honiton 
is  this :  Go  to  Coombe  Eawley ;  then  ascend  the  hill  towards 
Woolford  Lodge,  and  pass  the  entrance  gate;  a  little  way 
beyond  this  the  four-mile  stone  from  Honiton  is  seen  on  the 
right  hand  side,  and  a  few  score  yards  beyond  this  is  a  foar- 
cross  way.  Go  straight  on.  Take  the  second  field  on  the 
left.  The  field  is  full  of  fern  and  furze,  still  in  its  wild 
state.  The  pits  occur  mostly  along  its  northern  sida  They 
are  of  various  sizes,  very  irregular,  and  mostly  close  together. 
Though  their  sides  were  perpendicular  when  first  dug,  they 
have  fallen  in  by  time  and  become  sloping.  Some  are  very 
large.  As  an  instance  I  may  mention,  that  being  once  there 
with  a  friend  and  a  one-horse  carriage,  and  not  wishing  to 
court  the  idle  curiosity  of  passers  by,  we  led  the  horse  and 
carriage  down  into  the  bottom  of  one  of  them,  whilst  we 
made  an  examination,  and  we  were  all  quite  out  of  sight  to 
any  person  near.  In  the  geological  maps  all  these  hills  are 
described  as  of  the  greensand  formation ;  but  above  the 
greensand  tliere  is  the  usual  stratum  of  flints  and  clay,  and 
above  this  a  subsoil  bed  in  which  the  iron  ore  is  found.  It 
is  what  is  called  surface  iron.  It  may  seem  rather  strange 
that  they  should  have  sunk  so  many  separate  pits :  one 
would  have  thought  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
begun  at  one  end,  and  to  have  dug  onwards  straight  through. 
It  is  in  these  places  that  the  ore  is  found :  the  smelting 
operation  was  perlormed  elsewhere.  Great  quantities  of  scoria 
and  cinders  have  been  discovered  at  different  spots  of  the 
Blackdown  district,  showing  where  this  process  was  performed. 
There  is  a  largo  heap  at  Clivehayes  Farm,  Churchstaunton : 
a  quantity  once  existed  at  Bowerhayes  Farm,  near  Dunkeswell 
Abbey;  some  more  in  a  field  at  Tidborough,  near  Hemyock  ; 
and  in  less  quantities  at  Kentisbeer,  Culmstock,  Uffculm,  and 
so  on. 


ON  THE  PSEUDOMORPHOUS  CRYSTALS  OF  CHLORIDE  OF 
SODIUM,  &  THEIR  OCCURRENCE  IN  DEVONSHIRE. 

Br   O.   WAREINQ   ORMEROD,   M.A.,    F.O.S. 


The  occurrence  of  the  pseudomorphous  crystals  of  chloride 
of  sodium  in  the  Trias  of  England  was,  it  is  believed,  first 
noticed  in  a  paper  by  myself  "  On  the  Salt  Field  of  Cheshire," 
read  before  the  Geological  Society  on  the  8th  March,  1848 
{Quarterly  Jouimal,  vol.  iv.  p.  273),  when  they  were  shown 
to  occur  in  the  "  Waterstones"  of  the  Keuper  in  that  county. 
The  specimen  then  exhibited  had  been  analyzed  by  Professor 
Grace  Calvert,  of  Manchester,  who  stated  that  it  was  "silicate 
of  protoxide  of  iron  that  had  replaced  the  chloride  of  sodium." 
The  specimen  attracted  considerable  attention,  and  the  late 
Professor  Buckland  mentioned  various  places  at  which  he  had 
noticed  the  pseudomorph,  for  which  he  had  not  been  able  to 
account.  On  December  Ist,  1852,  a  paper  on  "Pseudo- 
morphous Crystals  of  Chloride  of  Sodium  in  the  Keuper,"  by 
the  late  Mr.  Strickland,  was  read  before  the  same  society 
{Quarterly  Journal,  vol.  ix.  p.  5),  in  which  he  entered  into  an 
elaborate  description  of  them  and  their  supposed  origin, 
regarding  them  apparently  as  a  new  discovery.  This  paper 
is  worthy  of  a  careful  perusal ;  the  author  had  paid  great 
care  to  the  subject,  and  his  ardour  in  its  investigation  caused 
all  geologists  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  leading  and  powerful 
mind.  He  was  killed  in  the  autumn  of  1853  by  a  passing 
train,  when  examining  the  cuttings  at  the  mouth  of  a  tunnel 
near  East  Retford  in  search  of  this  pseudomorph.  On  April 
20th,  1853,  a  paper  by  myself  on  the  same  subject  was  read 
at  the  Geological  Society  {Quarterly  Journal,  vol.  ix.  p.  187) ; 
it  contains  particulars  of  places  in  England  and  America 
where  this  pseudomorph  has  been  found,  and  to  it  Professor 
Warrington  Smyth  added  a  note,  mentioning  that  in  Leonard 
and  Bronn's  Journal  of  1847  it  was  mentioned  as  occurring 

c  c  2 


384        ON  THE  PSEUDOMOHPHOVS  CHYSTilS 

in  varioua  parta  of  the  North  of  Germany.  From  these 
communications  it  apf^ea^3  that  this  crystal  haa  been  found  in 
the  foHowing  strata  and  localities:  —  In  America,  in  thai 
Onondaga  Salt  Group  of  the  Silurian  Kocks^  and  at  otheFJ 
places  ;  in  Germany,  in  the  marl  slate  of  the  Zechstein,  in  th« 
variegated  beds  between  the  Iknter  sandstein  and  rauschel- 
kalk,  and  in  the  Wealdcn ;  in  Austria  and  the  South  oEj 
France,  in  the  ''Tertiaries ;"  and  in  England,  in  the  Keuperj 
beds  of  the  Trias.  Commencing  in  the  North  of  England  the 
pseudoniorphs  have  been  noticed  by  myself  in  Cheshire,  by  \ 
Dr.  Percy  in  Nottinghamshire,  by  Professor  Phillips  in  Wor-j 
cesterahitt!,  by  Mr  Strickland  and  myself  in  Gloucesterahira 
On  Christmas  day,  1865,  I  found  this  pseudomorph  in  &^ 
shallow  cutting  by  the  side  of  the  Taunton  and  II minster 
turnpike  roai  near  Blackbrook,  and  on  11th  April  last  I  _ 
diseovered  the  same  with  the  waterstone  beds  iu  the  face  of  ■ 
the  cliff  between  Sidinonth  and  Salcombe  mouth,  and  have 
since  that  time  found  it  in  another  locality.  Considering 
that  a  notice  of  tlie  existence  of  this  crystal  in  Devon 
should  be  recorded  in  the  proceeding  of  tliis  society,  I 
have  thought  it  proper  to  make  this  brief  communication, 
and,  as  the  discovery  of  the  crystal  is  of  a  comparatively 
recent  date,  to  give  a  short  history  of  it ;  for  full  particulars 
reference  must  be  made  to  the  Transactions  where  the  same 
exist  There  i^  one  point  more  to  which  I  will  allude, 
namely,  the  light  which  this  discovery  throws  on  the  new  red 
sandstone  of  Devon.  Mr.  Pengelly,  in  the  first  part  of  a 
memoir  "On  the  Eed  Sandstones  and  Conglomerates  of 
Devonshire,"  read  before  the  Plymouth  Institution,  December 
5th,  1861  {Bfport  for  1861-2,  page  27),  states  that  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  whether  the  red  rocks  belong  to  the  Trias  or 
Permian,  but  that  he  considers  proof  can  be  given  that  they 
belong  to  the  Triassic  age.  *tn  the  third  part  of  the  same 
memoir  {Report  for  1864-5,  p.  29)  he  mentions  the  existence 
of  beds  of  a  corrugated  appearance,  which  might  be  desig- 
nated "fluting,"  in  the  cliff  between  the  Sid  and  Salcombe 
mouth.  These  beds,  which  he  graphically  describes,  are  the 
representative  of  the  "  Waterstone,"  or  lower  Keuper;  at  that 
place  they  are  only  a  few  feet  in  thickness ;  in  the  above 
paper  I  have  shown  them  in  Cheshire  to  be  upwards  of  400 
feet,  and  Mr.  Hull  has  since  estimated  them  at  450  feet  in 
thickness.  In  East  vVarwickshire  they  are  200  feet,  in 
Leicestershire  150  feet  in  thickness.  {Hull  Quarterly  Journal, 
vol.  xvi.  page  68.)  The  waterstone  I  found  rather  below  the 
pebble  b^  of  Budleigh  Salterton ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Symonds 


OF  CHLORIDE  OF  SODIUM.  385 

previously,  early  in  the  present  year,  recognixed  it  neao*  Ex- 
mouth,  and  to  him  the  credit  is  due  of  having  first  recognized 
the  waterstone  in  this  county.  These  beds  I  have  not  the 
slighest  hesitation  in  identifying  with  the  waterstone  of  the 
Keuper,  and  that  more  especially  as  in  two  localities  I  have 
found  in  them  the  pseudomorph  of  salt  Thus  additional 
evidence  is  brought  to  confirm  Mr.  Pengelly*s  opinion,  that 
the  red  sandstone  from  Seaton  to  Exmouth  belongs  to  the 
Trias. 


THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  USE  OF  THE  METAIJ^ 

AND  ESPECIALLY  OF  IRON,  AMONG  THE 

EGYPTIANS. 

BT   BASIL  BKNRT  OOOPER,   B.A. 


This  paper  is  prepared  in  deference  to  a  friendly  saggestion 
thrown  out  by  your  founder.  The  intimation  of  a  wish  from 
a  aavant  of  Mr.  Pengelly's  rank  in  the  hierarchy  of  acienoe 
is  for  me  equivalent  to  a  binding  command,  and  I  accordingly 
jot  down  a  few  slight  notes  on  the  extremely  early  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Egyptians  with  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  metab 
known  to  the  ancient  world,  by  way  of  a  small  contributioD, 
from  the  side  of  recorded  history,  to  the  immensely  important 
researches  of  that  gentleman  and  other  eminent  geologists, 
such  as  Sir  John  Lubbock  and  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  into  the 
Antiquity  of  Man.  Nor  do  I,  it  seems  to  me,  in  bringing 
such  a  subject  before  your  Association,  deviate  very  widely 
from  what,  due  regard  had  to  the  limits  prescribed  by 
the  very  nature  of  science,  as  being  the  pursuit  of  truth 
purely  for  its  own  sake,  must  be  pronounced  to  be  your  wise 
rule,  of  requiring  that  the  topics  brought  before  you  at  your 
annual  assemblies  shall  be  in  some  special  way  connected 
with  the  shire  itself,  and  shall  be,  so  to  say,  racy  of  the  soil. 
For  surely  it  requires  no  very  severe  strain  upon  the  law  of 
association  of  ideas  to  quicken  with  a  local  interest,  in  the 
midst  of  a  county  so  teeming  with  mineral  wealth  as  Devon- 
shire, the  subject  announced.  A  mere  allusion  to  the  Devon 
Great  Consols,  to  the  iron  mines  on  the  Torbay  coast,  and  to 
the  old  silver  diggings  at  Conibmartin,  a  most  interesting  and 
valuable  paper  on  which,  by  Dr.  Kingdon,  was  read  at  your 
last  anniversary,  sufficiently  justifies  Mr.  Pengelly's  selection 
of  the  topic,  if  not  of  its  expositor.  It  was  precisely  by 
virtue  of  its  metallurgical  products,  and  especially  by  the 
traffic  of  the  Phoenicians,  and  perhaps  of  still  more  ancient 


ANTIQUITY   OF  THE  USE   OF  METALS.  387 

navigators,  in  its  staple  tin,  that  this  South  Western  Horn  of 
Britain  pushed  through  the  thick  curtain  of  Hyperborean 
night,  which  so  long  veiled  from  sister  nations  the  Britaiinos 
orbe  dlvisos,  and  first  introduced  us  to  the  stage  of  Universal 
History.  And  if  Cornwall,  in  right  of  St.  MichaeFs  Mount, 
whose  identification  with  the  Ictis  of  Diodorus,  Mr.  Pengelly's 
able  paper  "  On  the  Antiquity  of  Man  in  the  South  West  of 
England  "  must  surely  have  set  at  rest  for  ever,  may  indis- 
putably claim  to  have  been  the  depot  of  the  ancient  Tyrian 
tin  trade,  yet  CsBsar  *  can  hardly  have  been  mistaken  in  say- 
ing that  the  metal  was  brought  from  the  interior  (which  can 
only  mean  from  the  Devon  mines),  in  spite  of  the  great  cap- 
tain's commentators,  who  have  here  flatly  contradicted  their 
text.  Of  those  who  are  thus  over-hasty,  not  all  are  entitled  to 
plead  the  excuse  which  may  be  tendered  for  the  learned  Pro- 
fessor Anthon  of  New  York,  who  may  be  pardoned  for  never 
having  heard  of  the  "Jews'  houses,"  as  the  ancient  Phoenician 
smelting  works  on  Dartmoor  and  around  Tavistock  are  called 
by  the  Devonshire  miners.  If  Caesar  is  to  be  believed,  it  would 
seem  that  from  some  ancient  Devonshire  lode  must  have 
come  that  wonderfully  archaic  ingot  of  tin,  about  a  yard  in 
length,  a  foot  in  breadth,  threei  inches  thick  in  the  centre,  and 
weighing  130  pounds,  a  model  of  which,  by  the  kindness  of 
its  custodians,  the  authorities  of  the  Royal  Institution  of 
Cornwall,  was  exhibited  at  the  last  meeting  of  our  Asso- 
ciation. 

From  the  great  Julius  the  transition  is  easy  to  his  adopted 
son  and  successor  Augustus,  and  so  to  that  emperor's  tutor, 
Athenodorus  of  Tarsus,  especially  as  tin  is  mentioned  in  the 
interesting  fragment  I  am  about  to  cite  from  that  author.  It 
is  preserved  for  us  in  the  pages  of  the  Church  father,  Clement 
of  Alexandria,!  and  the  passage  will  serve  as  a  good  introduc- 
tion to  this  slight  sketch  of  the  metallurgical  history  of  Egypt. 
"Sesostris,  the  Egyptian  king,"  says  Athenodorus,  "having 
subjugated  most  of  the  Hellenic  tribes,  brought  back  with 
him  on  his  return  home  a  number  of  artists.  Some  time 
afterwards  the  king  commanded  that  a  magnificent  statue  of 
his  father  Osiris  should  be  made,  and  the  work  was  accordingly 
accomplished  by  Bryaxis,  one  of  these  Greek  artists; — not 
the  celebrated  Athenian  sculptor  Bryaxis,"  explains  Atheno- 
dorus, "but  a  very  much  older  namesake  of  his.  In  the 
fabrication  of  this  statue  Bryaxis  employed  a  mixture  of  the 
most  diverse  materials.  He  got  together  filings  and  shavings 
of  gold  and  silver,  copper  (xa^o^),  and  iron  and  lead,  as  well 

•  B.  G.  V.  12.  t  Protropt,  p.  14,  Ed.  Sylburg. 


888  ANTIQUITY  OP  THE  USS  OT  MKTALS 

as  of  tin  (icooxriT^m).  Nor  was  any  piecioiu  ^tooB  which 
Egypt  produces  wanting;  for  there  were  chips  of  sapphim 
and  haematite,  emerald  and  topaz.  All  these  he  redaced  to 
an  impalpable  powder  and  mingled  together,  odloaiing  the 
whole  with  dark  blue  paint :  this  is  the  cause  of  the  blackish 
colour  of  the  image.  Bryaxis  then  kneaded  all  together  with 
the  fragrant  leavings  from  the  embalmment  of  the  Osiii-Apifl^ 
and  80  shaped  the  image  of  Serapis,  whose  name  aUndes  to 
the  funeral  rites,  and  to  its  fabrication  out  of  Hbe  materials 
employed  in  them ;  for  it  is  a  compound  of  the  names  Osiiii 
and  Apis,  the  two  together  forming  Osirapis.** 

Now  I  hope  you  will  agree  wiUi  me,  that  if  this  curious 
narrative  be  not  rank  fable,  we  have  here  a  boulder,  to  borrow 
a  familiar  geological  term,  not  only  of  the  early  histoiy  of 
Egypt,  and  of  the  part  that  country  played  in  the  great  drama 
ot  human  culture,  but  also  of  the  primeval  history  of  Oieece : 
a  batUder  too,  I  venture  to  add,  which  is  really  worth  some 
pages  of  what  Mr.  Grote  has  written  upon  that  vastly  inter- 
esting and  important  subject.  For  my  own  part  I  most  be 
permitted  to  express  my  belief  that  we  have  here  in  the  main 
genuine  historical  tradition.  The  context^  it  is  true,  leaves 
no  doubt  that  the  good  Clement  understood  Athenodoras  to 
identify  the  image  of  which  he  writes  Mrith  the  world-fitmons 
colossus  which  stood  in  the  Serapeum  of  his  own  native  city 
Alexandria.  And  it  must  be  owned  that  if  Athenodoms  did 
this —or,  at  least,  if  the  original  voucher  for  the  facts  did  so 
— his  authority  would  be  greatly  damaged,  and  the  credibility 
of  the  story  seriously  shaken.  For  in  spite  of  some  dis- 
crepancies between  the  ancient  authors  Tacitus,  Plutarch, 
Isidore,  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  who  have  professed  to  give 
us  the  history  of  that  colossus,  as  to  which  of  the  first  three 
Ptolemies  brought  it  from  abroad,  and  as  to  whether  it  came 
from  Sinope  in  Poutus,  or  from  the  Syrian  Seleucia,  it  is 
beyond  all  controversy  that  one  of  these  Macedonian  kings  of 
Egypt  imported  this  venerated  statue  of  a  Greek  Pluto  from 
abroad,  and  gave  the  god  letters  of  naturalisation  in  the  Nile- 
land  under  the  native  Egyptian  name  of  Osirapis  or  Serapis. 
For  although  this  derivation  of  the  name  Serapis  given  in 
our  fragment,  as  well  as  in  the  other  authors  just  named,  used 
to  be  laughed  at  till  a  few  years  back  as  a  piece  of  Greek 
etymological  blundering,  Mariette's  recent  discovery  of  the 
original  Serapeum  at  Memphis  proves  that  this  is  after  all 
the  true  account  of  the  matter,  and  that  the  name  Osiri-Apis, 
or  Serapis,  is  not  only  native,  but  can  be  pointed  out  on  a 
series  of  hieroglyphical  monuments  reaching  back  to  Ame- 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  389 

nophthis  the  Great,  the  king  of  the  Vocal  Statue,  whom  the 
Qreeks  called  Memnoa.  But  there  is  really  nothing  in  the 
words  of  Athenodorus,  so  far  as  we  can  separate  them  from 
those  of  Clement,  in  what  hardly  purports  to  be  a  verbatim 
extract,  to  fasten  upon  the  learned  tutor  of  the  master  of  the 
world  80  gross  an  anachronism  as  that  of  attributing  to  the 
reign  of  Sesostris  the  erection  of  an  idol  which  was  notoriously 
never  heard  of  in  Egypt  before  the  Ptolemaic  age.  If  indeed, 
incredible  as  it  seems,  Athenodorus  really  confounded  the 
two  images,  the  remark  as  to  the  materials  out  of  which 
Bryaxis  concocted  his  statue,  accounting  for  the  dark  colour 
of  the  Alexandrian  colossus,  would  be  so  far  in  keeping ;  but 
that  remark  may  as  easily  have  dropped  from  Clement's  pen. 
It  is  certain  that  it  is  parenthetical,  just  like  an  excerptors 
observation  by  the  way,  that  Athenodorus  would  doubtless 
thus  explain  the  blackish  colour  of  the  colossus ;  and,  who- 
ever is  responsible  for  it,  it  is  nothing  to  the  purpose,  since 
the  statue  of  the  god  in  every  one  of  the  forty  Serapeums 
which  stood  on  the  soil  of  Egypt  would  be  of  a  dark  colour. 
At  all  events  the  impertinence  is  not  chargeable  upon  the 
native  Egyptian  writer  from  whom  Athenodorus  must  have 
borrowed  this  circumstantial  tradition,  and  who  can  hardly  be 
any  other  than  Manetho  himself.  For  the  name  of  the  great 
Egyptian —I  feel  bound  to  make  honest  atonement  in  so  styling 
him  for  having  formerly  as  honestly  done  my  best  to  vilify 
him — who  was  the  first  to  write  the  real  history  of  the  Pharaohs 
in  Greek,  figures  largely  in  the  accounts  given  us  by  Plutarch 
and  others  of  the  politic  naturalisation  of  the  Greek  Pluto  at 
Alexandria.  Manetho  the  Sebennytan  was  consulted,  Plutarch 
tells  us,  by  Ptolemy  Soter,  who  urged  (so  the  king  said)  by  a 
repeated  apparition  of  the  colossal  god  of  Sinope,  of  which, 
of  course,  he  had  never  before  heard,  had  procured  its 
migration  at  great  cost,  as  to  what  Egyptian  deity  the  idol 
represented.  Manetho  at  once  proved,  it  is  added,  from  the 
Cerberus  and  the  Serpent,  that  it  was  Osiri-Apis  or  Serapis. 
Anybody  who  has  looked  into  the  wonderful  tableau  of  the 
Judgment  of  the  Dead,  which  illustrates  the  125th  chapter 
of  the  Egyptian  Bible,  which  devout  natives  of  the  Nile 
Valley  were  wont  to  put  under  the  pillow  on  which  they 
lay  down  to  sleep  their  last  long  sleep,  will  see  at  a  glance 
the  reasonableness  of  the  Egyptian  high  priest's  identification. 
Thanks  to  the  brave  deed  of  its  translator.  Dr.  Birch  of  the 
British  Museum,  the  fame  of  which  will  live  when  the 
exploits  of  nine-tenths  of  our  military  heroes  shall  have  been 
long  forgotten,  that  all-important  sacred  book  of  the  Egyptians, 


390  ANTIQUITY  OF  THB  08X  OF  MSTAUB 

the  most  extensive  as  well  as  the  most  valuable  hierpglyphicd 
text  in  existence,  is  now  accessible  in  its  entirety  to  English 
readers  in  the  fifth  volume  of  Bunsen*8  Eg^  publiahed 
last  year.  If  I  add  that  it  there  fills  about  a  hundred  and 
seventy  pages,  apart  from  the  translatoi^s  invaluable  intro- 
duction to  the  document,  and  that  no  hierogljrphical  text  of 
one-tenth  that  extent  had  been  previously  translated,  it  will 
be  seen  at  once  that  Egyptian  philology  has  not  slept  during 
the  short  forty  or  fifty  years  which  have  elapsed  sinoe  Toung 
and  Champollion  first  spelt  out  the  hierpglyphioal  name  of 
Ptolemy  on  the  Rosetta  stone.  Surely,  too,  we  may  Curly 
take  a  national  pride  in  the  fact^  that  not  only  did  an 
Englishman  begin  what  the  greatest  French  genina  of  the 
century  must  be  owned  to  have  first  shaped  into  a  seienoe^ 
but  that  at  the  present  day  it  is  an  Englishman  to  whom  the 
profoundest  foreign  adepts  in  that  science,  Lepsius^  Brogsch, 
and  Lauth  in  Germany,  Pleyte  in  Holland,  Lieblein  and 
Waldemar  Schmidt  in  Scandinavia,  and  De  Boug^  Deveria» 
and  Chabas  in  France,  would  cheerfully  pay  homage  as  their 
unchallenged  chief  For  I  have  not  spoken  of  Dr.  Birch*8 
Hieroglyphical  Dictionary,  comprising  ten  thousand  worda^ 
nor  of  his  Egyptian  Orammar,  both  also  contained  in  the  new 
volume  of  Bunsen  already  spoken  of,  some  of  the  credit  of 
which  its  munificent  publishers,  the  Messrs  Longman,  who 
cannot  hope  to  be  repaid  the  JG1500  they  have  spent  on  the 
hieroglyphical  type,  are  fairly  entitled  to  share. 

I  could  not  refrain  from  paying  this  tribute  to  one  of 
those  of  its  greatest  men  of  whom  the  world  knows  nothing; 
but  I  must  now  proceed  to  explain  my  justification  of 
Manetho*8  identification  of  the  Pluto  of  Sinope  with  the 
Osiris  of  the  Underworld,  or  Serapis,  by  a  reference  to  the 
tableau  acccompanying  the  125tli  chapter  of  the  Book  of 
the  Dead.  In  that  celebrated  tableau,  in  which  the  deceased 
is  represented  as  standing  before  the  judgment  throne  of 
Osiris,  whilst  the  goddess  Themis,  a  purely  Egyptian  name, 
weighs  the  man's  heart  in  one  scale  against  the  image  of  Truth 
in  the  other,  and  the  god  Thoth,  or  Hermes,  stands  by  to 
record  on  his  tablet  the  result ;  modern  classical  scholars  who 
first  gazed  on  this  picture,  older  not  only  than  Homer,  but 
than  the  acorn-eating  Chaonians,  or  than  the  Arcadians  who 
are  fabled  to  have  lived  before  the  moon  first  shed  its  silvery 
light  upon  our  earth,  were  astounded  to  see  Cerberus  also  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  scene.  As  to  the  serpents,  the  whole 
periphery  of  the  Judgment  Hall  literally  flames  with  them. 
Hence  no  wonder  Manetho  maintained  that  the  Egyptian 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  391 

Pluto  was  the  prototype  of  the  Greek,  and  we  are  here  fur- 
nished with  the  very  occasion  in  his  own  life,  which  may 
naturally  have  led  to  the  introduction  into  his  History  of 
the  story  of  the  fabrication  by  the  Greek  artist  Bryaxis  of 
the  statue  of  Osiris,  spoken  of  in  the  invaluable  fragment 
from  Athenodorus.  He  would  reasonably  enough  be  anxious 
to  point  out  the  channels  through  which  Egyptian  religious 
ideas  and  modes  of  representing  the  gods  might  have  pene- 
trated into  Greece.  Moreover,  if  he  was  the  original  author, 
the  fact  would  at  once  account  for  the  marked  native  Egyp- 
tian colouring,  which,  short  as  the  fragment  is,  no  Egyptolo- 
gist who  reads  it  can  fail  to  discover  in  it.  I  allude  in  parti- 
cular to  the  king's  styling  Osiris  his  "  father,"  which  mode  of 
speech  is  not  only  quite  Egyptian,  but  can  be  profusely 
illustrated  from  the  extant  inscriptions  of  this  very  Pharaoh  ; 
and  to  the  assertion  that  the  name  of  the  god  implies  an 
allusion  to  "funeral  rites,"  which  is  perfectly  correct.  In 
the  Book  of  the  Dead  the  deceased  is  invariably  styled  as  such 
the  "  Osiris,"  or  mummy,  and  the  deified  bull  Apis  was  never 
called  Osiri-Apis,  or  Serapis,  until  after  his  embalmment. 
We  have  here,  therefore,  palpable  traces  of  an  Egyptian 
stylus,  and  as  for  the  monarch's  devotion  to  the  god  men- 
tioned in  the  fragment  in  particular,  it  was  proved,  among 
other  things,  by  his  erection  to  "his  father  Osiris"  of  the 
magnificent  temple  at  Abydos,  whence  Mr.  Banks  half  a 
century  ago  brought  the  celebrated  tablet  of  Abydos,  con- 
taining a  series  of  a  score  or  so  of  Pharaohs  in  chronological 
order,  the  last  being  Ramses  the  Great,  son  of  the  founder  of 
the  temple,  which  historically  and  chronologically  invaluable 
tablet,  although  a  mere  fragment,  has  long  ranked  next  to 
the  Rosetta  stone  itself  among  the  Egyptian  treasures  of  the 
British  Museum.  In  that  same  temple,  too,  was  discovered, 
in  1864,  the  new  tablet  of  Abydos,  set  up  by  the  founder 
himself,  and  which  fortunately  is  not  a  fragment,  but  gives 
the  names  of  seventy-six  of  his  predecessors,  about  a  fourth 
of  the  whole  number,  and  beginning  with  Menes,  Egypt's 
protomouarch.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  passage  from 
Athenodorus  plants  us  on  purely  historical  ground,  and  as  the 
original  author  of  the  stoiy,  no  likelier  name  than  Manetho's 
can  be  suggested. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  tradition 
reaches  us  through  Greek  channels,  and  can  hardly  have  failed 
to  gather  mud  on  the  way.  We  may  be  pretty  sure,  for 
instance,  that  if  Manetho  called  the  Pharaoh  Sesostris,  it  was 
only  in  deference  to  Greek  usage,  which  was  wont  to  ascribe 


392  iamQurrr  o?  rax  ras  or  iratALB 

to  that  hero  the  deeds,  not  only  of  Bamaes  the  Oraat^  who 
the  Egyptian  priests,  as  Tacitus  records,  told  Germuiiciia  was 
the  original  type  of  that  partly  mythical  conqoerory  and  who 
really  bore  another  name,  which  the  fastidioos  laws  ci  Groek 
euphony  twisted  into  "  Sesostris,"  but  also  those  of  his  ftr 
greater  father  Sethos,  not  to  speak  of  one  or  two  vaatly  older 
Pharaohs.  In  much  the  same  way  the  Ethiopian  king  Sabaoo, 
in  Herodotus,  with  his  reign  of  just  half  a  oeatury,  is  now 
perfectly  well  known  to  mean  a  whole  dynasty,  oonaisting 
of  three  successive  kings,  the  last  of  them  being  the  great 
Tirhaka  of  the  Bible,  whose  united  reigns  ooveied  just  that 
space  of  tima 

As  to  the  date  of  the  first  appearance  of  this  Bamsea 
dynasty  (Manetho's  nineteenth)  on  the  stage  of  history,  thers 
ought  by  this  time  to  be  no  more  doubt  in  educated  circlfls 
than  as  to  the  chronology  of  the  Napoleons.  For  the  fbonder 
of  the  house,  Ramses  the  First  of  Lepsius,  bore,  and  he  alone 
of  all  the  Pharaohs  for  many  centuries  either  before  or  after 
him,  as  all  Egyptologists  now  admits  the  prenomen  Men-pdn 
Ra,  which  the  late  Dr.  Hincks  was  the  first  to  identify  with 
the  Menophres,  whose  roign,  as  testified  by  the  learned 
mathematician  Theon  of  Alexandria^  marked  and  gave  name 
to  an  astronomical  era,  which  demonstrably  hemxk  B.a  182& 
It  is  extremely  important  to  remark  that  Manetho— nn- 
contradicted  and  indeed  confirmed  by  the  monuments — 
assigns  to  this  Menophres  Ramses  a  reign  of  only  a  single 
year  and  four  months ;  so  that  the  Era  can  only  belong  either 
to  his  first  or  his  second  year.  This  Menophres  of  the  Era  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Sethos,  with  the  prenomen  Memares,  to 
whom  our  Manethonian  fragments  assign  55  years  current — 
say  54  complete.     Then  comes  his  son  Ramses  XL,  with  the 
PiCnomen  Ravosemes,  and  the  agnomen  of  which  the  Greeks 
made  Sesostris,  although  it  is  certain  that  that  name  was  also 
given  catachrestically  by  the  ancients  to  his  father,  the  resd 
hero  of  the  dynasty.    A  contemporary  inscription  states  that 
this  second  Ramses  began  to  reign  at  the  age  of  ten ;  so  that 
the  long  reign  of  66  years  and  two  months  assigned  to  him 
by  Manetho  is  by  no  means  incredible,  even  apart  from  the 
decisive  appeal  to  an  inscription  engraved  within  a  century 
of  the  king's  death,  which  expressly  says  that  he  reigned 
precisely  that  number  of  years.    Thus  the  Sesostris  epoch, 
cotiiprising  the  reign  of  this  Pharaoh,  and  that  of  his  greater 
^father  Sethos,  embraces  just  120  years,  commencing  with  RC. 
£3^3,  the  Era  of  Menophres,  founder  of  the  dynasty,  who  in 

I  p^nnus  mifQ^ilis  associated  with  himself  in  the  empire  his 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  393 

martial  son  Sethos,  under  the  significant  title — still  legible  as 
part  of  the  young  king's  royal  style,  in  connection  too  with 
the  date  of  his  very  first  year — "Horus  of  the  New  Born 
Age."  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  if  it  be  asked  what  is 
Manetho's  chronology  of  the  same  period,  that  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  long  before  Egyptologists  had  become  aware 
of  these  facts,  or  were  able  to  spell  out  the  hieroglyphical 
name  Men-peh-ra,  which  all  of  them,  without  exception,  now 
read  as  the  prenomen  of  Ramses  the  First,  and  when  nobody 
had  as  yet  dreamt  of  using  the  obscure  era  of  Menophres  as 
a  clue  through  this  labyrinth  of  royal  names  and  dates,  the 
late  Professor  Boeckh,  the  acknowledged  Nestor  of  classical 
philology  in  his  day,  assigned  to  Sethos,  in  his  attempted 
restoration  of  Manetho's  system,  a  date  only  three  years 
higher  than  that  just  given.  Lastly,  if  anything  more  be 
wanting  to  vindicate  for  my  lamented  friend  Dr.  Hincks  the 
glory  of  having  fixed  the  first  precise  date  in  this  important 
nineteenth  dynasty,  a  dozen  other  astronomical  tests  belong- 
ing to  the  three  consecutive  reigns  can  be  pointed  out  on  the 
monuments,  which  exactly  verify  his  grand  discovery,  and 
the  chronology  here  sketched  out.  You  are,  of  course,  well 
aware  that  there  is  not  a  hundreth  part  this  weight  of  evidence 
for  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Marathon. 

But  here  comes  the  rub.  It  may  be  asked,  Is  an  Egyptian 
conquest  of  "most  of  the  Hellenic  tribes,"  as  spoken  of  in 
the  fragment,  for  the  substance  of  which  you  seem  inclined 
to  make  Manetho  responsible,  at  all  within  the  range  of 
credibility?  Now,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  just  here 
that  the  truth  of  the  tradition  comes  out  in  all  the  sunlight 
of  monumentally- recorded  contemporary  history.  I  say 
nothing  about  Manetho's  curious  assertion,  that  this  very 
Sethos  was  the  -^yptus,  and  his  revolted  brother  the  Danaus, 
of  Greek  mythical  tradition.  Let  the  Danaus  story  wait  for 
its  unravelling  till  the  facts  are  settled.  I  appeal  to  the 
inscriptions  of  Sethos  himself  at  Karnak.  There  happens 
to  be  just  one  Pharaoh  in  these  centuries^  who  expressly 
enumerates  the  Greeks,  under  the  very  same  hieroglyphical 
name  which  is  translated  "Hellenes,**  both  on  the  Eosetta 
stone  and  on  the  other  newly-discovered  Bilingual  inscription 
of  Tanis,  amongst  the  forty  nations  whom  he  claims  to  have 
subdued.  That  Pharaoh  is  Sethos  the  Great — the  Sesostris  of 
Greek  tmdition.  The  word  employed  in  the  Karnak  inscrip- 
tion of  Sethos  is  Hahanu,  or  lonians ;  and  it  is  the  old 
Egyptian  type  of  the  Coptic  ethnological  name  which  in* 
variably  renders  the  term  "Hellenes"  throughout  the  New 


394 


ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  USE  OP  METALS 


Testament,  and  iu  other  remains  of  Coptic  literature.  Some 
of  these  "Uahanu"  were  settled  in  Egypt  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  Thothmes  the  Great,  say  B.a  1500,  a  fact  of  whidi 
Professor  Curtius,  who  loyally  owns  his  obUgations  for  it  to 
Lepsius,  has  already  made  ^2^d  use  in  his  profoandly 
original  and  masterly  History  of  Oreece.  Cyprus,  I  may  add, 
was  held  by  the  Phai-aohs  during  nearly  the  entire  sway  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty;  for  here  too  the  new  Bilingual  in- 
scription of  Tan  is,  which  mentions  the  island,  confirms  the 
result  already  arrived  at  by  Brugsch  and  other  hieroglyphical 
geographers  many  years  before  that  invaluable  inscrip- 
tion was  discovered  by  Lepsius  and  Keinisch,  which  was  on 
the  13th  of  April,  1866.  Hence,  when  Herodotus  says  that 
the  Saite  Amasis  was  the  first  Egyptian  king  who  gained  pos- 
session of  that  island,  his  credit  can  only  be  saved  on  the 
assumption  that  he  has  confounded  the  Saite  with  his  great 
namesake,  the  Dispolitan  Amasis,  who,  by  the  expulsion  of 
the  Hykshos,  or  Shepherd  Kings,  inaugurated  the  glories  of 
the  New  Egyptian  Empire  just  a  thousand  years  before. 

I  trust  I  may  now  count  on  your  admission  that  I  have 
at  least  provisionally  established  the  right  to  treat  as  history 
the  fragment  of  Athenodorus,  which  with  one  stroke  of  the 
pen  gives  us  the  lower  limit  of  the  fourteenth  oentuty  before 
the  Christian  era  for  the  acquaintance  of  the  Egyptians  with 
all  the  metals  commonly  known  to  the  ancients.  Ton  will 
have  observed  that  the  use  of  the  word  Kaj(r<TiT€pos  in  the  frag- 
ment, either  by  Au^^ustus  s  tutor  or  by  Manetho,  is  decisive 
as  to  tin.  For  by  the  time  they  wrote,  and  even,  as  is  gener- 
ally agreed,  so  far  back  as  the  Homeric  age,  that  word  meant 
tin  and  nothing  else.  I  wish  we  were  as  clear  about  the 
meaning  of  the  Coptic  and  hieroglyphical  words  which  have 
been  thought  to  mean  tin  ;  for  we  should  then  have  a  marvel- 
lous anti(|uity  indeed  for  the  acquaintance  of  the  Egyptian 
with  this  to  us  well-nigh  most  interesting  of  all  the  metals. 
Unfortunately  this  is  not  the  case.  The  Coptic  word  kasha- 
hcl,  which  in  some  lexicons  is  rendered  sianiium — itself  a 
word  whose  meaning  was  not  limited  to  tin  till  the  inferior 
Latin  age —is  now  known  to  denote  rather  the  sort  of  gold 
bronze,  called  by  the  ancients  aurichalcum.  Another  Coptic 
word  tkrdn  or  thrdin  is  certainly  used  in  the  Coptic  Old  Testa- 
ment, which  was  made  from  the  Septuagint,  to  render  the 
word  Kao-<TtTcpo9.  But  it  has  a  most  suspicious  resemblance  to 
another  Coptic  form  ihrirn,  to  which  Kircher — no  decisive 
authority  it  is  true,  but  one  never  for  all  that  to  be  neglected, 
the  meaning  argentum  vivum  or  quicksilver.     For 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  395 

neither  of  these  has  the  corresponding  hieroglyphical  form 
been  found ;  at  all  events,  I  have  searched  Dr.  Birch's 
Hieroylifphical  Dictionary  for  either  of  them  in  vain. 
There  is,  however,  yet  another  Coptic  term  to  be  considered. 
It  occurs  in  only  a  single  passage,  1  believe,  but  that  in  a 
work  of  exti-eme  value  in  a  philological  point  of  view.  I 
refer  to  the  Fisiis  Sophia,  a  work  of  the  Valentinian  Gnostics, 
written  in  the  pure  Sahidic  dialect  of  Coptic.  It  is  unique, 
as  the  only  production  of  any  extent  which  ecclesiastical 
fury  has  left  us  which  actually  proceeded  from  the  pens  of 
those  heretics  themselves.  This  by  the  way.  It  was  long 
hidden  away  amongst  the  treasures  of  the  British  Museum, 
but  was  at  last  published  with  a  Latin  version  by  Schwartze, 
in  1851.  What  concerns  us  is  that  precisely  in  an  enumera- 
tion of  the  metals  a  new  Coptic  word  there  occurs,  which  is 
palpably  the  same  with  a  hieroglyphical  word,  which,  in  his 
version  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  and  elsewhere.  Dr.  Birch, 
has  several  times  rendered  "tin."  It  is  the  word  je  In  with 
the  syllable  ba  prefixed,  which  prefix,  as  I  shall  presently 
have  occasion  to  remark,  means  mineral  in  general.  The 
initial  consonant  seems  to  have  had  the  sound  of  the  French 
J.  In  the  passage  our  Saviour  is  represented  as  telling  his 
disciples  that  his  Sacrament  of  Ineffable  Light  "  will  teach 
them  why  gold,  and  silver,  and  copper,  and  iron,  and  steel, 
and  lead,  and^e  m,  and  wax,  and  herbs,  &c.,  &c.,  are  created." 
It  is  provoking  that  this  aTrai^eyo/jLtvov,  on  the  correct  inter- 
pretation of  which  so  much  depends,  should  here  occur  pre- 
cisely on  the  debateable  border  line  between  the  metals  and 
the  non-metallic  substances.  Schwartze  Latinizes  it  vitrum, 
and  it  is  probably  in  deference  to  his  high  authority  that  Dr. 
Birch,  in  his  Hieroglyphical  Dictionary,  renders  the  corres- 
ponding old  Egyptian  word  tahn  by  "crystal," — since  it  is 
unquestionably  not  glass — although,  as  ali*eady  remarked  in 
his  Book  of  the  Dead,  he  sometimes  Anglicises  it  "tin.' 
Two  things  are  certain  about  this  tahn.  First,  it  was  dug 
out  of  mines.  For  in  chap.  Ixiv.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
Osiris  says,  "  I  have  made  the  taha  which  Ptah" — the  god  in 
whom  as  the  god  of  fire,  and  from  this  text  it  is  clear,  not 
only  on  that  account,  but  because  the  Egyptians  made  him 
the  great  Faber  Mundi  as  well,  the  Greeks  recognized  their 
Hephaistos — "  has  wrought  out  of  the  mine."  If  tin  be  meant 
in  this  passage,  then  the  Egyptians  knew  of  tin  as  early  as 
the  reign  of  Mycerinus,  the  builder  of  the  third  pyramid 
under  the  fourth  dynasty,  a  contemporaiy  Dogstar  date  be- 
longing to  a  later  king  of  which  same  dynasty  gives  us  with 


396  ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  X7BS  OF  IfKTALS 

astronomical  precision  the  year  B.G.  8871.  For  a  note  to  this 
chapter  tells  us  that  it  was  published  in  the  reign  of 
Mycerinus,  and  the  Parma  papyrus  here  annexes  to  his  royal 
name  the  specific  notation  for  the  third  pyramid.  Moreovei; 
this  early  date  of  its  composition  is  so  far  confirmed  by  the 
conclusive  circumstance  that  the  entire  text  of  the  chc^tw, 
with  that  of  several  others  extracted  from  this  same  venerable 
portion  of  the  "  Archives  of  Mankind/'  stands  engraved  on 
the  sarcophagus  of  qneen  Mentuhotep,  who  belongs  to  the 
tenth  dynasty.  This  royal  house  can  he  demonstrstm  to  have 
reigned  more  than  two  centuries  before  the  introduction  of  the 
kalender  of  365  days  in  2783  B.O.,  by  Amenemha  L,  the  chief  of 
the  twelfth  dynasty, — a  reform  which  Censonnu8,from  native 
Egyptian  authors,  attributes  to  that  great  monarch  under  the 
very  same  title  of  Harnimos,  or  "Horns  of  the  New  Bom 
Age/'  which  we  have  already  seen  was  taken  by  Sethoe  the 
Great  1460  years  afterwards,  when  this  imbissextile  kalender, 
after  traversing  all  the  seasons  in  the  space  of  S65  x  4  years, 
had  returned  to  its  starting-point,  and  which  truth-telling  title 
was  taken  by  none  of  the  three  or  four  hundred  Phuvohs 
save  precisely  these  two.  This  date,  B.a  2783,  was  that  given 
by  Eratosthenes  for  the  commencement  of  this  great  twelfth 
dynasty,  under  which  the  Labyrinth  and  the  Lake  Moeria 
were  constructed.  For  Bunsen  was  mistaken  in  thinking 
that  the  Byzantine  chronographers  had  succeeded  in  burying 
in  oblivion  the  Theban  chronology  of  the  great  Alexandrian 
critic.  They  only  tried  to  do  so,  but  fortunately  for  us  made 
a  bungle  of  their  wickedness. 

Had  the  brilliant  German  looked  more  narrowly  into  the 
facts,  he  might  liave  saved  himself  the  trouble  of  evolving 
from  his  inner  consciousness  what,  if  it  had  really  been  lost, 
was  necessarily  lost  for  ever.  Marvellously  enough,  Bunsen, 
with  the  instinct  of  genius,  in  his  earlier  chronological  system 
actually  guessed  the  truth.  For  that  it  was  but  a  guess  is 
proved  by  his  having  in  his  last  scheme,  to  be  found  in  his 
new  fifth  volume,  lowered  his  date  for  this  dynasty  from  B.O. 
27^1,  at  which  it  stood  in  his  fourth  volume,  to  B.a  2192,  a 
difference  of  six  centuries. 

The  other  fact  which  is  certain  about  the  Tahn  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead,  and  the  hieroglyphical  inscriptions,  is 
this,  that  like  the  Latin  "  Cuprum"  and  our  "  Copper,'*  which 
names,  as  is  well  known,  are  derived  from  that  of  Cyprus, 
whose  copper  mines,  by  the  by,  were  probably  first  worked 
under  the  Pharaohs,  and  like  the  Egyptian  nub  for  gold, 
which  came  from  the  Nubian  mines,  it  was  Sk  foreign  mineral. 


AMONG  THE   EGYPTIANS.  397 

and  that  it  was  a  Lybian  nation,  the  Tahnu,  whence  it 
derived  its  name.  The  chief  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty, 
the  Shishak  of  the  Bible,  was  descended  from  a  Tahnu  family. 
Dr.  Birch  was  the  first  to  remark  the  Assyrian  character  of 
the  names  of  these  Bubastite  Pharaohs.  For  instance,  Shishak's 
father  was  a  Nimrod  and  his  son  a  Sargon.  Two  other  kings 
of  the  family  were  named  Tiglath,  and  that  the  name  really 
alluded  to  the  Tigris  is  proved  by  the  determinative  of  water 
which  is  found  accompanying  it  in  the  royal  scutcheons. 
Seveml  queens  of  the  dynasty  bore  a  name  which  is  nothing 
else  than  the  Egyptian  form  of  the  name  Semiramis.  As  to 
what  possible  connection  there  may  have  been  between  the 
Lybian  Tahnu  and  the  Assyrians  I  have  no  suggestion  to 
offer,*  but  the  facts  are  as  I  have  stated.  The  first  appearance 
of  the  Lybians  in  Egyptian  history  is  under  the  third  dynasty, 
the  chief  of  which  is  said  by  Manetho  to  have  made  war 
with  and  conquered  that  people. 

Leadt  is  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  so  that  the 
Egyptians  must  have  known  of  it  from  time  immemorial. 

But  in  my  reperu.sal  of  the  Book  of  tJie  Dead,  with  a 
view  to  this  communication,  I  have  been  surprised  to  find 
no  mention  of  silver.  In  Coptic  it  is  hat,  or  white  metal, 
and  the  hieroglyphical  name  contains  also  the  word  hat, 
but  it  is  invariably  accompanied  by  the  sign  for  gold,  and 
Egyptian  scholars  say  we  must  read  it  '*  white  gold."  For 
myself  I  doubt  this,  my  view  being  that  the  sign  for  gold 
is  merely  determinative,  and  consequently  that  it  was  not 
pronounced;  in  either  case  it  would  be  implied  that  the 
Egyptians  made  the  acquaintance  of  silver  subsequently  to 
their  becoming  familiar  with  gold.  It  is  observable  that  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson  has  remarked  the  absence  of  silver  in  the 
earliest  Chaldean  tombs.  Silver,  however,  as  well  as  gold,  is 
very  frequently  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  Thothmes  the 
Great  at  Karuak  amongst  the  spoils  of  the  Lotennu,  or 
Assyrians  c.b.c.  1500.  Silver  is  also  worthily  represented 
amongst  the  magnificent  suite  of  funereal  jewellery  found  in 
the  tomb  of  queen  Aahotep,  mother  of  Amasis,  the  founder  of 
the  New  Empii-e,  and  which  was  shown  in  the  Egyptian  stall 
at  the  Great  Exhibition  of  1862,  to  the  immense  astonishment 
of  vast  crowds  of  spectators,  who  had  scarcely  expected  to 
see  works  of  the  goldsmith's  art,  worthy  of  Hunt  and  Roskell, 
80  very  many  centuries  old.   I  believe  that  the  eyes  of  Moses 

•  It  must  not  bo  forgotten,  however,  that  the  Greek  mytholog^ists  make 
BelnSy  the  Assyrian  protomonarch,  a  son  of  Poseidon,  or  Neptune,  and 
LyWa.  t  Taht. 

VOL.   n.  D  D 


398  ANTIQUITT  OF  THE  USE  OF  METALS 

lookffd  on  those  jewels  before  that  London. mob.  One  of 
those  extraordinary  works  of  art  was  a  model  in  solid  silver, 
and  more  than  a  foot  in  length,  with  its  oonnterpart  in  goH 
of  the  ship  of  the  snn  conveying  the  deceased  queen  to  her 
rest  in  the  nnseen  world. 

The  name  and  inscriptions  of  Har  Nnb  Snefro — the 
Sdphnris  of  the  Manethonian  lists— belonging  to  the  end  of 
the  third  dynasty,  afford  us  the  higher  chronological  limit 
for  the  history  of  both  copper  and  gold  under  the  Pharaohs. 
His  royal  scutcheon  is  the  oldest  of  those  owned  by  a  long 
series  of  Egyptian  kings,  whose  mining  operations  in  the 
"  copper  land  "  are  recoided  in  various  metalliferons  spots  of 
the  Sinaitic  peninsula  llemarkably  enough  too,  he  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  who  took  the  name  of  ''Gold,"  or 
"Oolden,"  which  he  bears  in  these  hieroglyphical  rnooids, 
and  which  afterwards  became  part  of  the  regular  royal  styles 
as  the  heralds  would  term  it.  Eratostosthens,  in  his  list  of 
the  Thebaic  Pharaohs,  calls  him  Chnubos  Zneuros^  and 
translates  this  additional  name  Xpwros  ("Gold**).  Nor  is  this 
the  only  instance  in  which  much  history  is  wrapped  up 
within  the  mysterious  serpentine  folds  of  an  Egyptian  royal 
ring,  as  I  hope  presently  to  show;  for  I  have  not  yet  spoken 
of  the  most  interesting  metal  of  all — Iron. 

The  paramount  importance  of  the  metal  iron  in  the  history 
of  human  civilization  is  universally  recognized.  Archseolngists 
have  agreed  to  regard  its  employment  in  the  arts  of  life  as 
marking  an  immense  progress  in  culture,  and  as  furnishing 
the  means  of  drawing  a  fairly  distinct  line  of  demarcation 
between  two  widely  different  epochs.  And  although  the  phe- 
nomena presented  by  the  existing  remains  of  the  Primaeval 
Lacustrine  Settlements  in  Switzerland  and  elsewhere  seem  to 
prove  that  the  so-called  Stone  and  Iron  Ages  can  hardly  have 
been  separated  by  so  vast  a  chasm  as  had  been  generally 
assumed  before  the  discovery  of  these  remarkable  records  of 
a  remote  past,  yet  the  general  truth  of  the  received  chro- 
nological distribution  has  not  been  shaken  by  the  fresh  facts 
which  the  invaluable  researches  of  Professor  Keller  and 
others  in  this  newest  department  of  archit^ology  have  brought 
to  light;  for  if  in  some  of  these  lake  villages  the  synchronous 
use  of  stone  and  iron  implements  is  undeniable,  this  inoscu- 
lation of  the  strata  no  more  justifies  us  in  ignoring  the 
essential  distinction  between  them,  than  in  the  thousands  of 
analo;Tous  instances  with  which  geology  rendei'S  us  familiar. 
On  the  other  hand,  these  transition  strata  in  what  we  may 
perhaps  venture  to  term  the  geology  of  human  culture,  are 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  399 

especially  interesting  and  valuable,  as  serving,  like  the 
Prasian  Lake  Settlement  described  by  Herodotus  as  existing 
in  quite  historical  times,  and,  like  the  Venezuelan  and  other 
still  extant  analogies  to  Swiss  Lacustrine  dwelling-places,  to 
bring  these  venerable  remains  more  distinctly  within  our  own 
horizon.  The  simple  fact  that  at  least  the  more  advanced 
and  aristocratic  section  of  these  human  beavers,  whom  we 
have  the  honour  to  reckon  amongst  our  ancestors,  used  iron, 
although  the  more  plebian  and  old-fashioned  were  fain  to 
content  themselves  with  harpoons  and  arrows  made  of  bone 
or  flint,  makes  us  at  once  feel  and  recognize  their  claim  to 
kindred  with  us,  even  at  an  epoch  when  there  is  not  the 
remotest  chance  of  Sheffield  or  Birmingham  being  alarmed 
by  the  rivalry  of  some  extensive  manufactory  of  celts  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Teign  or  the  Dart. 

The  transcendant  importance  of  iron,  and  its  manufacture, 
as  an  instrument  and  an  evidence  of  culture,  naturally  invests 
with  very  great  interest  the  various  ancient  traditions  as  to  the 
first  introduction  and  early  employment  of  this  most  useful 
of  all  the  metals.  In  this  brief  memorandum,  however,  on 
the  Antiquity  of  the  Metals  amongst  the  Egyptians,  it  does 
not  fall  to  my  province  to  muster  and  to  sift  these  traditions. 
If  I  allude  to  them  in  passing,  it  is  simply  with  the  view  of 
suggesting,  that  whilst  their  very  vagueness  is  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  point  to  the  hoary  age  of  the  smith's  art,  and 
the  high  rank  which  belongs  to  it  in  the  history  of  civilization ; 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mist  and  haze  of  long-forgotten 
centuries  in  which  these  traditions  bury  the  origin  of  that 
art  is  80  dense  as  to  render  peculiarly  valuable  any  fact  or 
facts  such  as  I  believe  Egyptology  has  to  offer,  which  may 
put  us  in  possession  of  a  strictly  chronological  limit,  below 
which  it  will  be  impossible  to  date  the  introduction  of  iron 
as  an  actor  in  the  drama  of  human  progress. 

The  Hebrew  records  show  that  the  Israelites  were  very 
early  acquainted  with  the  use  of  iron.  Mines  of  copper  and 
iron  are  mentioned  in  the  enumeration  of  the  riches  of  the 
Promised  Land.  We  read  of  their  axes  made  of  iron  or 
steel,  saws,  chains,  weapons,  bolts  and  bars  of  iron  for  the 
gates  of  their  cities,  and  in  the  book  of  Job  the  sculptor's 
graving  tool  is  spoken  of,  with  which  an  inscription  may  be 
engraven  in  the  rock  deep  enough  to  last  for  ever.  The 
national  bondage  in  Egypt  is  compared  by  their  great 
deliverer  to  "a  furnace  of  iron"  or  smelting  forge,  and  the 
"iron  bed"  of  the  giant  King  of  Bashan  is  not  likely  to  be 
foi;gotten.     It  will  be  remembered  too  that  the  Pentateuch 

I)   D    2 


400  ANTIQUITT  OF  THE  USB  OF  ICKTALS 

distinctly  refers  the  beginnings  of  the  metanaigic  art  te 
Antediluvian  times.  Tubal-Cain,  the  seventh  deaoendant  of 
Adam  in  the  line  of  Cain,  is  said  to  have  been  *aa  inslraotor 
of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron.**  Gesenins  interprets 
this  name  as  scariarum  faber,  or  **  blacksmith  *  so  that  if 
this  rendering  be  correct,  we  have  here  not  only  the  anoeatm 
of  all  the  workers  in  iron,  but  the  father  of  all  the  Smiths. 
Baron  Bunsen,  building  on  this  etymolocy,  indentifiea  Tnbal* 
Cain  with  the  Techniies,  to  whom  the  Phoenidan  ooanMrnoT, 
reported  by  Sanchuniatho,  through  the  Greek  writer  Philo 
Byblius,  assigns  a  similar  r61e.  For  Technites  is  manifestly 
a  Greek  translation  of  a  corresponding  Phcenician  name^ 
which  has  unfortunately  not  been  handed  down  to  us,  and 
there  is  no  denying  that  **  smith"  is  a  pretty  tolemble,  if  not 
an  exact  rendering  of  the  Greek  word.  Buttman  and  others 
have  preferred  to  compare  with  the  Biblical  Tnbal-Cain, 
Vulcan  and  the  Telchines  of  classical  tradition.  There  is  no 
question  that  the  name  of  the  grimy  cripple  of  Lenmos^  and 
the  occupation  of  the  god  working  along  with  the  Cyclops  in 
the  forge  of  Etna,  pi-eseuts  a  fair  handle  for  such  a  oompatiflon. 
But  the  word  volcano  and  the  Sicilian  locality  of  the  classical 
myth,  point  to  a  very  diifei'ent  etymology  of  the  god's  name. 
Nor  does  the  pbilol(^y  of  the  present  day  seem  any  better 
satisfied  that  the  Telchines  of  the  Rhodian  tradition,  that 
autochthone  family  of  smiths,  of  whom  the  insular  historian 
Zeno  tells  such  wonderful  narratives,  have  anything  to  do 
with  Tubal-Cain,  in  spite  of  some  similiarity  in  the  names. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  allude  to  the  Pelasgic  tradition  of 
the  discovery  of  iron  by  the  Idcaa  Dactyls,  in  connection 
with  the  conflagmtion  of  the  vast  forest  which  crowned  their 
native  mountain.  The  date  of  that  conflagration,  according 
to  the  Parian  Chronicle  and  other  authorities,  is  the  fifteenth 
century  before  the  Christian  Era.  More  precisely  it  is  B.a 
1462,  and  since  this  is  about  the  period  to  which  Zeno's 
Ehodian  myths  relative  to  the  Telchines  seem  to  point,  it 
may  possibly  mark  an  important  epoch  in  the  development 
of  Hellenic  civilization. 

Turning  to  Egypt,  as  it  is  now  high  time  to  do,  we  find 
that  there  also,  as  well  as  on  the  classical  soil  of  Greece  and 
Konie,  the  origin  of  the  art  of  working  in  iron  is  pushed  back 
into  the  mythological  and  preliistoric  age.  We  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  the  testimony  of  Diodovus,  when  he  reports  that  the 
Egyptians  assigned  this  invention  also,  as  well  as  all  the 
other  more  impoi-tant  arts  of  life,  to  their  great  national  cul- 
ture divinity,  Osiris.   This  at  least  implies  that  it  was  known 


AMONG  THE   EGYPTIANS.  401 

amoDgst  them  from  time  immemorial.  Otherwise  it  is  as 
indefinite,  and  so  far  unsatisfactory,  as  the  analogous  classical, 
Phoenician,  Chaldean,  and  Chinese  traditions.  Fortunately, 
however,  those  stupendous  monuments  of  Egyptian  antiquity, 
the  Pyramids,  enable  us  in  this  instance  to  arrive  at  a  less 
indistinct  conclusion.  As  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  and  others 
have  fairly  argued,  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the 
enormous  blocks  of  admirably  finished  masonary  which  com- 
pose the  great  pyramid  were  wrought  without  the  use  of  iron, 
or  rather  steel,  tools.  The  great  pyramid  of  Cheops,  as 
Hei-odotus  and  Diodorus  name  the  builder,  or  Shufi,  as  the 
national  Egyptian  historian  Manetho  and  the  hieroglyphical 
inscriptions  style  him,  together  with  the  second  pyramid,  that 
of  Chephren  or  Shafra,  and  the  third,  that  of  Mycerinus 
(Herodotus),  or  Mencheres  (Manetho),  the  lid  of  whose  coffin, 
inscribed  with  his  name  Men-ka-ra,  and  found  in  the  pyramid 
itself,  is  now  in  the  British  Museum, — were  all  erected  under 
the  fourth  Manethonian  dynasty,  say  about  seven  centuries 
after  Menes,  the  founder  of  the  Egyptian  monarchy.  To 
these  and  other  colossal  pyramids  of  a  still  earlier  epoch,  or 
only  a  century  or  two  later,  must  now  be  added  the  great 
Sphinx,  which  the  recent  discoveries  of  Mariette  Bey  prove 
to  have  been  already  some  time  in  existence  in  the  reign  of 
Cheops,  inasmuch  as  it  is  distinctly  mentioned  in  contem- 
porary inscriptions  of  that  monarch.  Still  it  must  be  owned 
that  the  use  of  iron  in  the  erection  of  these  vast  constructions 
is  only  a  very  probable  inference,  and  that  no  dii-ect  evidence 
of  the  fact  is  known  to  exist.  It  is  known  that  the  weapons 
mentioned  in  Homer  were  made  of  bronze,  and  that  some 
very  hard  alloy  of  copper  was  employed  by  the  ancients  for 
very  many  purposes  for  which  iron  or  steel  would  now  be 
exclusively  used.  Moreover,  it  is  true  that  in  our  collections 
of  Egyptian,  and,  I  may  add,  in  those  of  classical  antiquities, 
implements  of  iron  are  extremely  rare— a  circumstance  which 
the  notorious  liability  of  iron  to  oxydation  easily  accounts 
for.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  bronze  tools  were  within  reach 
of  the  Egyptians  of  the  age  of  Cheops.  For  the  existing 
inscriptions  on  the  site  of  the  extremely  ancient  mines  in  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula,  from  which  mines  that  peninsula  took  its 
name  of  the  "Copper-land"  which  it  always  bears  in  the 
hieroglyphical  records,  prove  incontestably  that  these  mines 
were  worked  most  extensively,  as  already  observed,  not  only 
in  the  reign  of  Cheops  himself,  but  as  early  as  that  of  Snefru, 
who  belongs  to  the  third  dynasty  in  Manetho's  enumeration. 
Still  granting  all  this,  it  must,  I  think,  be  conceded  on  the 


402  ANTiQunr  of  the  usk  of  metals 

other  hand,  that  supposing  iron  to  have  been  known  to  the 
Egyptians  at  this  early  period,  its  employment  in  the  con- 
struction of  those  Titanic  erections,  the  Pyramids  and  the 
Sphinx  is  far  more  probable  than  the  hypothesis  that  none 
but  bronze  tools  were  used.  And  this  I  ventare  to  think  can 
be  satisfactorily  demonstrated. 

The  proof  is  based  on  the  extremely  significant  Coptic 
word  for  iron,  as  illustrated  and  explained  by  the  mode  in 
which  it  is  written  in  the  hieroglyphical  inscriptions,  and  on 
the  occurrence  of  that  word  as  a  component  element  in  the 
name  of  an  Egyptian  Pharaoh  belonging  to  the  first  dynasty. 
The  modern  ^yptian  word  for  iron  is,  in  the  Sahidic  dialect^ 
which  is  considered  to  be  the  purest,  Benipi,  or  with  a  slight 
change  in  the  final  vowel,  Beuipe.  In  the  hieroglyphical 
form  of  the  langua<re  it  is  the  same,  as,  through  the  kindness 
of  Dr.  Biroh,  Keeper  of  the  Oriental  antiquities  in  the  British 
Museum,  and  facile  prtneeps  amongst  the  hieroglyphical 
scholars  in  the  world,  I  was  already  aware,  more  than  three 
years  ago,  when  that  gentleman  was  good  enough  to  indulge 
roe  with  an  extract  from  bis  then  unpublished  Hieroglyphical 
DiMionary  bearing  upon  the  point.  What  is  more.  Dr. 
Birch  on  that  occasion  was  further  so  obliging  as  to  point  out 
that  in  this  as  in  countless  other  instances  the  hieroglyphical 
orthography  roveals  clearly  and  without  a  shadow  of  a  doubt 
the  etymology  of  the  word.  Its  first  element  is  BA  or  BE 
(in  the  Coptic  BO),  meaning  "hard- wood"  or  "stone,"  and 
the  two  letters  which  spell  the  word  are  often  accompanied 
in  the  hieroglyphical  inscriptions  by  a  pifjture  of  the  squarod 
stone,  such  as  those  of  which  the  pyramids  were  built.  At 
other  times,  as  if  to  remind  us  that  the  word  originally  meant 
"hard-wood,"  and  that  it  was  only  in  process  of  time  that  it 
came  to  denote  "hardware"  in  general,  including  such  stone 
hardware  as  was  going  in  very  early  times,  the  picture  illus- 
trating the  spelt  word  was  a  branch  or  sprig.  The  middle 
syllable  in  the  word  Benipe  consists  of  the  letter  N  with  a 
very  short  vowel.  It  is  a  preposition  answering  to  the  English 
"  of."  Tlie  last  element  in  the  composite  word  is  the  syllable 
PE,  which  is  the  Coptic  word  for  heaven,  or  the  sky.  And 
that  this  is  really  its  signification  here  is  proved  incontro- 
vertibly  by  the  picture  with  which  this  syllable  is  wont  to  be 
accompanied  in  the  hieroglyphical  orthography  of  the  word 
Benipe ;  for  it  is  the  picture  invariably  used  to  denote  the 
heaven  or  the  sky,  and  is  employed  for  no  other  purpose. 
Properly  it  represents  the  ceiling  of  a  temple,  which  was 
regarded  as  its«3lf  a  representation  of  the  sky,  the  true  ceiling 


AMONG  THE  EGYPTIANS.  403 

of  the  true  and  original  temple,  and  the  picture  is  accordingly 
wont  to  be  emblazoned  with  stars.  Hence  the  signification 
of  the  entire  word  Benipe,  as  Dr.  Birch  with  great  earnestness 
impressed  upon  me  at  the  interview  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
although  he  owned  he  could  not  conceive  why  the  Egyptians 
should  have  called  iron  by  so  singular  a  name,  is  "stone  of 
heaven,"  "  stone  of  the  sky,"  "  sky  stone."  J  was  naturally 
as  Inuch  puzzled  at  the  time  as  my  great  master  in  Egypt- 
ology, although  it  could  not  be  questioned  for  a  moment  that 
he  had  given  the  correct  analysis  of  the  word. 

Some  time  afterwards,  however,  it  occurred  to  me  that  this 
was  the  very  name  which  would  naturally  be  given  to  the 
only  iron  with  which  men  were  likely  to  meet  in  a  natural 
state.  There  is  but  one  exception  to  the  rule  that  iron  is 
never  found  native,  like  gold  and  some  others  of  the  metals. 
That  exception  is  in  the  instance  of  vieteoric  iron,  which 
might  surely  be  called  with  propriety  "  the  stone  of  heaven, 
or  of  the  sky."  Moreover — and  I  have  to  thank  my 
friend  Mr.  Pengelly  for  reminding  me  of  the  fact,  and  so 
materially  helping  me  to  shape  out  my  crude  speculation — 
meteoric  iron  needs  no  preparatory  process,  as  does  that 
procured  from  ores,  to  render  it  workable.  It  is  already 
malleable.  Hence  those  who  had  already  been  schooled  in 
the  laborious  and  ingenious  manipulation  of  flint,  bone, 
obsidian,  would  find  no  difficulty  in  turning  to  their  various 
purposes  this  new  gift  from  heaven.  In  short,  we  may  be 
sure,  especially  with  the  light  thrown  on  the  matter  by  this 
invaluable  Egyptian  word,  bright  with  the  radiance  of  that 
heaven  which  enters  into  its  composition,  that  with  this 
wondrous  matter  from  another  sphere  than  our  own  the  art 
of  working  iron  began.  Meteoric  iron,  which  is  occasionally 
found  in  very  large  masses — one  found  in  Peru  is  com- 
puted to  have  weighed  fifteen  tons,  and  there  is  one  in  the 
British  Museum  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length,  and  about  a 
foot  in  diameter— must  have  been  the  first  iron,  if  not  the 
first  metal  of  any  kind,  which  was  employed  by  man  in  the 
various  arts  of  life.  It  would  not  be  till  ages  afterwards  that 
the  bowels  of  the  Arabian  mountains  were  ransacked  for 
larger  stores  of  what  still  retained  its  original  name  of  "The 
Stone  of  Heaven." 

It  would  be  unsuitable  on  other  grounds,  apart  from  the 
fetct  that  this  paper  has  already  proceeded  to  too  great  a 
length,  to  enter  upon  the  detailed  philological  proof  that  the 
sixth  successor  of  Menes,  and  accordingly  the  seventh  King 
of  Egypt,  bore  in  his  scutcheon,  or  the  royal  oval  containing 


404  ANTIQUITY  IK  THB  UBS  OF  XETAL8 

his  name,  the  very  word  for  iron  of  which  I  have  just  been 
speaking.  Until  three  years  ago  his  name  was  known  only 
from  Manetbo  and  Eratosthenes,  in  both  of  whose  lists  of 
Pharaohs  it  appears  in  a  more  or  less  corrupted  fonn.  The 
scutcheon  of  the  king  did  not  appear  on  the  Tablet  of  Ear- 
nak,  nor  on  the  old  Tablet  of  Abydos,  nor  had  it  been  de- 
tected on  any  isolated  monument.  But  at  the  close  of  1864 
two  new  Pbaraonic  Tablets,  or  monumental  series  of  the 
kings  of  E^pt»  were  published  for  the  first  time.  One  of 
them  had  been  discovered  by  Mariette  Bey  at  SaqoarSi  which 
occupies  a  part  of  the  site  of  ancient  Memphis,  and  the  other, 
already  referred  to  under  the  name  of  the  New  Tablet  of 
Abydos,  was  found  by  Uerr  Diimmiohen,  a  yoonff  German 
Egyptologist.  On  the  Tablet  of  Saquara,  or  Memimi^  which 
like  the  Old  Tablet  of  Abydos,  belongs  to  the  reign  of  Bmnses 
tbe  Great,  say  about  the  thirteenth  century  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  our  iron  king  is  actually  the  first  of  the  fifij-six 
ancestors  of  Sesostris,  whom  this  Tablet  originally  oomprised^ 
and  nearly  all  of  whose  scutcheons  are  still  very  well  pve^ 
served.  In  the  New  Abydos  Tablet  he  stands  sixth,  one 
king  being  omitted  in  the  interval,  as  we  learn  from  the  iu* 
valuable  Hieratic  Canon  of  the  Pharaohs  preserved  in  the 
Turin  Museum,  in  which  priceless  document  the  disoovery  of 
the  NeW  Tablets  at  once  enabled  Egyptologists  easily  to  spell 
out  the  name,  which  had  previously  been  undecipherabla 
In  all  the  three  hieroglyphical  records  tbe  name  reads  dis- 
tinctly "Lover  of  Iron,"  of  course  meaning  "Lover  of  the 
Sword,"  thus  attesting,  not  only  the  extreme  antiquity  of  the 
use  of  iron,  but  unfortunately  also  of  that  most  dreadful  evil 
of  all  which  are  the  scourges  of  humanity — war. 

I  ought  to  mention  that  Eratosthenes  is  wont  in  his  list  of 
Pharaohs  to  add  a  Greek  rendering  of  the  Egyptian  names, 
and  that  my  learned  friend  Professor  Lauth,  of  Miinich,  at  a 
time  when  only  the  fact  of  the  discovery  of  the  tablet  of 
Saquara  was  known,  besides  the  circumstance  that  it  began 
with  this  Eratosthenic  name,  but  several  months  before  he 
had  seen  either  of  the  new  tablets,  had  already  emended  the 
senseless  translation  of  the  name,  which  in  the  present 
corrupt  text  reads  4*^€T€posy  into  <^i\oo-i3i;pos  or  "Lover  of 
the  Sword."  He  had  also  predicted,  and  written  down  his 
prediction  in  my  note-book,  when  I  had  the  happiness  of 
spending  the  summer  in  his  society  at  Paris,  in  1864,  the 
form  which  the  hieroglyphical  name,  when  published,  would 
assume.  That  prediction  has  been  exactly  verified.  I  mention 
the  circumstance  with  the  view  of  imparting  some  measure 


ANTIQUITY  IN  THE  USE  OF  METALS.  405 

of  the  confidence  which  I  myself  feel,  that  a  far  from  un- 
important fact  in  the  history  of  human  civilization  has  really 
been  elicited  from  this  interesting  hieroglyphical  scutcheon. 

I  am  further  indebted  to  Mr.  Pengelly  lor  the  interesting 
facts,  that  Sir  Charles  Lyell  has  already  thrown  out  the  sug- 
gestion, that  the  first  iron  wrought  by  man  must  have  been 
meteoric,  and  that  Sir  John  Lubbock  has  proved  that  the  iron 
implements  found  in  the  hands  of  the  aborigines  of  America 
upon  the  discovery  of  that  continent  were  actually  made  of 
the  same  extra-terrene  but  cosmical  matter.  The  Egyptian 
metallurgical  history  seems  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  on 
the  old  continent  as  well,  the  use  of  iron  in  the  arts  of  life 
had  a  similar  origin,  and  thus  remarkably  to  verify  the  pro- 
found d  priori  speculation  of  the  father  of  English  geology. 

As  to  the  date  of  Menes,  and  consequently  of  king  "Alibam- 
pes,"  or  "The  Lover  of  Iron,"  or  "of  the  Sword,"  living  Egypto- 
logists of  eminence  differ  about  it  to  the  extent  of  more  than 
two  thousand  years.  Mr.  Reginald  Stuart  Poole,  by  an  in- 
genious application  of  the  year-day  theory  of  that  redoubt- 
able Senior  Wrangler  of  the  "  Little  Horn."  Dr.  Gumming,  to 
the  solution  of  the  great  problems  of  Egyptian  Chronology, 
and  by  the  purely  gratuitous  assumption  of  the  contempo- 
raneousness of  the  dynasties,  to  the  number  of  half-a-dozen 
rival  royal  houses  at  a  time,  whenever  the  exigences  of  the 
case  so  require,  contrives  to  lower  the  proto-monarch  to  B.C. 
2717.  What  the  great  Egyptologists  of  the  continent  think 
of  his  system,  which  in  this  country  is  being  propagated 
in  such  works  as  the  Encyclopedia  Brittanicay  it  is  pnjvok- 
ingly  impossible  to  ascertain,  for  they  simply  refuse  to  discuss 
it  On  its  first  promulgation  in  1850,  Vicomte  de  Roug^,  of 
the  French  In.stitute,  in  a  note  to  a  Memoire  read  before  the 
Academy  of  Inscriptions,  merely  says,  "Mr.  Poole  is  of  the 
number  of  those  young  students  who  deserve  to  have  the 
whole  truth  told  them.  Either  he  has  not  read  what  recent 
archaeologists  have  written  on  his  subject,  which  would  be 
inexcusable,  or  he  has  read  them  and  refrains  from  dting 
them,  which  would  be  a  still  graver  error.  I  have  not  once 
read  in  his  book  the  name  of  Lepsius,  d  propos  of  all  the 
questions  treated  so  fully  in  that  savanCs  Introduction  to 
Egyptian  Chronology^  Professor  Lauth,  a  man  not  only 
endowed  with  the  subtlest  intellect  I  ever  knew,  but  also 
one  of  the  most  candid,  as  well  as  profoundly  learned  of 
critics,  asks  in  the  introduction  to  his  masterly  work  on 
Manetho  and  the  Turin  Canon  of  the  Pharaohs,  published 
in  1865 : — "  What  scintilla  of  good  can  be  got  from  such 

VOL,  II.  E  E 


40fi  ANTIQtnTY  IN   THE  USE  OF  METALS. 

works  as  Poole's  Hotcd  jE^^tiaca^,  or  Lesiienrs  Cfironologu 
des  Mois  de  VEfj^ipte  ?  Whilst  51  r  Paoly's  is  the  lowest  date 
for  Menes,  that  uf  thi3  unhappy  Lesueur,  who,9©  work  is  cer- 
taiuly  the  most  trashy  I  was  ever  doomed  fur  my  sins  to  rejid, 
is,  I  bulieve,  tlie  highest  arrived  at  by  any  conternporary 
Egyptologist.  It  is  B.C.  57 7 B-  BBtween  the  extremes  tliere 
are  any  number  of  solutions  of  the  same  enigma,  and  of 
course  I  have  my  own,  which  however,  as  I  cannot  here  give 
ray  reasons,  it  would  be  litigatory  to  mention.  It  will  have 
been  gathered  already  that  I  am  no  advocate  of  the  short 
date,  and  that  1  do  not  lake  fright  at  the  apparition  of  n 
mummied  recoitl  of  human  strivings  and  achievements,  and 
of  God  a  dealings  with  our  race,  whose  annals  are  measnred 
by  millenniums  instead  of  the  centuries  of  such  "ancient 
history*'  as  we  have  hitherto  known.  But  if  I  hold  myself 
excused^  in  the  face  of  the  appalling  discrepancy  of  learned 
opinion  just  adverted  to,  from  any  attempt,  at  least  on  the 
present  occasion,  to  ascertain  the  true  place  of  the  "Iron 
King"  in  the  chronological  scale  of  history^  I  hope  I  liave  at 
least  shown,  that  if  at  present  unknown,  it  all  the  uior© 
deserves  to  be  known. 


4 


ON 

THE  CONDITION  OF  SOME  OF  THE  BONES  FOUND 

IN  KENTS  CAVERN,  NEAR  TORQUAY, 

DEVONSHIRE. 

BT  W.   P£Na£LLT,    F.R.8.,   F.Q.a,   ETC. 


In  the  present  brief  communication  I  purpose  confining 
myself  to  the  long  or  marrow  bones  which  are  met  with  in 
Kent's  Cavern. 

Omitting  mere  splinters,  they  occur  in  four  diflTerent  states 
or  conditions : — Entire,  Crushed,  Fractured,  and  Split. 

I.  Occasionally  bones  present  themselves  which  appear  to 
have  nothing  to  tell  us  further  than  of  what  animals  they 
formed  parts.  They  are  imbroken,  ungnawed,  unrolk'd.  Clean 
tablets  on  which  no  history  has  ever  been  inscribed.  Others, 
and  a  much  gi-eater  number,  are  more  or  less  scored  with  teeth 
marks ;  or  abraded,  as  if  from  travel ;  or  discoloured,  as  if 
from  exposure ;  yet  have  no  essential  part  missing,  and  are 
readily  identified.  These  two  groups  constitute  the  first  class 
—the  "  Entire  Bones.*' 

II.  Blocks  of  limestone,  which,  from  time  to  time,  have 
fallen  from  the  roof  of  the  Cavern,  and  which  vary  from  a 
few  pounds  to  fully  one  hundred  tons  in  weight,  are  met  with 
at  all  depths  or  levels  in  the  Cave-earth.  Bones  found  im- 
mediately beneath  them  are  crushed,  in  almost  every  instance, 
but  have  all  their  severed  parts  lying  in  contact,  and  some- 
times cemented  together.  These  are  the  second  class— the 
"  Crushed  Bones," — and  they  give  us  the  following  informa- 
tion : — 

Ist.  That  they  were  crushed  by  the  fall  of  the  blocks 
found  on  them. 

E  £  2 


p 


2ii4  That  Ibe  pkee  occupied  hj  each  htme  wis  the  upper 
sorlboe  of  the  dq>osit  when  the  block  ML 

Srd  Tliat  the  de|K>sit,  ii^taad  of  bring  in  a  polp?  coiiditi«Mi 
through  which  lieavy  objects  oon!d  sink,  &s  Dr  M^nteJI  mud 
otbeni  aver,  wa*  firm,  tinyielditi^  and  capable  of  offering  a 
imrtaooi!  to  ft  }>emvj  falling  body. 

4th.  That  the  deposit,  or  Caven^tlh,  was  not  ill  inttTidncvd 
into  the  Cnvem  at  one  and  the  same  timet — that  portkn 
beneath  each  such  bone  having  been  caiTie<l  io  before,  itiid 
that  above  it  after,  the  fall  of  the  emsbtng  block. 

HI,  The  third  tlam  con^ista  of  thme  hotit^  ^hich  have 
lK*en  broken  with  an  obliqnt?  invgiilar  fraetutf*,  highly  soclincd 
tn  their  longitndinal  axes.  The  severwl  pc»rti*ms  do  not  occur 
together,  nor  is  there  any  reaaoo  t*i  suppose  they  are  ever  all 
found.  Such  bones,  to  which  we  shnll  diorily  ret  am,  doaely 
ny?emble  the  larger  remnants  left  by  the  bone-cating  mam- 
tnaU. 

IV.  The  tburth  class,  to  which  I  chiefly  wbh  to  isall  atten- 
tion, coni^iflU  of  Writes  which  have  been  split  lon^tmiinally 
with  a  fracture  more  or  less  clean.  The  different  parts  of  tha 
aame  boue  are  not  found  lying  together,  and  thexe  is  no  reason 
to  «uppo.^  thftt  all  of  them  are  ever  recovered 

In  a  conumniication  mafle  at  the  kst  meeting  of  the 
Association,  I  stated  that  the  division  of  these  bones  was 
"  without  doubt  the  work  of  man,  for  besides  him  no  animal 
was  capable  of  so  splitting  them."*  My  present  aim  is  to 
enter,  more  or  less  fully,  into  the  facts  which  lead  me  to  the 
opinion  to  which  I  have  committed  myself, — the  reasons,  in 
short,  which  induce  me  to  regard  "Split  Bones'*  as  evidence 
of  the  presence  of  man. 

The  subject  naturally  resolves  itself  into  three  questions: — 

1st.  Were  the  carnivorous  animals  of  the  Cave  period 
capable  of  splitting  marrow  bones  ? 

2nd.  Were  the  bones  split  by  desiccation,  or  by  such  ex- 
pansions and  contractions  as  they  would  undei^o  when 
exposed  to  changes  of  temperature  ? 

3rd.  Was  man,  with  no  other  tools  than  such  as  he  may  be 
supposed  to  have  had  during  the  Paloeolithic  period,  capable 
of  so  dividing  them  ? 

The  only  reply  which  can  be  obtained  to  the  first  question 

*  Transactions  of  the  Dovonshire  Association,  vol.  ii.,  part  i.,  page  33. 
1867. 


FOUND  IN  KENT'S  CAVERN,  NEAR  TORQUAY.      409 

must  be  supplied  by  the  Carnivores  of  the  present  day.  In 
order  to  get  this  reply,  1  upwards  of  a  year  ago  visited  the 
Zoological  Gardens,  London,  accompanied  by  Professor  Ten- 
uant,  F.G.8.,  and  Mr.  W.  Vicary,  f.g.s.  We  addressed  ourselves 
to  the  keeper  of  the  hyaenas,  who  told  us  that  his  wards  were 
not  equal  to  the  perfornianca  In  order,  however,  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  watching  the  mode  of  operation,  as  well  as  of 
inspecting  the  results,  I  requested  that  a  marrow  bone  might 
be  given  to  one  of  the  most  powerful  hyaenas.  This  was  at 
once  complied  with,  and  a  very  few  minutes  sufficed  to  con- 
vince us  that  the  hyjena  had  no  power  to  split  a  bone  longi- 
tudinally. He  seized  it  near  one  end,  so  that  rather  more 
than  one  half  of  it  projected  beyond  his  jaws,  and  planting 
the  other  end  on  the  floor  of  his  den,  he  tugged  and  wrenched 
until  he  succeeded  in  breaking  it  with  an  oblique  fracture 
identical  with  that  characteristic  of  the  third  class — the 
**  Fractured  Bones."  I  then  requested  the  keeper  that,  if 
compatible  with  his  duty,  he  would  be  so  good  as  to  allow 
the  beast  to  have  a  good  supply  of  such  bones  during  the 
week  next  following,  and  to  secure  as  many  of  the  remnants 
as  he  could.  At  the  end  of  the  week  I  went  again  to  the 
Grardens,  and  found  a  large  number  of  bone  fragments 
awaiting  my  inspection.  Many  of  them  were  mere  splinters, 
but  all  the  larger  pieces  were  broken  in  one  uniform  manner. 
The  specimen  the  hyaena  produced  in  my  presence  a  week 
before  was  typical,  not  only  of  all  those  he  had  broken  in 
my  absence,  but  of  the  "Fractured  Bones"  of  Kent*s  Cavern. 
He  had  utterly  failed  to  produce,  during  an  entire  week,  any 
thing  like  a  "  Split  Bone." 

It  is,  perhaps,  worthy  of  remark  that  Mr.  M*Enery,  whose 
researches  in  the  Cavern,  from  1825  to  1829,  are  so  well- 
known,  figured  many  of  the  specimens  he  found  there.  Amongst 
them,  there  is  one  fractured  according  to  the  true  hyaena 
pattern.  He  does  not  appear,  however,  to  have  discriminated 
between  "Fractured"  and  "Split  Bones." 

I  have  recently  made  another  visit  to  the  Zoological  Gardens 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whetlier  the  larger  Felidos, 
though  not  bone  eaters,  ever  fOicceed  in  splitting  bones  in 
order  to  get  at  the  marrow.  The  keepers  assured  me  that  no 
instance  of  the  kind  had  ever  occurred  within  their  experience, 
ami  that  they  firmly  believed  the  beasts  were  utterly  incapable 
of  the  achievement.  The  lions,  tigers,  and  their  allies  gnaw 
the  bones  most  industriously,  and  frequently  penetrate  to  the 
dainty  morsels  they  contain ;  but,  left  to  themselves,  they 
fail  to  extract  the  whole  of  it.  This  is  so  perfectly  well-known 


410      THE  CONDITION  OF  80MB  OF  THS  B0KB8 

and  recognized  that  the  butchers,  who  supply  the  food,  are 
frequently  instructed  to  split  the  bones  before  they  are  given 
to  the  animals. 

From  the  facts  just  stated  it  seems  safe  to  draw  the  follow- 
ing inferences : — 

1st.  That  the  ''Fractured  Bones"  in  Kent's  Cavern  were 
broken  by  the  cave  hyaena. 

2nd.  That  the  '*  Split  Bones  '*  in  the  same  depository  were 
not  divided  by  the  spelaean  carnivores. 

The  second  question  assumes  that  the  bones  were  exposed 
to  all  the  changeful  influences  of  climate.  Let  the  assumption 
be  conceded  for  a  moment.  About  a  year  and  half  ago  I 
placed  a  series  of  bones  out  of  doors,  in  order  that  summer 
and  winter,  day  and  night,  might  work  their  pleasure  on 
them.  Up  to  this  time  they  have  shown  no  tendency  to 
divide  in  any  way. 

But  v?€re  the  bones  thus  exposed?  Very  few  of  the 
specimens  found  in  the  Cavern  show  indication  of  abrasion, 
as  if  they  had  been  transported  by  the  rolling  action  of  water; 
or  of  discolouration,  as  if  they  had  Iain  without  protection. 
There  is  no  known  insticnce  of  a  "Split  Bone"  being  either 
abraded  or  discoloured ;  hence,  it  may  be  inferred  that  they 
were  divided  when  they  were  fresh,  and  within  the  Cavern, 
or  that  they  were  taken  there  very  soon  after.  At  present 
the  atmosphere  of  Kent's  Hole  is  permanently  humid,  and 
its  temperature  is  coustant  and  slightly  above  the  mean 
annual  temperature  of  the  district.  It  may  be  the  fact  that 
the  temperature  of  Devonshire  during  the  Cavern  era  was 
unlike  that  of  the  present  day,  but  whatever  changes  may 
have  taken  place  in  this  respect,  it  must  always  have  been 
true  that  the  earth's  rotation  on  its  axis  and  its  revolution 
round  the  sun  were  alike  powerless  to  produce  thermal 
changes  within  the  Cavern.  There,  the  temperature  would 
be  constant  for  the  era,  and  would  differ  very  little  from  the 
annual  mean  of  the  external  district.  A  single  reading  of  a 
thermometer  there,  would  suffice  to  indicate  the  isotherm  of 
the  locality.  It  is  therefore  eminently  improbable  that  within 
the  Cavern  any  amount  of  time  would  suttice  to  split  a  bone 
by  the  agencies  conteni plated  in  the  question  now  under 
consideration,  even  though  it  were  to  lie  permanently  un- 
inhumed.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  were  split  without  the 
Cavern  by  natural  causes,  it  might  have  been  expected  to 
reveal  the  fact  by  its  abrasion,  discolouration,  or  both. 


FOUND  IN  KENT'S  CAVERN,  NEAR  TORQUAY.      411 

In  proceeding  to  the  question  of  the  ability  of  Palaeolithic 
man  to  perform  the  work,  it  must  be  admitted  that  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  bones  themselves  fails  to  detect  any  clue  leading 
distinctly  up  to  any  instrument  by  which  they  may  have  been 
divided.  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  ordi- 
nary flint  implements  of  the  Cavern  could  have  been  avail- 
able for  the  work,  or  how  they  could  have  been  used  without 
leaving  traces  of  the  fact. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  "  Split  Bones  "  differ  from 
those  which  are  "Crushed"  or  "Fractured"  in  having  invari- 
ably lost  both  of  their  original  extremities  ;  and  these,  if  the 
ends  of  the  remnants  may  be  trusted,  were  not  cut,  but 
broken  oft  Acting  on  a  thought  suggested  by  this  fact,  I 
have  very  lately  been  experimenting  on  a  large  number  of 
shin  bones  of  the  ox,  using  no  other  tools  than  such  as  the 
rudest  savage,  not  ignorant,  perhaps,  of  the  use  of  fire,  might 
readily  find  in  every  country  containing  rocks,  and  trees  of 
hard  wood. 

My  first  business  was  to  divest  the  bones  of  their  extremi- 
ties or  "knuckles."  This  I  at  first  attempted  to  accomplish 
by  holding  the  bone  near  one  end,  and  striking  the  other  end 
a  series  of  heavy  blows  on  a  large  stone  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  dii-ection  of  the  blow  should  be  at  right  angles  to 
the  longest  axis  of  the  bone.  In  this  attempt  I  learnt  that, 
though  it  is  possible,  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  break  a  bone 
that  way ;  that  the  hysena  must  have  used  even  more  force 
than  I  had  supposed  when  he  broke  a  similar  bone  in  my 
presence ;  and  that  such  bones  have  a  tendency  to  break  at 
oblique,  and  not  at  right  angles  to  their  longest  axes. 

As  an  improvement  on  this  method,  in  the  next  experiment  a 
large  heavy  stone  was  selected  having  a  base  capable  of  secur- 
ing for  it  a  stable  position,  and  an  upper  surface  flat  arid  with 
well-defined  edges.  On  this  the  bone  was  laid  lengthwise, 
with  the  end  tp  be  struck  off  projecting  beyond  the  edge. 
Then,  holding  the  bone  firmly  in  its  place  with  the  left  hand, 
I  dealt  the  projecting  end  a  few  heavy  blows,  with  a  large 
stone  of  such  a  form  as  to  be  easily  grasped,  and  succeeded 
with  comparative  ease  in  breaking  it  off  with  a  tolerably 
square  fracture.  The  other  end  having  been  dislodged  in  the 
same  way,  I  inserted  into  the  narrow  cavity  the  smaller  end 
of  a  straight,  strong,  tapering  stick  about  a  yard  long,  and, 
then,  using  both  bone  and  stick  combined  after  the  manner 
in  which  a  pavior's  labourer  uses  his  rammer,  I  repeatedly 
struck  the  lower  end  of  the  bone  vertically  downwards  on 
the  stone  anvil.     Every  blow   dit)ve  the  wedge-like  stick 


I 


412  THE  COXDITIOX   OF  SOME  OF  THE  B0KF3 

finther  into  the  bone  until  tlie  latter  gave  way,  being  split 
luu^jiludioiUly  into  two  or  nior^  pieces. 

Some,  but  by  no  means  all,  of  the  *' Split  Btmes''  a^e  scond 
with  teeth-nuiiks,  atiU  have,  no  doubt,  lM?en  ynawed  by  the 
hysena  \  but  to  inter  from  this  fact  that  he  divided  thera 
lengthways  vs^ouKl  h^.  by  no  means  safe,  as  the  following  oou- 
8idt*nitiijus  sh(>vv  :— 

Ifit.  As  has  already  been  stated,  the  hy^oa  invariably 
breaks  a  bon«  ubliquidy,  partly  because  of  the  mode  of  opera- 
tion to  which  he  is  conii>eiltid  to  resoit,  and  partly  on  iu;count 
of  the  tendency  of  the  bone  to  binjak  iu  that  manner, 

2nd.  Some  of  the  **  Split  Ikmes''  are  not  gnawed,  wher«*as» 
on  this  hypothesis,  they  ought  all  to  be  so. 

3rd.  It  does  not  seem  improbable  tliat  in  some  instances 
the  bone«,  alter  man  had  divided  tliem,  might  btt  secured  and 
gnawed  by  the  hyicoa.  It  so  happened  that  a  dog  seized  and 
carried  off  one  pcation  of  a  bone  which  I  had  split  longi- 
tudinally, ami  this,  when  it  was  recoreretl,  was  fourid  to  have 
numen^us  teeth-marks  of  the  dog  upon  it,  as  might  have  been 
expected 

Should  it  be  objected  thst  this  pi'e-suppoBes  that  the  Cave- 
men kept  tame  hyienas,  or  shared  the  Cavern  with  wild  ones 
after  the  nianncr  of  a  "liappy  family/*  it  may  be  replied  that 
Britain,  when  occupied  by  men  whose  mental  status  wh,s  repre- 
sented by  unpolished  flint  irn])lenients,  could  have  been  but 
thinly  populated ;  having,  probably  at  most,  not  more  than 
one  person  to  forty  square  miles.  Hunting  and  fishing  ex- 
peditions must  frequently  have  taken  them  and  their  families 
considerable  distances  from  home,  or  from  one  Cavern-home 
to  another,  for  protracted  periods.  During  such  intervals  the 
hyaena  would  probably  enter  the  Cavern,  and  would  gnaw 
the  osseous  remnants  which  man  had  left  scattered  on  the 
floor,  and  which  would  prove  quite  as  nutritious  as  the  fangs 
of  the  canines  of  Ursus  sprlcem  and  Felis  spelosa,  both  of 
w^hich  are  not  unfrequently  met  with  well  scored  by  his  teeth. 
He  would,  in  fact,  take  possession  of  the  unoccupied  tene- 
ment, and  make  it  his  home  until  the  human  proprietor 
returned  to  eject  him. 

I  learn  from  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Tristram,  that  several  of  the 
old  Koman  cisterns  and  crypts  in  the  North  of  Tunis  are 
used  by  the  Arabs  for  shelter  and  for  cattle-folds  during  their 
sojourn  in  the  locality,  and  that  when  they  have  cleared  off 
the  pasturage  and  gone,  the  hyaenas  return  and  take  up  their 
quarters  in  these  dens.     The  same  traveller  informs  me  that 


FOUND  IN  KENT'S  CAVERN,  NEAR  TORQUAY.     413 

at  Babboth  Ammon  (now  Araman,)  in  Gilead,  east  of  Jordan, 
he  found  plenty  of  the  well-known  droppings  of  the  hyainas 
•in  the  voniitoria  of  the  theatres,  in  places  which  are  covered 
with  the  manure  of  the  beasts  which  the  Ambs  stable  there 
every  spring,  during  their  sojourn  in  the  place.* 

The  "happy  family"  objection,  however,  is  by  no  means 
peculiar  to  this  speculation.  The  Cavern  has  yielded  un- 
rolled fragments  of  charred  bone,  pieces  of  charcoal,  flint 
chips  with  edges  so  sharp  as  to  indicate  that  they  had  been 
struck  off  within  the  Cave,  and  a  layer  of  charcoal  near  one 
of  the  external  entrances,  beneath  the  Stalagmitic  floor,  and 
literally  crowded  with  evidences  that  it  was  the  domestic 
hearth, — facts  clearly  betokening  that  the  Cavern  was  the 
home  of  man. 

The  proposition  that  it  was  sometimes  tenanted  by  the 
hyeena  is  just  as  well  sustained.  The  numerous  unrolled 
bones  scored  by  his  teeth,  the  vast  quantity  of  his  bony 
faeces,  and  his  individual  coprolites  which,  since  they  were 
dropped,  have  not  been  altered  either  in  form  or  in  position, 
must  be  taken  as  conclusive  on  this  point.  And  when  it  is 
added  that  the  objects  indicating  the  presence  of  man  are 
frequently,  and,  indeed,  commonly  found  lying  with  those 
which  point  out  that  of  the  hyjena,  a  case  appeal's  to  be  un- 
questionably made  out  for  contemporary  occupancy,  in  all 
probability  not  joint,  but  alternate. 

I  have  no  intention  of  asserting  that  the  old  Cave-men 
split  the  bones  by  the  process  which  1  have  described,  but  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  a  sufficient  degree  of  success  attended 
the  experiment  to  warrant  the  a.sseition  that  it  is  a  way  by 
which  they  could  have  been  split,  by  men  as  rude  as  those  in 
whose  workshops  there  was  nothing  more  elaborate  ^han  an 
unpolished  flint  implement. 

The  experiment,  however,  discloses  a  new  line  of  enquiry. 
It  is  obvious  that  in  order  to  obtain  the  marrow,  when  the 
ends  of  the  bone  wei*e  struck  off,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
do  more  than  to  employ  an  extemporized  skewer  in  the  form 
of  the  first  splinter  of  wood  or  thin  stick  which  came  to 
hand.  The  fact  that  the  further  trouble  of  splitting  it  was 
taken,  suggests  that  there  must  have  been  a  motive  beyond 
luxurious  feeding.  Now,  Kent's  Cavern  has  shown  that  its 
early  human  inhabitants  used  tools  made  of  bone  as  well  as 
of  flint;  and  in  order  to  their  manufacture,  long  laths  of 
shin  bone  vvouhl  undoubtedly  be  eminently  desirable.  These 
•  Private  letter  from  Rev.  H.  B.  Tristram,  m.a.,  p.b.b.,  fto. 


I 


414      BONKS   FOUND   IN  KELT'S   CAVEHN,  NEAB  TOBQUAY. 

once  obtainecl,  probablj  ia  the  manner  just  described,  the 
ordinary  Hint  knife  would  l>cj  sutticitiut  for  all  subsequeDt 
operations,  suub  ns  cutting  and  scraping  the  tnols  into  simile. 
It  has  been  suggested  above  that  pticbaps  the  Adullaniilf^ 
of  old  possessed  a  kuowlcdtfe  of  lire.  This  may  have  aided 
them  in  shaping  and  hnrdening  sticks  t^  be  used  in  bone- 
splitting.  This  su*jg*'ation  is  by  no  means  gratuitous,  for  it 
has  been  already  stated  that  bits  of  chan\fd  wood  and  pieces 
of  burnt  bone  have  been  frequently  found  in  the  Cnveru,  ill 
the  saine  deposit,  and  at  as  low  a  level  as  that  which  has 
yielded  the  Hint  tools  and  "  Split  Bunes." 

It  may  be  stated  in  conclnsion  that  the  point  we  have 
reached  is  this  : — 

Ist.  Those  who  are  most  familiaT  with  them,  are  unani- 
mmis  in  asseiiing  that  the  ^reat  existing  Carnivores  have 
never  been  known  to  split  boues,  and  that  it  is  believed  they 
are  incapable  of  doing  so. 

2nd,  When  plentifully  supplied  with  suitable  bones  dui^ 
Jiig  an  entire  week,  the  most  powerful  hyasua  in  the  Zoologi- 
cal GaMens,  London, /rnchirtd  them  all  obliquely  and  utteHy 
failed  to  split  one  of  theni. 

8rd,  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  bones  were  not 
split  through  exposure  to  nieteondoirical  agency. 

4th.  PalteoHthio  men  were  perfectly  competent  to  split 
bones,  and  they  would  have  a  lootive  for  doing  so  in  their 
desire  to  obtain  material  for  manufacturing  the  bone  tools 
which  they  are  known  to  have  used. 


THE  SUBMERGED   FOREST   AND   THE   PEBBLE 
RIDGE  OF  BARNSTAPLE  BAY. 

BT   W.    PENGELLY,    F.R.S.,   F.O.8.,    ETC. 


On  the  southern  shore  of  Barnstaple  Bay  in  North  Devon, 
immediately  south  of  the  joint  estuary  of  the  rivers  Taw  and 
Torridge,  there  is  an  extensive,  sandy,  grassy  plain,  known  as 
Northam  Burrows.  A  considerable  portion  of  it,  at  least,  is 
but  little,  if  at  all  above  the  level  of  spring-tide  high-water, 
so  that  it  would  be  exposed  to  destructive  inundations  and 
encroachments  during  heavy  gales,  were  it  not  protected  by  a 
natural  breakwater  composed  of  pebbles  of  the  Carboniferous 
grit  of  the  district,  and  known  as  the  "  Pebble  Ridge."  The 
pebbles  or  boulders  vary  from  half  an  inch  to  a  yard  in  mean 
diameter,  the  majority  being  about  nine  inches.  The  greater 
number  of  them  are  oblate  spheroids,  but  occasionally  prolate 
and  nondescript  forms  present  themselves. 

Seaward  from  this  ridge,  the  tidal  strand  at  first  consists  of 
small  pebbles,  of  which  the  great  majority  are  also  of  grit, 
whilst  a  few  are  of  flint.  Deyond  this,  to  the  low  water  line, 
it  is  composed  of  fine  sand,  beneath  and  frequently  projecting 
through  which  are  large  accumulations  of  tenacious  blue  clay 
and  vegetable  matter,  containing  roots,  trunks,  and  branches 
of  trees.  The  vegetable  remains  are  known  as  "The  Sub- 
merged Forest  of  Barnstaple  Bay."  The  clay  is  in  some 
places  six  feet  thick,*  and  reposes  on  a  bed  composed  of 
fragments  of  the  grit  of  the  district.  According  to  one 
observer  these  fragments  form  an  upper  and  a  lower  bed,— the 
former  consisting  of  pebbles,  the  latter  of  angular  masses.! 
Another  writer  states  that  the  vegetable  bed  "  rests  invariably 
on  a  stratum  of  angular  fragments."!  So  far  as  my  own 
limited  observations  have  gone,  the  bed  immediately  beneath 
the  clay  consists  sometimes  of  rounded  and  sometimes  of 

*  Mr.  Spence  Bate  in  Trans.  Dovon.  Asaoc,  18G6,  p.  130. 
t  Ibid.  t  Mr.  Ellis  in  Op.  Cit.,  p.  80. 


416  THl  SUBMERGED  FOREST  AKP 

angular  fmgments.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  const itneuts  of  this 
iiift-nor  th^U,  with  tlie  *^xceptiaii  of  the  augul«r  pieces  only, 
resertibie  hi  alt  respects  thost;  of  the  TebWt?  liidge. 

Wtistwaj'J  from  the  Ridge,  the  tid^l  E*tnmti  ia  comoionly  a 
rocky  plattorni,  luort;  or  less  huuled  witlj  pt^bbJes  in  all 
ivsfiectij  )ike  those  foimiiig  the  Ridge  iiself,  and  w  hich,  as 
may  be  expected,  are  most  ruimeruus  at  the  tout  of  the  cliif, 
fhitn  ten  to  tifteen  feet  high,  bv  vvhiclv  tlie  strand  Is  bounded. 

This  cliif  consists  of  yellowish  clay,  with  angular  HtO!jes 
dt>ri\ed  fnnu  the  hilU  injnjediutely  buhiuil  or  on  the  south, 
and  i»  the  ttiruLination  of  i\  nanow  plain,  ten  feet  and  upwards 
ahovo  the  general  level  **f  the  Burrows. 

At  a  short  distance  further  westward,  this  cliff  gives  place 
to  une  aoniewhiit  higher,  nnd  of  givnt  interest  to  the  geolugisL 
It  is  rtsiilvrtble  into  thR^e  portions  or  stories  : — 

Ist  or  lowest.  An  old  platform  or  terrace  of  derntdatinn, 
terminnting  in  an  almost  vertiual  cliff,  Irom  15  to  20  ft3t,t  above 
the  level  of  the  pxistiog  tidal  strand,  and  ft^mn-d  on  the  shorn 
down  outcrop  of  highly  inclined  beds  of  Carboniferous  Grit. 

2nd  On  this  shelf  Ue  well-marked  remnants  of  an  old 
Riiised  Beach,  about  seven  feet  thick,  frequently  composed  of 
(lehbhs  ilifffring  in  no  ix^spect  from  those  lyiug  on  the  strand 
beneath.  The  two  beaches  lu  fact,  like  the  platforms  on 
which  they  lie,  differ  only  in  one  being  high  and  ancient,  the 
other  low  and  modern, 

3rd.  Commonly,  the  old  beach  is  capped  with  a  sub-aerial 
accumulation  or  "Head"  varying  from  5  to  20  feet  in 
thickness. 

The  Carboniferous  rocks  of  the  district  are  traversed  by 
two  distinct  and  well-defined  systems  of  joints,  which,  with 
the  planes  of  bedding,  facilitate  the  resolution  of  the  beds 
into  rhombohedral  blocks,  which  are  rapidly  converted  by 
the  waves  into  the  spheroidal  pebbles  and  boulders  so  abun* 
dant  on  the  ancient  as  well  as  the  existing  tidal  strand. 

Though  most,  probably  all,  observers  have  found  themselves 
under  the  necessity  of  admitting  that  the  Submerged  Forests 
are  the  remnants  of  ti^ees  and  other  plants  w^hich  grew  on 
the  very  area  now  occupied  by  the  vegetable  debris,  and, 
thence,  also  that  districts  once  sub-aeiial  have  become  tidal 
or  submarine,  expressions  of  doubt  have  been  heard  from 
time  to  time  as  to  whether  the  forest  phenomena  are  neces- 
sarily the  results  and  proofs  of  a  subsidence  of  the  country. 

To  suppose  that  an  area  once  occupied  by  terrestrial 
vegetation  has  been  converted  into  one  of  a  marine  character 


THE  FEEBLE  RIDGE  OF  BARNSTAPLE  BAY.  417 

without  undergoing  any  change  of  level,  is  to  suppose  that 
during  the  fui-eetial  perifKl  it  was  below  the  sea  level,  but 
Mas  protected  from  inundation  by  some  natural  breakwater. 
There  is  no  alternative.  This  hypothesis,  or  that  of  sub- 
sidence, must  be  accepted.  Accordingly  all  those  who  object 
to,  or  are  sceptical  respecting,  a  change  of  level,  accept  the 
supposition  of  some  kind  of  natural  breakwater. 

So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  latest  recurrence  of  this  opinion 
is  that  which,  about  two  years  since,  was  propo.<»ed  in  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomena  of  the  Submerged  Forest  of 
Barnstaple  Bay,  and  which  is  distinctly  stated  in  the  following 
passage  from  the  paper  alluded  to: — "The  origin  of  this 
pebble  ridge  has  not,  by  geologists,  been  determined ;  but  I 
think  that  the  most  correct  opinion  is  that  it  is  formed  by 
the  wash  of  the  sea  destroying  the  beds  that  overlie  the 

pebble  bed  that  exists  beneath  the  clay I  think  that 

there  can  be  little  doubt,  but  that  the  terrible  wash  of  the 
Atlantic  thins  off  the  clay,  and  so  exposes  the  pebble  bed 
below  to  the  action  of  the  sea,  which,  by  degrees,  carries 
pebble  after  pebble  to  add  to  the  wall  that  separates  the 
burrow  from  the  beach.  That  the  great  pebble  ridge  is 
moving  inwards  is  certain,  but  the  rate  of  progress  has  not, 
I  believe,  been  determined.  The  gradual  movement  inwards 
of  the  ridge,  however  fast  or  slow,  exposes  all  the  shore  that 
is  seaward  of  its  protection  to  the  destructive  agency  of  the 
waves :  it  is  to  this,  and  not  to  any  variation  of  the  level  of 
the  coast  line,  that  I  believe  that  the  submergence  of  the 

forest  along  the  shore  is  due The  facts  that  the  beach 

at  the  shore  extremity  is  scarcely  below  the  level  of  the 
burrows,  while  the  strata  of  which  it  is  composed  gradually 
thin  out  as  it  approximates  the  low  water  line,  demonstrates 
clearly,  I  think,  that  the  submergence  of  the  old  forest  bed  is 
due  to  the  removal  of  the  beds,  and  encroachment  of  the  sea, 
and  not  to  the  subsidence  of  the  land."* 

In  the  passage  just  quoted,  the  author  is  clearly  of  opinion 
that  his  hypothesis  accounts  not  only  for  the  submergence  of 
the  forest,  but  also  for  the  origin  of  the  pebble  ridga  I 
purpose  reviewing  it  in  both  these  aspects. 

And,  firat,  with  reference  to  the  Submergence  of  the  Forest. 
Why  should  it  be  thought  incredible  that  it  was  due  to  sub- 
sidence ?  Manifestly  such  a  cause  would  produce  the  effect, 
and  so  far  as  is  known,  would  leave  no  outstanding  phenomena. 
That  the  entire  country  around  Barnstaple  Bay  has  undei^one 
•  Tktou.  Devon.  Amoc.,  1S66,  p.  134. 


SDBMERGED   FOREST   AKt> 

uplicaval  in  times  geographically  recent,  is  establiahed,  beyond 
a  queatiuii,  by  tlitj  line  Itaiaed  Beaches  and  Terraces  of  denu- 
dation which  fringe  its  coasta.  There  can  be  do  d  priari 
difficulty,  then,  in  supposing  a  nioveraent  in  the  opposite 
direction.  Further,  remnants  of  forests  of  precisely  the  same 
kind  of  plants  as  those  in  the  peaty  mas^  on  \orthani 
Strand— all  of  them  such  as  now  inhabit  the  adjacent  dry  lands 
— are  ftmad  all  round  the  Bntisli  islands,  and,  indeed,  on  alt 
the  shores  of  the  British  seas.  Their  submei^nce  is  ascribed 
by  ge(»logiats  to  be  a  wide*spread  and  uniform  subsidence, 
and  unle-^s  tliis  ascription  is  wt*ll  foundetl,  it  nmst  be  snjiposed 
that  a  series  oi  natural  breakwaters  once  extended  round 
Britain,— to  say  nothing  of  the  otlier  islands  of  the  archipelago, 
or  of  the  adjacent  coasts  of  the  Continent.  Our  ii^land  must 
have  been  begirt  with  a  wall  of  circumvatlation,  and  the 
forests  tnust  have  grown  in  the  fosse-  This  conclusion,  ta 
which  the  breakwater  hypothesis  legitimately  leads,  no  one 
would  entertain  probably  for  one  njonient. 

But  let  us  confine  ourselves  to  the  Submerged  Forest  of 
Barnstaple  Bay,  and  see  whither  we  are  led  by  this  sup- 
position oT  niMi-subsidenee. 

1st  The  primary  position  of  the  Pebble  Ridge  must  neces- 
sarily have  been  without,  or  seaward  of,  tlie  forest  ;  and  as 
this  at  present  extends  to  the  line  of  8]>ring-tide  low-wat-er, 
and  there  is  no  n-ason  to  suppose  it  teiiiii nates  there,  tlie 
inner  margin  of  the  Ridge  must  have  occupied  a  line  now 
permanently  submarine,  whilst  its  outer  edge  must  have  beeu 
much  further  seaward. 

2nd.  Since  the  waves  occasionally  bound  over  the  crest  of 
the  existing  ridge,  the  top  of  its  earliest  representative  could 
not  have  been  at  a  lower  level. 

3rd.  As  the  vegetable  mass  is  admitted  to  consist  of 
remains  of  plants  and  trees  occupying  the  very  position, 
level,  and  soil  in  which  they  grew,  as  they  extend  quite  to, 
at  least,  the  line  of  the  greatest  retreat  of  the  tides,  as  the 
tidal  range  in  Barnstaple  Bay  amounts  to  28  feet,  and  as  the 
plain  within  the  present  ridge  is  at  the  level  of  spring-tide 
high-water,  it  follows  that  the  height  of  the  ridge  above  the 
plain  it  protected  in  its  primal  position  must  have  been  at 
least  28  feet  greater  than  now. 

4th.  Assuming  that  its  present  contour  is  that  best  adapted 
to  resist  wave  action,  and  that  it  is  that  which  has  always 
been  maintained,  the  comparative  dimensions  of  the  hypo- 
thetical ridge  when  it  stood  at  the  low-water  line  may  be 
easily  calculated.     It  is  obvious  that  the  length  of  this  bul- 


I 


THE  PBBBLB  RIDGE  OF  BABNSTAPLE  BAY.      419 

wark  of  pebbles  can  never  have  been  less,  though  it  may 
have  been  greater,  than  it  is  at  present ;  it  is  also  evident 
that  its  volume  has  been  cons^tantly  diminishing,  and  is  at 
present  less  than  it  ever  has  been  before.  If  the  length  be 
taken  to  have  been  constant,  it  follows  that  the  volume  has 
varied  as  the  transvei-se  sectional  area.  Now  the  contour 
remaining  the  same,  this  sectioual  area  when  at  the  low-water 
line  must  have  been  to  that  of  the  present  ridge  as  about  14 
to  1;  or  for  every  pebble  that  the  breakwater  now  contains 
it  formerly  contained  fouiteen, — a  fact  to  be  borne  in  mind 
when  speculating  on  the  source  of  the  pebbles  which  form 
the  present  ridge. 

5th.  Before  the  first  acorn  germinated  in  the  old  forest  soil, 
the  ridge,  in  all  the  volume  just  pointed  out,  must  have  been 
built  up  of  pebbles  torn  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  far 
beyond,  or  seaward  of,  the  extreme  line  of  spring-tide  low- 
water;  that  is  from  a  broad  area  on  which  the  waves  but 
seldom  break,  and  where,  therefore,  at  rare  intervals  only 
they  would  be  able  to  exert  a  destructive  power. 

6lh.  If  a  ridge  had  been  formed  instantaneously,  by  either 
convulsion  or  creation,  on  the  belt  supposed,  it  is  perhaps 
conceivable  that  it  might  have  retreated  so  very  tardily  before 
the  waves  as  to  allow  oaks  and  other  trees  under  its  protection 
to  obtain  considerable  dimensions ;  but  when  an  attempt  is 
made  to  realize  the  gradual  formation  of  such  a  ridge,  there 
is  very  great  difficulty  in  understanding  how  the  few  solitary 
pebbles  which  first  appeared  on  the  almost  level  strand  could 
have  been  able  so  far  to  defy  the  waves  which  had  torn  them 
up  as  to  retain  possession  of  the  low-water  line  until,  by  slow 
degrees,  the  reef  had  reared  its  crest  above  the  level  of  a 
tempest-tossed  spring-tide  sea.  Nothing  of  the  kind  happens 
in  our  day.  Pebbles  thrown  on  the  strand,  and  prevented  by 
the  configuration  of  the  coast  from  travelling  laterally,  find 
no  permanent  abiding  place  until  they  are  flung  beyond  the 
spring-tide  high-water  margin. 

7th.  But,  waiving  all  other  considerations,  let  it  be  sup- 
posed that  in  pre-forest  times  the  ridge  did  stand  at  the 
present  low-water  line,  that  its  dimensions  were  commen- 
surate to  the  functions  assigned  to  it,  that  the  levels  of  both 
land  and  sea  were  the  same  as  at  present,  that  the  area 
inclosed  was  possessed  of  a  soil  containing  all  the  ingredients 
requisite  for  fresh  growth,  would  it  have  been  an  area  on 
wluch  a  forest  would  grow  without  the  aid  of  an  engineer  ? 
I  believe  I  risk  nothing  in  answering  "  Decidedly  not''  Can 
any  one  point  out  an  instance  of  the  kind  in  the  present 


420  THB  SUBMEBQED  F0XI8T  AND 

day  ?  I  certainly  know  of  nona  Such  an  area  in  our  climate 
would  undoubtedly  be  not  a  forest,  but  a  lagoon — a  Slapton 
Lea,  or  a  Loo  Pool. 

In  short,  the  objections  against  the  supposition  of  a  Natund 
Breakwater  appear  to  be  so  numerous  and  so  important  as  to 
.render  it  impossible  to  give  it  credence.  On  the  other  hand, 
whilst  no  trace  of  an  argument  has  been  produced  against 
the  hypothesis  of  Subsidence,  the  numerous  related  phe- 
nomena on  the  tidal  strands  elsewhere  are  so  strongly  in  its 
favour  as  to  compel  its  acceptance. 

I  now  propose  to  consider  the  speculation  contained  in 
the  passage  previously  quoted,  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
Pebble  Kidge. 

The  Pebble  Ridge  is  by  no  means  uniqna  In  a  more  or 
less  pronounced  form  such  accumulations  may  be  aaid  to  be 
numerous.  One  of  greater  extent^  and  just  as  striking,  eiiata 
on  the  shore  of  Porlock  Bay,  in  West  Somerset  That  now 
under  consideration,  however,  has  attained  a  local  notoriety 
which  appears  to  be  more  surprising  than  the  phenomenon 
itself,  and  which  commonly  finds  expression  in  the  questioDa^ 
'*  Whence  came  the  pebbles  ?"  "  Why  are  they  thrown  up  in 
the  form  of  a  ridge?"  "  Why  are  they  not  also  found  wiUiin 
or  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  estuary  V  I  confess  I  have 
never  been  able  to  see  any  difficulty  in  replying  to  either  of 
the  questions ;  nor  does  the  ridge  itself  strike  me  as  in  way 
wonderful.  I  may  add  that  I  do  not  think  geologists  will 
admit  that  they  have  failed  to  determine  its  origin.  It  may 
be  remarked  that  the  first  question — "  Whence  came  the  peb- 
bles?"— is  the  only  one  belonging  to  the  province  of  the 
geologist.     The  other  two  are  the  property  of  the  engineer. 

Without  doubt  the  pebbles  came  from  the  cliffs  westward 
of  the  ridge, — between  Northam  Burrows  and  Hartland 
Point— the  southern  shore  of  the  bay.  The  cliff's  consist  of 
Carboniferous  Grit.  So  do  the  pebbles.  The  beds  of  which 
the  cliffs  are  formed  fall  a  comparatively  easy  prey  to  the 
violent  waves  by  which  they  are  frequently  assailed ;  their 
ruins  take  the  form  of  rhombohedrons,  all  having  a  striking 
family  likeness,  whether  we  compare  with  one  another  the 
blocks  just  dislodged,  those  which  have  been  rolled  for  a  short 
time  only,  or  those  which  have  reached  their  limit  of  trans- 
formation. They  occur  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff's  in  every  form, 
— fresh  angular  masses,  sub-angular  boulders  which  have 
undergone  some  wear  and  tear,  and  almost  perfect  ellipsoids. 
They  load  the  entire  strand  from  Hartland  point  to  Northam. 


THE  PEBBLE  EIDGE  OF  BAENSTAPLE  BAY.  421 

All  beaches  travel  in  definite  and  constant  directions, 
which  depend  on  the  trend  of  the  coast,  the  set  of  the  tides, 
and  the  prevalent  winds.  Thus  controlled,  the  pebbles  on 
the  southern  shore  of  Barnstaple  bay  travel  from  the  western 
cli£b  eastward  to  Northam  strand, — their  destination  so  far  as 
"we  are  at  present  concerned  * 

With  the  machinery  of  the  waves  and  tides  and  the  united 
waters  of  the  Taw  and  Torridge  to  help  us,  there  seems  no 
difficulty  in  the  question,  "  Why  do  the  pebbles  form  the 
lidge  V*  The  waves  and  tides  bring  them  to  the  strand  at 
Northam,  and  the  rapid  rivers  prevent  their  being  canied 
further.  That  they  should  either  be  heaped  up  on  the  land- 
ward margin  of  the  beach,  or  retreat  into  the  deep  waters  of 
the  bay  is  inevitable.  The  low-lying  extc^nsive  plain,  unlike 
a  precipitous  cliff,  sets  no  limit  to  the  distance  to  which  the 
breakers  may  fling  them  up.  Accordingly,  very  many  are  cast 
beyond  the  grasp  of  the  retreating  wave,  and  hence  the  ridge. 

The  latter  question,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to  the  hypo- 
thesis now  advocated.  It  applies  equally  to  any  other  that 
can  be  proposed.  Wliether  a  pebble  has  just  reached 
Northam  beach  from  the  western  clifT,  or  from  the  bed 
beneath  the  forest  clay,  can  in  no  way  affect  its  subsequent 
history.  It  may  be  admitted  that  a  few  pebbles  are  fi-om 
time  to  time  torn  out  of  the  bed  on  which  the  clay  reposes, 
and  these,  equally  with  those  which  in  greater  numbers  have 
arrived  from  the  west,  may  be  employed  to  fill  such  niches  as 
may  have  become  vacant  in  the  ridge. 

But  whence  came  the  pebbles  lying  under  the  blue  forest 
clay?  Whence,  also,  those  so  numerous  in  the  Raised  beaches 
which  occupy  the  terrace  or  shelf  which,  as  has  been  stated, 
is  from  15  to  20  feet  above  the  existing  strand  ?  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  western  cliffs  supplied  them  all.  Those 
on  the  old  raised  tidal  platform  were  certainly  not  torn  out  of 
the  infra-forest  bed ;  nor  were  those  lying  on  the  existing 
strand  westward  of  the  ridge.  Why  should  it  be  supposed 
that  in  the  present  day  the  waves  and  tides  have  lost  a  power 
which  they  possessed  prior  to  the  upheaval  of  the  district, 
and  prior  also  to  the  deposition  of  the  blue  clay  in  which  the 
forest  grew  t 

*  In  the  diacasBion  which  foUowed  the  reading  of  thin  paper  at  Honiton, 
Dr.  Scott  stated  that  during  a  visit  which  ho  made  to  Hartland,  ho  was 
informed  by  one  of  the  boatmen  of  that  place,  that  it  was  their  custom  to 
&8ten  iron  staples  into  some  of  the  lar^r  pebbles  found  there,  as  a  means  of 
anchoring  their  boats.  On  one  occasion,  after  a  rough  sea,  one  of  those 
pebbles  was  lost,  and  was  sometime  afterwards  picked  up  between  CloveUy 
and  the  Pebble  Bidge. 

VOL.  II.  F  F 


4S2  TUE  SUBMJIRGED  FOEEST,  ETC. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  Forest  and  the  liaised  beach  mpm- 
sent  two  distinct  perioda  One  is  a  proof  of  the  sub^iidence 
of  the  dijstrict,  the  other  of  its  upheaval ;— ^operations  which 
could  not  have  been  contemporary.  There  does  not  appear 
to  be  any  positive  evidence  respecting  the  relative  ages  of 
these  two  changes  of  level,  but  it  is  certain  that  if  the  sulj- 
eidence  occurred  first,  the  forest  submergence  was  at  least 
iiom  15  to  20  feet  greater  prior  to  the  elevation  of  the  beach 
than  it  is  at  present ;  whilst  if  tlie  upheaval  precedent  the 
Bubsidence,  the  raised  beach  and  t«n-ace  could  not  have  been 
less  than  28  feet  higher  before  tlie  district  sank  to  its  present 
level  than  it  is  now. 

The  fallowing  is  the  only  evidence  on  this  question,  and, 
as  already  hintt^d,  it  is  of  a  negative  kind:— Nowhere  is  M 
there  a  trace  of  the  forest  or  any  other  thing  of  a  sub-aerial  " 
character  underlying  the  raised  beaches,  either  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  bay,  or  in  the  case  of  the  more  extensive  one, 
between  Braunlon  Burrows  and  Baggy  Point,  on  the  northern 
side.  Eveiywhere  they  rest  at  once  on  an  old,  bare,  tidal, 
rocky  platform.  From  this  fact,  which,  though  negative,  is  a 
strong  one,  it  seems  not  unsafe  to  conclude  that  the  Beach  is 
more  ancient  than  the  Forest,  that  the  elevation  preceded  the 
depression,  and  that  during  the  forest  era  the  height  of  the 
Haised  beach  above  the  sea  level  was,  at  least,  twice  as  great 
as  it  is  at  present 

Precisely  the  same  phenomena  occur  in  Toi^bay  and  other 
parts  of  the  coast  of  South  I^evon,  and  point  to  the  con- 
clusions that  the  inference  just  drawn  is  by  no  means  of  a 
local  character;  that  the  Raised  beaches  on  the  opposite 
coasts  of  our  county  belong  to  one  and  the  same  era ;  and 
that  the  Submarine  forests  with  which  Devonshire  is  fringed 
are  also  contemporary  with  one  another,  but  belong  to  a 
somewhat  more  modern  period. 

Though  of  the  two  movements  just  alluded  to,  the  last  was 
that  in  a  downward  direction,  it  would  be  manifestly  unsafe 
to  conclude  that  there  may  not  have  been  a  subsequent 
elevation.  Indeed,  there  are  phenomena  in  South  Devon 
which  seem  to  indicate  that  this  is  actually  the  fact.  This 
question,  however,  I  reserve  for  a  future  occasion.  In  the 
meantime  it  may  be  remarked  that,  waiving  the  latter  point, 
enough  has  already  been  stated  to  show  how  utterly  fallacious 
must  be  any  conclusions  based  on  the  assumption  that  our 
country  has  stood  still  ever  since  the  ancient  beaches  were 
first  raised. 


I 


THE    HISTORY   OF    THE    DISCOVERY    OF   FOSSIL 

FISH  m  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON 

AND   CORNWALL. 

BY  W.   PENOELLT,   F.R.8.,  F.O.a,   ETC. 


In  the  Address  with  which  I  was  last  year  privileged  to  open 
the  proceedings  of  this  Association,  I  made  some  remarks  on 
the  paucity  of  fossil  fish  in  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall,  there  being  no  more  than  four  specimens  on 
record,  two  of  which  were  considered  very  doubtfuL  Within 
the  twelve  months  which  have  elapsed  since  that  address  was 
lead,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  this  paucity  is  by  no  means 
80  marked  as  was  then  believed;  and  this,  not  in  consequence 
of  the  discovery  of  new  specimens,  but  because  certain  fossils, 
formerly  supposed  to  be  sponges  merely,  have  been  found  to 
be  veritable  ichthyolites.  The  object  which  I  have  set  before 
me  on  this  occasion  is  simply  that  of  giving  an  historical 
statement  of  the  discovery  and  examination  of  the  fossils 
alluded  to.  In  order  to  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back 
about  a  quarter  of  a  century  from  the  present  time. 

Indeed,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark  here,  that 
prior  to  the  discovery  of  the  fossils  in  question.  Professor 
Phillips,  in  his  "Palaeozoic  Fossils,"*  published  in  1841,  stated 
that  two  scales  of  Holoptyclius  had  been  found,  one  at 
Meadfoot  in  South  Devon,  and  one  at  Baggy  Point  in  North 
Devon.!  It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  geologists 
generally  regarded  them  as  perfectly  trustworthy,  as  they  are 
not  mentioned  by  Professor  Morris  in  his  "  British  Fossils," 
either  in  the  edition  published  in  1813,  or  in  that  of  1854. 

But  to  return  to  the  fossils  more  especially  before  us : — In 

•  Figures  and  Doscriptions  of  tho  Palaiozoic  Foeaila  of  ComwaU,  Devon, 
and  West  Somerset    By  John  PhiUips,  f.r.8.,  f.o.s.,  &c.,  1841. 
t  Page  133. 

F   F  2 


424       THE  mSTOBT  OF  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  F0B8IL  JIBS, 

1843»  Mr.  Jonathan  Couch,  the  eminent  Ichthyologist  of 
Folperro  in  Cornwall,  whilst  "  climbing  up  over  some  steep 
rocks  near  what  is  called  Chapel ''  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Folperro,  discovered  in  the  slate  rocks  of  the  dSstrict  certain 
fossils  of  a  character  entirely  new  to  him.  At  his  suggestion, 
Mr.  Loughrin,  who  at  that  period  was  in  the  Coastguard,  but 
now  devotes  himself  so  very  successfully  to  natural  history 
pursuits,  made  an  extended  search,  and  discovered  many 
more  fossils  of  the  same  kind.  Mr.  Couch  at  once  commu- 
nicated his  discovery  to  Mr.  Charles  Peach,  who,  then  resident 
in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Fowey,  lost  no  time  in  visiting 
the  locality  and  collecting  specimens. 

Believing  the  fossils  to  be  the  remains  of  fish — an  opinion 
in  which  Mr.  Couch  did  not  concur, — ^Mr.  Peach  brought 
them  under  the  notice  of  the  Geological  section  of  the  British 
Association,  during  the  meeting  held  at  Cork  in  August  1843.* 

Shortly  afterwards  he  read  a  paper  respecting  wem  to  the 
Boyal  Geological  Society  of  Cornwall,  during  the  annual 
meeting  in  the  year  just  named.  In  this  communication  the 
author  states  that  he  had  "  long  been  of  opinion  that  fish 
remains  were  embedded  in  the  Cornish  rocira,''  and  he  calls 
attention  to  the  tact  that  he  had  not  onl^  "publicly  stated 
that  opinion "  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Anociation  in 
1841,  but  that  in  his  paper  on  "  The  Fossil  Organic  Kemdns 
found  on  the  South-east  Coast  of  Cornwall,  and  in  other  parts 
of  that  County,"  printed  iii  the  Society's  Transactions  for 
that  year,  he  had  reported  the  discovery  of  "portions  of 
fishes"  at  Punch's  Cross  near  Polruan.  He  then  proceeds 
to  a  description  of  the  newly  discovered  Polperro  fossils, 
which,  with  his  characteristic  candour,  he  thus  introduces : — 
'*  Some  time  since  I  received  from  Messrs.  Couch,  surgeons, 
of  Polperro  "  (Mr.  Jonathan  Couch  and  his  son,  the  late  Mr. 
Eichard  Quiller  Couch),  "in  a  letter,  two  or  three  small 
specimens  of  fossils,  which  they  thought  to  be  coral ;  and  in 
my  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt,  I  gave  it  as  my  opinion 
that  they  were  fish  bones.  I  mention  this  in  order  to  give 
those  gentlemen  the  full  credit  of  being  the  first  to  notice 
these  organic  remains  in  the  rocks  of  their  neighbourhood." 

"  On  the  20th  of  June  last  I  visited  Polperro,  and  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  II.  Q.  Couch,  went  into  Scilly  Cove  chang " 
(probably  a  misprint  for  "drang,"  a  provincialism  signifying 
" a  narrow  passage  or  cut  dc  sac*)  " on  the  east  side  of  the 

♦  "  On  the  Fossils  of  Polperro  in  Cornwall."   By  C.  W.  Poach.    Report  of 
Brit.  Assoc,  1843. 


m  THE  DEVONIAN  BOCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  425 

harbour,  where,  to  ray  great  delight,  lay  exposed  before  me  a 
magnificent  fish-bone  bed,  which  extends  from  this  spot  to 
beyond  Talland  sand  eastward,  and  from  thence  to  the 
entrance  of  Fowey  harbour  westward  " — a  distance  of  seven 
miles  in  a  straight  line. 

Mr.  Peach  states  that,  with  the  help  of  "Murchison's 
Silurian  Remains,"  he  had  been  able  to  identify  Gephcdaspis 
Lydli%  CtenacarUhics  oriuitus,  HoloptT/chtis  nobilissimys,  Spha- 
goduSy  and  Onchiis  Murchisoni  ;  and  that  besides  these,  there 
were  "also  portions  of  teeth,  and  probably  coprolites." 

In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  paper,  he  says,  **  I  have  also 
noticed  portions  of  fishes  from  the  Gribbon  near  Menabilly, 
to  Mellendreth  beyond  East  Looe,  but  no  where  are  they  so 
abundant  as  near  Polperro.  On  the  northern  coast,  in  Lower 
St.  Columb  Forth,  where  I  had  a  very  short  search,  I  got  a 
portion  of  apparently  an  Onchtis;  ....  this  latter  circum- 
stance is  interesting,  as  it  shews  that  the  fish-beds  extend 
through  the  county."* 

In  1843  also,  the  Rev.  David  Williams  read  to  the  same 
Society  a  paper  "On  the  Killas  Group  of  Cornwall  and  South 
Devon,"  stating  that  it  "naturally  resolves  itself  into  four 
sub-divisions."  One  of  these  he  designates  "The  Ichthy- 
pherous,  or  Fish-bearing  killas,"  and  says  "it  is  characterized 
by  the  abundant  remains  of  fish,  which  were  first  discovered 
by  Messrs.  Couch  of  PolpojTo,  as  has  been  fairly  admitted. 
They  pre-eminently  characterize  this  upper  depart- 
ment of  the  killas,  sometimes  to  such  an  amount  that  I 
entertain  no  doubt  that  a  fish-bone  bed  as  replete  vrith  their 
remains  as  that  at  Watchet,  and  Aust  cliff  in  the  Lias  of  the 

Severn,  will  hereafter  be  discovered Of  the  greater 

number  of  the  specimens  I  have  collected,  or  which  have 
been  kindly  shewn  me  by  Mr.  Peach  and  Mr.  Couch,  with 
the  exception  of  some  defensive  fins  and  fin  rays  which 
might  or  might  not  be  '  Onchus,'  they  all  appear  to  me  to 
differ  even  in  genera  from  any  which  have  hitherto  been 
figured  from  the  Ludlow  rocks  or  the  old  red  sandstone." 

In  a  foot  note,  the  author  says,  "  I  have  found  portions  of 
fish  bones  as  low  down  as  the  Linton  slates,  and  coprolite- 
looking  bodies  in  the  trilobitic  slates  near  Barnstaple,  and 
Mr.  Parker,  jun.,  late  of  Exeter,  found  a  beautiful  tooth  in 
the  Posidonia  limestones  of  the  Coddon-hill  grit  series  at 

•  "  On  the  FossU  Fiahee  of  ComwaU."  By  Charles  WOliam  Peach,  Esq., 
F.o.B.  Tramsactions  of  the  Royal  Geological  Society  of  Cornwall,  vol.  yi. 
pp.  79-83. 


426       THB  HIBTOBT  OF  THE  DI8G0VXBT  OF  fOSBIL  1I8H 

Doddiacomb  Leigh,  north  of  Chndleigh,  which  Professor 
Owen  pronounced  to  belong  to  a  genus  of  fishes  hitherto 
found  only  in  the  Urals."* 

In  a  paper  "  On  the  Silurian  Bemains  in  the  Strata  of  the 
south-east  coast  of  Cornwall,''  by  Mr.  R  Q.  Couch,  read  to 
the  same  Society,  and  probably  also  in  1843,t  the  author, 
speaking  of  the  "  fish-bed,"  says  **  This  bed  lies  on  the  south- 
^st  part  of  our  county,  between  Looe  and  Fowey.  The  most 
perfect  and  most  abundant  of  the  fish-remains  will  be  found 
about  lialf  a  mile  east  and  west  of  Polperro  harbour,  but 
fragments  occur  near  St.  Saviour's  pointy  Fowey,  Lansallos  on 
the  west^  and  Talland  sand  bay  on  the  east  Near  Polperro^ 
and  under  the  signal  station,  they  occur  in  the  greatest  pro- 
fusion ;  and  the  under  surfiaces  of  those  rocks  are  literally 
blackened  with  them :  this  appears  to  be  the  centre  of  tiie 
deposit ;  for  as  you  proceed  westward  they  become  more  and 

more  fragmentary  and  obscure To  the  eastward,  the 

same,  and  at  Looe  Down,  Mellendreth,  they  nearly  disappear. 

They  are  most  commonly  found  in  the  blue  slate^  and 
though  found  in  the  claret  coloured,  yet  they  are  so  imperfect^ 
obscure,  and  rare  in  it^  that  they  never  would  have  b^n  dis- 
covered bad  they  not  been  carefully  looked  for.  In  the  Uue 
slate  itself  they  are  so  much  injured  and  dismembered,  that 
they  never  would  have  been  recognized  as  fish;  but  from 
comparison  with  the  remains  found  in  the  old  red  sandstone. 
The  resemblance  between  the  remains  found  at  Polperro  and 
the  fragments  figured  by  Murchison,  as  occurring  in  the  upper 
Ludlow  rocks,  is  so  great  that  his  drawings  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  taken  from  Cornish  specimens.  In  addition  to 
bones,  and  scales,  portions  of  skin  or  shagreen,  with  tubercles 
similar  to  the  shagreen  of  sphagodm  have  been  found."  t 

In  a  paper  read  to  the  same  Society  in  1844,  Mr.  Peach 
introduces  a  Tabular  Synopsis  of  the  Species  of  the  Fossils 
of  Cornwall,  from  which  it  appears  that  he  believed  he  had 
detected  six  species  of  fossil  fish,  all  of  which  he  had  identi- 

*  "  On  the  Killas  Group  of  Cornwall  and  South  Devon ; — its  relations  to 
the  subordinato  formations  in  Centrjil  and  North  Devon  and  West  Somoraot; 
its  natural  sulxlivisions ;-  and  its  true  position  in  the  scale  of  British  strata." 
By  the  Kev.  David  Williams.  Trans.  Roy.  Geol.  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  122-138. 

t  Thifl  paper  is  not  dated,  but,  from  internal  evidence,  it  appears  to  have 
been  read  in  1843. 

X  "  On  the  Silurian  Remains  in  the  Strata  of  the  south-oast  coast  of  Corn- 
wall." By  Richard  Q.  Couch,  Esq.  Trans.  Roy.  Geol.  Soc.  of  Cornwall, 
vol.  vi.  pp.  147-149. 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  427 


fied  generically,  and  all  but  one  specifically ;  two  being  Old 
red  sandstone,  and  three,  Upper  Ludlow  forms.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  portion  of  the  Table  which  relates  to  the  supposed 
ichthyolites : — 


Qnieim  and  Bpoda«. 

Mtm^,eil.Baa. 

I/icalitieii  in  and  out  of  C^mwaa 

In 

OutAf       1 

^ 

i 

J? 

1 

1 

S 

1 

s 

• 

PL  1 

, 

, 

PL2,fiff.  U    . 

, 

, 

, 

* 

, 

Hobptycntii  NoMliasimvis 

PI.  2 

. 

. 

* 

, 

* 

Onchnfl  MnrcMsoaii    .     , 

?1.4,flB«,S-ll 

« 

» 

* 

. 

m 

Ondiiifl           .     .    «    .     . 

» 

m 

« 

f 

* 

> 

Bph(igi4oi  prlfltdantti3     » 

ri4,figsaAfi 

m 

• 

« 

■ 

* 

In  a  note,  the  author  remarks,  there  are  "several  other 
varieties  common  at  Polperro,  but  rare  near  Fowey  and 
Polruan."  * 

In  a  "  Report "  which,  though  undated,  was  presented  to 
the  Royal  Geol.  Society  of  Cornwall  in  1845,  the  author,  Mr. 
R  Q.  Couch,  states  that  "  all  the  fish  are  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Polperro,  extending  from  Talland  to  Lansallos, 
with  but  very  slight  traces  at  Polruan  and  Fowey,"  and  that 
80  "  slight  are  the  traces  at  the  latter  places,  that  but  for  their 
decisive  character  at  Polperro,  they  would  hardly  have  been 
identified."  f 

Sir  R.  I.  Murchison,  writing  to  Sir  C.  Lemon  on  this  sub- 
ject in  1846,  says,  "  In  respect  to  the  ichthyolites  from  the 
filates  of  Polperro,  Pentuan,  &c.,  they  have  been  referred  to 
our  mutual  friend  Sir  Philip  Egerton,  who  is  better  versed  in 
the  classification  of  Agassiz  than  any  of  our  countrymen,  and 
he  thus  writes  to  me  concerning  them : — '  These  remains  are 

♦  "  On  tho  Fossil  Geology  of  ComwalL     By  Charles  William  Peach, 
Esq."    Trans.  Roy.  (JeoL  Soc.  of  ComwaU,  pp.  181-186, 
t  "Report  on  the  FossU  Geoloj 


Esq."    Trans.  Roy.  OeoL  Soc.  of  < 


of  ComwaU.    By  Richard  Q.  Couch, 
imwiOl,  voL  vL  pp.  219-226. 


428        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  FOSSIL  FISH 

very  enigmatical,  and  I  cannot  identify  a  single  specimen 
with  any  form  I  know.  I  do  not  think  any  one  of  the  frag- 
ments belongs  either  to  Cephalaspis  or  to  Holaptychius.  The 
nearest  approach  is  to  Bothriolepis.  The  dorsal  fin  named  by 
Mr.  Peach  Onchus  Murchisoni  (Agass.)  is  not  so,  as  far  as  I 
can  determine  from  the  description  of  Agassiz,  unless  it  be  a 
more  perfect  specimen  than  he  has  seen.  The  longitudinal 
ribs,  instead  of  being  uniform  (as  figured  by  Agassiz),  are 
notched  more  after  the  manner  of  Ctenacanthics,  The  other 
Onchus  may  be  0.  tennuiserratiis,  but  I  have  not  here  the 
means  of  comparison.  From  the  general  appearance  of  the 
collection,  I  should  say  they  differ  from  any  Old  Eed  or 
Devonian  fishes  I  have  ever  seen.'"* 

In  1847,  Mr.  Peach  communicated  to  the  same  Society  an 
account  of  his  researches  in  Lantivet  bay,  between  Polperro 
and  Fowey  harbour.  "Commencing,"  he  says,  "on  the 
western  side  of  West  Coonibe,  the  rocks  are  very  much  like 
those  of  Polperro ;  they  contain  a  few  fish-remains.  Proceed- 
ing westward,  half-way  between  West  Coombe  and  Palace 
Cove,  are  some  veins  of  limestone : in  these  fish- 
remains  are  rather  plentiful,  but  unfortunately  all  are  broken 

to  pieces On  the  western  side  of  the  bay,  on  the 

upper  part  of  the  cliff,  the  vein  which  in  the  first  part  of  its 
course  is  calcareous  becomes  trappean :  ....  it  contains 
similar  fish-remains  in  almost   the  same  abundance  as  the 

calcareous  rocks,  with   which   it   is  continuous The 

matrix  has  an  arenaceous  appearance  and  is  much  broken : 
it  is  usually  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  and  contains  small 
specks  of  mica.  The  fossils  in  these  rocks  consist  of  portions 
of  spines  of  the  Onchus^  and  small  masses  of  scales,  occa- 
sionally in  waved  lines ;  and  in  light  coloured  finely  lami- 
nated clay  slates  ....  arc  very  small  portions  of  beautifully 
marked  and  well  preserved  specimens  of  fish-remains :  the 
scales  are  arrano;ed  in  waved  linos,  placed  obliquely,  and  each 
scale  locks  in  between  two,  in  an  alternate  manner 

"At  Palace  Cove  ....  in  soft  slaty  shale,  fish-remains  are 
again  plentiful,  still  in  tliin  seams  and  broken  to  pieces,  but 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  standing  out  a  little  in  relief 
from  the  soft  matrix  :  they  consist  of  similar  remains  as  those 
mentioned  before,  with  porti(jns  of  the  spiny  and  tuberculated 

*  A  l)iiof  roviow  of  the  ClassifKation  of  th(i  Sodimcntar}-  Rocks  of  Corn- 
wall. JJv  Sir  Jtodorick  Impoy  Murchison,  g.c.st.s.,  f.k.b.,  &c.  (In  a  letter 
uddresseJ  to  the  Pros.,  Sir  C.  Lemon,  Bart.,  M.P.)  Trans.  lioyal  Gool. 
Soc.  of  ComwaU,  vol.  vi.  pp.  317-326. 


m  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  429 

(shagreen)  skin,  amongst  which  are  splendid  specimens  of 
the  broader  ribbed  Onchns 

"  In  the  course  of  our  search,  we  have  passed  over  a  few 
nearly  vertical  veins  of  hard  regular  rocks;  ....  at  Lantivet 
sanding  place  they  become  plentiful,  and  vary  from  six  inches 
to  one  foot  in  thickness,  and  contain  a  few  fish-remains 

"At  Bottle  Cove  the  fish-remains  are  again  rather  plentiful 
in  veins  about  four  inches  wide,  in  softish  slates 

"At  Trenail  Cove,  under  the  Coast  Guard  watch-house, 
....  I  found  the  last  fish -remains  in  Lantivet  bay:  they 
were  first  discovered  by  one  of  the  Coast  Guard  named 
Lochran  "  (misprint  for  Loughrin) 

"  On  a  review  of  what  I  have  stated  the  following  remarks 
are  suggested.  The  fish-remains  are  at  times  found  very 
abundant  in  thin  seams,  with  trappean  rocks  at  no  great  dis- 
tance, if  not  immediately  in  contact  with  them :  after  these 
charnel-houses,  if  I  may  so  call  them,  very  few  indeed  are 
met  with  for  a  considerable  distance,  showing  that  during  this 
apparent  scarcity,  all  was  tranquil  for  long  periods,  when 
great  deposits  took  place,  and  longevity  in  the  inhabitants 
appeared  to  be  consequent  thereon.  One  circumstance  is 
very  striking, — that  similar  deposits  of  Bellerophonies,  &c.,  in 
equal  abundance,  are  also  found  in  the  same  range  of  rocks, 
showing  also  considerable  periods  of  time ;  but  all  confined 
to  their  own  sphere,  alternating  with  the  fish-remains,  and, 
like  the  latter,  very  rare  indeed,  except  in  the  veins  were  the 
gi-eat  slaughter  took  place.  A  question  naturally  arises.  Were 
these  antediluvian  inhabitants  of  ike  same  water,  and  at  the 
same  time  ?  If  so,  it  will  appear,  that  the  same  destructive 
elements  had  no  effect  on  the  one,  but  destroyed  the  other, 
and  that  the  survivor  in  its  turn  fell  before  another  element, 
in  which  its  neighbour  luxuriated  and  throve." 

In  a  Postscript  to  his  paper,  the  author  says,  "Since 
writing  the  foregoing  communication,  I  have  sent  to  Mr. 
Hugh  Miller,  of  Edinburgh,  a  few  small  specimens  of  some 
of  the  remains  of  fishes  from  the  rocks  in  Lantivet  bay  and 
Polperro,  not  one  of  which  he  identifies  with  those  from  the 
old  red  sandstone  formation  of  Scotland,  neither  can  he  see 
any  resemblance  between  them  and  the  figures  in  Agassiz's 
work  on  Bussia:  he  says  also  that  a. '  mineralogical  character 
is  but  an  imperfect  guide  Ur  the  geologist ;  but  we  have 
certainly  no  such  ancient  looking  rocks  in  our  Scotch  Devo- 
nian as  the  grey  slate  of  your  enveloping  matrix.* "  • 

•  "On  thfi  Foflsil  Geology  of  Lantivot  and  Lantick  BayB,  near  Fowey." 
Bv  Charles  William  Peaoh,  Esq.  Trana.  Royal  Geol.  8oc  of  Cornwall,  vol. 
▼u.  pages  17-27. 


430     THE  nrsTDi;?  of  the  discotebt  of  fobsil  Fisn 

The  foregoing  paper  was  illustrated  with  two  excellent 
pkles,  contaiaing  nineteen  figures  of  remains  of  '*fi^he%" 
includiug  *' spines,"  ^'ecales/'  a  "'jawT  and  a  "fiuT 

The  same  indefatigable  explorer  thus  writes  in  1848  :  "At 
Palacys,  Lantivet  bay,  I  have  found  a  ma^ificent  spine  of 
the  OnrAus,  ,,.*.,  it  is  2^  inches  in  length,  and  half  an 
inch  across  its  widest  piirt :  I  have  also  been  presented  with 
a  Y**^^^on  of  a  niucli  larger  one  by  the  Coast-Guard  man 

Loughrin ; this  is  one  inch  across  the  widest  part : 

both  were  hollow and  filled  with  the  same  descrip- 
tion of  slate  as  the  matrix  in  which  they  ave  enclosed. 
Many  other  beautiful  forms  have  been  found  j  one  I  deem 
worthy  of  especial  notice:  it  is  probably  a  poHion  of  an 

Askrolvpu, it    becomes    exceedingly    intei^esting 

from  the  circumstance,  that  with  the  exception  of  the  spine 
which  is  supposed  to  be  OncJuis  MitrchuoRt,  it  is  the  only 
one  in  which  I  can  trace  any  agreement  with  specimens  I 
ImvG  in  my  possession  fmm  the  old  red  sandstone  of  Scotland** 

hi  this  cooimunication,  the  author  names  several  localities 
in  Fowey  harbour  in  which  he  had  found  the  "  fish-remain?/* 
extending  from  the  entrance  of  Pont  creek,  up  the  river,  to 
the  entmnce  of  PenpoU  creek,  a  distance,  "in  a  straight  lints 
at  right  angles  acwss  the  beds,  of  at  least  a  mile  and  a  halt"* 

In  a  plate  accompanying  the  paper,  he  figured  his  '*  Aste- 
TolepisJ^ 

In  1849,  Mr.  Peach  recorded  the  fact  that  he  had 
"  discovered  some  very  distinctly  marked  portions  of  fishes 
in  a  newly  quarried  spot  near  the  road  to  Penquite  house 
from  the  quay,  at  the  turn  of  the  river  leading  to  Lostwithiel," 
thus  giving  to  the  fish-beds  a  breadth  of  "  more  than  tvx>  and 
half  miles" 

Speaking,  in  the  same  paper,  of  "the  Eocks  about  New- 
quay," in  North  Cornwall,  he  says  "I   found  a  splendid 
portion  of  a  fish,  a  large  spine,  probably  of  an  Onchus,  .  .  . 
It  is  a  splendid  specimen,  and  evidently  belonged  to  a 
creature  of  no  mean  size."t 

Soon  after  the  first  announcement  of  the  discovery  of  the 
"  Polperro  fossils,"  I  visited  Mr.  Couch  and  Mr.  Peach,  who 

•  "  On  the  Fossiliferous  Strata  of  the  South-east  Coast  of  ComwaU.'*  By 
Charles  WiUiam  Peach,  Esq.  Trans.  Eoyal  Gool.  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  vol.  vii. 
pages  67-62. 

t  "Additions  to  Cornish  Geology.  By  Charles  William  Poach,  Esq., 
Ibid,  pages  100-105. 


I 

I 

I 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  431 

showed  me  all  the  specimens  they  had  by  them^  and  the 
former  introduced  me  to  a  fine  series  remaining  in  situ  near 
Polperro.  Having  thus  made  myself  acquainted  with  their 
general  characters,  and  their  mode  of  occurrence,  I,  from  time 
to  time,  made  a  careful  search  for  them  from  Talland  Sand 
bay  eastward;  and,  in  1849,  briefly  communicated  to  the 
Royal  Geological  Society  of  Cornwall  the  results  of  the 
search,  when  I  stated  that  the  ichthyolites  had  been  found, 
at  intervals,  from  Forth  Nadler  to  a  mile  Qast  of  Port 
Wrinkle, — or  from  one  mile  west,  to  seven  miles  east  of 
Looe  harbour.  I  remarked,  "  Near  Cross-sand  point "  (Hanna- 
fore  Point"  in  the  Ordnance  Map),"  I  obtained  a  very  fine 
specimen  in  a  greenish  slate ;  this  fossil  I  believe  to  be 
of  the  same  character  as  that  figured  by  Mr.  Hugh  Miller 
in  his  ...  .  "Footprints  of  the  Creator"  (page  88),  as  the 
shoulder  plato  of  Aaterol&pis;  his,  however,  is  a  large  specimen, 
measuring  nearly  7  inches  in  length,  and  \\  inch  in  breadth, 

whilst  mine  measures  3  6  inches  by  '6  inch Very 

near,  and  on  the  west  of  Looe  harbour,  I  obtained  some  very 
fine  ichthyolitic  slabs,  containing  a  greater  variety  of  specimens 
than  I  have  seen  elsewhere  in  slabs  of  the  same  size ;  among 
other  characters,  the  shagreen  structure  is  beautifully  marked. 

About  a  quarter  mile  east  of  Port  Wrinkle  a  mass  of  blue 
slate  was  literally  crowded  throughout  with  Ichthyolites ;  .  .  . 
and  as  the  laminae  were  separated,  magnificent  specimens 
were  obtained,  beautifully  showing  both  the   striated   and 

cellular  characters. East  of  this  interesting  spot, 

good  specimens  were  found  at  short  intervals ;  one  of  these  is 
much  larger,  and  has  greater  regularity  of  outline  than  I  have 
seen  elsewhere,  it  measures  13  inches  in  length  by  2*5  inches 
in  breadth.  About  a  mile  east  of  Port  Wrinkle,  another 
rock  was  found  replete  with  Ichthyolites,''* 

My  search  at  this  time  had  not  extended  so  far  as  the 
Bame  Head. 

In  1850,  I  sent  to  the  same  Society  an  account  of  a  suc- 
cessful search  which  I  had  made  on  Looe  island  and  on  the 
adjacent  mainland,  especially  at  spots  known  as  Old  Mills 
and  Needle's  Eye  (locally  Nell-zee);  stating  that  I  had  been 
struck  at  finding  well-marked  specimens  occurring  at  every 
newly  exposed  surface  of  the  bed  as  the  successive  laminae 
were  split  off;  that  both  the  striated  and  cellular  characters 
were  frequently  displayed  in  the  same  specimen ;  that  the 

•  "  On  the  Ichthyolites  of  East  ComwaU."  By  Mr.  Wm.  Pengelly.  Trans. 
Royal  Geol.  Soc.  of  Cornwall,  vol.  vii.  pages  106-108. 


TIIE  niSTORY  OF  TlTE  DISCOVERY  OF  FOSSIL  FIBB 

striatioTi   seemed  to  be  ia  the  merest  external  film,  the 

retiioval  of  which  expo.%ed  the  cellular  appearance;  that  in 
the  great  majority  of  instances  the  cells  had  a  decidedly 
osseous  character,  wliich,  together  with  the  form,  and,  fre- 
quently, considerable  tliickuesa  of  the  specimens,  induced  mo 
to  believe  that  those  that  were  thus  marked  were  true  bone. 
In  the  same  paper,  I  stated  that  at  Cliff',  in  the  parish  of 
St  Yeep,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Fowey,  just  opposite 
Penquite,  I  had  found  excellent  specimens  of  fish-remains  iu 
a  fibrous  light  coloured  schist  * 

Til  the  the  same  year  (1850)  Mr.  Peach  informed  the 
Society  that,  during  the  recent  meeting  of  the  British  Aesii- 
ciation  at  Edinburgh,  he  had  submitted  to  Mr.  Hugh  Miller 
a  collection  of  the  fish-remains  from  Lantivet  bay,  Polperm, 
&c.;  that  tlie  specimens,  though  not  lai^e,  were  well  marked 
and  characteristic,  including  all  the  varieties  he  had  met 
with,  and  were  the  best  he  had  ever  found ;  that  Mr,  Miller 
Imd  examined  them  carefully,  and  was  much  struck  with 
their  appearance,  especially  the  inkrnal  or  cellular  structure; 
and  that  of  one  specimen  he  said,  "had  he  found  it  in  the 
rocks  of  the  old  red  of  Scotland,  he  should,  without  hesitatiim, 
have  called  it  a  portion  of  the  Askrolq^is"  '^This,"  says  Mr. 
Peach,  ''is  the  only  specimen  Mr.  Miller  could  identify  aa 
agreeing  with  any  of  the  fishes  of  tlic  old  red  sandstone." 

Mr.  reach  then  makes  the  following  remarks  on  the 
internal  structure  of  the  "fossil  fishes:" — "In  one  of  the 
specimens  the  cells  are  all  six-sided,  and  this  may  be  invari- 
ably traced  in  well  preserved  specimens :  in  some,  the  walls 
of  these  cells  stand  up  perfectly  white  (probably  changed 
into  carbonate  of  lime),  and  they  are  filled  with  a  black  or 
brownish  substance,  sometimes  of  a  coal-like  appearance ;  at 
other  times  a  brownish  powder.  In  one  of  the  specimens 
from  the  old  red  sandstone  we  observed  an  irregular  internal 
structure,  in  which  irregular  lengthened  cells  were  accom- 
panied by  a  few  perfectly  circular  ones :  a  specimen  from 
Cornwall  exhibited  an  appearance  of  this  kind,  with  circular 
cells  also,  but  the  other  part  of  the  specimen  differed  con- 
siderably."! 

Hitherto,  the  ichthyic  character  of  the  "  Polperro  fossils" 

•  "  On  the  Ichthyolites  of  East  CornwaU."  By  Mr.  Wmiam  PengeUy, 
F.0.8.    Trans.  Royal  Geol.  Soc.  of  ComwaU,  vol.  vii.  pages  116-120. 

t  "  On  the  Fossils  of  the  Blackhead  Slate  Quarry,  near  St.  AusteU,  and  on 
the  Fossil  Fishes  of  Cornwall."  By  Charles  Wmiam  Peach,  Esq.  Ibid, 
pages  121-124. 


I 
I 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  EOCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  433 

does  not  appear  to  have  been  questioned  "by  any  one.  The 
liev.  David  Williams  and  Sir  Philip  Egerton  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  doubted  even  their  generic  identification,  but  had 
expressed  no  scepticism  respecting  their  claims  to  be  regarded 
as  remains  of  fish.  The  time  had  now  arrived,  however, 
when  this  bolder  step  was  to  be  taken.  In  1850,  the  late 
Mr.  Hugh  Miller  read  to  the  Eoyal  Physical  Society  of 
Edinburgh  a  paper  on  the  "  PolpeiTO  Fossils,"  of  which  he  was 
disposed  to  think  "  that  neither  their  place  in  the  geological 
scale  nor  their  place  in  even  the  scale  of  organized  beings, 
was  yet  definitely  determined.  They  were  the  most  puzzling 
things  he  had  ever  seen, — riddles  on  which  to  exercise  the 
ingenuity  of  the  Palaeontologist  From  the  examination  of  a 
few  minute  specimens,  sent  him  through  the  Post  Office  by 
Mr.  Peach,  about  three  years  ago,  he  was  disposed  to  think 
that  they  were  the  fragmentary  remains  of  ganoidal  fishes. 
There  were  ....  what  semed  to  be  fragments  of  cranial 
plates,  bearing  external  carvings,  somewhat  similar,  in  one 
specimen,  to  those  of  the  AmUypterus  of  the  Coal  Measures, 
and  in  another  to  those  of  the  Cheirolepis  of  the  Lower  Old 
Eed  Sandstone.  There  were  minute  fragments,  too,  of  a  dark 
cellular  substance,  not  very  unlike  the  internal  cancellated 
portions  of  the  bones  of  Asterolepis,  and  what  seemed  to  be  a 
well-marked  ichthyodorulite,  suited  to  remind  one  of  the  spines 
of  the  Acanths, — in  especial  of  Diplacanthics  sh'iatus,  with  a 
portion  of  an  apparent  spine  resembling  that  of  the  Placoidal 
Onchus.*'  In  short,  Mr.  Miller  had  concluded  that  the 
remains  were  ichthyic,  though  mayhap  generically  different 
from  anything  of  the  kind  with  which  he  was  acquainted.  A 
laiger  set  of  specimens  from  the  same  bed,  which  Mr.  Miller 
received  shortly  after  from  Mr.  Pengelly  of  Torquay,  excited 
doubts  in  his  mind  respecting  this  conclusion.  The  seeming 
cancillii,  for  instance,  when  presented  on  a  comparatively 
large  surface,  seemed  by  much  too  polygonal  and  regular  to 
be  regarded  as  osseous,  and  yet  the  polygonal  cells  were 
evidently  connected  in  some  of  the  specimens  with  the  carved 
surfaces.     A  yet  larger  suit  of  fossils,  lately  received  from 

Mr.  Peach excited  Mr.  Miller's  doubts  yet  farther. 

There  were  some  of  the  apparent  spines  exceedingly  like 
ichthyodorulites  of  Onchus :  some  of  the  fragments  had  the 
appearance  even  of  teeth-bearing  jaws.  But  the  more  one 
examined  these  seemingly  vertebrate  remains,  the  less  sure, 
in  most  instances,  did  one  become  regarding  their  nature  and 
class.  Some  of  the  seeming  ichthyodorulites,  like  some  of  the 
seeming  cranial  plates,  were  found  to  have  cellular  centres,  not 


434       TBI  HIBTOBT  OV  THB  DIS00VSE7  01  fOBBIL  II8H 

at  all  resembling  m  arrangement  the  oancellated  stmotare  of 
bone,  and  there  were  others  that  threw  out  minate  twig-like 
processes,  less  of  a  vertebrate  than  of  a  soophiftie  or  vegrtable 
character.  In  one  of  the  seeming  jaws,  toOi  the  appoient 
teeth  were  placed  on  the  wrong  sida  In  yet  another  set  of 
fossils,  from  the  same  beds,  which  Mr.  reach  submitted  to 

the  inspection  of  Mr.  Miller  last  autumn, there 

were  specimens  which  appeared  to  bear  very  strongly  the 
vertebrate  stamp :  amongst  the  rest  there  was  what  seemed 
to  be  a  dermal  fragment^  roughened  over  with  tubereleB  of  a 
stellate  character,  undistinguishable  from  those  o{  AsiaroUpiM^ 
and  yet  on  even  it  Mr.  Miller  was,  he  said,  unwilling  to 
commit  himself.  At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Geological 
Society  of  Cornwall,  which  was  held  in  ^ptember  lasl^  the 
President,  Sir  Charles  Lemon,  in  referring  to  this  fbesil,  had 

stated  that  he  (Mr.  Miller)  had  identified  it  as  a 

fossil  of  the  old  red  sandstone.  Mr.  Miller^s  statement 
r^arding  it  however  did  not  amount  to  identificatiou ;  what 
he  actually  said  to  Mr.  Peach  was,  that  if  he  had  found  it  in 
the  lower  old  red  sandstone  of  Cromarty  or  of  Caithness^  he 
would  have  no  hesitation  in  regarding  it  as  a  fhigment  d 
some  dermal  plate  of  Asterokpis,*'* 

During  the  summer  of  1851,  Professors  Sedgwick  and 
M'Coy  made  a  geological  tour  in  Devonshire  and  Cornwall, 

on  which  the  former,  on  the  fifth  of  November  of  that  year, 
read  a  paper  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  when  he 
remarked  ''Before  we  started  on  our  tour  he  (Pi'of.  M'Coy)  had 
come  to  the  conclusion,  that  many  of  the  dark-coloured  fos- 
sils, derived  from  the  Cornish  coast  near  Fowey,  Polperro, 
and  Looe,  were  not  the  remains  of  Fishes,  but  portions  of 
Sponges.  It  was  after  a  very  careful  microscopic  examina- 
tion (in  which  he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Carter,  of  Cambridge) 
of  specimens  partly  collected  by  myself  in  1836,  and  partly 
procured  from  Mr.  Peach,  that  Professor  M*Coy  had  come  to 
this  conclusion  ;  and  during  the  past  summer  it  has  not  been 
invalidated,  but  greatly  confirmed,  by  an  inspection  of  the 
Cornish  specimens  in  the  London  Museum  of  Practical 
Geology,  as  well  as  those  we  afterwards  collected  during  our 
tour,  or  found  in  the  public  and  private  collections  of  Corn- 
wall."! 

•  From  the  "  Witness"  newspaper. 

t  "On  the  Slato  Rocks  of  Do  von  and  Cornwall."  By  the  Rev.  A.  Sedg- 
wick, F.K.8.,  O.S.,  &c.  (iuartorly  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  Lou- 
don, vol.  viii.  pages  1-19. 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  EOCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  435 

In  December  1851,  Professor  M'Coy  printed,  in  the 
"Annals  of  Natural  History,"  a  paper  "  On  some  new 
Devonian  Fossils,"  commencing  with  a  description  of  the 
new  genus  Steganodictyum  (covered  net-work)  which  he  had 
founded  for  the  reception  of  the  "  Polperro  fossils."  He  gives 
the  following  as  the  Generic  characters: — "Polymorphous, 
forming  either  narrow,  rounded,  branch-like  masses,  or  ex- 
tended into  thin,  flat,  foliaceous  expansions ;  the  interior  of 
all  the  forms  composed  of  rather  large,  irregular,  polygonal, 
or  sub-hexagonal  cells,  the  three  dimensions  of  which  are 
approximately  equal  (commonly  about  half  a  line  in  diame- 
ter), which  become  rapidly  smaller  towards  the  exterior, 
blending  with  the  dense  covering  of  the  surface,  which  is 
variously  sculptured  with  close  waving  lines,  tubercles  or 
costjB,  according  to  the  species ;  surface  dense,  foraminated 
by  the  contracted,  rather  distant  openings  of  the  small  cell- 
mouths." 

He  then  goes  on  to  say,  "  These  curious  zoophytes  abound 
in  a  particular  layer  of  dark  Devonian  schist  near  Polperro 
on  the  coast  of  Cornwall,  and  are  the  bodies  which  have  been 
taken  for  fossil  fishes  by  all  previous  observers — the  thick 
reticulated  fragments  being  quoted  as  *  bones  of  Asterolepis; 
flat  sculptured  portions  being  taken  for  the  scaly  parts  of 
various  fishes,  and  the  midribs  of  some  of  the  fronds  being 
supposed  to  be  *  Ichthyodorulites,  as  Diplacanthus,  Ctenacan- 

thics,  and  Upper  Silurian  species  of  OnchusJ I  first 

examined  a  good  suite  of  these  supposed  Cornish  fossil  fishes  at 
the  Museum  of  Economic  Geology,  Jemiyn  Street,  in  company 
with  Professor  Sedgwick  last  July,  and  at  once  demonstrated 
their  true  nature  to  Mr.  Salter,  who  was  kind  enough  to  allow 
me  to  examine  them  closely.  I  subsequently  examined  the 
originally  figured  and  described  specimens  at  the  Museums 
of  Penzance  and  Truro,  and  finally  visited  the  localities  where 
they  are  found,  and  procured  numerous  specimens,  now  in 
the  Geological  Museum  at  Cambridge,  as  well  as  examined  a 
great  quantity  not  worth  removing.  The  most  remarkable 
character  of  these  sponges  is  the  thin,  very  dense,  supei-ficial 
covering  to  the  coarse  cellular  internal  network  ;  which  how- 
ever might  be  almost  paralleled  by  a  slice  of  the  common 
large  cup  sponge  of  Ceylon.  As  so  many  authorities  for 
whose  opinions  I  entertain  a  liigh  respect  supposed  the  reti- 
culation to  be  the  cancellated  structure  of  bone,  I  thought  it 
due  to  them,  that  transparent  microscopic  sections  should  be 
prepared  of  some  of  the  most  bone-like  portions  and  sub- 
mitted to  powerful  microscopes,  and  for  this  purpose  I  tres- 


436       THE  HIBTO&T  OF  THB  DI800VBBY  OT  1088ZL  VIBH 

passed  on  the  kindness  of  my  fHend  J.  Carter,  Esq.,  of  Petty : 
Guiy,  Cambridge,  who  possesses  not  only  an  extremely  fine 
microscope,  but  admirable  skill  in  the  nse  of  it'  and  in  the 
preparation  of  the  objects.  I  have  to  thank  him  tat  not  only 
putting  slices  of  the  present  fossils  under  a  high  powei;  but 
middng  similar  slices,  for  comparison,  of  mall  bones  of 
various  animals  and  of  sponges — the  resets  entirely  oonfitm- 
ing  the  opinion  I  had  formed  from  an  examination  with  my 
nwed  eye,  namely,  that  there  was  no  bone  structnie  whatever 
in. the  Cornish  fossils;  which  indeed  was  obviona  enough  to 
any  one  reflecting  on  the  way  in  which  bones  grow." 

He  then  proceeds  to  a  description  of  the  two  apecfen — 
8.  Camnhieum  and  8.  Carteri — ^into  which  he  divides  the 
fossils.  The  first  he  says  is  *'  extremely  abundant  in  a  bed  (d 
blackish  Devonian  shale  in  Lantic  ana  Lantivet  Bays  on  tiie 
south  coast  of  Cornwall  near  Polperro,  and  strikixig  into 
Fowey  Harbour  ;*'  but  the  second  "is  veiy  much  raver  than 
8.  Oomubieum,  from  which  it  is  easily  distinguished  by  its 
tuberoulated  surfaca"* 

In  a  paper  which,  in  1852, 1  read  to  the  Boml  Geological 
Society  of  Cornwall  it  was  announced  that  I  had  disooraed 
the  **  Polperro  fossils  "  at  the  Bame  Head ;  that  they  were  all 
of  the  common  carved  and  cellular  character ;  and  were  con- 
fined to  about  ten  yards  in  length  of  one  thin  stratum,  about 
a  hundred  yards  west  of  the  extreme  point  of  the  Head.  I 
also  stated  that  I  had  detected  them  in  the  slates  at  Bedruthen 
Steps,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Eval,  North  CornwalL 

In  this  communication  I  remarked,  "Doubtless  Professor 
M'Coy's  decision  respecting  the  remains  in  question  is  sound 
and  final ;  but,  of  course,  it  applies  only  to  the  specimens  he 
has  seen  and  to  those  of  a  similar  character.  Now,  I  believe 
that  I  have,  at  least,  one  specimen,  and  perhaps  several,  such 
as  he  has  not  seen ;  such  certainly  as  I  have  not  met  with  in 
the  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  Jermyn  Street,  London; 
or  among  the  specimens  obtained  by  either  Mr.  Couch  or 

Mr.  reach.     The  specimen  to  which  I  allude was 

mentioned  in  my  paper  read  at  your  meeting  in  1849,  where 
I  ventured  to  consider  it  the  shoulder  plate  o{  Asterolepis"^ 

•  "On  some  Now  Devonian  Foseilfl.'*  By  Frederick  M'Coy,  IVofessor  of 
Mineralof^y  and  Geology,  Queen's  Colle'jfe,  Belfast.  The  Annals  and 
Mapaziuo  of  NatunU  llistorj',  &c.,  vol.  viii.  second  series.  No.  48,  ETecember, 

t  **  Remarks  on  the  'Geology  of  the  South  Coast  of  ComwaU."  By  W. 
Pongolly,  Esq.,  f.o.s.  Tnins.  lioval  Geol.  Soc.  of  ComwaU,  vol.  \'ii.  page 
211-21;5. 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  COKNWALL.  437 

In  1854,  Mr.  Couch  thus  describes  a  fossil  which  he  had 
found  in  the  parish  of  Pelynt,  Cornwall : — 

"Hitherto  no  fish  has  been  discovered  to  have  left  its 
remains  embedded  in  our  rocks ;  and  therefore  it  is  not 
without  considerable  hesitation  that  I  venture  to  introduce  to 
the  Society  what  appears  to  me  to  belong  truly  to  this  order 

of  vertebrated  animals This  fossil,  if  a  fish,  belongs 

to  the  Order  Pleuronectidce,  or  flat  fishes,  and  in  its  lengthened 
form  is  not  unlike  a  sole.  It  measures  3  inches  in  length, 
and  If  inch  in  breadth :  the  head  is  wanting,  or  at  least  is 
not  seen,  and  the  vertebi'se  appear  to  the  extent  of  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  appear  well  marked, 
and  the  rays  are  inclined  in  the  way  they  are  accustomed  to 
lie  in  these  fishes.  The  intermediate  bones,  on  which  the 
fin  rays  rest,  and  by  which  they  are  united  to  the  spinous 
processes  of  the  vertebrse,  are  visible;  the  abdomen  is  also 
laid  open ;  but  that  portion  of  stone  by  which  the  counterpart 
of  this  organization  would  have  been  represented,  was 
destroyed  or  lost,  so  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  a 
more  satisfactory  account  of  the  specimen."* 

This  specimen  was,  I  believe,  forwarded  to  the  Geological 
Museum  at  Penzance.  I  have  never  understood  that  its 
identification  by  Mr.  Couch  has  been  confirmed  or  accepted ; 
nor  do  I  understand  it  to  resemble  the  "  Polpen'o  fossils." 

In  1857,  I  submitted  my  supposed  "shoulder  plate  of 
Asterolqns"  to  Mr.  Baily,  Palaeontologist  to  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Ireland,  who  not  only  at  once  recognized  its 
ichthyic  character,  but  pointed  out  that,  instead  of  a  "  shoul- 
der plate,"  it  was  an  ichthyodorulite. 

In  1858,  I  read  to  the  Geological  Section  of  the  British 
Association  a  paper  on  this  specimen,  when  Sir  Philip  Egerton 
stated  that  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  its  character,  and  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  ridges  by  which  its  surface  is 
traversed  more  or  less  longitudinally,  are  inclined  to  the 
mai^gins  of  the  specimen  instead  of  being  concentric  with 
them  ;  thus  suggesting  Carboniferous  rather  than  Old  Red 
affinities. 

Through  my  own  inadvertence  the  title  only  of  this  paper 
was  printed  in  the  Report  of  the  Association  for  1858. 

In  1860, 1  gave  a  brief  account  of  the  "  Polperro  fossils " 

•  **  Description  of  the  Fossils  found  in  a  quarry  near  Trelawny,  in  the 
parish  of  Pelynt,  Com waU.*'    By  Jonathan  Couch,  Esq.,  f.l.8.  Trans.  Boyal 
Geol.  Soc.  of  ComwaU,  vol.  vii.  pages  249-262. 
VOL.  n.  G  G 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THB  DISCOVERS  D?  FOSSIL  FISH 

in  a  lecture  at  the  Royal  Institutioti  of  Great  Britain,  Albe- 
marle Street*  London,  when  I  announced  that  I  had  found 
them  also  at  Mudatone  Bay^  near  Brixham,  South  DevoiL* 

In  a  paper  which,  in  1861,  I  printed  iu  The  Gmlo^,  the 
following  passage  occurs; — "Though,  with  the  excepticm  of 
a  scale  of  Holoptyckim  found,  according  to  Professor  Phillips, 
at  Meadfoot^  near  Torquay,  and  another  at  Baggy  Point,  in 
North  Devon,  ichthyolites  are  not  recorded  as  occurring  in 
the  Devonian  rocks  of  Devon  and  Corawail,  it  is  neverthe* 
less  certain  that  fish  did  exist  within  the  area  during  the 
period  under  consideration,  as  a  fossil  found  a  few  years 
since  in  the  Sttganxidictifum  beds  near  Looe,  in  Cornwall  has 
been  pronounced,  by  Sir  Philip  Egerton  and  other  eminent 
palaeontologists,  to  be  an  ichthyodornlite,  or  defence-spine  of 
a  fish ;  and  it  is  probable  that  other  though  less  well  marked 
6pecimena  have  been  met  with  in  the  same  district"  t 

This  fossil,  which  I  need  not  say  is  the  so  called  "  shoulder 
plate"  spoken  of  more  than  once,  is  figured  in  th©  paper  just 
mentioned,  Plate  vi  p.  346,  (For  *'Love**  on  the  plate,  read 
''Looe."} 

A  paper  which,  in  1862, 1  read  to  the  Geological  Section 
of  the  I3ritiah  Association,  contained  an  account  of  the  dis- 
covery  of  a  fish*scale  in  the  coarse  slates  between  Moadfoot 
Sands  and  Hope's  Nciso,  Tnrl>av, ;  This  specimen  was  found 
by  my  son,  and  was  extracted  from  the  rock  in  my  presenca 
It  was  submitted  to  Mr.  Davies  of  the  British  Museum,  who 
identified  it  is  a  scale  of  Phylhlepis  cancentrieus^  an  Upper 
Old  Red  sandstone  fish,  known  by  its  scales  only.  The  speci- 
men was  at  the  same  time  submitted  to  Professor  Owen  and 
the  late  Dr.  S.  Woodward,  both  of  whom  accepted  Mr. 
Davies's  identification  in  the  most  unqualified  manner. 

More  recently,  it  has  passed  also  through  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Salter  and  other  eminent  palaeontologists,  who  have  confirmed 
the  decision  originally  given  by  Mr.  Davies.  § 

This  specimen  in  no  way  resembles  the  "Polperro  Fossils." 

•  See  Abstract  of  Lecture,  Friday,  May  2oth,  1860.  Proceedings  Boyol 
Institution. 

t  "  On  the  Devonian  Age  of  the  World."  By  W.  PengeUy,  f.o.s.  Tkg 
Geologist,  1861,  pp.  332-347. 

X  **  On  the  Correlation  of  the  Slates  and  Limestones  of  Devon  and  Corn- 
wall with  the  Old  Red  Sandstones  of  Scotland,  &c.  By  W.  PengeUy,  p.o.s., 
Report  Brit.  Assoc.  Ib62,  pages  86-87  ;  Trans.  Royal  6eo.  Soc.  of  (Jomwall, 
voL  vii.  pages  441-445  ;  and  "  Geologist,"  1862,  pages  456-4^9. 

{  The  Qisological  Magazine,  voL  iv.  1867,  page  232. 


I 


I 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  EOCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  439 

Ip  April  1867,  Mr.  Etheridge  read  to  the  Geological  Society 
of  London  an  elaborate  paper  on  West  Somerset  and  North 
Devon,*  in  which  he  accepted  the  scales  of  Holoptychius 
said  to  have  been  found,  as  already  stated,  at  Meadfoot  and 
at  Baggy  Point,  my  ichthyodorulite  and  scale  of  Phyllolepis 
concentricxis,  and  "Fish-remains"  found  in  the  Ilfracombe 
district  by  Mr.  Valpy.  (See  Mr.  Etheridge's  Table  II.  pages 
63a-4). 

In  a  note,  page  606,  Mr.  Etheridge  says,  "  Mr.  Valpy  has 
obtained  in  many  places  along  the  coast  good  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  fish  through  the  remains  of  bones  and  coprolites, 
but  no  teeth  or  scales  so  as  to  enable  us  to  deteimine  their 
genera." 

In  the  text,  page  607,  he  states  that  defence  spines  of  fish 
occur  in  a  thin  calcareous  bed  on  the  eastern  side  of  Heles- 
borough — ^a  headland  adjacent  to  Ilfmcombe. 

Briefly,  the  state  of  our  knowledge  respecting  the  occurrence 
of  Fossil  Fish  in  the  Devonian  rocks  of  Devon  and  Cornwall, 
at  the  beginning  of  1868,  was  as  follows : — 

One  undoubted  Ichthyodorulite  had  been  found  in  the 
Slates  of  Looe  in  Cornwall. 

One  unquestionable  scale  of  Phyllolepis  concentricus  had 
been  exhumed  from  the  coarse  gritty  slates,  near  the  northern 
horn  of  Torbay. 

Two  somewhat  doubtful  scales  of  HoloptychitLs  had  been 
met  with,  one  from  Meadfoot  Sands,  Torbay,  and  one  from 
Baggy  Point,  North  Devon. 

Un-identifiable  "Fish- remains"  had  presented  themselves 
in  several  parts  of  the  Ilfracombe  district. 

And,  according  to  Mr.  Couch,  the  remains  of  a  flat  fish  had 
been  detected  in  the  parish  of  Pelynt,  in  CornwalL 

The  Rev.  W.  S.  Symonds,  f.g.s.,  of  Pendock,  Herefordshire, 
Mr.  R.  M.  Lingwood,  f.g.s.,  and  Mr.  L.  Lyell,  were  on  the 
12th  of  last  March  (1868)  endeavouring  to  get  through  a  wet 
morning  by  looking  over  my  collection  of  "  Polperro  Fossils,** 
in  whose  degradation  to  the  rank  of  sponges  the  entire  world 
seemed  to  have  acquiesced.  On  my  calling  attention  to  a 
finely-marked  specimen  from  Old  Mills,  about  one  mile  west 
of   Looe  in    Cornwall,   Mr.    Symonds   exclaimed,  "That's 

♦  On  the  Physical  Structure  of  West  Somerset  and  North  Devon,  and  on 
the  Palaeontological  Value  of  the  Devonian  Fossils.  Bj  Robert  Etheridge, 
Esq.,  P.O.S.,  F.£.s.B.  Quart.  Joum.  Geol.  Soc.,  vol.  xxiii.,  1867,  pages  568- 
698. 

G  G   2 


440       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  DISCOVERY  Of  VOSSQi  HSH 

Pfceraspis,"  and  at  once  appealed  to  Mr.  lingwood,  wbo^ 
like  himself  is  familiar  with  the  fossil  fish  of  the  Old  Bed 
Sandstone  of  Herefordshire.  After  carefully  ATAfnining  the 
specimen,  Mr.  lingwood  concurred  in  the  identificaiioii,  bat 
with  the  remark  that  it  was  much  huger  than  any  spedmen 
he  had  ever  seen  in  Herefordshire,  and  that  there  appeared  to 
be  several  lying  one  on  another.  It  was  at  once  decided  that 
Mr.  L.  Lyell,  who  was  about  to  return  to  London,  should 
take  the  specimen  to  Professor  Huxley,  in  order  to  obtain  his 
opinion' on  it.  This  was  accordingly  done ;  and  on  the  24th 
of  March  Mr.  L  Lyell  wrote  me  that  Ph)fes8or  Huxley  had 
declared  the  fossil  to  be  Pteraspis,  and  that  he  had  remarked 
on  its  large  size,  as  well  as  on  the  number  heaped  together* 

The  Oeoloyieal  Magazine  for  May  last,  contained  a  letter 
from  Mr.  E.  Wyatt-Edgell,  dated  April  11,  1868,  stating  that 
in  his  late  son's  collection,  Mr.  Salter  had  discovered  ''a  laise 
and  well  preserved  plate  six  inches  long,  which  evidently 
belongs  to  a  species  of  Pteraspis"  From  a  note  by  the  Editor. 
it  appears  that  it  was  found  at  Mudstone  bay,  in  South 
Devon. 

In  drawing  up  this  history  of  the  discovery  and  identi- 
fication of  these  fossils,  I  have,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  embodied 

all  that  has  been  written  on  them,  in  strict  chronological 
order,  and  so  as  to  represent  fully  and  fairly  each  author's 
work  and  opinioiL  It  will  be  a  great  source  of  regret  to  me 
if  it  shall  prove  that  even-handed  justice  has  not  been  dealt 
out  to  every  one. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  venture  to  make  the  following  re- 
marks, which  the  subject  suggests : — 

1st.  There  are  in  my  private  collection  upwards  of  three 
hundred  specimens  of  the  "Polperro  fossils,"  each  labelled 
with  its  locality.  Many  of  them  are  the  merest  fragments, 
but  they  all  sufficiently  resemble  the  identified  specimen  to 
warnint  the  belief  that  they  are  all  Pteraspidcs; — they  are  all 
fragments  of  fish,  not  of  sponge. 

2nd.  We  have  been  taught  to  believe  that  the  Devonian 
system  and  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  system  are  of  the  same 
age.  One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
acceptance  of  this  doctrine  was  the  fact  that,  whilst  the  Old 

•  Whilflt  I  was  writing  this  Paper,  Mr.  Peach  was  so  good  as  to  send  me 
a  tnoiiig  of  a  large  fragment  of  a  fine  Pteraspis  which  appears  closely  to 
'  *  I  tha  i^eoimen  mentioned  in  the  text. 


IN  THE  DEVONIAN  ROCKS  OF  DEVON  AND  CORNWALL.  441 

Red  Sandstones  teemed  with  fossil  fish,  there  were  none  in 
the  Devonian  rocks.  The  shoal  of  Ptcraspides  now  caught  in 
Devon  and  Cornwall  will  go  very  far  to  remove  this  difficulty. 

3rd.  In  consequence  of  the  palaeontological  difficulty  just 
mentioned,  a  belief  has  become  more  or  less  prevalent  that 
the  Old  Bed  Sandstones  were  fresh-water  deposits ;  and,  as 
the  Devonian  rocks  were  certainly  of  marine  origin,  it  was 
argued  that  the  fossils  found  in  the  one  system  could  not  be 
expected  to  occur  in  the  other.  We  have  evidence  now  that 
the  Pteraspides  could  and  did  live  in  the  sea  in  great  num- 
bers ;  a  fact  which  will  render  it  necessary  to  reconsider  the 
belief  just  spoken  of 

4th.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  discovery  of  so  many 
remains  of  fish  belonging  to  a  Lower  Old  Eed  Sandstone 
genus  may  lead  many  persons  to  leap  at  once  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Cornish  fish-beds  are  strictly  on  the  horizon  of  the 
Lower  Old  Red.  But,  whilst  it  must  be  admitted  that,  so  far 
as  it  goes,  the  evidence  is  in  that  direction,  the  conclusion 
would  be  hasty ;  for  the  Cornish  specimens  are  believed  to 
belong  to  new  species.  To  insist,  on  the  evidence  before  us, 
on  the  exact  contemporaneity  of  the  Cornish  and  the  Hereford- 
shire Pteraspidian  beds,  is  to  insist,  not  only  that  no  known 
species  of  Pteraspis  has  risen,  but  none  yet  to  be  discovered 
will  rise  above  the  Lower  Old  Eed  horizon, — a  doctrine  at 
variance  with  the  great  facts  of  palaeontology. 

On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  admitted,  that  if  the  genus 
Pteraspis  did  outlive  Lower  Old  Red  times,  it  might  have  been 
expected  that  remains  would  have  been  found  in  Middle  or 
Upper  true  Old  Red  Rocks.  In  short,  the  time  has  not  yet 
arrived  when  it  would  be  safe  to  do  more  than  diligently  to 
collect  further  materials.  For  anything  that  is  before  us  at 
present,  the  Lowest  Devonians  of  Devon  and  Cornwall  may 
be  as  high  as  the  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstones. 

5th.  The  history  before  us  may  serve  to  inculcate  the  use- 
ful lesson — that  we  should  be  cautious  in  drawing  conlusions 
from  imperfect  materials.  When,  in  1862,  I  showed  Mr. 
Carter  of  Cambridge  a  few  of  my  specimens,  but  by  no  means 
the  best  amongst  them,  he  frankly  stated  that  those  on  which 
Professor  M'Coy  and  he  operated,  were  greatly  inferior  to 
them.  The  conclusion  to  which  those  materials  led  them, 
and  which  they  announced  authoritatively,  diverted  the  line 
of  enquiry,  and  has  for  almost  twenty  years  retarded  the 
progress  of  the  tnith. 

6th.  Let  the  local  geologist  learn  that  in  very  many  cases 
the  solution  of  problems  in  his  own  district  is  to  be  found  in 


THE  mSTORY  OF  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  FOSSIL   flBIL 

comparatively  distant  localities*  The  riddle  of  the  "Polperro 
fossils"  waa  explained  the  moment  it  was  presented  to  on© 
who  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the  fossil  fish  of  Hereford- 
Bhire. 

7tb*  Let  not  the  earnest  worker  be  discouraged  when  he 
finds  himself  unable  to  acquiesce  fully  in  an  advert  opinion. 
Mr.  Peach,  who,  wherever  he  has  been  located — whether  in 
CoTDwall  or  in  Caithness— has  done  very  much  to  elucidate 
the  geological  history  of  the  district,  has,  again  and  again, 
told  me  that  though  many,  perhaps  most,  of  the  "  Polperro 
fossils "  might  be  sponges,  he  had  no  doubt  that  there  were 
fisb-remains  amongst  theoL  Twenty-five  yeai^s  ago  he  first 
introduceil  the  fi:»ssib  to  the  scientific  world  as  fish.  For  eight 
years  their  claims  were  unquestioned,  though  the  authorities 
regarded  tliena  as  ichthyic  enigmas.  Then  came  the  decisioa 
— supposed  to  be  final,  but  confessedly  based  on  imperfect 
materials — that  they  were  sponges.  For  seventeen  years  this 
has  remained  the  prevalent  opinion,  but  it  now  proves  to  be 
incorrect  Mr.  Peach's  judgment  has  received  the  fullest 
justification,  and  we  all  congratulat'O  him  heartily  on  tlie  fact, 


ON  THE  MARINE  AifD  FEESH-WATER  SPONGES 
OF  DEVONSHIRE 


BT  EDWARD   PARFTTT. 


Sponges,  in  a  more  or  less  perfect  condition,  have  filled  a  place 
in  the  great  plan  of  Creation  from  a  very  early  period  of  this 
globe's  existence,  or  rather,  since  the  period  of  the  earlier 
deposits :  for  in  the  Silurian  of  Galway,  Professor  McCoy 
has  found  a  species  of  Acanthospongia,  and  the  Devonian 
formation  has  furnished  a  great  number  of  specimens  of  what 
appear  to  be  species  of  Sponges.  From  this  upwards  to  the 
Greensand  and  the  Chalk,  this  class  of  animals  appears  to  be 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  lost  sight  of;  but  in  these  two  latter 
formations  they  appear  to  have  reached  their  maximum,  both 
in  numbers  and  in  species  And  not  only  do  we  find  the 
perfect  specimens  imbedded  in  these  rocks,  but  the  destruction 
that  went  on  amongst  them,  in  either  the  stormy  seas  of  the 
period,  or  from  some  other  cause,  as  vast  quantities  of  spicula, 
— whole  bands  or  strata,  a  foot  thick  or  more,  made  up  almost 
exclusively  of  spiculae,  are  found  in  the  Greensand  of  Haldon. 
In  the  Upper  Silurian  of  the  Malvems,  we  get  the  first  sight 
of  a  still  existing  genus  of  Sponges,  belonging  to  that  curious 
parasitic  group  of  which  Cliona  is  the  type  :  these  have  their 
homes  in  the  shells  of  various  mollusca  in  the  little  round  holes 
made  by  some  boring  animals,  as  some  naturalists  suppose, 
or  as  Mr.  Hancock  considers,  that  they  are  made  by  the  sponges 
themselves;  and  so  far  as  I  have  examined  the  two  species 
found  on  our  own  coast,  I  am  inclined  to  the  same  opinion,  for 
the  holes  certainly  differ  from  those  made  by  boring  Molluscs. 
In  the  Red  Crag  at  Walton,  another  recent  genus,  and  this 
time  species  also  is  found,  Grantia  compresm ;  and  a  little 
higher  up  in  the  series,  viz.  the  Pliestocene  Marine,  the  most 
abundant  species  of  our  British  seas  has  been  met  with — 


444  THE   MAKIUE   AJfD    FRESH-WATEB 

Halidiondria  panicea.  But  as  I  before  said,  it  was  m  the 
Beas  when  the  Greensaad  was  depositeti,  and  afterwards 
the  Chalky  that  the  Sijonges  appear  to  have  reached  their 
niajcimuni  of  development  as  regards  numbers,  and  pRibaLly 
species.  In  Pliny's  time,  and  perhaps  loii*^  anterior  to  that, 
(for  the  article  on  Sp^^nges  in  his  Natarnl  Hhiory  is  nearly 
all  copied  from  Arijstotle,)  the  sponges  were  divided  into  sexes, 
and  this  was  obtained  by  the  size  of  the  oscula  or  exenrrent 
canals,  and  the  fineness  or  coai-aeiiess  of  the  texture  of  t!ie 
sponge  r  this,  as  might  lie  anticipated,  has  no  foundation  in 
fact.  Ptiny  also  says,  that  aoine  writers  aasert  that  sponges 
have  the  sense  of  hearing.  The  physicians  of  his  time  made 
two  classes  of  them,  namely,  the  African  and  the  RinxJiacke ; 
and  he  says  that  "  at  this  day  the  tenderest  and  moat  delicate 
sponges  are  found  on  the  walls  of  the  Citie  Antiphellus ;  and 
yet  Trogus  writeth,  that  about  Lycia,  the  softest  sponges, 
called  Penicilli,  do  grosr  in  the  deep  sea,  and  namely  in  those 
places  from  whence  other  sponges  heforetime  had  been 
phicked  and  taken  away."  It  appeai-s  also,  that  the  delicate 
and  (lain tie  people,  a^  he  calls  them,  had  their  sponges  dyed 
of  different  colours,  and  some  had  them  entirely  purple. 
Their  uses  api>ear  to  have  been  then  as  now. 

Aristotle  saw  the  diJMculty  iu  arranging  the  sponger  in  the 
order  of  nature;  but  he  had  percet>tion  enough  to  place  them 
7ery  low  hi  the  scale,  and  he  consequently  placed  them 
between  the  two  kiugdoms,  believing  that  they  partook  of  both 
vegetable  and  animal  And  this  is  very  near  the  position 
that  they  occupy  now. 

Professor  H.  J.  Clarke,  of  the  Agricultural  College,  Pensyl- 
vania,  has  lately  done  much  to  raise  the  sponges  in  the  scale 
of  being.  He  says,  "Commencing,  then,  with  what  I  believe  to 
be  the  Manas  tcrmo  of  Ehrenberg,  I  shall  proceed  to  describe 
in  detail  a  series  of  forms  (several  of  which  are  new,  both 
generically  and  specifically)  which  stand  in  the  closest  rela- 
tionship among  the  lowest  embodiments  of  infusorial  life; 
embracing  among  them,  as  I  hope  to  show,  the  true  ciliated 
sponges,  and  which,  notwithstanding,  lead  in  unobstructed 
althougli  varied  courses  to  tlie  more  elevated  kinds  of  Pro- 
tozoa, the  true  Infasoria  ciliataJ'  Mr.  Carter  had  arrived  at 
very  nearly  the  same  conclusion  as  Prof.  Clark  has  done,  as 
proving  the  true  animality  of  the  sponge,  and  that  some  of 
them  at  least  are  constructed  by  monociliated  or  flagellated 
infusoria.  Th(i  principal  difference  in  the  two  observers  is, 
that  Mr.  Carter  did  not  observe  the  mouth  of  the  infusorium, 
but  believed  it  to  be  like  an  Amoeba  possessed  with  a  cilia. 


SPONGES   OF  DEVONSHIRR  445 

Prof.  Clarke  says  they  are  monads,  having  a  cilia  and  true 
mouth. 

Although  the  sponges  are  placed  so  low  in  the  scale,  it  is 
no  mean  place  that  they  fill  as  scavengers  of  the  sea  and 
fresh  waters ;  for  they  live  on  the  minute  floating  particles 
held  in  suspension  in  the  water.  In  a  commercial  point  of 
view,  the  species  inhabiting  our  seas  and  fresh  water,  do  not 
yield  any  fit  for  use ;  these  are  nearly  confined  to  the  seas 
Tound  the  Greek  Archipelago,  and  to  the  seas  round  the 
islands  forming  the  West  Indies.  The  family  of  sponges  have 
a  world-wide  range,  and  they  are  also  widely  distributed 
over  the  ocean,  having  a  range  from  tide-pools  near  highwater 
mark  to  considerable  depths.  They  also  vary  as  much  in 
shape,  as  they  are  widely  distributed,  from  the  simple  creep- 
ing form  to  those  gigantic  "  Neptime's  Cups,"  to  the  beautiful 
flabellat«  structures  from  the  antipodes,  and  that  wonderful 
and  beautiful  Euplectella,  or,  as  l)r.  Gray  calls  it,  "  Venus's 
flower  basket"  and  its  allies.  This,  so  far  as  is  known,  is  the 
gem  amongst  sponges. 

Sponges  are  divided  by  naturalists  into  three  great  classes, 
— the  Keratose,  or  those  whose  structure  is  made  up  of  a 
kind  of  homey,  elastic  fibre — the  sponge  of  commerce  is  the 
type;  the  second  is  the  Silicious  group,  whose  structure  is 
strengthened,  or  almost  entirely  built  up  of  silicious  spicules; 
the  third  is  the  Calcareous  group,  the  skeletons  of  which  are 
built  up  of  calcareous  spicules,  and  it  is  to  this  group  that 
some  of  our  most  interesting  and  beautiful  species  belong. 

Colonel  Montagu,  writing  in  1812,  says,  "The  true  character 
of  spongia  is  a  living,  inactive  gelatinous  flesh,  supported  by 
innumerable  cartilaginous  or  corneous  fibres  or  spicula,  most 
commonly  ramified  or  reticulated,  and  furnished  more  or  less 
with  external  pores,  or  small  mouths,  which  absorb  water, 
which  is  conveyed  by  an  infinity  of  minute  channels  or 
capillary  tubes  throughout  every  part  of  the  body."  To  this 
he  should  have  added,  that  when  the  animal  matter  or  gela- 
tinous flesh  has  absorbed  the  nutriment  held  in  suspension 
in  the  water,  the  rest  is  expelled  through  a  different  set  of 
tubes  called  oscula,  or  efferent  canals. 

Sponges  are  propagated  either  by  pullulation,  or  gemmation, 
or  by  what  are  very  properly  termed  seed-like  bodies.  These 
latter  are  found  in  great  abundance  in  some  species,  such  as 
Pachymatisma  Johnstoni;  but  they  appear  to  reach  their 
highest  development,  and  are  perhaps  more  entitled  to  the 
term  of  seed-like  body,  in  the  fresh  water  species.  In  these, 
where  they  are  subject  to  a  season  of  suspension,  and  in  most 


THE  MABmE  AND  FEESH-WATER 

cases  tlie  parent  sponge  actually  dies  and  decay  a,  these  Httle 
globular,  tou|Th-coatifd,  seed-like  bodies  are  very  beautifully 
constructed  to  withstand  the  drought  aud  other  vicissitudes 
to  which  they  may  be  subjected,  the  same  as  the  hard,  or 
tough-coated  seed  of  a  plant  The  t-erm  ova,  as  applied  by 
some  naturalists  to  these  bodies,  is  certainly  inadmissible; 
for  tliey  are  not  eggs,  neither  has  the  animal  or  animals 
which  produce  them  an  ovarium ;  for  if  we  admit  all  that 
Professor  Clarke  has  done  towards  elevating  these  creatures 
in  the  scale  of  being,  by  making  them  raonociliated  monads, 
they  are  after  all  only  simple  ampulaceous  aacs,  viiith  a  whip- 
like  flagellum,  the  sac-like  body  is  imbedded  in  a  mucilaginons 
matrix :  aud  an  innumerable  number  of  these  creatures  work- 
ing in  concert  go  to  make  up  what  is  termed  the  flesh  of  the 
sponge.  In  the  fresh-water  species  I  can  coniirm  Mr,  Carter's 
observations,  that  these  seed-like  bodies  are  prodnced#towards 
the  base  of  the  sprmge^  and  in  the  densest  part  of  it,  and  that 
each  body  is  surrounded  by  a  cluster  of  s]K)Qge-cells  very  closely 
packed  together,  so  that  in  all  probability  a  great  number  of 
these  aiumals  or  cells  contribute  to  the  development  of  one  of 
these  bodies. 

It  is  clear,  I  think,  that  certain  of  these  animals  are  en- 
dowed with  certain  and  peculiar  properties  or  functions,  as 
their  secretory  powers  are  diflerent;  for  tliose  of  the  fresh- 
water sponge — £phj/datia  flumatiiis~'f\TBt  secrete  those  mi- 
nute green  geranifclike  bodies  in  the  centre  of  each  seed -like 
capsule,  over  these  is  placed  a  tough  layer  of  opaque  cellular 
matter,  totally  different  from  anything  else  in  the  entire 
structure  of  the  sponge.  Between  this  coat  and  an  outer  one, 
which  is  more  dense  and  thicker  than  the  inner  one,  are  a 
number  of  bi-rotulate  siliceous  spicules,  adapted  to  hold  these 
two  coats  asunder,  which  is  a  double  protection  to  the  little 
gemmsB  within. 

Mr.  Carter  has  carefully  observed  the  development  of  the 
fresh-water  sponges  of  Bombay,  and  I  have  instituted  a  series 
of  experiments  with  our  own,  found  in  the  river  Exe,  and, 
moreover,  with  one  nearly  allied  to  a  species  found  by  Mr. 
Carter  in  the  tanks  at  Bombay,  viz.,  Ephydatia  Mayenii.  The 
one  I  allude  to  is  a  variety  of  this,  and  approaches  very  near 
the  typical  form  which  Mr.  Carter  has  done  me  the  honour 
to  name  after  me.  This  form  is  exceedingly  interesting,  as 
connecting  the  Indian  species  with  those  of  this  country. 

There  are  a  few  naturalists  who  still  adhere  to  the  old 
notion,  that  sponges  belong  to  the  Vegetable  Kingdom.  But  to 
this  the  principal  observers  are  opposed,  and  so  for  as  my  own 


I 


I 


1 


SPONGES  OF  DEVONSHIRE.  447 

observations  go,  I  consider  rightly  so,  at  the  same  time  I  am 
quite  aware  of  the  difficulty  in  pointing  out  a  very  wide 
difference.  Chemically  they  are  nearly  the  same;  in  the 
movement  of  parts,  analagous  examples  can  be  found  in  the 
Vegetable  Kingdom;  in  Dionea  muscipala  and  in  various 
Acacias,  and  in  Mimosa  sensitiva,  and  even  the  spicules  are 
mimicked  by  the  bundles  of  Kaphides  found  in  the  leaves  of 
certain  plants.*  The  endosmosis  and  exosmosis,  which  take 
place  in  vegetables,  may  also  be  compared  with  the  influx 
and  efflux  of  water  through  the  system  of  the  sponge.  There  is 
one  peculiarity,  however,  which  may  be  pointed  out  in  the 
habits  of  the  sponge,  and  that  is,  it  will  be  seen  to  go  on  feed- 
ing or  drawing  in  water,  and  as  rapidly  expelling  it;  it  will  all 
at  once  suddenly  cease,  and  remain  in  a  quiescent  state  for  some 
hours,  when  it  will  begin  again,  and  go  on  the  same  as  before. 
When  Ephydatia  fluviatilis  or  Mayenii  var.  is  kept  in  con- 
finement, it  will  be  seen  to  throw  out  long  efferent  canals. 
These  are  mostly  simple  structures,  but  ai*e  sometimes  seen 
with  two  openings  or  branched  tubes.  It  is  through  these 
that  all  the  effete  matter  passes,  and  is  thrown  out  with 
considerable  force.  The  tube  is  constructed  of  part  of  the 
investing  membrane.  If  this  tube  be  irritated  by  being 
touched  with  a  rod,  or  even  when  fresh  water  be  added  to  the 
vessel  in  which  it  is  kept,  the  tube  will  be  observed  to  con- 
tract and  shrink  up,  until  after  the  supposed  danger  is  past, 
when  it  will  gradually  resume  its  former  size  and  appearance. 
When  this  species  is  kept  for  examination,  great  care  should 
be  given  to  keep  it  well  supplied  with  fresh  water,  as  no 
creatures  show  symptoms  of  ill  health  and  of  actual  starva- 
tion sooner  than  these  sponges.  They  exhaust  the  water  of 
the  nutriment  it  contains  very  quickly.  When  this  is  the 
case,  the  first  symptom  observed  is  the  gradual  closing  up 
of  the  ex-current  canals,  and  at  length  the  withdrawing  them, 
and  also  the  gradual  but  rapidly  wasting  or  shrinking  up  of 
the  investing  membrane.  As  this  shrinks  up,  the  defensive 
spicula  will  be  observed  standing  out  in  bold  relief,  until 
nearly  their  whole  length  becomes  exposed,  and  the  poor 
sponge  has  shrunk  up  to  one-third  of  its  former  dimensions. 
At  this  stage,  if  fresh  water  be  added  before  it  is  too  far  gone, 
it  will  rapidly  assume  its  former  appearance. 

The  long  tubes  or  excurrent  canals,  in  all  the  specimens 
I  have  had  under  experiment  and  study,  were  produced 
laterally,  or  on  the  under  part  of  the  specimen,  if  it  was 

*  See  Prof.  GkilliTer,  in  Popular  Science  Review,  Oct.  1865. 


I 


attaclied  to  a  plant  This  arrangement  camea  all  the  effete 
matter  ele^ir  of  the  sponge,  and,  I  presume,  coodnces  to  the 
health  of  the  animals. 

When  a  piece  of  Ephydatia  is  taken  from  its  abode  in  the 
river,  it  is  found  to  l>e  highly  charged  with  a  white,  milky- 
looking  viscid  lluid,  whicli  mns  out  on  the  slightest  pressure. 
If  some  of  this  be  examined  with  a  high  magnifying  power, 
it  is  found  to  be  chiefly  composed  of  exceedingly  minute 
cells,  or  rather  irregular  globes  of  jeUy,  each  of  which  on  an 
average  contains  several  cellules  of  a  darker  colour.  This 
appears  to  me  to  be  a  free  sarcodei  and  when  liberated  I 
pi-eaume  is  one  of  the  naodea  of  propagation. 

The  glohuleg  were  floating  in  this  serai -opaque  somewhat 
viscid  fluid,  which  gave  the  colour  to  the  whole  mass.  Notes 
of  any  other  pec  oh  an  ties  in  other  species  will  be  found  under 
their  respective  heads. 

Dr.  Eowerbaiik  has  enumerated  29  genera,  and  described 
191  species,  in  his  Monograph  of  the  Britisk  Spon^tad^e; 
and  out  of  this  number  we  have  51  species  inhabiting  our 
coast  mid  rivers.  In  my  iu%^estigation  of  our  species,  I  have 
had  the  pleasure  to  add  two  new  forms  to  this  class  of 
animals,  one  maiine  and  one  fresh-water. 

To  Dr.  Bowerbank  I  beg  to  tender  my  best  thanks  for  his 
kindness  in  helping  me  over  some  of  my  difficulties.  1  thank 
Dr.  Gray  also  for  his  kind  offer  of  assistance.  To  ilr.  J.  R 
Carter,  F.R.S.,  I  beg  to  acknowledge  my  obligations,  in  com- 
paring the  fresh-water  sponges  of  our  rivers  with  his  Bom- 
bay species,  since  which  he  has  kindly  presented  me  with 
specimens. 

One  word  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  genera  and  species 
in  this  list.  I  have  adopted  that  of  Dr.  Gray,  as  given  by 
him  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society.  He  has 
taken  the  spicules  as  the  basis  of  his  arrangement ;  this  has 
consequently  separated  many  of  both  genera  and  species  as 
adopted  by  Dr.  Bowerbank. 


A  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  SPONGES  OF  DEVONSHIRE. 

WITH  NOTES  AND  OBSEKVATIONS. 
BY  EDWARD  PARFITT. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Squarey,  0.,  on  FobbH  Sponges  in  the  Chalk  in  Brit,  and  Foreign  Inst.   1846. 

Grant,  Plof.,  in  Edin.  Phil.  Journal,  vols,  xxiii.-iv.-v. 

Fleming,  Dr.,  Brit.  Anim.     1828. 

Carter,  J.  H.,  in  Ann,  et  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  iv.  4th  series. 

Bowerbank,  Dr.,  on  Fossil  Sponges,  Geol.  Soo.  Trans.,  2nd  ser.  voL  zi. 

Bowerbank,  Dr.,  British  SpongiadaB.     1864-66. 

Johnston,  Dr.,  British  Sponges  and  Lithophytes.     1842. 

Montagu,  Col.,  in  Wemerian  Memoirs,  vol.  i.     1812. 

Chuy,  Dr.,  in  Proceedings  of  Zool.  Society.     1867. 

Hogg,  Dr.,  Linnean  Society's  Transactions. 

Hogg,  Dr.,  in  Annals  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  viii.     1842. 

Hancock,  A.,  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  4th  ser.  voL  iii.    1867. 

Ellis,  J.,  CoralL     1766. 

Bellamy,  J.  C.     1839. 

Miiller,  ZooL  Dan. 


Class,  PORIPHORA,  Gray. 

Sub'Clast,  PORIPHORA  SILICEA. 

Order,  KERATOSPONGIA,  Gray. 

Fam.,  DYSIDEIDiE,  Johnston. 

Gbn.,  DTSIDEA,  Johnston. 

FBA0ILI8,  Mont. 

Wem.  Mem.  ii.,  p.  112,  t.  14,  f.  1,  2;  Johnst.,  Brit.  Spon.,  p.  186, 
t  13,  £.  6 ;  Bow.,  Brit.  Spon.  ii.  f.  270. 

This  species  varies  a  great  deal  in  its  appearance ;  some  speci- 
mens are  almost  free  from  sand,  and  the  fibres  of  others  are  so 
thickly  coated  with  large  grains  as  to  appear  a  mere  mass  of 
agglutinated  sand.  And,  again,  other  specimens  have  very 
much  the  appearance  of  those  masses  of  mosses  one  sees  that 
have  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  water  holding  lime  in 
suspension,  and  have  become  what  is  generally  termed  petri- 
fiedy  or  coated  with  lime.  Taken  by  (h*edging  in' large  quan- 
tities along  the  south  coast :  the  masses  vary  from  an  inch  to 
three  inches  in  diameter. 


r 


Fum.,  CHAUKlDiB,  Gray^ 
Gen.,  CEALnr&i  BowrA. 
0€UL4T1^  Fallot. 

EUix,  C^J^lU.  p.  80,  t.  32,  f.  P,  f. ;  /u^h*^,,  Brit.  Spon.,  t.  3,  f.  I, 
This  Bpecit>3  is  occaBionally  met  with  on  our  coast,  so  mo  of  tbe 
epecimeas  bein^  \  eiy  ^n^.  It  mtiy  be  instimtly  known  from 
other  species  of  the  genus  by  the  principal  fibres  mdkting 
from  the  centre  outwards  and  upwanda;  and  when  a  smidl 
portion  is  raa^ificKij  it  will  be  seen  that  eaeh  of  the  lurg^ 
fibres  forming  the  skeleton  eontains  two  stortifih  tbick  spiculee^ 
cither  placed  parallel,  or  one  a  little  in  advanc4?  of  the  oth^. 
When  this  is  the  case  th*y  slightly  cross  each  other  at  one 
end,  and  consequently  diverge  at  the  other ,  but  never  so 
much  as  to  cause  their  apicea  to  protrude  through  the  filaments 
as  in  some  others* 

Grs.,  ISOBlCTYi,  B&a-erh, 
cntERBA.,  Grant 

J^hmfi.,  Brit.  SpotL,  t  4,  f,  2-4, 
Thia  appears  to  be  a  rare  species  with  us,  and  very  Fparsely 
distributed  around  the  British  Isles.     Taken  off   Budlei|^ 
Salterton  by  the  He  v.  A.  M.  Norman. 

nrDEFnnTA,  B&werh. 

B0iPerk  Brit.  Sponff,  u,  p.  286-6 f. 
Taken  at  Ilfracombc  by  Krs.  Griffiths* 
rare. 


It  appears  to  be  very 


This  13  also  an  unoom- 


iNDisTiNCTA,  Bowerh, 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  290-91. 
Taken  at  Exmouth  by  Mrs.  Griffiths, 
mon  species. 

PAUPERA,  Bowerh. 

Brit  Spong.  ii.  p.  328. 
Taken  at  Torquay  by  Mrs.  Griffiths. 

PALMATA,  Ellis  et  Solander, 
Johnat.  t.  2,  f.  1,  p.  92. 

Occasionally  dredged  off  our  south  coast,  and  sometimes  cast 
ashore  in  storms. 

This  has  very  much  the  appearance  of  an  old  specimen  of 
Chalina  oculata;  but  the  fibres  are  coarser  and  harder,  and 
comparatively  rigid.  Oscula  slightly  raised  above  the  surface, 
scattered,  or  in  some  specimens  confined  to  one  side  of  the 
branch.  Their  orifice  as  a  rule  is  ^  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
fibres  radiate  from  the  centre  outwards  and  upwards. 


SPONGES  OF  DEVONSHIRE.  451 

Spiculae  crowded  in  a  very  irregular  manner  in  the  larger 
fibres,  and  very  frequently  protruding  through  the  side,  and 
giving  the  meshes  a  very  irregular  outline.  The  small  fibres 
generally  contain  two  spiculse,  but  placed  with  no  degree  of 
regularity. 

Gen.,  EAPHTBTJS,  Bowerbank. 
QKiFFiTHsn,  Botcerh, 

Brit.  Spong.  i.  p.  75-201,  t.  13,  f.  265;  Johnst,  Brit.  Spong.  f.  13, 
p.  127,  1  to  6. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  sponges  found  in  the  British 
seas.  There  is  no  arrangement  whatever  of  the  spicules 
except  on  the  margin  of  some  of  the  interstitial  membranes, 
where  the  spicules  are  collected  into  small  bundles.  Here  it 
will  be  seen  that  they  have  the  heads  of  the  spicules  all  directed 
one  way,  and  in  the  tubular  fibres  of  the  skeleton,  which 
are  tough  and  crowded  with  pin-headed,  long,  acute  spiculae. 
These  spiculsB  are  stuck  into  the  fibre  in  the  most  irregular 
manner,  but  mostly  with  their  heads  outside,  like  pins  stuck 
into  a  cylindrical  pincushion.  The  appearance  of  an  entire 
sponge  when  dry  is  that  of  a  piece  of  old  worm-eaten  cork, 
and  its  substance  has  also  the  appearance  of  cork.  Found  by 
Mrs.  Griffiths  in  Torbay.  I  have  two  specimens  that  were 
dredged  off  the  mouth  of  the  same  bay  by  Mr.  Walker. 

Fam,,  PHAEELLIAD^,  Gray, 
GsN.,  PHAXELLIA,  Bowerbank, 
TENTILABBUH,    ZlVt». 

JohtuU  Brit  Spong.  t.  7. 
This  fine  species  was  taken  by  Miss  Hook  at  Bovisand,  according 
to  Bellamy. 

Ordo,  LEIOSPONGIA,  Gray, 
Fam,,  HALICH0NDRIADJ3,  Gray, 
Gbn.,  SEKISRA,  O.  SCHMIDT  (HYMENIACIDON),  Bowtrb, 
ooociKEA,  Bowerh. 

Brit  Spong.  ii.  p.  166-57. 
Taken  in  Salcome  Bay  by  Mr.  Joshua  Alder. 

nuioiiis,  Bawerh. 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  159. 
**  Common  about  a  mile  within  the  mouth  of  the  Dart^  where 
an  abundance  of  it  was  cast  up  by  the  tide."  (Dr.  Bowerbank.) 
I  met  with  this  on  the  underside  of  rocks  near  high-water 
mark  in  Pudicombe  Cove,  not  far  from  Dartmouth,  and  have 
also  fine  spedmena  from  Ezmouth. 


TII££  MAKINE  AND   FEKSU-WATEB 

AIiBESCEJTS,    JuhmL 

Bimerb.  Brit.  Spong-  li,  p.  162. 
Taken  at  EountGiam  Head,  Torbay,  hj  Mr.  P.  H.  Gosso- 

OAJiDircuLA,  Bawerh. 

BHt.  Bpong.  ii.  p*  166* 
This  grows  in  closely- attached  patchee,  ou  the  under  side  and 
ledges  of  rocks  between  tide  markay  such  as  at  Padicombe 
Cove,  Kin^sweor,  Brixham,  Exmouth,  &c.  It  ia  a  very  con- 
apicuous  ipeeiea  when  alive,  being  of  a  beautilul  orange-red 
colour.  The  principal  spiculee  are  very  stout,  nearly  stniight, 
rounded  at  one  end,  and  acute  at  the  other }  and  a  horij^outal 
section  shows  them  to  be  distinctly  collected  into  bundles^  m 
that  distinct  meshes  are  formed  between  them* 


l0hntt  Brit.  tSpong.  t  14,  t  3. 
This  species  has  very  much  the  appearance  of  the  one  ahove,  ski 
much  so  that  Br.  Johnston  pkced  them  together  amongst  hia 
sponges  in  the  British  ilusenm  j  but  the  form  of  the  apioula 
at  once  separates  them.     Taken  at  Torbay, 

Brit.  Sponge  ii*  p*  177. 
This  appears  to  be  a  rare  species,  taken  by  one  <if  the  trawlerii 
probably  in  Torbay,  or  just  off  the  coast  (?) 

PEBLEVI8,  Montagu, 

In  "Wem.  Memo.  ii.  p.  86. 
Taken  on  our  south  coast  by  Col.  Montagu,  and  also  by  Mrs. 
Griffiths  and  the  Rev.  R.  M.  Norman. 

AUBEA,  Montagu. 

In  Wem.  Memo.  ii.  p.  86. 
Plentiful  in  the  estuary   of  Kingsbridge,  in  Montagu's  time 
**  covering  the  stones  at  low  water." 

PARFiTTi,  Boujerhank. 

Massive,  sessile;  surface  smooth,  somewhat  undulated;  oscula 
simple  and  sparsely  distributed,  slightly  raised  above  the 
surface;  pores  inconspicuous  to  the  unassisted  eye;  dermal 
membrane  abundantly  spiculous;  spiculae  very  irregularly 
disposed,  imbedded  in  the  membrane;  spiculse  acerate  stout, 
with  a  few  more  slender  ones  intermixed,  of  two  sizes ;  skele- 
ton spiculoe  very  numerous;  acerate  stout,  suddenly  and 
acutely  pointed,  very  slightly  curved,  y^^  long  and  -n^  in 
diameter;  sarcode  not  abundant,  yeUow.  Examined  dry. 
Dredged  off  Torbay,  1867. 


1 
I 


SPONGES  OF  DSVONSHI&E.  453 

This  very  distinct  species  was  when  fresh  of  a  golden  yellaw. 
colour :  it  dries  to  a  pale  yellow.  Three  small  specimens  ore 
all  I  have  seen  of  this,  each  about  two  inches  in  diameter  by 
about  an  inch  thick.  They  grew  attached  to  stones  in  about 
twenty  fathoms  water.  I  presented  a  specimen  to  Dr.  Bower- 
bank,  who  has  paid  me  the  compliment  to  name  it  after  me. 

PACHYDERMA,  Bowefh, 

Brit.  Spong.  iL  p.  184. 
Taken  in  Torbay,  by  Mrs.  Griffiths. 

Gen.,  HAIIGHOHSBIA,  Fleming, 

PAincEA,  Pallas. 

Jokntt.  Brit  Spong.,  t  10,  figs.  1-8. 
On  rocks  and  shells,  roots  of  fuci,  &c.     Very  common.     The 
beautiful  reticulated,  lace-like,  silvery*  surface  will  distinguish 
this  species  from  its  congeners. 

GLABRA,  Bowerh, 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p  232. 

Dredged  off  the  southcoast,  Devon. 

Spicules  of  two  forms.  Fusiforra-acerate,  these  are  the  most 
abundant.  The  second  form  is  flexuose-cylindrical,  tod  few 
in  number.  The  acerate  form  is  larger  and  longer  than  in 
panicea;  but  the  sponge  as  a  whole  has  very  much  the  appear- 
ance of  that  species;  and  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  a 
variety  of  it. 

iircoNSPicuA,  Bowerh, 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  236. 

Taken  by  dredging  off  our  south  coast,  between  Salcombe  and 
Berry  Head. 
.  .This  is  a  very  distinct  species,  and  well  described  by  Dr.  Bower- 
bank.  The  spiculae  are  Very  stout,  except  those  of  the  tension 
membranes,  which  are  long  and  slender;  most  of  them  straight, 
but  some  a  little  curved.  The  colour  of  the  sponge  is  very 
much  like  Chalina  ocidata,  and  it  is  also  a  little  elastic.  This 
species  does  not  appear  to  grow  to  a  large  size;  my  largest 
specimen  measures  two  inches  in  diameter  and  about  three 
Imes  thick,  creeping  over  a  mass  of  serpulsq. 

obALTTA,  Grant 

Johntt,  Brit.  Spon.,  t.  12,  f.  1. 

This  appears  to  be  an  uncommon  species  with  us,  but  is  abundant 
in  the  north  of  England.  Col.  Montagu  says,  ''Coast  of 
Devon,  rarb;**  Bellamy  says,  "  On  exposed  beaches." 

VOL.  n.  H  H 


THE   StARINB  ASD   FRESlI-WATEE 

Brit  Spcffiig.  ii-  p.  240. 
Procured  hj  Mrs.  Griffiths  firom  the  Biixbam  traw^lens ;  but  it  w 
uncertain  on  what  part  of  the  ooast  it  wajs  taken.     It  appeare 
to  be  rare,     I>r»  Oray  says  of  tlii%  **  Spicules  fusiform  md 
needle-like." 

Gen.,  MOTfOCYLIHBETJl,  B^nctrt, 

HispmuBp  Mmtoffu. 

Wera,  Mem.  ii.  t.  &,  t  i,  2,  p,  t6. 

This  is  B  yery  distinct  species p  and  when  recent  cannot  be  con* 
founded  with  any  other.  Dredged  oflf  the  louth  coast  by  Mr. 
F.  Walker,  1864,  but  it  appoors  to  be  rare.  The  spocimeo  h 
in  my  own  cabinet* 

BTUPOacs,  MontOfU. 

Wem,  Mem,  ii,  t,  7- 

Thia  is  also  a  rare  species  with  us.     Taken  hj  Hrs^  OriMths  in 

Torbay, 

KAitoBUs,  G^ard^ 

Mmta^.  Wem,  Memo.  ii.  t*  8,  p.  B4* 

First  taken  on  our  south  coast  by  Col,  Montagu,  whose  specimen 
measured  nearly  five  inches  in  height.  It  baa  ainco  been 
taken  in  Torbay  by  Mr.  Thomas  Ingall. 

Gen.,  ADOCIA,  Gray.     (ISODICTYA,  JBowerb.) 

nuuiAKs,  Johnst. 

Brit.  Spong.  t.  8,  p.  109 ;  Bowerb.  Brit.  Spong.  i.  t.  19,  f.  299. 

This  species  was  included  in  Col.  Montagu's  collection^  and 
labeUed  Spongia  eoalita.  Taken  on  our  south  coasti  but  it 
appears  to  be  rare. 

Gbn.,  SUBESITSSy  JV«rdb. 
(HYMENIACIDON,  Botcerb.) 
suBEBiA,  Montagu. 

Wem.  Mem.  ii.  p.  100;  Bowerb.  Brit.  Spong.  f.  23, 1. 1  (ipiciil&only}; 
Johnst.  Brit.  Spong.  t.  12,  f.  6,  6  (very  good). 

This  is  a  common  species  all  along  the  coast,  and,  as  Br.  Bower- 
bank  observes,  its  favourite  locality  is  on  the  various  univalve 
shells,  such  as  Turbo,  Fusus,  and  Turritella,  which  it  com- 
pletely envelopes. 


SPOHGES  OF  DEV0N8HIBE.  465 

CJLBXOSJif  Johnst. 

Brit.  Spong.  t.  13,  f.  7,  8,  p.  146;  Bowb,  Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  203. 
Taken  at  Plymouth  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Stewart 

Gen.,  FlCmni a,  Gray, 
ANOMALA,  Bowerh, 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  f.  4,  pi.  1 ;  see  also  t.  4,  f.  95. 
According  to  the  arrangement  adopted  by  Dr.  Gray,  the  Isodic^ya 
anomala  (Bowerbank)  will  belong  to  the  above  genus  from 
the  peculiarity  of  the  principal  spicules.  At  the  same  time 
the  form  and  growth  of  the  sponges  would  lead  one  to  sepa- 
rate them  widely  apart,  as  Dr.  Bowerbank  has  done.  Taken 
at  Torbay  by  Mrs.  Griffiths,  and  at  Exmouth  by  myself. 

Fam,,  CLIONIADJE,  Gray, 
GsN.,  CLIOHA,  QroHt. 
CELATA,  Chrtmt 

Hancock  in  Ann.  Mag.  Nat  Hist.  1867,  t  7,  f.  7  (spicules  only). 
In  holes  in  oyster-shells,  and  in  hard  rocks,  Plymouth.  (Mr. 
Bellamy.)  In  old  oyster-shells  off  Exmouth,  &c.  (E.  P.) 
Mr.  Hancock  has  described  several  more  species  belonging  to 
this  group  found  in  the  North  Sea,  and  I  think  with  ^gent 
searching  some  of  them  might  be  found  on  our  own  coasts.  (?) 

Gsy.,  PIOHA,  Cfray,    (CLIONA,  Hancock,) 
voBTHTJHBRiCA,  Sdncoek. 

Ann.  Mag.  Kat  Hist ,  1849  and  1867,  t  7,  f.  1  (veiy  good). 
In  Bueeinum  nndatum,  and  in  old  valves  of  Cardium  edule. 
Dredged  off  our  south  coast;  apparently  not  uncommon. 
Mr.  Hancocks' s  amended  description  and  figures  of  this 
species  in  the  Annals  and  Mag.  N.  H.  (1867),  as  quoted,  is 
excellent  The  investing  membrane  shows  a  very  different 
appearance  from  C,  'cslata ;  for  in  this  the  spiculss  are  all 
smooth  and  pin -headed,  and  sparsely  distributed;  but  in 
Norihumlriea  the  spinose  spicules  are  very  abundant  and 
imbedded  on  the  inside  of  the  membrane, — rather  irregularly, 
but  somewhat  inclined  to  cross  each  other  at  nearly  right 
angles.  The  pin-headed  spicule  are  very  few  comparatively, 
and  lie  with  their  points  protuding  through  the  membrane 
like  defensive  spiculse. 

Fam,,  P0LYMA8TIADJS,  Gray. 
Gbn.,  PSHOILLASIA,  Gray. 
MAMILLABIS,    MnUet. 

ZooL  Dan.  t  168,  t  3,  4;  MotUayu  in  Wern.  Mem.  ii  t  13,  t  7; 
JohntU  Brit  Spon.  t  16,  f.  2. 

Coast  of  Devon;  very  rare.    (Montagu.) 

H  H  2 


TBS   liAKIjrE   kSh    FKESH-WATEB 
Ordo,  ACAKTHOSPOXGIA,  Gray. 

GsN.f  MICEOCIOlTAt  Ba^erb. 
ATE0«1K<}CT1K£A,    Bowh, 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  1^^. 

On  the  ihady  side  of  rocky  pooh  between  tide  marks,  ExmontL. 
It  look»  lik{^  a  dark  blood- red  stain  on  the  sandstone  rocks, 
reminding  one  of  Fatm^Ua  crutjita  at  the  foot  of  old  damp 
walls.  The  piu-heuded  spicules  all  stand  with  their  points 
outwardji,  and  their  heads  imbc-dded  in  the  sareode  of  the 
branches.  This  and  the  following  species,  according  to  the 
form  of  the  spicules  and  their  arrangement  in  the  branched 
membranes,  ought  to  come  Tcry  near  the  genus  Eapbyms, 

CAfiiiosi,  Botcvrk 

Brit^  Spong.  !i.  p.  132. 
The  fiubsttrace  of  this  sponge  is  somewhat  corky  whe^  dry,  on<l 
of  a  viDons-red  colour.  The  dendritic  bmnching  membranous 
tubes  J  which  go  to  make  up  part  of  the  internal  structure, 
and  also  precede  the  growth  of  the  aarcode  as  the  ends  of  the 
membranes,   are  seen   to   protrude  beyond  the  body  of   the 

j  spouge  in  irregular  biuncUes,  giving  the  sponge  a  rough  aod 
rather  ragged  appearance  in  the  direction  of  its  growth. 
These  tubes,  or,  as  Dr,  Bowerbank  calls  them,  columns,  are 
seen,  when  mounted  in  canada*balsam,  to  be  thickly  set  with 
spin  OP©  spicules.  In  examining  portions  of  this  sponge  under 
a  high  magnifying  power,  I  discovered  some  very  minute 
ellipticnl  bodies  contracted  m  the  middle,  so  as  to  give  them 
the  appearance  of  fignn^s  of  8.  On  applying  acid  to  them 
they  quickly  dissolved,  showing  them  to  be  calcareous;  and 
as  this  is  the  form  assumed  by  carbonate  of  lime,  I  am  there- 
fore forced  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  is  carbonate  of  lime 
secreted  by  the  sponge,  not  adventitious.  These  bodiefl  are 
found  imbedded  in  the  dense  sarcode  which  lie  between  the 
branches  and  membranous  tubes  before -mentioned.  The 
specimen  from  Which  these  observations  are  drawn  was 
cfredged  off  our  south  coast  (1866). 

Gen.,  HALTPHT8E1CA,  Bowerb, 
TUMEAKOWiczii,  Bowerh, 
Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  76. 
This   is  a  very   remarkable  and   minute   species.     "Was  found 
attached  to  the  fronds  of  Bkodomenaj  from  Torbay.     It  is  the 
smallest  of  the  known  British  sponges.      Each  sponge  rises 
from  a  depressed  bulbous  base,  forming  a  claviform  structure, 
bristling  at  the  top  with  spicules.     The  walls  of  the  sponge 
are  built  up  with  minute  rounded  or  angular  grains,  woven  in 
between  some  long  and  short  spicules :  some  of  the  latter  are 


SPONGES  OF  DEVONSHIRE.  457 

spinolated,  the  rest  smooth.  The  grains  I  found  to  be  cal- 
careous sand,  and  appear  to  be  used  to  strengthen  the  walls. 

The  base  of  the  bulb  where  it  is  attached  to  the  frond  of  sea- 
weed is  very  remarkable,  and  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
observed  by  other  investigators.  It  is  attached  by  5,  6,  or  7 
radii  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  In  some  these  radii  meet  in 
the  centre,  and  in  others  they  do  not,  but  leave  a  small  circular 
space  in  the  centre ;  but  in  all  cases  the  radii  reach  and  are 
attached  to  the  outer  wall. 

The  position  of  this  species  in  any  of  the  systems  yet  proposed 
seems  to  be  doubtful,  but  from  its  habit  of  collecting  grains 
of  sand  and  bits  of  spicules,  &c.,  of  other  sponges,  would  place 
it  somewhere  near  to  the  genus  **  Dysidea."  At  the  same 
time,  the  structure  and  facies  of  the  two  species  are  widely 
different. 

Gen.,  PBOHAZ,  Gray.     (HYMENIACIDON,  Bou^rh.) 
PLFMOSA,  Montagu, 

Bow.  Brit.  Spong.  i.  f.  141-143,  ii.  p.  195.  Johtitf,  Brit.  Spong.  p.  103. 
This  appears  to  be  a  very  distinct  species :  the  spicules  at  once 
separate  it.  J  have  a  mounted  slide  of  them,  which  came  to: 
me,  with  many  others,  through  the  kindness  of  Miss  Griffiths. 
The  slide  is  written,  in  Mrs.  Griffiths's  own  hand,  "  Scarlet 
Sponge,  Torbay.  Foetid  smell."  This  slide  fortunately  con- 
tains all  the  different  spines  known  to  be  formed  by  this 
species.     **  Common  on  oysters."  (Bellamy.) 

Gen.,  DE81CA0ID0H,  Botcerbank, 
FRUTicosus,  Montagu, 

Wem.  Mem.  u.t.  14,  f.  3,  4.  Johnnt,  Brit.  Spong.  t.  14,  f.  1.  1*.  p.  103. 
Bowerb.  Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  345. 

Not  an  uncommon  species  on  our  south  coast,  and  in  ''Plymouth 
Sound,  on  stones."  (Bellamy.) 

Gbn.,  COBTBAB,  Gray.     (ISODICTYA,  Bawerb.) 
LOBATA,  Montagu. 

Wem.  Mem.  ii.  t.  9,  f.  1.    Bow.  Brit.  Spong.  i.  f.  139,  ii.  p.  326. 
This  little  species  has  very  much  the  appearance  at  first  sight  of 
Qrantia  eomprssaa,  but  an  examination  of  its  substance  and 
spiculse  will  soon  dispel  the  illusion.     Found  attached  to 
corallines  and  zoophytes,  Torbay  and  Plymouth. 

Fam.,  TETHYADiE.,  Gray. 
Gbn.,  BOHATIA,  Nardo.  (Partim.) 
AUBAITTIUM,  Pallos, 

Mimtmgu  Wem.  Mem.  t.  13,  f.  4-6.    JohntU  Brit.  Spong.  p.  86-87, 
fig.  12  wood-out 
Found  more  or  less  all  along  our  south  coast.    Plymouth,  Mr. 


THE  JIAJOKE   AI^D   FRESfl-WATEE 

T,  H.  Stewart.  Dredged  off  KingsbriUge  by  Mr*  Walter  j 
Tarbay,  Dr.  Batersby  and  Mr,  Goese ;  Bttdleigh  Baltertoii| 
Mr,  Carter, 

Gbk..  COIiDiGfllA,  Gr^^,     (TETirElA,  Bo^rK:^ 

BotrerL  Brit*  Spong.  ii.  p,  ST- 
On  Roimdatcnc  Head^  Paington ;  Torbaj,  Mr.  QoaseL 

GiK..  DKRCmra,  Omy,    (KTMENIACI0ON,  JT^nrp^.) 

BriL  Spang,  a.  p.  226. 

Dr.  Bowerbauk  soys:    "Thi«  remarkable  gpong©  in  iU  dried 

atate  very  closely  reacrablea  in  firmness  and  colour  a  piece  of 

dried  boile<l  bullock'j?  liver,"      Taken   in   Torbay,    by  Dr* 

Battersby. 

Qsy,,  TIBULlFOSp  Gray.     (DICTTOCTLINDRUS,  Jfoirrr*.) 

wuFOsrs,  Montmju. 

Wem.  Mem.  t.  3,  t  t.     Sou;.  Brit.  Spong,  1 1.  18,  t  2^8,  p.  108. 
Torbay,  Mrs.  Oriffitbs.     South  coast.  Col.  Mt^ntagu, 

Ordo,,  SPH^^BOSPONGF^  Or«jf. 

Gen.,  PACHTKATI83CA,  3oMvr6. 
JOHKBTONIA,  Botcerh. 

Brit  Spong.  ii.  f.  15,  p.  51. 
This  remarkable  species  is  found  sparingly  along  the  coast,  and 
also  dredged  from  rather  deep  water.  I  have  it  from  off 
Salcombe,  and  also  from  Budleigh  Salterton  and  Exmouth. 
Petit  Tor  Rocks,  Mr.  Gosse.  The  surface  or  epidermis  has  a 
coriaceous  aspect  when  dry,  and  wrinkled  into  folds  of  a 
yellowish-red  colour.  The  fusifoim  cylindrical  spicules  are 
bundled  together,  the  bundles  forming  triangular  areas  or 
meshes,  and  these  are  thickly  studded  with  the  beautiful 
ovaria.  The  long  spicules  when  exposed  to  a  fierce  heat  show 
them  to  be  hollow,  and  that  theii*  walls,  if  not  the  whole 
interior,  becomes  blackened  from  the  charred  membrane  show- 
ing tlu-ough.  These  spicules  have  the  largest  cavities  of  any 
species  I  have  examined.  This  species  is  increased  by  gem- 
mation ;  the  little  gemma)  spring  from  the  sides,  from  one  to 
five  or  six  in  a  group.  They  are  small  ellipticid  bodies,  the 
colour  of  the  dermal  membrane  of  the  parent,  and  semi- 


BPOKQIiS  OF  DKVONSHIRE.  459 

Onfo,  P0TAM08P0NOIA,  Gray. 

Fam.,  SPONGILLAD^,  Grtiy, 

Gszr.,  XFHTDATIA,  Lamaroux,  (1824.) 

VLimATILIS,  PdUoi. 

JoAnst,  Brit  Spong.  t.  17,  18.    Bowerb,  Brit.  Spong.  n,  p.  339. 

This  species  grows,  attached  to  old  wood,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
weir  at  Sahnon-pool,  sometimes  in  large  masses,  and  also 
attached  to  stems  of  aquatic  plants,  and  particularly  those  of 
the  water  thyme,  Anacharis  aUinMirum,  in  the  canal  and  the 
river  Exe.  When  recently  taken  from  the  water  it  smells 
like  common  whale-oil. 

VATENU,  var.  Farfitti,  Carter, 

In  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  1,  4to  Series,  p.  427. 

Massive,  flat,  more  or  less  lobed,  sessile,  spreading;  colour, 
greenish  yellowish;  texture,  friable;  structure,  reticulate. 
Seed-like  bodies,  sphaeroidal,  accumulated  towards  the  base, 
largest  about  -j-J^  of  an  inch  in  diameter ;  spicules  of  skeleton 
fusiform,  slightly  arched;  acerate,  abruptly  pointed;  largest 
■^  inch  long;  of  two  kinds,  smooth  and  spinous;  one-third 
of  the  largest  thickly  set  with  short  verticle  spines  throughout, 
except  towards  the  points.  Spicules  of  the  seed-like  body 
birotulate,  ^jf^  inch  long,  more  or  less  sparsely  scattered 
through  the  wall  of  the  seed-like  body,  wherein  they  are 
arranged  vertically,  with  the  outer  rotule  projecting  a  little 
beyond  the  amorphous  (Siliceous?)  substance  that  chiefly 
keeps  the  whole  together;  rotules  deeply  dentate,  stellate, 
wider  in  diameter  than  the  spicular  shaft  which  unites  them  ; 
shaft  cylindrical,  the  same  size  throughout. 

Habitat,  the  river  Exe,  on  the  Salmon-pool  weir,  near  Exeter; 
and  also  on  Trew*s  weir,  below  the  city.  I  have  this  year 
met  with  it  in  abundance  and  in  larger  masses  than  I  have 
before  found  it ;  but  of  all  the  specimens  I  have  met  with  I 
have  not  seen  any  branched.  It  grows  very  closely  attached 
to  beams  of  wood  and  to  the  walls  of  the  weirs.  The  outer  sur- 
face grows  into  wavy  nodular  masses.  This  species  may  be  seen 
to  be  distinct  from  fluviatilis^  which  grows  abundantly  with 
it :  its  substance  is  more  dense,  stiffer,  and  harsh  to  the  feel. 
This  is  the  case  in  the  majority  of  specimens ;  but  there  are 
varieties  in  this ;  one  which  I  gathei^  on  Trew's  weir  grew 
taller,  or  rather  thicker,  than  the  generality,  and  it  has  a  more 
spongy  appearance,  and  is  softer  to  the  feel.  Its  growth  is 
like  that  of  DyM&a  fragilU ;  that  is,  the  principal  fibres  grow 
in  parallel  lines  fit>m  the  base  upwards,  and  nearly  straight, 
80  that  they  have  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  mass  of 
minute  septate  tabes  when  seen  laterally.   The  larger  spicules 


460  THB^  lUliaNfi  AltD  RtilU-WAltKB 

in  Bome  specimens  obtained  thisyear  in  Joneaie  more  stranglj 
spinose  than  any  before  obtained.  This^  I  preamney  ia  the 
result  of  the  wann.  season  and  the  ahallolr.  wtfter,  aa  the  water 
in  the  river  has  been  lower  this  season  than  it  liaa  been  toL 
several  years.  The  colour  of  this  species  VarieB  Tery  mucL 
8ome  specimens  are  tinged  with  delicate .  green,  and  ethers 
.  growing  by  their  side  will  be  of  what  I  conceive  to  be  of  the 
normal  tint — ^pale,  dull,  yellowiBh  straw^cdhmr,  and  both 
exposed  to  the  same  amount  of  light,  heat^  and  other  eztenoud 
circumstances.  The  some  pertains  also  to  fiaviatilia,  thercfore 
the  colour  goes  for  nothing.* 

Sub-Clots,  PORIFERA  CArCARKA,  Cfrmf. 
Fam,,  GRANTIADJE,  Grmy, 
Gbn.,  ORAVTIA,  Fleming. 
ciLiATA,  Fah. 

Joknsi,  Brit.  Spon.  t.  20,  f.  45 ;  Sofcb.  Brit  Spon.  li.  p.  19. 
Taken  occasionally  on  our  south  coast.   Torquay  (Mrs.  Qriffiths), 
Babbicombe  Bay,  and  Gxmouth,  in  tide  pools  amongat  oorallinea. 

I  have  a  variety  of  this  obtained  at  Exmouth  on  the  root  of  a 
large  Laminaria.  It  is  fusiform,  slightly  icompieaaed.  The 
outer  walls  very  rough,  with  bundles  of  aomite  apiooles. 
The  triangular  spicules  are  the  same  as  those  described  by  Dr. 
Bowerbank.  The  distal  end  of  the  sponge  ia  flattened  into  a 
disk,  and  surrounded  by  a  slight,  raised  wall  of  the  apicular 
structure  without.  In  the  centre  of  the  disk  are  placed  two 
cloaca,  nearly  touching  each  other,  but  distinct,  their  margins 
raised  abov(^  the  disc,  which  gives  them  a  veiy  distinct  and 

•  Since  the  above  was  wiitton  I  had  oocaaion  to  visit  the  places  where  I 
could  have  gathered  them  in  abundance,  in  June  and  the  early  part  of  July 
of  this  year ;  in<lecd  the  two  8])ecies  were  in  greater  abundance  than  I  ever 
before  recollect  to  have  seen  them.  At  the  end  of  Augtist  I  viiiited  the  same 
places  again  with  a  friend,  to  show  him  how  and  where  they  grew,  when  to 
my  great  astonishment  then*  wjis  not  a  specimcm  or  a  fragment  of  a  specimen 
to  be  found,  they  liad  entirely  distippeared ;  and  this  was  not  from  one 
locality  only»  but  two  othtjrs  widely  apail ;  m  that  the  same  cause,  whatever 
that  might  be,  acted  the  same  upon  all.  On  one  side  of  the  Salmon-pool 
•w<»ir  a  number  of  specimens  grew  of  both  E.  Jluviatilis  and  E.  Hiayenni  var., 
and  are  subject  to  be  covered  with  bnickisli  water  at  every  tide,  as  the  Exe 
is  a  tidal  river  as  far  as  tliis  woir;  and  at  the  same  time,  when  the  tide  is 
out,  and  no  wati.T  is  i>aHHing  over  the  weir,  which  has  been  the  case  this 
summer  for  a  long  time,  these  specimens  wei-c  exposed  to  the  full  blaze  of  the 
sun.  On  the  otlier  side  of  the  weir  a  great  number  of  specimens  grew  of 
botli  species,  and  were  even  finer  than  those  on  the  tidal  side.  Tliese  grew 
in  partial  shade,  and  in  comparatively  still  water.  And  in  both  these  places, 
though  subject  to  ilifferent  conditions,  wci-e  acted  upon  by  the  same  cause,  as 
tluiy  all  disai>poared  at  the  same  time.  The  onlv  cau.se  that  I  can  assign  for 
their  early  disappearance  is  the  excessive  heat  o^  the  summer,  and  as  soon  as 
they  had  attained  maturity  they  as  quickly  decayed  and  disappeared.  But 
why  should  vitality  bo  suspended  so  early,  when  they  were  in  full  vigour  so 
abort  a  time  before  P 


SPONGES  OF  DEVONSHIRE.  461 

singular  appearance.  The  colour  of  the  sponge  is  yellowish, 
whereas  the  disc  is  pure  white.  When  the  centre  wall  of 
sponge  is  magnified,  it  shows  the  basal  portion  of  the  acerate 
spicule  to  be  arranged  so  that  they  cross  each  other  nearly  at 
right  angles,  forming  a  latticed-like  appearance  within,  and  in 
the  interstices  of  these  will  be  seen  some  of  the  tri-radiated 
spicules. 

Gen.,  ABTYHES,  Gray, 
C0MPKES8A,  Fab. 

JohMt,  Brit.  Sp6n.  t.  20,  f.  1 ;  Mont,  Wer.  Soc.  t.  12,  p.  2. 

This  beautiful  little  species  is  very  frequent  on  the  roots  of 
corallines,  and  particularly  on  the  roots  of  Laminarias,  all 
along  our  shores. 

Gen.,  LEUCOSOLEKIA,  Bowcrb, 

BOTRToiDEs,  ElUs  et  Sohfider, 

Johnst.  Brit.  Spong.  t.  21,  f.  1-5 ;  Ellis  and  Sol.  t.  68,  f.  1. 

Attached  to  seaweeds  in  Torbay — not  uncommon ;  and  in  tide- 
pools  at  Exmouth,  &c.  I  observed  a  curious  saccular  process 
protruding  from  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  curved  fistulas.  The 
sponge  cells  in  this  are  greenish,  and  about  the  size  of  those 
of  Spongilla  fluviatilis, 

coNTOBTA,  (?)  Bowerb. 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  29. 

I  query  if  the  sponge  tha*^^  I  have  in  view  belongs  to  Dr.  Bower- 
banks' s  contorta.  At  the  same  time  it  may  be  an  extreme 
variety  of  that  species;  but  rather  than  make  confusion  by 
creating  more  species,  I  will  call  it  a  variety.  The  only 
specimen  I  have  seen  is  on  a  frond  of  fucus;  and  as  the 
fistulae  are  elongated,  and  form  a  reticulated  structure  on  the 
fucus  frond,  the  cloacal  ends  standing  up  above  the  creeping 
fistulse,  the  whole  more  or  less  compressed,  glistening,  yel- 
lowish white ;  when  dry,  orifices  of  cloaca  very  minute  (pro- 
bably closed  in  drying).  Spicula)  of  three  kinds ;  those  lining 
the  inner  walls  of  the  fistulse  equi-triradiate,  the  radii  obtuse, 
the  basal  line  slightly  curved,  the  other  straight.  There  are 
a  few  acerate  spicules  scattered  along  the  fistulse ;  the  outer 
wall  is  made  up  entirely  of  large  in-equi-tri-radiate  acute 
spiculse;  two  rays  of  the  triangle  are  directed  towards  the 
apical  portion  of  the  branches  of  the  sponge ;  these  overlap 
each  other  more  or  less,  and  their  sharp  points  project  beyond 
the  walls  of  the  fistulse,  so  as  to  form  a  defensive  armour 

.  against  the  incursions  of  its  enemies.     Oscnla  and  pores  in- 


462  OH   THE  GAME   OF  CHES& 

conspicuous.  DLHtuetcr  of  £attileB  about  ^  of  an  in  oh,  the 
whole  form  in  g  n  somewhat  iiitrieate  mass  half-au-inch  in 
diameter,  Tuiken  at  DawUsh  on  Fu^iia  toMtcttlosas  between 
tide-marks  j  apparently  rare.     Examined  in  the  dried  state, 

QiN.,  lETTCONIAi  Ortnt 

Fi^rtTLosA,  Jiihnst. 

Brit.  Spong.  t.  20,  f  7.    B&tt.  Brit  SpoEU  ii.  p.  39. 
This  appears  to  be  a  rare  species.     Found  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Stewart 
oa  the  rocks  of  the  Eddystone  Lighthouse, 

Gex.,  lEtJGOOYfSIAi  Bowfrkm-k* 

Brit.  Spong.  ii.  p.  42. 
Taken  by  Mr,  Go*»e  at  Torquay, 

According  to  Dr,  Bowerbauk  this  species  might  be  easily  over- 
looked and  mistaken  for  Lmconia  nivm. 


^ 


ON  THE  GAME  OF  CHESS. 

BT  JAMBS  JERWOOD,  M.A.,  F.G.S.,  F.aP.S.,  BTa 


Sometime  ago  I  had  occasion  to  make  the  following  remarks 
on  the  game  of  chess : — 

Whatever  be  a  man's  occupation,  generally  speaking,  he  at 
intervals  stands  in  need  of  some  relaxation.  The  body  re- 
quires repose  as  well  as  nourishment  for  the  due  performance 
of  its  functions.  The  mind,  in  like  manner,  must  have  its 
refreshing  rest,  its  proper  pabulum,  and  occasionally  its  exhi- 
larating plaything  to  sport  with  and  to  unbend  itself,  in  order 
to  maintain  its  vigour  and  elasticity.  An  unceasing  round  of 
labour,  either  bodily  or  intellectual,  would  exhaust  the  subtle 
fluids  which  maintain  both  kinds  of  machinery  in  condition 
for  action,  and  render  them  torpid,  inflexible,  and  incapa- 
citated. "Oliare  qiw  lahores"  truly  says  the  fabulist,  which 
in  homely  English  means,  "All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack 


ON  THE  GAME  OF  CHESS.  463 

a  dull  boy."  This  is  an  every-day  truism,  but  it  is  a  universal 
one.  Be  the  employment  mental  or  manual,  the  "ne  quid 
Tiemis'*  maxim  applies  in  either  case,  **  Too  much  of  one  thing 
is  good  for  nothing."  This  is  true  even  in  youth,  when  all  is 
jocular  and  buoyant ;  but  when  people  arrive  at  the  shady 
time  of  life,  the  truth  of  old  Horace's  apophthegm,  ''Dulce  est 
desipere  in  loco"  is  exemplified  every  day. 

When  friends  meet  for  social  enjoyment,  how  much  the 
stock  of  pleasure  is  reciprocally  increased  when  each  friend 
can  take  a  part  in  some  harmless  amusement.  The  great  aim 
of  education  should  be  to  make  mankind  useful  and  happy. 
When,  therefore,  so  much  familiar  enjoyment  may  be  ob- 
tained, at  a  time  too  when  it  is  most  wanted,  and  most 
difficult  to  be  acquired,  clearly  little  accomplishments  for 
amusement  should  not  only  be  allowed  at  school,  but,  with 
becoming  caution,  they  should  be  encouraged  and  inculcated. 
The  same  lesson  that  impresses  the  advice,  "  In  summer  pre- 
pare for  winter,"  should  also  convey  a  warning  of  the  perni- 
cious and  ruinous  consequences  of  idleness  and  gambling. 
Innocent  amusements  should  be  taught  to  be  regarded  with 
some  esteem,  vicious  gambling  to  be  abhorred  and  shunned. 
Admitting  that  some  preparation  for  the  dark  days  of  our 
pilgrimage  should  be  made  in  the  sunny  ones,  and  that  a 
small  stock  of  accomplishments  should  be  laid  up  which  may 
and  commonly  do  add  much  to  sociability;  what  games  or 
amusements,  as  the  elements  of  such  sedentary  sources  of 
enjoyment,  may  youths  with  the  greatest  safety  be  permitted 
to  learn?  We  think  the  game  named  at  the  head  of  this 
article,  without  a  comparison,  must  be  placed  first  and  fore- 
most. As  a  mental  discipline  it  is  without  a  rival  or  com- 
petitor. Its  very  essence  is  caution.  It  inures  the  mind  to 
anticipate  stratagems  and  to  prevent  them  ;  it  tends  perhaps, 
more  than  any  other  exercise,  to  induce  a  habit  of  foreseeing, 
and  a  promptitude  of  at  once  defending  and  defeating.  The 
chess-players  skill  at  the  table  is  of  the  same  description 
as  the  generaFs  on  the  field.  The  former  may  justly  say, 
'*Lvdimus  effigiem  belli,'*  their  professional  characteristics  are 
nearly  alike.  Each  endeavours  to  dispose  the  lines  of  opera- 
tion in  the  most  advantageous  manner;  each,  as  skilfully  as  be 
can,  concentrates  his  forces  so  as  to  bring  them  to  bear  with 
the  greatest  rapidity  and  effect  upon  the  most  important 
points  of  the  enemy's  operations ;  each  endeavours  that  the 
place  of  attack  shall  also  form  the  best  possible  line  of 
defence ;  each  should  accustom  himself  to  act  with  decision 
on  pressing  emeigencies,  and  on  the  happening  of  unforeseen 


incidents ;  each  should  discover  from  the  shghtest  indicat jona 
the  dcjsigtis  of  the  erietuy;  and  each  should  maiutiiiti  his 
aelf-posseission  atjd  undisturbed  coolness  in  tiie  fiercest  attack 
or  moat  bewildering  strategy.  These  are  the  characteristics 
of  a  fimt-rate  genend;  they  ai-e  also  the  distinguishing  proofs 
of  a  chess-player  of  the  highest  rank.  It  is  adaiitt^fd  to  be 
comparing  great  things  with  small,  but  we  believe  the  com- 
parison  to  be  strictly  Icgitimiite,  and  that  it  is  genenUly  allowed 
to  be  just.  We,  however,  have  adduced  it  as  au  illustration 
of  the  inherent  value  of  chess  as  a  mental  (mining,  and  as  a 
fascinating  and  intellectual  pastime,  which  the  Egyptians  are 
saiil  to  have  rat^d  hi  the  mimher  of  ike  scknce^,  and  the  inven- 
tion of  wliicli  Mr.  Wliartoa  calls  an  admirable  effort  of  the 
human  mind. 

Chess,  according  to  the  first  authentic  testimony,  was 
invented  in  India  in  the  sixth  century.  Various  nationa, 
however,  claim  the  honour  of  the  invention.  Their  claims  are 
brought  together  within  a  readable  compass  by  Mr.  Toinliu- 
son  in  his  Amusements  in  Che^.  Dr*  Forbes,  Professor  of 
Oriental  Languages  in  King's  College,  London,  has  in  a  series 
of  papers  in  the  Ilhtgirated  London  News  discussed  the 
subject  coniplet^'ly.  Mr.  W.  S.  Keanys  Ch^ss  ExcrciseJi  may 
also  be  named,  from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken: — 

**  In  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  of  the  Cbristiati  era* 
there  was  in  the  Indies  a  very  powerful  king,  whose  dominions 
were  bounded  by  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges.  This  monarch 
took  to  himself  the  proud  title  of  king  of  the  Indies,  and 
soon  forgot  the  interests  of  his  people,  in  whom  consisted  all 
his  strength  and  power.  A  Brahmin,  or  Indian  philosopher, 
named  Lissa,  touched  with  the  misfortunes  of  his  country, 
undertook  to  make  the  prince  sensible  of  his  conduct. 
Instructed  by  the  fatal  example  of  those  who  had  already 
admonished  him,  the  Brahmin  was  convinced  that  his  lesson 
would  not  prove  of  any  service,  without  the  prince  should 
make  the  application  of  it  to  himself.  With  this  view  he 
invented  the  game  of  chess,  wherein  the  king — though  the 
most  considerable  of  all  the  pieces  —  is  both  impotent  to 
attack  as  well  as  to  defend  himself  against  his  enemies,  with- 
out the  assistance  of  his  subjects  and  soldiers.  The  new 
game  now  became  famous.  The  king  of  the  Indies  heard  of 
it,  and  pitched  upon  the  Brahmin  Lissa  to  teach  it  to  him» 
Under  the  pretext  of  explaining  the  rules  of  the  game,  and 
showing  him  the  skill  required  to  make  use  of  the  pieces  for 
the  kings  defence,  Lissa  made  the  prince  perceive  and  relish 
important  truths- which  he  had  hitherto  refused  to  hear.     The 


ON  THE   GAME   OF   CHESS;  465 

king,  naturally  endowed  with  virtuous  sentiments,  applied 
the  instruction  to  himself;  and  now  convinced  that  in  the 
people's  love  of  their  sovereign  consisted  all  his  strength,  by 
a  change  of  conduct  regained  the  affections  of  his  people. 
The  king  out  of  gratitude  left  to  the  Brahmin  the  choice  of 
his  reward,  who  desired  that  the  number  of  grains  of  corn 
which  the  number  of  the  squares  should  produce  might  be 
given  to  him, — one  for  the  first,  two  for  the  second,  four  for 
the  third,  and  so  on,  doubling  always  to  the  sixty-fourth. 
The  prince,  astonished  at  the  seeming  modesty  of  his  request, 
granted  it,  and  ordered  his  treasurers  immediately  to  pay  the 
sum ;  but  when  they  had  made  the  calculation,  they  found 
that  he  had  promised  more  than  his  vast  treasures  and 
dominions  could  pay.  Then  the  Brahmin  gave  him  to  under- 
stand of  what  importance  it  was  to  kings  to  be  upon  their 
guard  against  the  solicitations  of  their  ministers  and  cour-. 
tiers." 

This  account  of  the  origin  of  chess  may  be  mytho- 
logical, but  it  conveys  a  moral  which  may  be  useful,  arid 
should  be  heeded.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  this  truly 
rational  and  intellectual  pastime  has  become  much .  more 
prevalent  in  this  country  within  the  last  thirty  years  than  it 
w£is  before.  Mr.  Staunton's  publications  are  exceedingly  well 
adapted  to  extend  it  further;  we  mean  his  Chess-player* s 
Handbook,  his  Chess-players  Companion^  Chess  Tournament, 
and  Chess  Praxis,  Mr.  Staunton  is,  and  long  has  been,  a  most 
accomplished  player  himself,  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  a 
proper  regard  for  his  favourite  subject.  In  the  publications 
mentioned,  he  has  condensed  an  immense  mass  of  useful 
information  and  valuable  instructions  on  the  topic,  and  placed 
it  before  his  readers  in  the  clearest  light.  The  author,  as  we 
have  said,  is  not  only  a  chess-player  of  the  highest  order,  but 
he  is  a  perspicuous  writer  on  the  subject :  he  knows  what  he 
writes,  and  he  has  a  very  happy  manner  of  writing  it.  Each 
of  the  books  mentioned  is  got  up  in  Mr.  Bohn's  neatest  style  ; 
they  are  sufficiently  elegant  for  a  nobleman's  table,  arid  are 
published  at  a  price  which  puts  them  within  the  reach  of 
almost  every  one.  The  author  and  publisher  for  their  en-: 
deavours  to  instruct  and  please  the  public  ought  to  find,  and 
we  trust  they  do  find,  their  reward  in  an  extensive  demand 
for  their  works. 

The  Chess-play eT^s  Handbook  is  a  complete  vade  mecum  for 
the  chess-student.  It  comprises  all  the  necessary  elementary 
instruction,  the  various  openings  with  illustrative  games,  the 
different  gam);>it8  and  endings  of  games.    There  is  also  a  very 


I 


40C  ON    THE   GAME  OF  CilKSS. 

large  number  of  games  which  have  been  played  by  the  most 
celebrated  players  in  this  country  and  on  the  continent,  with 
notes  stating  the  author's  opinion  upon  the  effects  of  certain 
moves.  We  fancy  the  games  of  chess,  as  published  in  some 
books,  are  made  to  sell ;  tliey  appear  to  have  been  formed 
much  in  the  same  way  as  a  writer  makes  Peter  and  John 
ai^ue  with  each  other.  Peter  is  made  to  i-eason  so  that  John 
must  get  the  best  of  it ;  exactly  in  the  same  rtmutier  one 
player  is  made  to  play  so  that  the  other  must  win — otlierwiae 
it  is  impossible  to  say  why  certain  stupid  moves  are  made. 
Mn  Staunton^s  games  are  generally  free  from  this  trait,  and 
are  the  more  instructive.  There  is  one  peculiarity  in  Mr 
Stauutons  books  which  considerably  enhances  their  value: 
we  mean  the  notation  he  has  adopted  in  giving  his  games. 
If  any  one  will  turn  to  the  article  "  Echoes*'  in  Dictiimnmr^ 
rfiw  Jettx  Fkiiidor,  &c.,  the  advantage  of  Mr.  Stannton*s  nota- 
tion will  be  readily  perceived 

Probably  most  chess-players  have  treated  themselves  with 
Mn  Staunton  s  works  named  above.  The  Pra^s  is  almost  a 
chess  library  of  itself.  The  Companion  contains  the  great  chess 
match  between  England  and  France,  in  which  Af  r  Staunton 
defeated  the  French  champion,  M.  St  Amant  These  games 
are  particularly  interesting,  inasmuch  as  the  time  occupied  by 
each  player  in  making  certain  important  moves  is  given.  In 
these  books  there  are  variavis  other  instrnctive  games  played 
by  the  author  with  Mr  Cochrane,  Captain  Evans,  Mr.  Har- 
witz,  &c.  This  latter  gentleman  gained  considerable  celebrity 
at  one  period  by  his  feats  at  playing  chess  blindfolded. 
Writers  on  chess^  relate  as  a  sort  of  prodigy,  that  Sacbiri,  a 
Jesuit  of  Turin,  who  possessed  a  most  extraordinary  memory, 
could  play  at  chess  with  three  different  persons  without  seeing 
either  of  the  boards.  His  representative  merely  informing 
him  of  every  move  of  his  adversary,  Sachiri  would  direct  him 
which  piece  to  play,  and  conversed  with  the  company  all  the 
time.  If  there  happened  to  be  a  dispute  about  the  situation 
of  a  piece  or  pawn,  he  would  repeat  every  move  made  by  the 
parties  from  the  beginning  of  the  game  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  situation  where  the  piece  ought  to  stand.  We  believe 
Mr.  Harwitz,  at  Glasgow  and  other  places,  has  even  exceeded 
this  apparently  astonishing  power  of  memory.  Philidor  also 
played  three  games  without  seeing  the  board.  More  recently, 
a  young  American,  the  celebrated  Morphy,  has  repeatedly 
played  eight  games  simultaneously  without  seeing  the  boards  ; 
and  another  American  named  Paulson  has  played  twelve 
games  under  similar  circumstances.   The  marvel  is  that  when 


ON  THE  GAME   OF  CHESS.  467 

pitted  against  such  a  large  number  of  strong  players,  the 
blindfold  player  should  be  able  to  carry  on  so  many  trains  of 
reasoning  and  to  preserve  so  much  of  his  skill  as  to  play 
stronger  than  his  antagonists.  Competent  authorities  have 
decided  that  Morphy's  blindfold  games  ai-e  of  a  higher  order 
than  Paulson's,  so  that  eight  of  the  one  are  more  surprising 
than  twelve  of  the  other.  Almost  all  chess-players  admit  that 
young  Morphy  at  one  time  was  the  master  chess-player  then 
m  existenca  He  has  not  been  heard  of  for  some  time ;  all 
chess-players  have  an  interest  in  him,  and  would  like  to  hear 
that  he  is  well. 

There  is  not  much  information  contained  in  books  on  chess 
as  to  the  manner  of  acquiring  the  art  of  playing  blindfold. 
The  celebrated  French  player,  de  la  Bourdonnais,  was  accus- 
tomed to  this  kind  of  play,  and  he  explained  his  method  of 
proceeding  to  consist  in  representing  to  his  mind  the  actual 
board  and  men,  just  as  any  one  may  call  up  the  features  of 
an  absent  friend,  so  that  when  sitting  with  his  eyes  shut  his 
mental  vision  was  contemplating  the  shadowy  figures  All 
persons,  it  is  said,  have  this  faculty  more  or  less,  which  of 
coarse  may  be  cultivated  by  exercise  and  practice.  Philidor 
tells  us  how  he  was  first  led  to  blindfold  play.  When  quite 
a  lad  he  used  to  lie  awake  and  play  over  mentally  the  games 
which  he  had  won  and  lost  during  the  day ;  and  he  soon  found 
that  he  was  able  to  run  over  the  whole  of  a  game,  and  even 
to  introduce  variations  so  as  to  play  over  what  are  called 
"  back  games."  This  faculty,  namely,  the  power  of  realizing 
in  the  mind  the  minute  details  of  our  pursuits  is  of  the 
utmost  value.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  attributes  the  whole  of  his 
success  to  this  power  of  concentration.  We  do  not  know, 
however,  of  any  writer  on  mental  philosophy  who  has 
attempted  to  explain  the  process  by  which  such  astonishing 
performances  may  be  accomplished.  When  various  pieces 
have  again  and  again  been  moved  into  different  positions, 
many  taken,  the  kings  castled,  &c.  &c.,  the  power  of  holding 
all  this  in  the  mind  on  several  boards  must  be  immensa  We 
fancy  the  abstraction  must  be  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which 
enables  a  person  to  multiply  six  or  eight  figures  by  as  many 
different  ones,  and  to  say  what  the  produce  is.  This  power, 
we  happen  to  know,  can  be  increased  almost  ad  libitum  by 
practice.  The  process  of  multiplying  soon  becomes  easy,  but 
the  greatest  stretch  is  in  counting  up  or  finding  the  result. 

If,  however,  the  rare  achievements  in  this  way  that  we  have 
named  result  from  any  peculiar  or  uncommon  mental  power 
which  the  perfonners  possess,  there  ends  the  matter;  but  if 


OH  THE  GAME    OF   CHRSS. 

it  requires  any  sort  of  preparation,  it  clianges  the  aspect  of 
the  thing.  In  that  case,  whilst  these  gentlemen  excite  our 
aatonishment  by  their  powur  of  intellect,  we  should  be  in- 
clined to  think  that  it  is  a  work  of  mental  strength — it  is 
employing  a  fifty-horse  power  of  the  brain  to  crack  a  nut  of 
amuaement  We  admire  the  uncommon  gift,  but  upon  the 
cui  bo7to  principle,  we  do  not  profess  to  feel  much  regard  for 
its  application.  Unless  the  feat  depends  upon  some  uncom- 
mon aad  spontaneous  faculty,  it  is  converting  the  most 
precious  mental  gifts  into  mere  matter  of  wonderment— not 
exactly  like  a  man's  walking  with  his  head  downards  or  eat- 
ing knives  and  forks — still  the  high  and  rare  intellectual 
feast  is  spent  to  very  nearly  as  little  utility. 

Whitehead's  poem  of  "The  Youth  and  Philosopher"  with 
respect  to  the  skill  and  judgment  thrown  away  and  the  time 
profusely  squandered,  supposing  that  these  chess  feats  are  the 
result  of  mental  exercise,  would  not  unfairly  apply  to  such 
an  immense  stretch  of  intellectuality  for  such  a  purpose; 
Heavens  rarest  and  highest  gifts,  in  our  opinion,  should  not 
be  wasted  in  aimless  display,  which  proves  that  the  cxhibitet 
possesses  enormous  powers  of  memory  and  abstraction,  and 
that  he  throws  them  away  uselessly  on  matters  of  mree-sliow. 

In  giving  the  above  list  of  the  works  on  chess,  we  omitted 
to  refer  to  a  unique  treatise  by  the  celebrated  Russian  player 
Jaenisch,  entited  Traiti  iks  Applicalion^  dt  rAnali/se  MalM- 
matique  au  Jcu  ties  Eclikes.  The  work  is  in  two  volumes,  and 
contains  a  lat^e  quantity  of  curious  matter  on  the  knight's 
move,  the  movements  of  the  pawns,  and  all  the  pieces.  How- 
ever, as  the  work  can  be  read  only  by  accomplished  mathe* 
maticians  who  also  possess  much  scientific  knowledge  of  the 
game,  perhaps  I  shall  be  excused  for  giving  so  short  a  notice 
of  the  work. 


THE    LITERATURE    OF    KENTS    CAVERN, 
TORQUAY,  PRIOR  TO   1859. 

BY  W.   PENGELLT,  F.R.a,  F.O.a,   ETa 


Introduction: — Devonshire  is  famous  for  the  numerous 
caverns  which  occur  in  its  limestone  rocks  in  various  locali- 
ties, such  as  Torquay,  Brixhara,  Yealmpton,Orestone,  Buckfast- 
leigh,  Ogwell  and  Chudleigh.  Several  of  these,  and  especially 
the  first  four,  have  secured  honourable  mention  in  scientific 
literature,  and  some  of  them  have  become  famous,  chiefly  on 
account  of  their  connexion  with  the  great  question  of  the 
Antiquity  of  Man,  which,  during  the  last  ten  years,  has  so 
largely  engaged  the  attention  of  the  scientific  world.  It  is, 
perhaps,  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  belief  which  at  present 
prevails  on  this  topic— namely,  that  man  is  of  much  higher^ 
antiquity  than  our  fathers  supposed — was  suggested  by  the 
discoveries  made  in  Kent's  Cavern,  Torquay,  in  1825,  and 
confirmed  by  those  disclosed  in  Windmill  Hill  Cavern,  Brix- 
ham,  in  1858. 

In  1864,  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  appointed  a  large  Committee  to  make  a  thorough  and 
systematic  exploration  of  Kent's  Cavern,  and  to  bring  up 
Annual  Reports  on  the  results  of  their  labours.  The  ex- 
plorations were  commenced  in  March  1865,  and  have  been 
uninterruptedly  continued  to  the  present  time.  There  is 
reason  to  hope  that  the  Association  will  be  willing  to  carry 
on  this  important  investigation  until  the  Cavern  is  completely 
emptied  of  its  contents.  Several  years,  however,  will  be 
required  for  this  consummation.  The  Committee  have  already 
published  thi*ec  Annual  Reports,  and  a  fourth  may  be  shortly 
expected. 

The  Cavern  has  been  known  from  time  immemorial.  Even 
tradition  is  silent  respecting  its  discovery,  as  well  as  the 
origin  of  the  name  it  bears.  If  inscriptions  on  its  walls  and 
floor  may  be  trusted,  it  was  frequently  visited  in  the  17th 

VOL.  IL  II 


470        THB  LITERiLTUfiE  OF  KENT'S  CAYSBS,  TOEQUAT. 

centuiy.  The  earliest  known  mention  of  it^  which,  however, 
is  not  earlier  than  near  the  close  of  the  1^  centuir,  states 
that  it  was  "  considered  as  the  greatest  cariosity  of  this  part 
of  the  county."  Its  name  is  occasionally  met  with  in 
subsequent  topographical  works,  it  has  been  the  solgect  of 
several  communications  read  to  scientific  societies,  and  it  has 
helped  to  supply  materials  for  more  than  one  learned  work. 

I  have  found  it  convenient  to  make,  for  my  own  asOi  a 
transcription  of  all  tliat,  so  far  as  is  known,  has  been  written 
respecting  it ;  and,  in  consequence  of  the  numerons  and  varied 
inquiries  made  from  time  to  time,  I  have  been  led  to  believe 
that  a  full  summary  of.  the  entire  Literature  of  the  Cavern - 
would  be  of  general  interest    Of  such  a  compendium  this 

Kper  professes  to  be  an  instalment ;  and  it  is  presented  to  the 
)vonshire  Association  with  a  desire  that  it  may  be  thoosht 
worthy  of  a  place  in  its  Transactions, — the  most  fitting 
depository  for  anything  and  everything  calculated  to  throw 
any  light  on  the  Natural  History  and  Archttolpgy  of  the 
county. 

DE.  MATON.    1797. 

The  following  is  the  earliest  known  mention  of  the  Cavem, 
and  occurs  in  Dr.  Maton's  Observations  an  tks  Wsstern  Ooumiiss 
of  England,  made  in  1794  and  1796.*     ''A  singular  cavern, 

called  Kent's-Hole,  is  considered  as  the  greatest  curiosity  in 
this  pai-t  of  the  county.  It  is  about  a  mile  distant  from 
Torquay.  Two  women,  whose  usual  business  it  is,  conducted 
us  to  the  spot,  provided  with  candles,  tinder-boxes,  and  other 
necessaries  for  the  expedition.  After  pursuing  rather  an 
intricate  track,  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  and 
soon  saw  there  was  some  occasion  for  the  assistance  of  guides, 
who  presented  each  of  us  with  a  candle  stuck  in  a  piece  of 
slitted  stick.  The  aperture  was  just  large  enough  to  admit  us. 
As  we  advanced,  our  guides  fixed  candles  on  the  sides  of  the 
cavern,  in  order  to  give  us  as  much  light  as  possible,  and  to 
provide  against  the  consequence  of  an  extinction  of  those 
we  held  in  our  hands.  The  chill  we  received  after  having 
entered  is  inconceivable,  and  our  clothes  were  moistened,  (as 
it  happens  in  the  Peak)  by  the  continual  dropping  of  water 
from  the  roof  The  lights,  when  viewed  at  a  distance,  gleam- 
ing through  the  gloomy  vaults,  and  reflected  by  the  pendant 
crystals,  had  a  most  singular  effect.     We  began  to  fancy 

♦  "  Obsorvationa  rolatinff  chiefly  to  the  Natural  History,  Picturesquo 
Scenery,  and  Antiquities  of  the  Wcstom  Counties  of  England,  made  in  the 
yon  1794  and  1796."  By  WiUiam  Qoorge  Maton,  m.a.,  f.l.8.,  2  Yola.  (1797.) 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  KENT'S   CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        471 

ourselves  in  the  abode  of  some  magician,  or  (as  our  com* 
panions  were  two  ancient  females,  and  not  the  most  comely 
of  their  years)  in  the  clutches  of  some  mischievous  old 
witches,  the  representation  of  whose  habitation,  in  Shake- 
speare's Macbeth  we  could  for  once  persuade  ourselves  had 
its  representation  in  nature. — Kent's  hole  is  in  no  part  more 
than  20  feet  high,  but  the  bottom  of  it  is  very  irregular,  being 
sometimes  on  an  ascent,  and  sometimes  on  a  descent,  and  the 
moisture  of  the  stone  on  which  we  trod  rendered  both  not  a 
little  difficult  and  dangerous. — The  roof  is  in  some  places  so 
low  that  we  were  obliged  to  advance  on  our  knees.  At  length 
we  reached  the  extremity  of  the  cavern,  which  is  full  200 
yards  long,  and  though  it  sometimes  winds,  seems  to  run  for 
the  most  part  in  a  southern  direction.  As  no  great  elevation 
of  the  ground  appears  on  the  outside,  the  declivity  of  it  must 
be  considerable."  (Page  119-121.) 

It  seems  safe  to  infer  from  the  forgoing  account  that  the 
Cavern  had  not  then  been  very  recently  discovered : — It  was 
"considered  as  the  greatest  curiosity"  of  the  district,  and  it 
was  the  ''  usual  business"  of  the  two  women  to  act  as  guides. 

That  Dr.  Maton's  visit  was  made  during  or  soon  after  a 
wet  period,  and  in  the  summer,  is  obvious  from  the  facts  of 
the  "  continual  dropping  of  the  water,"  and  the  "  inconceivable 
chill"  which  was  "received  after  having  entered."  Ordinarily 
the  Cavern  is  so  dry  as  to  enable  anyone  to  remain  in  it  for 
an  indefinite  period  without  the  least  inconvenience  in  this 
respect,  but  after  heavy  rain  for  a  few  days  the  drip  is  very 
copious  in  many  places. 

The  temperature  is  constant  throughout  the  year,  being 
independent  of  the  seasons,  as  well  as  of  day  and  night,  and  is 
slightly  above  the  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  district. 
It  forms  a  very  agreeable  contrast  to  the  external  atmosphere 
in  winter,  but  a  decidedly  painful  one  on  a  hot  summer's  day. 

REV.  R.  POLWHELE.     1797. 

The  Eev.  R.  Polwhele,  who  must  have  visited  the  Cavern 
about  the  same  time  as  Dr.  Maton,  has  given  the  following 
detailed  account  of  it  in  his  History  of  Devonshire  :* 
"  Kent's  Hole  consisting  of  limestone,  marble,  and  stalactites, 
is  situated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Torkay  («ie).     It 

•  "  The  History  of  Deyonahire."  In  Three  Yolnmee.  By  the  Reverend 
Richard  Polwhele  in  Cornwall,  and  Late  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  Printed 
1^  Trewman  and  Son,  for  Cadidl,  Johnson,  aad  Billy,  Londoiu  XDOCZom. 

I  I  2 


472        TUK  LITKBATURE  OF    KKNT*S  C:AV£ftX,   TORQUAY. 

hath  two  opt^nings  abaiit  half  way  up  a  steep  cliff.  The 
opening  to  the  left  is  an  arch  about  two  feet  high,  which  Wis 
us  into  the  great  cavern  at  oace:  but  the  more  accessible 
entrance  is  by  a  cleft  in  the  rock  ou  the  riglit  hand,  which  is 
about  five  feet  high,  tliree  feet  wide,  an^l  forty- three  in  length. 
It  leads  us  also  into  the  great  cave,  which  is  ninety-thi-ee  ftH*t 
in  depth,  aud  about  a  hundred  in  width,  Tiie  extreme  height 
may  be  about  thirty  feet;  but  the  height  is  very  unequal,  as 
the  floor  rises  in  the  middle  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  root 
Two  more  openiu^fs  front  ua  here :  that  on  the  left  leads  its 
on  a  level  into  a  cave  fifty-two  feet  lonfT^  and  twenty-two 
feet  broad;  and  then  into  a  second,  fifty-four  feet  long,  and 
about  fifteen  wide.  Here  a  pool  of  water  closes  the  ca%'e; 
and  the  arch  bends  over  it.  These  caves  are  all  thirty  feet 
high.  And  here,  once  for  all,  let  it  be  understood,  that  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  is  the  height  of  all  the  caves  hereafter 
to  be  mentioned,  and  the  extreme  breadth  about  fifteen. 
Retnrjiing  to  the  great  cave,  I  entered  the  opening  on  the 
right,  and  descended  by  a  very  slippery  way  into  a  passa^re 
136  feet  long,  and  fram  six  to  twelve  feet  high,  I  then 
ascended  several  steps  of  rock  covered  with  congelations; 
and  piu-sued  the  passage  (which  now  in  some  places  obliged 
me  to  stoop)  for  forty -two  feet  more;  when  I  entered  a  fourth 
cave  thirty *one  feet  long.  Thence  by  a  long  narrow  passage 
frjrty-six  feet  long,  I  was  conveyed  into  a  fifth  cave  twenty* 
five  feet  long.  From  this,  on  the  right  hand,  branches  another 
cavern,  twenty-two  feet  in  length.  I  then  went  through 
another  passage  for  forty-six  feet,  when  meeting  with  another 
ledge  of  rocks,  I  clambered  over  them,  and  descended  into  a 
vault  so  low,  as  to  oblige  me  to  crawl  on  my  hands  and  knees 
for  sixty  feet;  when  I  entered  a  seventh  cavern  fifty  feet 
long — with  another  on  the  right  hand  about  thirty.  At  the 
end  of  the  largest  of  these  caverns  there  is  a  pool  of  water, 
which,  on  account  of  its  depth,  I  could  not  venture  to  mea- 
sure, but  I  should  guess  it  to  be  about  twenty  feet  in  length; 
and  here  the  cavern  finally  closes.  By  this  measurement, 
leaving  out  the  odd  inches,  I  find  the  depth  of  this  cavern  to 
be  682  feet:  yet  I  am  aware,  that  any  person  who  shall 
hereafter  give  himself  the  trouble  to  measure  it,  with  the 
same  regard  to  truth  and  accuracy  as  I  did,  may  find  the 
dimensions  different,  on  account  of  the  darkness  of  the  cave, 
the  projecting  rocks,  and  the  inequalities  of  height  and 
breadth.  This  cavern,  though  inferior  to  the  Derbyshire 
caves  in  extent  and  loftiness,  and  to  Wokey  in  the  latter 
respect,  is  yet  of  greater  extent  than  Wokey,  and  hath  four 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  KENT'S    CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        473 

more  caves.  The  petrifactions  are  very  fine :  and  it  abounds 
with  those  cones  formed  of  a  sort  of  drop  stone,  of  which 
Mr.  Pope  robbed  Wokey  to  decorate  his  grotto  at  Twickenham. 
One  of  these  cones  near  the  centre  of  the  great  cave,  with 
the  stalactites  which  formed  it  pendant  from  the  roof,  would 
not  disgrace  the  grotto  at  Antiparos.  Another  very  large 
cone  will  soon  block  up  the  second  passage,  and  close  the 
cave,  unless  some  whimsical  grotto  maker  should  settle  near 
Torkay.  Here  are  several  pools  of  very  cold  pellucid  water; 
but  no  running  stream  as  at  Pool's  Hole  in  Derbyshire  and 
Donald  Mill  Hole  in  Lancashire.  The  murmur  of  these 
streams  reverberated  by  the  hollows  of  the  caverns  there, 
produces  a  most  awful  effect.  The  solitary  situation  of  this 
cave  adds  greatly  to  its  solemnity.  (Vol.  i.  page  50-51.) 

In  a  foot-note  (page  51),  Mr.  Polwhele  adds,  "A  gentleman 
of  my  acquaintance,  who  resides  in  a  distant  county,  and 
who  has  lately  made  a  tour  in  Devonshire,  was  so  obliging 
as  to  communicate  to  me  the  following  remarks  on  Kent's 
Hole.  I  should  not  mention  this  gentleman  without  adding, 
that  I  consider  my  introduction  to  himself  and  family  as  one 
of  the  happiest  incidents  of  my  life : — *  We  walked  to  Kent's 
Hole,  about  a  mile  from  the  Anchor  inn  at  Torkay.  An  old 
woman  (77  years  of  age)  with  candles,  went  with  us,  to  be 
our  guide  in  the  cavern ;  and  who,  as  soon  as  we  came  to  the 
mouth  of  it,  struck  a  light  in  a  tinder  box  she  brought  with 
her;  and  each  of  us  entered  the  cave  with  a  lighted  candle 
in  our  hand.  We  continued  in  the  cave  half  an  hour,  going 
100  yards  in  it;  or  about  half  the  way  that  people  sometimes 
go — to  some  water,  which  is  at  times  five  or  six  feet  deep, 
though  at  other  times  very  low.  The  congelations  and  incrus- 
tations of  this  cavern  were  very  fine.  In  some  parts  it  was 
ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  in  one  place  resembled  a  coved 
apartment,  overlaid  with  curiously  wrought  vast  stones.  And 
in  another  place  thei*e  was  a  convex  stone  of  a  prodigious 
size,  covered  (from  its  color)  as  it  were  with  brown  sugar 
candy,  which  we  had  difficulty  in  getting  by.  And  the 
variety  of  stones,  the  pearly  hanging  drops  of  water  from  the 
icicles,  and  petrifications  were  pleasing :  and  it  was  the  next 
best  subterraneous  cavern  to  that  stupendous  one  at  Castleton 
in  Derbyshire,  I  had  ever  seen.*" 

It  is  quite  easy  to  follow  the  track  sketched  in  the  fore- 
going description.  Kent's  Hole  consists  of  two  parallel  series 
of  Chambers  and  Galleries — an  eastern  and  a  western, — 


I 


474        THE  UTERATURE  OF  KENT*S    CAVERK,  TOliQUAT. 

which  are  connected  by  one  opeuiDg  OQly.  Mr.  Polwhele 
inspected  the  eastern  series  fimt,  which  contains  his  first 
three  "  caves/'  Hia  "  Great  Cave"  must  have  included  what 
are  naw  known  as  the  ''Vestibule**  or  **  Sloping  Chamber,** 
the  "Passage  of  Urns,"  and  the  "Gnrnt  Cbatnber,"  His 
"second"  and  "third  caves**  were  what  are  now  termed  the 
"Lecture  Hall/'  and  the  "South-west  Chauiberp"  respectively. 
The  "very  slippery  way"  by  which  he  descended,  wa^  the 
"Vestibule"  or  "Sloping  Chamber,"  and  took  him  into  the 
western  series.  His  "fourth  cave'*  was  at  the  junction  of 
the  two  passages,  one  of  which  leads  on  the  left  into  the 
** Labyrinth;"  the  other,  on  the  ri^jht,  into  the  "Cave  of 
Inscriptions;*  The  *'fitlth'*  and  "sixth  caves"  were  the  "Cave 
of  Inscriptions"  and  an  adjoining  chamber;  if,  indeed,  the 
two  should  not  be  regarded  as  one.  His  "  seventh  cave"  was 
the  "  Bear's  Den/*  which  he  obviously  entered  through  the 
"Great  Oven;"  and  the  "eighth"  was  adjacent  to,  or,  rather, 
a  part  of  it.  He  seeois  to  have  returned  by  the  same  route, 
for  had  he  been  taken  back  th.ough  the  "Labyrinth"  he 
would  in  all  probability  have  termed  it  a  ninth  cave.  His 
measurements,  so  far  as  they  can  be  verified,  seem  suflicieutly 
con^ct. 

He  funiishefl  no  suflicient  clue  for  the  identification  of  the 
correspondent  mentioned  in  his  note.  Clearly  it  was  not  Dr. 
Ma  ton,  who  had  two  guides,  and  penetrated  to  "the  extremity 
of  the  Cavern/'  a  distance  of  "  2U0  yards;"  whilst  Mr.  Pol- 
whele*s  friend  had  but  one  guide,  and,  instead  of  reaching 
the  end,  went  no  further  than  "  100  yards  in,  or  about  half 
the  way  that  people  sometimes  go/' 

THE  ANONYMOUS  AUTHOR  OF  "A  GUIDE  TO  ALL  THE 
WATERING  PLACES."    1803. 

A  little  work  which  I  have  recently  met  with,  entitled  "A 
Ouide  to  all  the  Watering  and  Sea-Bathing  Places*  and  pub- 
lished about  1803,  contains  the  following  brief  notice  of  Kent's 
Hole : — "  About  half  a  mile  beyond  Torwood,  a  fine  old  seat 
of  Sir  Lawrence  Palk,  in  a  coppice,  lies  that  celebrated 
cavern  called  Kent's  Hole,  the  opening  of  which  is  of 
moderate  dimensions  and  almost  hid  in  bushes.  Within, 
however,  it  contains  chasms  and  intricate  windings,  which  no 
stranger  should  attempt  to  thrid  (sic)  without  a  guide.   Petri- 

•  "  A  Guide  to  all  the  Watering  and  Sea-Bathing  Places;  with  a  Deacrip- 
tion  of  the  Lakes;  a  Sketch  of  a  Tour  in  Wales;  and  Itineraries.  Illustrated 
with  l^Iaps  and  Views."  By  the  Editor  of  the  Picture  of  London.  London: 
Printed  for  Richard  Phillips,  71,  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard.  The  **  Advertise- 
ment" is  dated  **  London,  May  31st,  1803.*' 


THE  LITERATUBE  OP  KENT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        475 

factions  and  incrustations  adorn  the  roof  and  sides ;  but  the 
whole  is  dark  and  dreary,  and,  in  some  places,  scarcely  high 
enough  to  allow  a  person  to  stand  erect. 

Not  long  since,  some  naval  officers,  rashly  venturing  into 
this  horrid  cavern  without  a  guide,  their  lights  became  ex- 
tinguished ;  and,  had  not  one  of  them  providentially  found 
his  way  out,  and  returned  with  assistance  to  his  unfortunate 
companions,  it  is  too  probable  they  might  have  been  buried 
alive  in  this  Cimmerian  retreat"     (Page  357.) 

COLONEL  MONTAGU.     1806. 

In  a  Paper  on  the  Horse-Shoe  Bats,*  read  to  the  Linnean 
Society  in  1805,  Col.  Montague  thus  speaks  of  Kent's  Cavern: 
"These  Bats"  (the  larger  and  lesser  species  of  Horse-Shoe) 
"  were  taken  in  a  large  cavern  near  Torquay  in  Devonshire, 
commonly  known  by  the  appellation  of  Kent's-hole,  and 
where  both  species  are  usually  observed  in  considerable 
abundance  clinging  to  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  interior  apart- 
ments. This  vast  cavern  was  explored  with  a  view  to  obtain 
whatever  species  of  Vespertilio  might  inhabit  it,  and  with 
expectation  of  procuring  specimens  of  V.  Barhastdlvs,  and 
possibly  some  new  species,  having  been  informed  the  cave 
abounded  in  number  and  variety.  Strange,  however,  as  it 
may  appear,  not  a  single  instance  occurred  of  any  other 
species  becoming  an  inhabitant  of  this  dark  and  frightful 
region."  (Pages  167-8.) 

SIR  HENRY  DE  LA  BECHE.    1827. 

The  late  Sir  Henry  De  La  Beche  briefly  mentions  the 
Cavern  in  several  of  his  works.  The  earliest  instance  appears 
to  be  that  which  occurs  in  his  paper  on  "Tor  and  Babbacombe 
Bays,"t  read  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London  in  1827,  and 
is  as  follows : — "  Kent's  Cavern,  lately  celebrated  on  account 
of  the  remains  of  elephants,  rhinoceroses,  hyaenas,  bears,  deer, 
wolves,  &C.  found  in  it,  is  situated  in  these  limestones"  (page 
166).  In  a  foot  note  on  the  same  page  he  remarks,  "The 
Eev.  John  Mc  Enery,  who  has  formed  a  very  valuable  coUec- 

*  "An  Account  of  the  larger  and  lesser  Species  of  Horse-shoe  Bats, 
proving  them  to  be  distinct;  together  with  a  Description  of  YespertiHb 
Barbai^lus,  taken  in  the  South  or  Devonshire.  By  George  Montague,  Esq., 
F.L.S.*'  Read  to  the  Linnean  Society  November  19, 1805,  and  printed  in  **The 
Transactions  of  the  linnean  Society  of  London,"  volume  ix.  mocccvui. 

t  "  On  the  (reology  of  Tor  and  Babbacombe  Bays,  Devon.  By  Henry 
Thomas  De  La  Beche,  Esq.,  f.o.s  ,  f.r.s.,  f.l.s.,  etc.  (Read  November  16th, 
1827)"  Printed  in  **The  l^ransactions  of  the  Geologic^  Society  of  London. 
Second  Series,  yoL  iii.  Part  the  First"  (1829.) 


476         TBE  LITERATUltE  OF    KIINT^S    CATERN,  TORQUAY. 

tion  of  these  remains,  intends.  I  believe,  to  publish  an  account 
of  them  ;  and  Professior  Buckland  will  probjibly  do  the  same 
in  the  continuation  of  his  '  Reliquiae  Oiluvianie/  " 

The  First  Edition  of  the  same  authar'a  "Geolo|>icul  MannaU*  ** 

published  in  1831,  euntaiua  the  following  statement :^ — ''Dr. 
Buckland  informs  me  that  Mr,  Mq,  Enery  found  roundad 
pebbles  of  gfanite,  of  the  size  of  an  apple,  mixed  with  the 
bones  under  the  stalagmite  in  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay  ;  and 
he  states  that  he  has  found  pebbles  of  greenstone^  completely 
rounded,  in  the  same  place;  and  that  in  some  i>arts  of  Rents 
Hole,  particularly  the  lowest,  the  bone  breccia  is  full  of  frag- 
ments of  grauwacke  and  slate,  some  of  them  rolled  some 
angular.  The  cave  itself  is  situated  in  a  limestone  resting 
on  shale,  and  the  grauwacke  and  slate  are  rocks  of  the 
country  ;  but  the  granite  is  at  some  distance,  not  nearer  than 
Dartmoor :  so  that  although  the  situation  of  the  cave  is  such 
as  tc}  make  it  possible,  though  not  perhaps  very  probable,  that 
under  a  variety  of  combiuations  the  greeustone,  grauwackc, 
and  slate,  may  have  been  conveyed  into  the  ciive  by  what  are 
termed  actual  causes,  the  granite  pebbles  would  scarcely  seem 
reconcileable  with  such  a  hypothesis/'  (Pages  176-7.) 

The  author  then  gives  a  description  of  the  Grotte  d'Echenoz, 
on  the  south  of  Vesoul  (Haute  Saone),  in  which  M,  Thirria 
found  bones  in  greater  or  less  abundance,  mixed  with  a  great 
number  of  rounded  pebbles,  in  ^he  midst  of  red  clay ;  and 
states  that  M.  Thirra  infers  that  "the  introdaction  of  the 
pebbles  and  clay  was  contemporaneous  with  the  transport  of 
the  diluvium."  (Pages  177-8.) 

Sir  Henry  returns  to  the  subject  in  his  "Report"  in  1839, 
and  remarks,  "We  are  not  aware  that  any  detailed  account  of 
Kent's  Hole  has  yet  appeared.  Mr.  M'Enery,  who  devoted 
much  time  and  labour  to  the  subject  a  few  years  since,  pro- 
posed at  one  time  to  give  one,  but  we  believe  his  intentions 
were  not  carried  into  effect.  Dr.  Buckland  also,  we  believe, 
possesses  much  information  respecting  this  cavern  not  yet 
before  the  public.  The  remains  of  bears,  hyaenas,  elephants, 
rhinoceroses,  deer,  and  other  animals,  have  been  detected  in 
it,  and  it  has  been  considered  probable  that  the  cavern  was 
tenanted  by  bears  before  it  became  a  den  for  hyaenas.  Among 
the  proofs  of  its  latter  condition  are  gnawed  bones  and  the 
faecal  remains  of  those  animals.  Dr.  Buckland  found  rounded 
pebbles  of  greenstone  mingled  with  the  bones,  under  the 

•  "A  Geological  Manual."  By  Henry  T.  De  La  Boche,  f.r.b.,  F.o.a.  (1831.) 


^ 


THE  LITERATURE  OF   KENT*S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        477 

coating  of  stalagmite,  iu  this  cavern,  and  Mr.  M'Enery  dis- 
covered rounded  pebbles  of  granite  in  the  same  situation. 
Dr.  Buckland  has  also  informed  me  that  the  bone  breccia  in 
Kent  s  Hole,  particularly  the  lowest,  was  full  of  fragments  of 
grauwacke  and  slate,  some  of  them  rolled."  (Pages  413-4) 

It  is  obvious,  from  the  passages  just  cited,  that  new  sources 
of  interest  had  been  discovered  in  the  cavern  between  the 
years  1805  and  1827.  Research  had  been  rewarded  with  a 
glimpse  of  a  very  early  chapter  in  its  history  :  a  chapter 
represented  by  bones  of  several  kinds  of  animals  of  whose 
existence  in  Britain,  or,  indeed,  in  the  world.  History  and 
Tradition  are  alike  silent ;  and  by  pebbles  requiring  for  their 
transportation  a  confif];uration  of  the  surface  of  Devonshire 
very  unlike  that  which  at  present  obtains.  It  seemed  prob- 
able, too,  that  it  was  rather  two  chapters  than  one — the  first 
devoted  to  the  Bear  alone  ;  the  second,  to  the  Hyajna  and  his 
contemporaries. 

It  will  be  seen  hereafter  that  the  discoveries  made  in  1821, 
in  the  famous  Kirkdale  Cavern,  in  Yorkshire,  had  led  the 
way  to  those  made  in  Kent's  Hole. 

MR.   BLEWTTT.     1832. 

The  various  works  of  Sir  Henry  De  La  Beche  have  led  me 
into  a  transgression  of  the  strict  chronological  order.  I  now 
return  to  the  year  1832,  which  proves  to  be  unusually  pixH 
ductive  of  material. 

In  the  year  just  mentioned,  Mr.  Octavian  Blewitt  published 
the  second  edition  of  his  Panorama  of  Torquay, \  in  which, 
as  the  following  quotation  shows,  he  gave  a  very  prominent 
place  to  Kent's  Hole: — "Kent's  Cavern  is  situated  in  the 
transition  limestone,  about  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  Tor- 
quay, and  at  the  opening  of  the  vale  of  Ilsam.  A  lane  near 
the  turnpike  on  the  Babbicombe  road  brings  us  into  the 
shady  bottoms,  on  the  right  side  of  which  this  ridge  of 
limestone  rises.  A  few  rude  steps  enable  us  to  ascend  the 
wall,  beyond  which  a  narrow  and  intricate  pathway  conducts 
us  through  the  copse  to  the  entrance  of  the  cave.  The 
approach  is  inconvenient  and  discreditable,  but  we  hope  that 

•  "  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Cornwall,  Devon,  and  West  Somerset.**  By 
Henry  T.  De  La  Beche,  f.r.8.,  &c.  (1839.) 

t  *'  The  Panorama  of  Torquay,  a  Descriptive  and  Historical  Sketch  of  the 
District  comprised  between  the  Dart  and  Teign."  By  Octavian  Blewitt. 
Second  Edition,  embellished  with  a  map,  and  numerous  lithographic  and 
wood  engravings.    MDccoxxxn. 


478        THE   LITERATURE   OF    KENT'S  CAVERN,  TOftQUAY, 

thia  hint  will  be  sufficient  to  remove  so  great  a  reproach  to 
the  public  spirit  of  Tor(]uay,  The  scenery  in  the  neighbour- 
hood  of  the  cavern  ^ — the  stillaess  and  solitude  that  reign 
around  it— added  to  its  apparent  seclusion  from  the  haunt*s 
of  man,  give  rise  to  feelings  of  unusual  interest 

^tum  sylvi«  scona  conTscia 
l>R«np«r,  borrcntiqne  atmm  n^miis  imminet  umbra,. 
FrDnie  aub  advonsi  tu^opulifl  p^ndentibus  Antrum  ; 
Intua  aqtia?  dulceo^  rivoqus  «edilia  mxQ ; 
N^inpharum  domyfl. 

Kents  Cavern  however  has  not  been  favoured  with  the 
nymphs  like  the  cave  of  the  Poet,  but  it  has  become  cele- 
b rated  as  the  quondam  resort  of  animals  whose  bowlings 
shook  the  forests  of  the  prinneval  world,— and  whose  relics 
are  still  preserved  as  types  of  an  epoch  which  is  enshrouded 
in  a  veil  of  solemn  mystery,  relieved  only  by  the  sublime 
and  pathetic  narrative  of  the  inspired  historian.  We  are 
here  moving  in  the  sepulchre  of  created  beings,  and  every 
bone  tells  us  of  those  awful  periods,  which — despite  the 
theories  that  have  made  a  mockery  of  the  most  sublime  con- 
ceptions of  human  intellect, — the  eye  of  speculative  sciolists 
is  too  feeble  to  fathom ! 

Kent's  Cavern  is  thought  to  be  more  than  600  feet  in 
length  ;  the  width  and  height  vary  in  different  parts,  and 
the  wdiole  den  is  full  of  lateral  intricacies.  At  the  furthest 
end  a  still  sheet  of  water  spreads  out  before  us.  Beneath  the 
stalagmitic  floor  have  been  obtained,  besides  the  fossil  pachy- 
dermata,  bones  of  the  bear,  tiger,  hyaena,  wolf,  ox,  deer,  rab- 
bit, and  rat,  &c.,  &c.  The  teeth  of  the  fossil  bear  are  larger 
by  one  fourth  than  those  of  the  living  species,  and  the  hyaena 
had  evident  advantages,  in  point  of  power,  over  the  existing 
race.  The  teeth  have  been  found  in  an  admirable  state  of 
perfection,  illustrating  the  different  processes  of  dentition 
from  infancy  to  old  age. 

The  floor  of  the  cave  was  firat  broken  in  1824,  by  Thos. 
Northmore,  Esq.,  of  Exeter;  a  gentleman  not  more  known 
for  his  valuable  contributions  to  the  antiquarian  researches  of 
this  county,  than  respected  for  his  advancement  of  science. 
To  him,  therefore,  as  the  first  discoverer  of  the  organic 
treasures  of  Kent's  Cavern,  the  civic  wreath  is  due,  and  it  has 
seldom  been  more  richly  earned  by  individual  energy.  It  is 
remarkable  that  Dr.  Buckland,  with  all  his  perseverance, 
should  have  twice  or  thrice  visited  the  cave  previously  to  Mr. 
Northmore,   and   cursorily   mentioned   it  in   his  "Beliquae 


THE  LITERATUBS  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,    TORQUAY.        479 

Diluvianaj,"  and  yet  never  penetrated  the  stalagmitic  incnis- 
tation.  But  sic  vivitur.  Soon  aft^r  the  success  of  Mr.  North- 
more,  many  scientific  individuals  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  afforded  them ;  and  it  would  be  unjust  were  we 
to  omit  to  notice  the  researches  of  a  gentleman  whose  name 
has  been  already  mentioned  in  this  work,  and  whose  indefa- 
tigable exertions  are  entitled  to  the  highest  praise: — Tho 
labours  of  the  Eev.  J.  M'Enery  have  enabled  him  to  form  a 
cabinet  of  great  value,  and  to  enrich  with  the  fossil  treasures 
of  Torquay,  the  institutions  of  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and  other 
provincial  towns,  and  the  splendid  Museum  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Society ; — and  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause  these  will  remain 
lasting  monuments. 

But  while  hundreds  have  engaged  in  these  investigations, 
it  is  curious  that  few  geological  works  have  condescended  to 
notice  the  Torquay  cave,  although  much  space  has  been 
given  to  others,  both  Foreign  and  British,  of  far  inferior 
interest.  In  order,  therefore,  to  present  the  public  with  an 
original  and  detailed  account  of  the  early  discoveries  in  the 
cavern  and  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  them, —  we 
have  great  pleasure  in  introducing  two  interesting  letters  on 
the  subject  with  which  we  have  been  favoured  by  Thos. 
Northraore,  Esq.  F.8.A.  the  spirit  and  novelty  of  whose  views 
cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to  the  man  of  science."  (P.  107-9). 

The  "  narrow  and  intricate  pathway,"  of  which  Mr.  Blewitt 
complains,  continued  to  be  the  only  means  of  access  to  the 
cavern  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  longer — indeed,  until 
some  time  after  the  exploration,  now  in  progress,  was  begun. 
The  "inconvenience"  connected  with  it  was  far  from  con- 
siderable; and  80  far  from  thinking  it  "discreditable,"  I 
always  held  it  to  harmonize  well  with  the  character  of  the 
district,  and  to  be  a  suitable  approach  to  the  Cavern.  But 
be  this  as  it  may,  the  "public  spirit  of  Torquay"  wisely 
forbore  to  expend  itself  uselessly  by  interfering  with  the 
rights  of  private  property. 

MR.  NORTHMORE'S  FIRST  LETTER.     1832. 

•*To  Octavian  Blewitt,  Esq., 

Editor  of  the  Panorama  of  Torquat/. 

Sib, — In  compliance  with  your  request  that  I  would  draw 
np  for  your  publication  some  account  of  the  origin  of  my 
discoveries  in  the  caverns  of  the  transition  or  secondary 
limttstone,  in  the  vicinity  of  Torquay,  I  now  transmit  to  you 


\ 


480         THE  LITERATURE  OF    KENT'S   CAVERN,   TOEQUJLT. 

the  following  particulars,  which  I  do  the  mora  willingly^ 
b*3causp  the  second  volume  of  Professor  Buckland's  work  en- 
titled KELrguijE  DiluvianjE,  has  not  yet  madiB  its  appearance, 
altliuiigh  promised  to  the  pub  He  so  long  ago  as  the  year  1825. 
The  Hev.  Mr.  MacEoery  has  also  circulated  a  prospectus, 
above  five  yt^ars  since,  of  a  work  theu  'shortltf  to  he  puUi^hed 
in  one  uolumt  quarto ^  entitled,  *  Cavern  Mf^arckes,  or  dismveries 
of  orf/anic  rcmaiiis,  and  of  Driddical  aud  Roman  Reiiques, 
in  the  Cavm  of  Kent's  Holt,  Anstis  Cave,  Chtuikigh  mid  Berry 
Head ;  UtttMrnted  imlh  plates,  €tc,  including  views,  Stietio^ns  and 
ffrotmd  piam.'  I  regret  much  that  these  long  promised  works 
have  not  yet  made  their  appearance.  For  the  delay  of  the 
Oxonian  FTOfei^sor  I  Irave  heard  no  reason  publickly  assigned; 
but  Mr.  Mac  Enery  has  complained,  and  justly,  of  *tha 
limited  circulation  of  works  of  this  nature  being  by  no 
means  equal  to  the  expenses;'  and  therefore  he  has  been 
'obliged  to  solicit  the  supimrt  of  those  who  may  feel  an 
interest  in  the  result  of  his  researches/  Hence  it  is  highly* 
probable  that  his  work  has  been  postponed,  I  hope  not 
suppressed,  for  want  of  such  support ;  -and  I  repeat  that  I 
deeply  regret  both  these  circumstances,  and  that  as  well  for 
private  as  publick  reasons.  For  many  yeai-s  I  have  been 
employed  in  collecting  materials  for  a  more  perfect  Theory  of 
the  Deltiije;  but  the  work  so  grows  upon  my  hands,  and  the 
science  of  Geology  is  so  rapidly  increasing,  and  pervadt-s  so 
many  other  sciences,  that  I  know  not  either  when,  or  how,  I 
shall  be  able  to  complete  it ;  and  as  it  is  my  misfortune  to 
differ  from  the  Oxonian  Professor,  aud  *the  great  teacher,' 
Cuvier,  and  several  of  the  Scotch  and  German  Geologists, 
upon  their  Diluvian  and  Antediluvian  Theories,  and  particu- 
larly upon  their  ideas  of  the  primitive  *  non-existence  of 
organic  beings,'  of  the  *  late  formation  of  man '  and  what  i^ 
termed  the  'order,  or  succession  in  the  cre/ition'  of  animals, 
etc.  I  had  a  great  desire  to  peruse,  and  to  profit  by  the 
Professor's  new  work,  before  I  put  a  finishing  hand  to  my 
own  lucubrations :  I  would  fain  still  indulge  the  hope  of  its 
appearance,  though  I  can  obtain  no  satisfactory  reason  for 
the  procrastination. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  main  object  of  this  communication 
which  is  drawn  up  from  some  hasty  memorandums,  and,  I 
am  sorry  to  add,  very  imperfect  observations  made  at  the 
time  ;  reserving  a  more  detailed  account,  if  necessary,  for  the 
preface  to  my  own  work. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1824,  I  visited,  with  my 
family,  your  delightful,  though  now  too  crowded  watering 


THE   LITERATURE  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        481 

place,  Torquay,  without  having  the  remotest  idea  of  making 
any  excavations  in  its  caverns  for  the  purpose  of  discovering 
their  hidden  treasures  of  organic  remains,  but  with  the  full 
and  avowed  design  of  examining  Kent's  Hole  for  a  very 
different  object ;  viz.,  to  ascertain  whether  it  were  or  were 
not  a  Mithratic  Cavern;  for  the  Druidical  Priesthood,  like 
their  Egyptian,  Chaldean,  and  Brahminical  brethren,  wor- 
shipped in  such  cavernous  recesses,  (whether  natural,  or 
artificial,)  the  Solar  God,  under  a  variety  of  names — such  as 
Muidhr,  or  Mithras,  Bel,  Bclinus,  Behierus,  Belatucadei',  the 

Tj/rian  Hercules,  and  Ogmiiis,  Cocideus,  etc while 

the  eastern  titles  of  that  deity  were,  more  generally,  those  of 
Osiris,  Ones,  Thoth,  Bvdha,  Crecshna,  Mahadeva,  or  Seeva, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  others.  In  several  of  these  deep 
and  gloomy  caverns,  or  temples,  (which  mystically  represented 
the  Diluvian  abyss,)  and  particularly  in  those  of  Elephants, 
and  EUora,  in  Hindostan,  the  emblems  of  Deus  Genitor  yet 
remain ;  emblems  which,  to  modern  delicacy,  and  modem 
manners,  must  be  justly  considered  as  in  the  highest  degree 
obscene ;  yet  by  no  means  so  considered  in  the  ideas  either 
of  our  simple,  plain-speaking,  and  plain-meaning  British 
ancestors,  or  in  those  of  the  Ancients  generally,  whether  of 
Europe  or  Asia.  None  however  of  these  indelicate  objects 
have  been  suffered  to  exist  in  any  of  the  Druidical  temples 
of  the  British  Empire  that  I  know  of,  with  one  solitary 
exception;  and  that,  I  suppose,  from  its  having  been  little 
known,  and  remote  from  general  observation.  The  indelicate 
appelatives  however  do  occasionally  exist  of  various  British 
Solar  temples ;  as  for  instance,  the  Devil's  Cave  at  Castleton, 
in  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire ;  where  the  Mithratic,  or  Diony- 
siack  Mysteries  were  evidently  celebrated.  This  grand  and 
majestic  Cavern  of  Castleton  is  even  recorded  in  the  most 
ancient,  and  earliest  writings  of  the  Indian  Brahmins;  for 
the  connection  between  Asia  and  Europe  through  the  medium 
of  the  Arkite  priesthood  is  established. 

In  these  gloomy  temples  the  Catechumens  were  initiated, 
and  *  purged  of  their  sins.*  Here  they  saw,  in  i-epresentation, 
'  the  torments  of  the  damned,  and  the  jogs  of  the  Blessed'  Such 
were  the  Eleusinian  orgies,  and  many  wei'e  the  scenes  of 
peril  and  horrour  through  which  the  Epoptae  passed.  One 
of  the  most  usual  modes  of  Purification,  or  Regeneration  of 
the  Aspirants  was  by  creeping  through  a  hole,  or  passage  in 
the  rocks ;  or  by  passing  an  arm,  or  leg,  or  portion  of  the 
body  through  it,  if  of  small  dimension  ;  or  by  going  through 
a  door,  or  gateway;   but  this  could  not  be  done  by  the 


482         THE    LITERATURK   OF  KEKT'S   CAVEBN,   TOKQUAIT. 

Aspirant,  without  the  aid  and  approbation  of  the  Priest,  the 
door  of  itaelf  *  violently  oppoaing '  the  wicked  and  impure* 
and  *  denying  them  admission'  to  the  sacred  'foantam  of 
pellucid  water/ 

It  was  partly  then  with  thia  view  of  iavestigatioti  that  I 
went  to  Torquay,  a.d.  1824,  and  having,  by  mere  accident, 
mentioned  this  my  intention  to  my  brother* in-law,  Capt 
Richard  Welby,  (there  resident,)  who  had  the  beautiful  work 
of  Belzoni,  upon  the  Pyramids  of  E^ypt,  lying  upon  hia 
table,  he  kindly  offered  it  to  my  perusal,  as  thinking  it  might 
be  of  service  to  me  in  my  Mithratic  pursuits,— as  in  truth  it 
really  was ;  for  the  fact  is  that  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  (aa 
was  the  Tower  of  Babei)  were  built  for  the  same  object  and 
mystery ;  the  water  of  the  sacred  ^ile  was  brought  into 
them  and  used  for  the  same  purpose  of  baptismal  regenera- 
tion, as  the  natural '  pellucid  water/  of  Caatleton  Cave,  and 
Ketit^s  Hole ;  and  the  rock-basons,  and  stone-bowls  of  the 
Nymphs,  and  Druids ;  and  the  tanks  and  reservoii's  of  the 
Hindu  Pagodas  were  designated  to  a  similar  end.  Fortu- 
nately for  me,  Mr,  Wei  by  had  at  the  same  time  Mr.  Professor 
Buckland's  Rdiquiw  Dilumanm  lying  before  him,  which,  he 
observed,  just  mentioned  Kent's  Hole ;  and  this  work  also 
he  handed  for  my  perusal  I  relate,  Sir,  these  circumstances 
to  yon,  in  order  to  show  how  much  discoveries  depend  itp(m 
mere  acmknL  At  that  period  I  had  never  studied  Geology, 
and,  I  am  ashamed  to  add,  had  scarcely  ever  heard  of  the 
name  of  Buckland. 

Upon  perusing  the  Bdiquim  Dilwjiancp,  I  confess  that  I 
was  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  very  slight  and  cursory 
manner  in  which  the  Professor  had  mentioned  Kent's  Hole ; 
not  the  least  idea  did  he  seem  to  have  of  its  concealed 
treasures :  to  this  perusal  however,  and  to  this  mere  acddeiU, 
am  I  indebted  for  my  geological  information ;  for  from  that 
hour  I  took  up  the  science,  and  have  continued  to  study  it 
ever  since.  ...... 

It  now  occurred  to  me,  that  I  might,  as  the  saying  is,  kill 
two  birds  with  one  stone,  and  extract  as  many  organic  remains 
from  our  Devonian  limestone  caverns,  as  the  Professor  had 
done  in  Kirkdale.  With  both  these  objects  then  in  view,  I 
hired  two  assistants  (William  Rossiter  and  John  Ferris),  and 
accompanied  by  an  able  draughtsman,  Mr.  Gendall  of  Exeter, 
I  set  out  on  the  21st  of  September,  A.D.  1824,  with  the  double 
object  of  discovering  organic  remains,  and  ascertaining  the 
existence  of  a  temple  of  Mithras ;  and  happy  am  I  to  say 


THE  LTTERATUEE  OF  KBNT'S    CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        483 

that  I  was  successful  in  both  objects ;  in  the  former  pursuit 
indeed  I  have  been  followed  by  hundreds,  in  the  latter  by 
none. 

The  baptismal  lake  of  'pellucid  water'  the  creeping  path 
of  *  atone  purification,'  and  if  I  am  not  quite  mistietken,  (for 
I  speak  doubtfully)  the  'mystic  gate  of  obstacle;'  the  'oven 
mouth ; '  and  possibly  one  more  arcane  memoricU,  sufficiently 
satisfied  my  mind  upon  the  Temple  of  the  extensively 
worshipped,  and  thousand-named  Deity,  Belin.  But  upon 
this  subject  no  more  at  present,  and  I  proceed  to  the  organic 
treasures  of  the  sacred  Arkaean  Cave.  And  first;  at  that 
period,  A,D.  1824,  there  was  little  obstacle  to,  or  difficulty  in 
research ;  no  bars,  no  locks,  no  bolts,  every  one  might  enter 
the  cave,  explore  if  he  pleased,  and  return  according  to  his 
will  and  pleasure ;  not  that  I  blame  the  owner.  Sir  Lawrence 
Palk,  (since  the  bones  have  become  objects  of  sale)  for  closing 
the  entrance,  and  1  believe  that  the  Baronet  never  refuses  to 
grant  permission  to  any  man  of  science  upon  due  application, 
but  the  delays  arising  from  other  circumstances  have  been, 
I  hear,  the  cause  of  complaint  and  inconvenienca  Upon 
entering,  then,  the  Cavern,  and  being  at  that  time  a  novice 
in  the  art  of  exploring,  I  began  to  consider  in  what  part  it 
was  most  likely  to  find  the  expected  treasures,  and  seeing  a 
small  recess  (which  I  technically  called  a  Den)  on  the  left 
side^  some  way  in  the  Cavern,  of  a  size  sufficiently  capacious 
to  hold  a  large  tiger,  I  began  to  dig  therein  through  the 
stalagmitic  covering,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  I  could 
not  forbear  exclaiming  with  joy — Here  it  is;  and  I  pulled  out 
an  old  worn-down  tusk  of  an  Hycena,  and  soon  afterwards, 
a  Metatarsal  bone  of  the  Cavern  Bear,  About  20  or  30  other 
teeth  and  bones  were  the  result  of  our  labours  on  that  day; 
but  among  thpiu,  and  what  I  most  prized,  were  two  jaws, 
upper  and  lower,  of  either  the  Wolf  or  the  Fox ;  these  I 
placed,  as  I  thought,  safely  in  my  basket,  but  upon  my  return 
to  my  lodgings  I  found  they  were  gone,  and  though  I  sub- 
sequently offered  a  reward  to  the  finder,  I  never  was  able  to 
'•ocover  them.  Such  then  were  the  fortunate  results  of  the 
first  day,  and  my  object  toas  complete;  for  in  truth  my  views 
tended  more  to  FrincipleSy  than  mere  matters  of  fact,  and 
experiment.  When  once  one  leading  discovery,  or  one  great 
successful  easperim^nt,  is  made,  it  is  a  matter  of  comparative 
ease  and  simplicity  to  follow  it  up  by  additions  and  improve- 
ments ;  numerous  individuals  find  time  and  opportunity  to 
make  researches,  which  the  original  discoverer  has  not ;  and 
the  minds  of  men  are  variously  constructed,  some  being 


1\ 


484        THE  LITEJUTURE  OF    KENT'S   CAVKBK,  TOBQUAT, 

adapted  to  origviaU  diacoverifea,  and  general  laws  ;  others  to 
improve^  and  Uiudraie  them  in  detail.  ,  .  ,  ,  ,  But  I  i-epeat 
that  it  is  ungrateful  in  the  improvtr^  of  arts  and  sciences,  to 
»moih€r,  to  conceal,  to  ke^  d&icn,  and  seemingly  to  forgel  the 
original  dmovereu,  and  inventors,  who  have  in  fact  given 
them  their  existence  and  celebrity.  This  practice  savours  of 
vanity,  of  licikiws^  of  raind,  and  is  not  better  than  she^r 
plagiarism,  and  it  becomes  every  liberal-minded  writer  and 
speaker,  to  hold  it  up  to  merited  obloquy. 

By  this  discovery  I  contributed  to  establish  the  gtneral 
rule  of  the  Limestone  Caverns  being  the  retreats,  not  of  Ante- 
dOuvial,  but  of  Postdiluvial  carnivorous  animals  and  their 
prey ;  and  such  I  am  persuaded  they  will  frequently  be  found. 

Mr.  Gendall  made,  on  this  day,  some  beautiful  sketches, 
both  of  the  interior  and  exterior  of  the  cavern;  one  of  wliieh 
will  appear  as  a  vignette  to  this  work. 

Before  I  quit  this  fii-st  Den,  or  lateral  retreat,  I  should 
mention  that  Professor  Buckland  some  short  time  afterwards, 
(fuv  1  immcduUelif  comniunimted  ia  him  my  ;discoveryj  con- 
tinued the  search  in  the  same  spot,  and  found  a  British  iiint 
knife,  and  some  bones  and  teeth,  if  I  recollect  righty  of  the 
bear,  and  rhinoceros ;  and  not  far  from  it  Mr,  W.  C.  Trevelyaii 
discovered  a  beautiful  tooth  of  a  tiger,  and  a  fine  jaw-bone  of 
a  bear,  and  other  remains* 

I  now  proceeded  to  take  the  admeasurements  of  the  cavern 
and  its  bearings;  and  to  ascertain  its  temperature,  etc.; — and 
repeating  my  deep  regret  at  the  great  imperfection,  and  much 
omission — (arising  partly  from  the  intricacies  and  extent  of 
the  cave,  or  rather  series  of  caves  and  dens,  of  which  I  was 
then  not  sufficiently  apprized,  and  trusted  to  residents  of 
Torquay  to  make  perfect ;  and  partly  from  my  short  stay  in 

•  (Note  by  Mr.  Northmore.)  **  Having  mentioned  my  loss  of  the  two 
jaws  of  the  Wolf,  it  may  be  advisable  to  inform  the  future  explorer,  that 
these  Cavern-Treasures  have  now  become  real  tnotuy  treasure* — and  ^reat 
objects  of  sale.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  value  of  the  bones  and  teeth 
already  discovered  by  the  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  (particularly  by  Mr. 
M'Enery,)  and  others  at  Torquay,  and  its  visitors,  would  be  cheaply  esti- 
mated at  from  500  to  1000  guineas,  and  Sir  L  V.  Palk  may  possibly  add  a 
few  more  hundreds,  if  he  would  follow  the  plan  which  I  proposed  to  him.  I 
recommended  him  also  to  establish  a  Museum  at  Torquay — which  would  be 
not  only  a  great  acquisition  to  science,  but  an  ornament  to  the  place,  and  an 
honour  to  himself;  and  I  offered,  and  now  repeat  my  oflfer  of,  ail  that  remain 
of  my  own  researches,  (which  however  are  very  few,  for  I  have  given  most 
of  them  away)  as  a  commencement  of  so  laudable  and  useful  an  undertaking. 

I  had  forii^otten  to  mention  that  Mr.  W.  C.  Trevelyan  discovered,  I  believe, 
some  carbonate  of  nuignesia  in  the  limestone  of  Kent's  Cavern,  and  it  may 
be  worth  while  to  add,  that  there  do  not  appear  any  shells  in  this  stratum, 
though  in  other  strata  not  far  off,  bivalve  shells  are  found. 


THE  LITERATURE   OF   KENT'S   CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        485 

the  town,)  I  have  only  to  trust  to  the  reader's  liberality  to 
make  all  due  allowance  for  errors  and  to  express  my  earnest 
hope  that  a  future  ground  plan,  and  perfect  drawings  will  be 
published  by  those  more  adequate  to  the  task  and  skilled  in 
such  undertakings,  and  resident  on  the  spot. 

There  are  two  entrances  to  Kent's  Hole.  The  lower  (now 
in  use)  fronts  the  S.S.E. — its  base  being  about  7i  feet,  the 
height  about  5  J :  —  Tlic  upper  fronts  the  E.  and  is  about 
8  feet  broad,  and  has  now  but  little  elevation.  This  latter  is 
about  46  feet  distant  from  the  former,  and  two  or  three  feet 
higher  up ;  it  continues  the  same  span  for  ten  feet  inside,  and 
is  soon  afterwards  met  by  the  first  entrance,  which  has  of 
course  considerably  deflected  (to  the  W.S.W.)  almost  at  a 
right  angle.  Here  is,  what  the  people  have  called,  the  Boar's 
Head — being  a  crystal] zed  carbonate  of  lime  on  the  top  of 
the  cave.  My  admeasurements  were  made  in  straight  lines, 
by  the  direction  of  a  small  magnetic  compass  each  as  far  as 
the  light  of  a  directing  candle  was  visible — and  I  think  the 
number  of  such  admeasurements  was  14. — The  whole  length 
of  the  Cavern,  including  the  windings,  I  estimated  then  at 
657  feet.  The  width  and  height  of  the  cave  continually 
varies,  the  former  from  2  feet  3  inches  to  71  feet ;  the  latter 
from  that  portion  of  the  cavern  called  the  o^cn,  where  you 
are  obliged  to  creep,  up  to  18  feet.  About  180  feet  from  the 
entrance  is  a  cavernous  lateral  passage  about  70  feet  in  length, 
containing  loose  bones  (some  very  small) ;  beyond  this  you 
begin  to  ascend,  and  I  would  observe  that  there  are  several 
lateral  dens  as  you  proceed,  covered  generally,  as  is  the  floor  of 
the  cavern,  with  stalagmitic  incrustation  concealing  mud  and 
animal  remains ;  when  you  get  through  the  oven,  you  speedily 
arrive  at  the  water,  not  far  from  which  is  a  cavernous  passage 
103  feet  long,  and  there  is  another  cut  by  which  you  may 
return.  Within  the  upper  entrance  on  the  left  is  also  a 
branch  cavern  of  considemble  dimensions,  but  in  this  I  dis- 
covered no  bones,  it  lying  more  elevate.  In  th^  water  my 
thermometer  stood  at  49^  Far.,  while  the  cave  temperature 
was  54i.  At  another  time  (in  October)  the  external  tem- 
perature was  63°,  internal  65°,  water  51°. 

The  organic  remains  discovered  in  this  complicated  cavern 
are  principally  those  of  the  Rhinoceros,  Hippopotamus,  Ele- 
phant, Hyaena,  Cavern-hear,  Elk,  Tiger,  Ox,  (and  I  believe 
Buffalo)  Horse,  Wolf,  Bog,  Beer,  Sheep,  Babbit,  Bat,  Mouse, 
and  some  others.  The  marl  or  clay  under  the  stalagmite  is 
mostly  of  a  reddish  colour,  and  some  worn  pebbles,  or  poples, 
as  they  are  called,  appear  within  it ;  nor  must  I  forget  the 

VOL.  II.  K  K 


I 


486        THE   LITERATgRE   OF   KENT*S   CAVEEH,   TOBQUATT- 

coprolite  of  the  HyEenas  who  eTidentl j  dragged  in  their  prey 
into  this  den,  and  that  possibly  ivom  a  considerable  distance; 
and  I  am  only  surprised  that  no  kmrmn  bones  have  been 
fuiind,  (as  in  some  of  the  caves  of  the  continent,)  since  human 
mnrijlv^s  wer<^  not  unknown  to  the  Druids,  and  Dartunx^r 
with  a  portion  of  ite  vicinity  was  the  very  seat  and  centre  of 
that  Priesthood/'  * 

After  some  remarks  on  Grimsponnd  on  Dartmoor,  and  the 
"Aah  Hole"  near  Berry  Head,  Mr.  Korthmore  thus  pro- 
ceeds : — 

*'  But  not  to  wander  too  far  from  the  Tar^ia^  Cave,  wdiich 
is  surrounded  by  aa  many  fractures  and  disturbances  as  the 
Beny,  (and  both  from  the  same  Diluvian  and  Volcanic 
origin)  I  proceed  now  to  other  Keliques  discovered  therein, 
viz.  of  huinan  art  and  mamtfadure:  for  the  Britons,  like 
most  of  the  other  nations  of  the  earth,  in  a  less  civilized 
»tat«,  used  Caverns  and  gubterrariean  hollows,  (both  imtuml 
and  artificial,)  for  tlieir  habitations  and  granaries  and  temples. 
In  the  vert/  fniddie  of  the  stalagmite,  (about  from  7  to  9 
inches  thick)  1  found  a  piece  of  wood  (apparently  oak)  turned 
up  partly  on  one  edge  by  art,  alwut  (5  inches  long,  and  2| 
bix>ail,  and  about  |  au  inch  thick,  it  seemed  to  me  at  first  to 
i^eaemble  the  sole  of  a  British  shoe,  or  sandal ;  but  it  may 
possibly  have  been  the  Ihit  Thole  of  an  ancient  boat  or  barge, 
which  is  so  sliaj>ed  as  to  fit  the  gunnel ;  but  whatever  it  be, 
some  leather  or  skin  seems  to  have  been  attached  to  it,  from 
the  black  animal  matter  remaining  in  the  same  aperture  or 
hollow  of  the  stalagmite.  Several  British  fiint  knives  were 
also  discovered,  one  sticking  partly  in  the  mud,  and  part  in 
the  stalagmite.  I  found  also  some  cJiarcoal  lying  in  the 
mud,  but  close  under  and  almost  in  contact  with  the  incrus- 
tation ; — nor  must  I  forget  one  circumstance  which  appeared 
to  me  important,  viz.,  that  in  some  few  instances  this  stalag- 
mitic  covering  was  double,  with  mud,  and  I  believe,  bones 
between  each  layer ;  a  fact  which  alone  (if  wanted)  would 
set  at  rest  the  phantasy  of  the  imid  being  Diluvian,  but  the 
absence  of  all  marine  remains  is  enough  of  itself,  independent 
of  other  phenomena  which  will  be  mentioned  hereafter.  I 
had  the  lionour  of  being  accompanied  in  some  of  my  re- 
searches by  various  scientific  gentlemen  and  others.  Among 
whom  I  beg  to  mention  the  names  of  my  relative  Dr.  Gre- 
ville  (the  Botanist),  Capt.  now  Admiral  Sartorius,  Mr.  Scuda- 
more,  Mr.  Barker,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Enery,  Mr.  Henderson, 
Dr.  Matthews,  the  Bev.  Mr.  Daniel,  and  last  though  not 


THE  LITERATURE  OF   KENT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        487 

least,  the  celebrated  Professor  of  Oxford,  who  kindly  favoured 
nie  not  only  with  his  useftd  instructions  how  to  proceed,  but 
what  carries  more  weight  than  precept,  with  his  zealous  and 
valuable  example.  I  rejoiced  also  in  witnessing  the  zeal, 
and  highly  laudable  eagerness  for  knowledge  in  several  of 
the  ladies  of  Torquay,  and  its  vicinity,  many  of  whom  are  in 
possession  of  some  tine  Eeliques  from  this  Cavern;  among 
others,  Mrs.  Edward  Gary.      .     .     .     , 

It  must  be  evident  to  the  reflecting  mind  that  the  Britons 
came  to  inhabit  the  cave  very  soon  after  the  beasts  had  left 
it,  or  otherwise  had  perished,  and  this  destruction  of  the 
hcasts  of  Prey  originated  from  two  causes;  one  from  the 
change  of  climate,  viz.  from  African  heat  to  British  cold ; 
which  took  place  immediately  upon  the  *  sudden,  violent,  and 
transient*  deluge;  and  which  climate,  the  tigers,  hippopotami, 
rhinoceroses,  etc.  were  not  by  nature  well  fitted  to  bear ;  and 
secondly  from  their  having  been  more  or  less  killed  off  by 
man — and  that  gradually; — and  I  press  strongly  upon  this 
point,  for  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  beasts  lived  in  the 
cave  for  several  generations,  being  bom  and  bred,  and  some 
probably  having  died  there,  and  it  is  equally  evident  that 
animals  even  of  the  hotter  climes  are  enabled  to  endure  for  a 
considerable  period  a  colder  climate,  such  for  instance  as  the 
hyaena  and  the  tiger.* 

Many  species  of  the  cavern  animals  remained  for  ages 
existent  in  Britain,  though  now  extinct,  such  as  the  bear, 
wolf,  deer,  elk,  beaver,  bison,  buffalo,  etc.  I  lay  no  present 
stress  upon  the  co-existent  animals  tiow  thriving — such  as  the 
horse,  dog,  ox,  rabbit,  rat,  etc.  etc.  the  progress  of  which  are 
found  conjoined  with  the  hot  climated  race,  because  I  reserve 
for  a  future  discussion  this  gi*and  geological,  and  most  valuable 
fact,  which  the  universal-Diluvian  Theorists  make  every  pos- 
sible effort  to  conceal, — which  thwarts  all  their  Phantasies, 
forces  them  to  resort  not  to  one  miracle,  but  to  multitudes, 
forgetting  the  nee  deus  intersU,  and  has  caused  the  profoundest 
philosopher  of  the  age  to  plunge  into  hesitation,  and  I  had 
almost  said  into  inconsistency  and  feebleness  of  reasoning ; — 

*  (Nolo  by  Mr.  Northmoro.)  "It  is  a  yaliiable  fact,  that  four  of  the 
animals  whose  bones  we  here  discovered,  and  are  thus  diffused  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  exist  at  present  only  in  tropical  climates,  chiefly  south  of  the 
Equator;  and  *the  onlyconntry  in  which  the  elephant,  rhinoceros,  hippK)- 
potamus,  and  hyaena  are  now  associated,  is  Southern  Africa.'  See  Keliq. 
Diluv.  p.  44. 

*'  It  IS  my  opinion,  and  I  trust  that  I  shaU  be  able  to  offer  some  proofs 
thereof,  that  previous  to  the  deluge  there  was  a  communication  between  the 
European  continent  and  Africa ;  at  present  I  shall  only  state  that  the  straits 
of  Gioraltar  were  bursted  at  the  same  period  as  the  straits  of  Dover.*' 

K  K  2 


488        TEE  LITEBATUItE  OF    KENT'S   CATERN,  TORQUAY, 

I  reserve  then  this  examiQation  for  another  time,  M*hen  I 
trust  I  shall  prave  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  unprejudiced 
geologist^  that  not  only  the  last  deluge  but  that  each  preceding 
one  was  j^jfiriia/  not  universal ;  aod  ought  more  justly  to  be 
called  not  Dkluge,  (which  leads  the  mind  astray  from  one  of 
the  main  facta,  and  the  great  caiuse)  hut  an  igm-aqiieQus  co7i- 
vithion,  wldch  aloM  cao  account  for  all  tjic  mriaus  x^hcDomeiLa 

that  have  so  long  tormented  Geology.     .     , 

I  am  surprised  t-o  hear  it  made  a  question  by  some 
naturaJist^s  whether  the  hear  and  horse  were  indigenous  in 
Britain.  The  latter  is  at  once  decided  by  the  teeth  and 
vertebi-se  discovered  in  the  Torquay  caves;  aud  the  Caledonian 
hear  (I  cannot  speak  of  the  Spekeus)  is  celebrated  by  the 
Roman  Poet — 

Ntida  €(tIedoni&  dc  pectom  pr«>biiit  urw — 

and  the  Delphian  nnte  adds — 'Caledonia  was  a  region  of 
Britain,  where  are  the  thickest  foirstJK,  and  from  thence  fierce 
bears  were  sent  to  Home,'  Ancient  Britain  abounded  in 
foTi»tB;  not  one  of  its  seven  provinces,  from  the  Jugum 
Ocrinum  (Dartmoor)  to  the  SUva  Caledonia,  was  freed  from 
them:  one  of  the  most  famous  was  the  Anderida  Silva 
(Sussex);  nor  are  its  subterranean  or  submarine  forests 
unknown.  Here  thc*n  was  pk^ity  of  space  for  wild  animals, 
and  well  may  the  ancient  Welsh  Triad  assert,  that  'be/ore 
(and  after)  the  Cymry,  Britain  was  inhabited  by  hears,  wolves, 

heavers,  and  oxen  with  large  'protuberances' 

It  occurred  to  rae  upon  examining  the  two  entrances  into 
Kent's  Hole,  that  the  upper  one  had  been  formerly  that  in 
common  use,  and  I  ascertained  this  to  be  the  case  by  clearing 
away  the  earth  and  rubbish  from  its  outside.  Herein  for  the 
space  of  four  feet  in  depth  I  found  nothing  but  old  knives, 
nails,  limpets,  and  other  shells,  the  ends  of  wax  candles, 
corks,  etc.  by  which,  and  the  earth  and  boards,  this  entrance 
is  now  completely  closed,  I  presume,  in  part,  as  a  safeguard 
against  stray  cattle;  but  this  arch,  formed  by  nature,  is 
beautiful,  and  almost  Roman,  and  when  cleared  of  the  rub- 
bish is  above  5  feet  in  height,  and  near  8  feet  in  span." 

Mr.  Northmore  next  gives  an  account  of  the  Pixies'  Hole, 
or  Chudleigh  Cave ;  and  says,  "  I  discovered  a  thin  black  layer 
or  regular  stratum  of  what  I  take  to  be  the  black  oxyd  of 
manganese  lying  about  3  or  4  feet  below  the  surface,  and 
continuing,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  nearly  through  the  whole 


i 

i 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  KENT'S    CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        489 

length  of  the  cavern."  This  done,  he  thus  concludes  his 
letter : — 

"Here  then,  I  think  I  may  stop  for  the  present,  and  as 
general  results  a)id  dedicctions  from  facts  are  all  in  all  I  flatter 
myself  that  I  am  warranted  in  drawing  the  following  general 
conclusions : — 

1st.  That  the  mud  in  these  caves  is  not  oceanic,  or  Diluvial ; 
there  being  no-  marine  relicts,  (sic)  or  exuviae  found  therein, 
nor  is  the  mud  in  evcri/  portion  of  all  these  caverns. 

2.  That  the  same  7nud  has  penetrated  into  these  caves 
from  torrents  of  rain  either  through  the  common  entrances 
or  through  crevices,  and  other  apertures ;  and  some  brought 
in  with  the  beasts,  and  their  dragged  prey. 

3.  That  this  mud  (in  part)  preceded  the  entry  of  the  beasts, 
because  the  bones  lie  (generally)  on  or  towards  its  surface, 
and  the  long  thin  layer  of  manganese  in  the  Pixies'  JHLole 
proves  a  considerable  duration  of  time. 

4.  That  the  country  was  the  habitation  of  beasts  of  prey 
(of  hotter  climates)  and  at  the  same  time  of  other  animals 
carnivorous  and  herbivorous,  whose  species  endure  to  the 
present  hour. 

5.  That  after  the  destruction  of  the  beasts  of  prey,  the 
mud  became  encrusted  with  stalactite,  (sic)  and  the  caves 
became  the  abode  of  the  Cymry,  or  Celtic  and  other  tribes. 

6.  That  the  hypothesis  that  these  bones,  or  any  of  them, 
were  washed  in  by  the  Diluvian  waters  is  erroneous :  the  single 
fact  of  the  length  of  time,  the  ages,  I  may  say,  in  which 
they  have  accumulated,  one  above  another,  generation  after 
generation,  is  sufficient  to  set  aside  such  a  vague  hypothesis. 

7.  That  these  caves  were,  at  first,  probably,  dens  of  wild 
beasts,  particularly  of  the  hyaena;  the  feces  of  which  remain, 
as  do  the  gnawed  bones  of  the  animals  which  they  devoured. 
I  found  one  bone  with  a  rat's  tooth  sticking  in  it 

8.  That  the  climate  of  this  country,  and  of  Europe  generally, 
must  have  been  suddenly  changed,  and  the  retreat  of  the  hot- 
blooded  animals  cut  ofif,  which  was  one  of  the  causes  of  their 
afterwards  perishing  gradually. 

9.  That  this  catastrophe  must  have  happened  at  or  about 
the  period  which  separated  France  and  the  continent  from 
Britain,  and  that  this  period  was  (probably)  what  usually  is 
called  the  Deluge,  i.e.,  the  last  igni-agueous  catastrophe; 
which  I  have  historical  reasons  for  fixing  about  12000  years 
ago. 

10.  That  the  Deluge  could  not  possibly  have  been  simul- 
taneously  universal,  (as  Buckland,  Cuvier,  and  others  imagine) 


490        TUE   LITERATUBE   OF  KINX'S   CAYEEIT,  TORQUAY. 

both  from  general  causes  and  high  Philosopliical  priiiciplea, 
as  fn:nu  the  double  fact^  of  the  above  beasts  of  prey  having 
endured  long  subsequent  to  that  event,  (though  previously 
exist<*nt,  and  cut  off;)  and  above  all  from  the  continued  ex- 
isteuce  of  the  many  saved  ANBLas  up  to  this  hour.  Tho 
relics  also  of  these  ancient  'animals  occur  in  postdiluvian 
strata.'*  (Bee  Dr.  Fleming's  essay  Edin.  Pliil  Joum.  18:36, 
p.  211,  et  seq, — also  the  Inaugnral  lecture  of  Professor  Buck- 
lautl,  p.  23-4).  With  a  few  vrordB  upon  the  probable  causes 
of  the  phenomena,  I  must  conclude  tliis  pn>tracted  letter — 

The  whole  region  of  tlie  south  east  of  Devon  appeara  to 
have  been  the  seat  of  tremendous  volcanic  convulsion; 
upheavint;s,  depressions,  I'ents,  chasms,  fissures,  contortions, 
divulsio!is,  dislocations,  and  almost  every  other  phenomenon 
and  feffctit  of  subterranean  expansive  forces^  are  visible 
throughout;  if  1  were  to  select;  where  the  objects  are  general, 
I  should  point  to  Haldon  and  lilackdown,  and  the  various 
fossils.  I  should  point  to  Buckkmrs  inappn>priately  called 
vallies  of  denvddiion,  (say  rather  of  disruption,  or  disjunc- 
tion ;)  and  to  De  la  Eeche*s  rents  and  dikes,  etc.  but  the 
rru^'^Iiffl  date  of  the  Snurians  and  Crocodiles,  and  other  ante- 
diluvian animals  in  the  nei^^hbourhood  of  Lyme*Iiegis,  Iffing 
unda*  vast  irmssas  and  strata  of  rocks ;  and  the  very  same 
state  and  same  animals  and  similar  strata  mi  the  t^npo^ie  coast 
t/  Fnrnce  all  togetlier  iifTdnl  such  a  volume  of  evidence  that 
1  ccumiiseiate  the  prrjutlii^e  that  cannot  place  coutidence  in 
the  theoiy 

The  abrupt  and  piecipitcus  state  of  the  clifls  on  the 
Devonian  coast ;  the  bursted  glens,  and  vallies  (not  excavated 
by  water  how  violent  and  transient  soever,  but  by  volcanic 
force)  of  the  whole  region  from  Portland  to  Ottermouth, 
and  thence  to  Torquay,  demonstrate  the  theory.  But  the 
amazing  number  of  rents  and  splittings  and  caverns  in  the 
limestones  of  Torbay,  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  prove  that 
they  also  have  sufl'ered  from  the  same  igneous  power  (lime- 
stone from  the  expansive  power  of  its  carbonic  acid  is  pecu- 
liarly liable  to  such  effects;)  and  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
gulf  of  Torbay  was  split  open  at  the  same  igni-aqueous  catas- 
trophe.    The  caverns  themselves  then,  are  not  antediluvian, 

♦  (Note  by  Mr.  Northmore.)  "  Tlie  main  cause  of  this  error  of  Geologists 
lies  in  this,  that  they  take  locality  for  universality ; — and  what  is  successive 
or  periodical,  (how  long  soever  the  interval)  for  what  is  simultaneous.  Every 
portion,  or  nearly  every  portion  of  the  Globe  has  been  successively,  (or  at 
one  time,  or  other)  under  water,  but  not,  by  any  rational  possibility,  «>««/- 
taneomly.  Amongst  the  relics  found  in  postdiluvial  strata,  arc  those  of  the 
turtle,  elephant,  and  crocodile." 


THE  LITERATUHE  OF  KENT*8   CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        491 

but  diluvian  and  postxliluvian.  I  say  postdiluvian,  because 
1  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  that  the  effects  of  that  dread- 
ful convulsion  long  remained,  as  the  effects  in  volcanic 
countries  still  remain  for  ages  periodically  shaken  by  Earth- 
quakes ;  South  America  is  full  of  such  evidence,  but  1  know 
of  no  volcanic  region  that  establishes  the  convulsive  and 
dislocating  theory  more  decidedly  than  the  Island  of  Hawaii, 
w  here  the  Arkite  Goddess  Pele  still  continually  rages. 

The  focus  of  the  volcanic  fires  in  our  Devonian  region, 
seems  to  me  to  have  been  under  the  ocean,  and  extended 
equally  to  France  as  England,  and  was  in  all  probability  con- 
nected (as  to  time)  with  the  phenomena  of  the  Giant's 
Causeway  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  the  opposite  coast  of 
Scotland. 

I  have  thus,  Sir,  complied  with  your  request,  and  hastily 
put  together  ray  sentiments  upon  the  Torbay  strata ; — their 
caverns,  their  volcanic  phenomena,  and  their  organic  remains, 
— which  are  at  your  service,  not  forgetting,  as  the  Accomp- 
tants  say,  errors  excepted ;  and 

I  remain. 
The  admirer  of  Geology,  and 

The  advocate  of  Truth, 

Thomas  Northmore. 

Cleve,  March  16th,  1832." 

(Blewitt's  Panorama,  pp.  110-131.) 


MR.  NORTHMORE'S  SECOND  LETTER.     1832. 

"  Sir — A  few  days  after  I  had  finished  the  first  letter,  my 
bookseller  sent  me  a  well-wTitten,  and  useful  little  work, 
composed  by  Mr.  De  la  Beche,  entitled  The  Geological 
Maniial,  2nd  edition 

I  rejoice  that  at  last  our  Kent's  Hole  has  been  noticed,  and 
that  too  with  the  epithet  'celebrated'  attached  to  it  (p.  165), 
by  a  gentleman  of  Mr.  D.*s  high  attainments;  but  the  passage 
which  has  particularly  drawn  forth  this  second  communica- 
tion is  as  follows,  (p.  186). 

'  Dr.  Buckland  informs  me  that  Mr.  M'Enery  found  rounded 
pebbles  of  granite,  of  the  size  of  an  apple,  mixed  with  the  hones 
under  the  stalagmite  in  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay ;  and  he  states 
that  he  has  found  pebbles  of  green-stone,  completely  rounded  in 
the  same  place ;  and  that  in  some  parts  of  Kent's  Hole,  par- 
ticularly the  lowest,  the  bone  breccia  is  full  of  fragments  of 
grauwacke  and  dale,  some  of  them  rolled,  some  angular.     The 


492        THE  LITERATURE   OF  KENT^B  CAVERN,  TORQUAY, 

cave  itself  is  situated  in  a  limestone  resting  on  shale ;  and 
the  grauwacke  and  slate  are  racks  of  the  country ;  but  thf 
gninitt  is  at  mme  clistaTicf,  jiot  imirer  titan  Dartraoar  ;  so  that 
although  the  situation  of  the  cave  is  such  aa  to  make  it 
j[>omhk,  ikouijh  Twi  perh^p^  vtnj  prdiabk,  that  umia*  a  variety 
of  combinatiafis,  tJu  f/re^U'Sfmie,  g^rainoacke^  and  slaic  may  hat€ 
been  mnve.ytd  into  the  cave,  by  what  are  termed  actual  causes, 
the  f/raniie  pdfbks  tcould  ucarcdy  sa'in  reconciimhie  unth  such  an 
hi/}Jothe^isy  Very  true!  and  in  my  judgment  they  are  per- 
fectly irreconcileable  upon  any  ralimml  hypothesis  whatever. 
But  this  passage  gives  rise  to  so  many,  and  to  such  various 
reflectious,  that  it  is  difficult  to  know  where  to  begin  or  how 
to  arrange ;  I  shall  however  take  the  advantage  of  the  familiar 
ease  of  Epistolary  writing  and  follow  my  own  plain  and 
simple  method — 

First  then;  The  whole  paragraph  rests  upon  mere  heaiBay ; 
Dr.  Buckland  informs  iln  lie  la  Beche,  that  Mr.  M'Enery 
informed  him,  etc.  But  supposing  this  evidence  substan- 
tiated, I  can  Duly  say  that  such  good  fortune  never  fell  to  my  lot 
I  saw  uo  semblance  of  rolled  pebbles  of  granite,  nor  rounded 
greenstone,  but  what  has  most  surprised  me  ia  that  these 
balls  of  the  size  of  apples,  shoidd  have  been  found  mivcd  with 
the  eat^^ti  bones,  which  bones  ai"e  (lenerally  supposed  to  liave 
been  conveyed  therein  by  beasts  uf  prey,  and,  what  is  more, 
at  various  and  disfani  penods  of  iimr^  (the  'beasts  having 
lived  and  died  there')  and  not  hurried  in  by  the  furious  and 
sudden  torrent  of  the  Diluviau  waters,  but  *  the  animals 
inhabiting  therein,  and  in  possession  thereof  generation  suc- 
ceeding generation'  p.  199.  The  very  position  then  of  these 
rolled  granites  militates  strongly  against  the  theory,  which  it 
would  seem  to  support,  and  which  in  fact  destroys  all  our 
ideas  of  time  and  place.  Oh !  no !  if  that  theory  can  find 
no  better,  or  firmer  basis  to  rest  upon  than  this,  it  must  go 
to  that  final  abode, 

Numa  quo  devenit  et  Ancua. 

Had  these  rolled  granites  been  swept  over  hills  and  vallies, 
like  their  great  contemporary  rocks  upon  the  Jura ;  or  their 
lesser  Norwegian  comrades  scattered  over  the  north  of 
England  and  the  British  Isles,  they  would  hardly  have  been 
associated  with  bones,  lying  in  the  midst  of,  and  above  the 
supposed  Diluvian  mud,  but  in  all  rational  probability  would 

•  A  his  passage,  as  we  have  seen,  occurs  also  in  the  First  Edition  of  the 
the  "Manual"  (1831).  The  italics  used  by  Mr.  Noilhmoro  are  not  in  the 
original.     (W.  P.) 


THE  LITERA.TURE  OF  KENT'S   CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        493 

have  been  deposited  quietly,  by  their  specific  gravity,  below 
both  mud  and  bones.  In  truth  if  I  were  to  speak  my  mind 
freely,  and  in  the  political  phraseology  of  the  day,  I  should 
regard  the  whole  paragraph  in  the  light  of  a  philosophical 
feeler;  and  as  to  the  various  requisite  combinations  of  rounded 
granite,  and  rolled  greenstone,  associated  with,  and  simulta- 
neously accompanying  angular  fragments  of  grauwacke  and 
slate  etc.,  being  conveyed  into  a  limestone  cavern,  compara- 
tively speaking,  almost  hermetically  sealed,  (at  least,  a  perfect 
cul-de-sac)  1  agree  with  Mr.  De  la  Beche  in  allowing,  and 
hardy  allovnng  the  hare  possibility j  but  that  it  is  *  Twt  very 
pi'ohahle.*  It  is  justly  stated  by  Mr.  D.  that  the  nearest 
station  of  the  granite  is  Dartmoor ;  but  how,  or  what  means, 
these  rounded  pebbles  could  have  been  thence  conveyed,  or 
rather  floated  into  the  small  apertures  of  Kent's  Hole,  is 
difficult  to  contemplate,  and  even  raises  a  smile  when  we 
attempt  to  reason  upon.  In  good  truth  the  whole  of  such  a 
theory  is  involved  in  difficulties,  and  finds  itself  incessantly 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  miracles,  or  in  other  words  to 
banish  the  use  of  reason,  and  thus  confess  its  defectiveness. 
But  since  M.  Tbirria,  and  other  Geologists  have  inferred  that 

*  the  introduction  of  the  pebbles  and  clay  mia:ed  vnth  the 
hones  (into  other  caves)  is  contemporaneous  with  the  trans- 
port of  the  Diluvium'  see  p.  187,  I  shall  not  forbear  the 
attempt  (how  ludicrous  soever)  to  account  for  their  introduc- 
tion into  Kent's  Hole  from  the  granite  of  Dartmoor.*    Now 

•  (Note  by  Mr.  Northmore.)  "Among  other  advocates  of  this  strange 
hypothesis  stand  the  names  of  M.  M.  Marcel,  de  Serrcs,  and  Pittore;  see 
lidin.  New  Phil.  Journal  October  1831,  p.  350.  Speaking  of  the  bone 
caves  in  the  department  of  Aude,  where  the  bones  are  said  to  be  fractured 
not  water- worn ;  it  is  added,  *The  diluvial  currents  that  carried  in  the  mudy  the 
fragments  and  pebbleSj  may  also  have  carried  in  such  bofies  as  they  met  with  in 
their  way*  This  I  take  for  granted  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  *  orthodox 
creed*  mentioned  in  p.  283.  But  omitting  the  eternal  petitio  principii,  the 
very  idea  of  a  deep,  very  deepy  and  raging  marine  torrent  carrying  into  the 

*  fissures  of  rocks  *  such  bones  (not  water- worn)  as  they  *  met  with  in  their 
(stormy  and  tempestuous)  way'  involves  such  an  accumulation  of  accidents 
and  lucky  positions,  that  I  really  must  say  it  is  more  fitted  for  the  Arabian 
Nights'  tales,  than  philosophical  reasoning.  I  can  hardly  conceive  the  pos- 
sibUity  much  less  the  probability  of  such  a  fortuitous  concurrence  of  circum- 
stances. The  bones,  the  granites,  the  pebbles,  must  aU  have  swimmed  in 
close  and  compact  paraUol  Imes,  in  the  same  plane,  and  just  fitted  to  the  few 
feet  of  the  entrance  of  the  caves,  and  the  titne  could  not  have  been  rarious 
(which  we  know  it  to  have  been,  even  *  generation  after  generation,*)  but 
they  must  all  have  been  jumbled  nearly  together,  unless  20  diluyian  waters 
arrived  periodicaUv  so  freighted ;  but  what  is  worst  is  the  self-contradiction 
of  these  theories,  for  at  one  time  the  bones  are  carried  in  by  beasts  of  prey 
or  were  the  relicts  {sic)  of  the  animals  who  had  died  in  the  caves ;  at  another 
time  they  are  torrent-borne. 

*  Quo  teneam  vultus  mutantem  Protea  node  ? 
Fiet  aqua,  et  codnum,  mode  Saxa,  atque  OBsa."* 


494        TUK  LITERATraE  OF   KENT'S   CATERK,  TORQUAY, 

in  order  to  place  this  matter  in  the  clearest  point  of  view, 
let  us  suppose  the  chosen  spot  from  whence  these  *5ranir4:s 
apples  pmceeded  was  tram  the  top  of  Heytor^  and  1  fix  upon 
this  spot  because  it  ia  a  peculiar  favourite  with  me,     .     *     * 

Well, 

then,  this  Solar  rock  lies  in  a  direction  due  N.W.  from  Kent's 
Hole,  and  tliirteen  miles  dtstjiut  tliurefroiu,  iis  tlie  crow  flies. 
Here  then  we  have  the  locus  iu  ([uo,  and  k  (juo,  or  as  the 
Botanists  say,  the  habitat ; — we  have  next  to  suppose  the 
Diluvian  torrent  running,  or  rather  foaming,  gushing  and 
raging  at  tlie  rate  of  ;^Q  niil&s  an  hour,  ie.  \s'it]i  steam  en<^e 
velocity,  in  a  due  S.E,  direction,  curnjiny  off  in  its  vortex 
masses  of  our  pophyritic  nioot^tanej  su^jendin^  them  in  its 
mud;  and  conveying  them  direct,  and  I  !iad  ahnost  said 
iiuracnlonsly,  into  the  narrow  mouth  of  the  cavern.  But 
here  we  find  ourselves  involved  in  a  cloud  of  diiiiculties, 
\Fhich  to  my  mind  are  inexplicable;  for  the  cavenj  unluckily 
fronts  the  muik-mst  wiiich  is  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
impetuous  course  of  the  floating  granites,  and  I  see  no  fortu- 
nate escarpment ;  no  salient  angle  of  a  lucky  valley  of  denu- 
dation to  lend  its  propitious  aid ; — but  let  us  suppose  both, 
for  there  i^  nothing  like  removing  obstaidea ;  and  with  the 
help  of  Mr,  Ti/s  favourite  Jiypothesis  of  FtMtes,  we  are  pre- 
sented with  a  view  of  a  *  rock-charged  fluid/  and  an  "Eddy- 
current,  transporting  boulders  of  granite,  green-stone,  grau- 
wacke  and  slate,  rolled  and  unrolled^souje  into  the  lowest 
parts  of  the  said  cavern,  and  others  mixed  with  the  mud  and 
bones  just  under  the  stalagmite.  (Compare  manual  p.p.  176, 
169).  But  I  wonder  that  another  difficulty  has  not  occurred 
to  those  Geologists  who  support  this  amazing  theory;  viz. 
that  the  caverns  must  already  have  been  not  only  brim-full 
of  the  diluvian  torrent,  but  it  must  have  overflowed^  and 
been  gushing  out  from  every  pore,  and  aperture^  at  the  very 
moment  that  the  mud  and  boulders  and  rolled  and  unrolled 
bones,  wheeled  about  in  a  marine  fluid,  were  rushing  in; 
and  that  too,  without  a  single  accompanying  fragment  of 
marine  remains  whether  vegetable  or  animal,  to  support  the 
hypothesis.  To  be  sure  Mr.  D.  brings  some  proofs  of  'the 
unequal  action  of  our  Devonian  currents'  even  from  the  very 
neighbourhood  of  Torquay,  (see  p.  402,)  but  never  was  such 
inequality  evinced  more  decidedly  than  in  the  instance  in 
question ;  and  never  \vas  it  more  wanted.  In  short  this 
simultaneously  universal  diluvian  theory  can  stand  its  ground 
no  longer,  it  is  involved  in  so  many  difficulties  on  every  side; 
it  is  exposed  to  so  many  objections ;  it  stands  in  such  con- 


THE  UTERATURE  OF  KENT*S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.    495 

stant  need  of  the  interference  of  supernatural  agency ;  while 
all  along  the  human  mind  is  so  rapidly  improving,  that  I 
now  begin  to  feel  less  surprise  at  any  prudential  postpone- 
ments, and  cautious  procrastinations  of  philosophers;  now 
the  schoolmaster  is  abroad,  the  multa  litura  becomes  as 
necessary  to  real  wisdom  as  the  nonum  prematur  in  annum.** 

Mr.  Northmore  then  expresses  his  amazement  at  some  of 
the  tenets  which  he  supposes  to  be  advocated  in  "learned 
universities  and  philosophical  societies,"  and  closes  his  letter 
with  the  following  words : — 

"  It  is  needless  in  this  place,  to  investigate  the  causes  of 
all  this  perversion  of  .reason,  and  obscuration  of  the  human 
mind.     Alas !  they  are  too  obvious,  but  their  end  is  at  hand ! 
I  am,  Sir, 

Your  very  sincere, 

Thomas  Northmork 
Cleve,  June  4th,  1832." 

(Blewitt'a  "Panorama,"  pp.  131-8.) 


What  Mr.  Northmore,  in  his  first  letter,  calls  the  "  upper 
entrance,"  is  obviously  that  which  is  arched,  or  the  more 
southerly  of  the  two.  The  highest  point  of  this  aperture, 
however,  is  in  fact  about  four  feet  lower  than  the  northern, 
or  that  which  he  calls  the  "  lower  entranca" 

The  scepticism  expressed  in  his  second  letter,  respecting 
the  occurrence  of  pebbles  of  granite,  &c.,  in  the  red  cave 
earth  is  somewhat  amusing.  True,  the  case,  as  it  came  to 
him,  rested  "  upon  mere  hearsay ;"  but  it  would  have  been 
easy  for  him  to  receive  direct  information  on  the  topic  from 
Mr.  Mac  Enery.  Indeed,  living  so  near  to  Torquay,  he  could 
have  satisfied  himself  by  an  actual  inspection  of  the  "  granite 
apples;"  or,  better  still,  by  a  further  search  in  the  cavern 
the  ''  good  fortune  might  have  fallen  to  his  lot  to  see  a  sem- 
blance of  rolled  pebbles  of  granite,  &c."  There  is  no  kind  of 
doubt,  however,  that  such  pebbles  do  actually  present  them- 
selves. During  the  present  exploration  of  the  cavern,  there 
have  been  numerous  confirmations,  not  only  of  the  fact,  but 
of  the  perfect  accuracy  of  the  statement  contained  in  the 
passage  in  De  la  Beche's  Manual  which  Mr.  Northmore  quotes 
and  criticises. 


496        THE  UTEIUTUKE  OF   KENT*S   CAVERK,   TOEQUAT. 
PROtTSSOR  PHILLIPS,     1832, 

In  the  article  "  Cleology; '  in  the  *'  EDcyclopedia  MetropoH- 
tana/'  written  by  Professor  J,  Phillips  in  1832,  considerable 
space  is  devut^d  to  ''  Ossileroiis  Caverns.*'  Having  stated  the 
prominent  facts  of  Kirk  dale  Cave,  the  author  says  '*  Dr.  lluck- 
land  infers  that  hya:;na3  were  for  a  long  period  the  undisputed 
tenants  of  this  den,  lived  in  it  for  umny  ^nemtionSi  dragged 
into  it  for  food,  pietienieal,  the  bodies  of  animals  then  living 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  were  finally  dispossesseil  of  their 
hold  by  an  irruption  of  water  which  let  fall  the  muddy  sedi- 
ment now  enveloping  the.  bones.  The  ordinary  action  of 
water  passing  through  the  calcareous  rock  then  covered  the 
whole  with  stalagmite,  and  closed  tip  t!ie  bones  from  the 
destructive  agency  of  moisture  and  air.  This  accounts  for 
the  conser\^ation  of  their  gelatine.  Few  conclusions  of  this 
precise  nature  appear  better  supported  by  the  facts  of  th« 
case,  and  when  we  reflect  on  tlje  remarkable  analogy  iu 
almost  all  points  concerning  the  state  and  conservation  of 
the  bones,  of  the  cavern  at  Torquay  caUed  Kent*s  Hole,  and 
conti-ast  these  particular's  of  the  hyttna  ilnis  with  those  of 
the  o-r  cart^H  in  Mendip,  we  shall  feel  a  full  conviction  that 
Ur.  Buckland's  bold  theory  is  a  true  interpretation  of  Na- 
ture/'•  (p.  69:^0 

MR.  GODWIN-AUSTEN.     1840. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Godwin-Austen  read  a  paper  to  the  Geological 
Society  of  London  "  On  the  Bone  Caves  of  Devonshire,"!  in 
which  he  gave  a  prominent  place  to  Kent's  Cavern.  This 
communication  was  printed,  in  abstract,  in  the  "Proceedings" 
of  the  Society,  vol.  iil  pp.  286-7,  and  was  incorporated,  with 
some  amplification,  in  the  same  author's  Memoir  "On  the 
Geology  of  the  South-east  of  Devonshire."!  The  following 
transcription  is  from  the  latter  publication : — 

**  Ossiferoas  cav^s  andfissur-s. — The  phenomena  of  ossifer- 
ous caves,  fissures,  and  breccias  have  been  usually  classed 
together,  but  they  appear  to  me  to  be  really  distinct,  both  as 
to  time  and  the  circumstances  which  produced  them. 

Their  natural  order  appears  to  be,  1st,  the  caves  which  have 

♦  **  The  Encyclopnotlia  of  Natural  History.  Geology.**  By  John  Phillips, 
Esq.,  F.K.8.,  E.G. 8.    Fonninif  a  Portion  of  the  Encyclopffidia  Metropolitana. 

t  *'  On  the  Bone  Caves  of  Devonshire."  By  R.  A.  C.  Austen,  Esq.,  f.o.s. 
(Read  March  25,  1840.) 

I  "  On  the  Geolo«j^'  of  the  South-east  of  Devonshire.**  By  Robert  Alfred 
Cloyne  Austen,  Esq.,  f.o.s.  Trans.  Geol.  Soc.  of  London,  Second  Series, 
Vol.  vi.  Part  2.  pp.  433-489. 


THE  LITERATURE  OF   KENT'S   CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        497 

• 

been  inhabited  by  animals;  as  Kent's  Hole,  Anstis,  and 
Yealmpton,  described  by  Col.  Mudge  *  2ndly,  a  complex 
group,  including  all  those  breccias  or  superficial  collections 
of  angular  fragments  usually  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
calcareous  strata,  frequently  associated  with  the  bones  of 
animals,  and  which  seem  also  to  have  required  the  -aid  of 
moving  water  to  have  i-eached  their  present  positions ;  and 
3rdly,  the  large  fissures  in  lime-rocks,  as  those  of  Chudleigh 
and  Plymouth,  now  filled  to  their  mouths  with  ossiferous 
breccias,  but  often  expanded  into  chambers  containing  masses 
of  mud,  bones  and  debris,  the  forms  and  positions  of  the 
accumulations  clearly  pointing  to  the  vertical  fissure  through 
which  they  were  introduced.  Confinnation  of  this  process  of 
filling  is  afforded  by  many  limestone  caverns  which  have  not 
been  found  to  contain  any-  remains  of  animals ;  such  caves 
having  the  character  of  fissures,  and  must  not  be  confoimded 
with  the  inhabited  ones.  In  filling  the  fissures  the  transpoi-t- 
ing  power  of  currents  of  water  is  required,  which  could  move 
along  from  exposed  surfaces  all  loose  materials,  bones,  and 
land  shells,  and  which  would  naturally  fidl  into  such  open 
chasms.  Nor  is  this  action  of  flowing  water  a  mere  assump- 
tion ;  whoever  will  examine  the  collection  of  materials  in 
these  great  open  jcrints  and  fractures  will  be  satisfied  that 
they  could  have  been  filled  only  in  the  manner  here  sug- 
gested ;  there  being  in  every  case  an  admixture  of  materials 
from  a  distance,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  these  have 
been  derived  from  rocks  in  situ,  north  of  the  places  in  which 
we  find  them.  Thus  the  breccias  of  Chudleigh  contain 
granite  and  altered  rocks  from  the  sides  of  Dartmoor,  and  the 
same  phenomenon  occurs  at  Yealmpton  and  at  Plymouth. 

The  first  class  of  caves,  such  as  those  near  Torquay  and 
others,  belong  to  the  time  when  the  country  was  the  actual 
habitation  of  certain  forms  of  animals  now  extinct  or  foreign ; 
the  second  class  contain  the  evidences  of  some  subsequent 
event,  which  apparently  happened  at  the  close  of  that  period. 

The  well-known  Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay,  is  a  large 
cavern  in  a  compact  limestone,  and  consists  of  one  large 
chamber,  with  several  minor  ones  communicating  by  narrow 
passages,  all  parts  being  of  easy  access.  A  stalagmitic  crust, 
which  appears  to  have  covered  all  the  lower  part  of  the  cave 
before  it  was  broken  up  in  the  search  after  remains,  is  still 
very  thick  in  some  places,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the 
deposition  of  stalagmite  has  been  subsequent  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  clay,  for  I  have  frequently  worked  through  the 

•  Qeol.  Pxx>c  voL  ii.  p.  389,  1836. 


498        TilE  LITERAITJEE  OF    KENT'S   CAVERN,  TORQtJAT* 

entire  thickness  of  the  latter  and  found  it  resting  on  the  bare 
limestone.  No  increase  to  the  stalagmite  is  now  being  made- 
The  rams  of  bones  which  this  cave  contained  was  very  gri^at, 
and  must  have  required  a  considerable  lapse  of  time  for  its 
collection ;  there  are  appearances  also  about  many  of  these 
remains  which  seem  U)  indicate  that  tliey  had  been  long 
exposed  to  the  air  before  they  wei'e^  included  in  the  clay. 
Nearly  all  the  specimens  I  possess  from  this  cave  bear  the 
marks  of  teeth,  and  mixed  with  them  are  quantities  of  the 
fieces  of  animals  which  must  have  fed  largely  on  bone. 
Human  remains  and  works  of  art,  such  as  arrow-heads  and 
knives  of  liint,  occur  in  all  parts  of  the  cave  and  throughout 
the  entire  thickness  of  the  clay  :  and  no  distinction  founded 
on  condition,  distribution,  or  relative  position  can  be  observed, 
whereby  tlia  human  can  be  separated  from  the  other  reliqui^. 

The  obvious  inference  from  this  fact  is  at  variance  with  the 
opinions  ^enemlly  received,  and  the  circumstance  of  tlm 
Faviland  Cave  will  doubtless  be  adduced  as  a  solution  of  the 
difficulty.  The  two  cases  have  nevertheless  nothing  in  com* 
mon.  In  the  Paviland  Cave  the  bones  of  the  skeleton  were 
together,  in  their  mutual  relations,  and  the  several  implements 
in  clt>se  juxt<a-position ;  in  the  other  they  are  as  above  de- 
scribed, and  there  is  not  a  single  appearance  which  can  suggest 
that  the  cave  has  been  used  as  a  place  of  sepulture. 

The  bones  of  the  cave  must  have  bet^o  gradually  collected  ; 
the  clay  must  either  have  been  carried  in  at  some  given 
period,  or  else  have  been  added  from  time  to  time  by  floods ; 
in  the  latter  case  there  would  have  been  an  alternation  of 
layers  of  bones  with  seams  of  clay,  but  we  find  no  arrange- 
ment of  the  kind,  and  I  think  it  more  probable  that  their 
confused  mixture  has  resulted  from  some  one  event. 

The  osseous  remains  found  in  Kent's  Cave  belong  princi- 
pally to  the  elephant,  rhinoceros,  ox,  deer,  horse,  bear,  hyaena, 
and  a  feline  animal  of  large  siza 

This  and  other  similar  caves,  both  in  England  and  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  as  the  celebrated  Kirkdale  Cave, 
described  by  Dr.  Buckland,  are  supposed  to  have  been  the 
dens  of  hyaenas.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  bones 
found  in  these  caves  have  been  collected  by  animals  of  prey, 
and  as  all  the  forms  we  find  in  them  are  such  as  we  are 
acquainted  with  at  the  present  day,  the  argument  from 
analogy  is  tlie  most  obvious.  If  we  take  as  our  guide  the 
habits  of  existing  species  of  hyaenas,  we  find  little  or  nothing 
to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  they  have  been  the  active 
agents  in  conveying  the  cave-bones  into  the  places  where 


I 
I 


THE  LITERATUttE  OF  KENT'S    CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        499 

we  at  present  find  them.  These  animals,  now  much  better 
known  than  formerly,  neither  hunt  after  living  prey  nor  live 
together  in  packs,  still  less  in  caves ;  nor  have  they  courage 
to  attack  any  formidable  animal;  on  the  contrary,  such  is 
not  the  position  of  the  genus  in  the  natural  order  to  which 
it  belongs;  they  prefer  the  putrid  flesh  and  bones  of  such 
animals  as  they  find  in  their  nightly  prowlings.  The  instance 
quoted  by  Dr.  Buckland,  on  the  authority  of  Burchell,  in 
support  of  the  supposition  that  these  ancient  hyaenas  were 
hunting  animals,  is  now  well  known  to  have  rested  on  the 
false  classification  of  the  Hyccna  venatica  of  Burchell  with 
the  true  hyaenas,  an  animal  in  important  parts  of  its  stioicture 
related  to  the  genus  Cants,  and  with  which  it  has  many 
similar  habits ;  but  even  granting  that  these  ancient  hyaenas 
might  have  acted  in  concert,  and  thus  attacked  such  large 
animals  as  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros  and  subdued  them, 
they  could  never  have  conveyed  their  bodies  over  the  surface 
of  a  rocky  limestone  district ;  and  on  the  authority  of  Knox 
we  may  assert,  that  they  never  attempt  to  do  so — whatever 
an  hyaena  meets  with  he  devours  greedily  on  the  spot. 

Lions  and  panthers,  on  the  other  hand,  pursue  only  living 
prey,  which  at  one  spring  they  lay  prostrate  beneath  them,  and 
securing  it  in  their  jaws,  and  bearing  its  weight  on  their  power- 
ful shoulders,  they  retreat  with  it  to  their  caves.  Cuvier 
notices  the  extraordinary  strength  and  rapidity  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  larger  Felidae.  In  Asia  there  is  no  animal 
which  they  are  afraid  to  attack ;  the  African  lions  constantly 
carry  away  oxen  and  animals  of  great  bulk.  With  respect 
to  their  usual  abodes,  we  have  the  authority  of  all  African 
travellers  and  hunters,  that  chasms,  caves,  overhanging  ledges 
of  rocks,  and  similarly  protected  places  are  their  haunts,  and 
the  spots  to  which  they  carry  their  prey. 

Large  Felidae  existed  in  South  Devon,  in  other  parts  of 
England,  and  Northern  Europe  during  the  geologicaJ  period 
we  are  now  considering ;  their  remains  occur  in  the  Oreston 
breccia  and  in  Kent's  Cave.  Dr.  Buckland  has  figured  both 
a  canine  and  a  molar  tooth  from  Kirkdale.  '  Ces  dents,'  says 
Cuvier,  'n'ont  rien  de  different  de  celle  d*un  lion,  meme 
pour  la  grandeur.'  (Oss.  Foss.,  3rd  edit.  t.  iv.  p.  455.) 

I  conclude,  from  the  known  habits  and  powers  of  the  only 
ten  genera  we  have  to  consider,  that  the  various  animals  were 
dragged  into  the  caverns  by  powerful  Felinae,  who  used  these 
places  as  dens  during  a  long  period  of  time ;  that  when  the 
large  Camivora  had  satiated  their  hunger  or  were  absent,  the 
caves  were  visited  by  hyaenas  (who  lived  then  as  now  cm  the 


I 


600         THE  LiTERArUBE  OF    KENT'S   CATIEN,  TORQUAY. 

Eibftndoned  prej  of  others),  by  whom  the  bones  were  pieked, 
gufiwed,  spliiit-ered,  and  scattered..  The  hyienas  who  fre- 
queuted  the  caves  would  in  thiB  manner  be  exposed,  even 
more  frequently  than  any  other  animals,  to  fall  a  prey,  and 
accordingly  their  skulls  are  found  pierced  by  the  canine  tooth 
of  a  large  animal ;  and  in  these  iostanees  their  remains  would 
be  devonred  by  their  ow^n  speeies :  that  sach  was  the  case, 
the  bones  of  the  hytenas  suflicieiitly  show. 

The  occurrence  of  human  remains  and  works  of  art  in 
Kent^s  Cave  deserves  some  further  notice,  such  a  statement 
being  very  liable  either  to  be  questioned,  as  at  variance  with 
a  favourite  theory,  or  to  be  so  accounted  for  as  to  preseut  no 
difticulty  in  the  way  of  the  theory.  There  is  no  tl  priori 
leason  why  man  and  the  aevernl  animals  whose  remains 
occur  in  caves  and  in  gravel  should  not  have  lived  here  at 
some  remote  time,  Just  as  closely  allied  species  now  do  in 
other  regions;  that  some  of  the  fossil  species  may  differ 
slightly  from  existing  ones  does  not  aflect  the  question,  m 
the  man  of  that  period  may  have  differed  as  much,  or 
belonged  to  a  more  southern  type.  Few,  I  imagine,  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  facts  which  the  labours  of  M-  M.  Schmer- 
ling,  Marcel  de  Senses,  and  others  have  establishetl,  entertain 
auy  doubts  as  to  the  fact  that  the  bones  of  man  have  iieen 
found  in  caves ;  what  I  wish  to  state  distinctly  ie,  ttiat  they 
occur  in  Kent's  Cave  under  preciBely  the  same  conditions  aa 
the  bones  of  all  the  other  animals.  The  value  of  such  a 
statement  must  rest  on  the  care  with  which  a  collector  may 
have  explored ;  I  must  therefore  state  that  my  own  researches 
were  constantly  conducted  in  parts  of  the  cave  which  had 
never  been  disturbed,  and  in  every  instance  the  bones  were 
procured  from  beneath  a  thick  covering  of  stalagmite;  so  far 
then,  the  bones  and  works  of  man  must  have  been  introduced 
into  the  cave  before  the  flooring  of  the  stalagmite  had  been 
formed.  It  may  be  suggested,  that  this  cave  was  used  as  a 
place  of  sepulture  by  some  early  inhabitants  of  this  country, 
and  that  bones  of  the  other  animals  occupied  the  lower  parts 
of  the  cave  when  such  sepulture  took  place. 

In  this  case  our  researches  should  expose  the  human 
skeletons  entire,  as  in  the  Pavilaud  Cave;  or  at  least  the 
bones  should  occur  in  some  sort  of  mutual  relation  to  each 
other,  but  no  such  thing  has  ever  been  observed  by  any 
explorer  in  Kent's  Hole ;  so  that  as  far  as  the  evidence  from 
this  cave  is  to  be  our  guide  (and  which  is  all  that  we  should 
look  to),  there  is  no  ground  why  we  should  separate  man 
from  that  period,  and  those  accidents,  when  and  by  which 
the  cave  was  filled. 


THE  LITERATUBB  OF  KENT*S  CAVERN,    TORQUAY.        £01 

This  favourite  habitats  of  beasts  of  prey,  in  a  wild  state, 
are  warm  and  dry  situations ;  and  at  the  time  when,  as  we 
may  fairly  assume,  the  country  was  thickly  covered  with 
forests  and  swamps — the  range  of  the  horse,  the  ox,  and  the 
large  Pachyderms, — we  cannot  well  imagine  spots  better 
suited  to  Camivora  than  the  great  tabular  masses  of  lime- 
stone, with  their  caves  and  crevices,  which  the  surface  of 
South  Devon  presented.  It  would  be  to  such  spots  that 
they  woidd  retreat  with  their  prey.  So  that  in  tlie  lapse  of 
time  the  surfaces  would  be  strewed  with  the  teeth  and  harder 
portions  of  every  animal  of  the  country  and  period ;  just  as, 
according  to  all  accounts,  the  vicinity  of  the  haunts  of  the 
large  Camivora  is  at  the  present  day.  Any  subsequent  in- 
undation, such  as  that  which  other  considerations  have 
established,  would  carry  forward  with  it  all  the  animal 
remains,  and  leave  them,  together  with  detached  blocks  of 
limestone,  mud,  sand,  and  foreign  rocks,  in  every  open  chasm 
and  depression. 

In  support  of  this  there  are  evident  marks  about  most  of 
the  bones  from  the  osseous  breccias,  that  they  had  long  been 
exposed  to  the  air  before  they  were  buried  in  the  clay.  Had 
all  the  various  animals  whose  bones  have  been  collected, 
fallen  into  these  chasms,  portions  of  each  animal  should 
occur,  and  in  nearly  their  proper  relations ;  but  there  never 
has  been  observed  the  slightest  tendency  to  such  a  condition. 
Very  little  personal  search  among  these  masses  of  breccia 
will  be  sufficient  to  convince  any  observer,  that  casualties 
of  this  sort  cannot  account  for  the  scattered  fragments  of 
bone  he  may  discover  in  them.  Animals  may  have  so 
perished;  but  such  cases  must  be  considered  exceptions  to 
the  process  by  which  the  fissures  were  filled."  (pp.  443-6.) 

There  are  In  this  valuable  communication  one  or  two 
points  which  lequire  qualification  or  explanation.  The  re- 
cent researches  have  not  confirmed  the  statements  "  that  the 
deposition  of  stalagmite  has  been  subsequent  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  clay,"  and  that  "  no  increase  to  the  stalagmite 
is  now  being  made."  Films  of  stalagmite  have  been  found 
here  and  there  through  every  inch  of  the  thickness  of  the 
I'ed  clay,  and  there  is  stiU  to  be  seen  in  the  Cavern  a  plata 
of  the  same  material,  fully  an  inch  thick,  lying  on  the  black 
mud  which  overlies  the  ordinary  stalagmitic  floor. 

In  the  author's  statement,  that  "there  are  appearances 
about  many  of  the  bones  which  seem  to  indicate  that  they 
had  been  long  exposed  to  the  air  before  they  were  included 

VOL.  a  L  L 


502        THE    LlTERATUItE   OF   KENT'S  CATEJtN,  TORQUAY, 

in  the  clay/'  recent  experience  requires  the  substitution  of 
the  words  "  a  few  *'  for  "  many/' 

Though  we  are  accurately  informed  that,  instead  of  **an 
alternation  of  layera  of  bones  with  seams  of  clay/'  the  ma- 
terials foi^med  a  "confused  mixture/'  there  are  facta  wliich  are 
explicable,  not  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  introduction  of  the 
clay  was  ascribable  to  "  some  one  event/'  but  by  supposing  it 
to  "  have  been  added  from  time  to  time/' 

Whilst  it  must  be  admitted  that  "hyaenas  could  never 
have  conveyed  tlie  bodies  of  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros  into 
the  Cavern/'  it  must  also  be  adniittal  that  they  were  capable 
of  carrying  them  ofl'  piece -meaL  Tliere  is  not  a  trace  of 
evidence  that  the  entire  carcase  of  any  large  auinml  was  ever 
taken  into  the  Cavern. 

From  certain  passages  in  Mr,  Austen's  paper  it  might  be 
inferred  that  he  found  the  hones,  as  well  as  the  toola,  of  man 
mixed  up  with  the  remains  of  the  extinct  mammab  in  the 
red  mud  beneath  the  stalagmite.  He  assui'es  nie,  however, 
that  human  bones  were  not  found  by  him  in  such  a  position 
or  connexiou. 

PROFE680E  OWEH:     18^6. 

Professor  Owen,  in  his  "  History  of  British  Fossil  Mammals 
and  Birds/'*  describes  70  species  of  Mammab,  and  states 
that  25  of  them  have  been  found  in  Kent's  Cavern.  Of  the 
numerous  fi^j^iires  with  which  the  work  is  enriched,  41  repre- 
sent Kent's  Hole  specimen.  The  following  Table  shews  the 
species — extinct  and  recent — described  from  remains  found 
in  the  Cavern,  as  well  as  the  number  of  figures  in  each  case. 


Sdenttfio  Name. 

Common  Name. 

BztinoL 

Beont. 

Figai«8 

1  RhinolophuB    femim- 

Great  Horse-shoe  bat 

•  • 

• 

•  • 

equinum          •        • 

2  Sorex  vulgaris    . 

Shrew 

•  • 

• 

. . 

3  UrsusprisouB      . 

4  U.  Bpelieus 

Ancient  bear 

• 

1 

Cavfe  bear 

• 

, , 

4 

6  Melestaxus 

Badger 

• 

1 

6  PutoriuB  ermineus 

Stoat 

, , 

« 

1 

7  Canis  lupus 

Wolf 

, , 

• 

1 

8  Vulpes  vulpfaris  . 

Fox 

, , 

• 

2 

9  Hyaena  spelaea    . 

Cave  hyaana 

# 

3 

10  Felis  spelasa 

Cave  tiger 

• 

,, 

2 

11  F.  catus 

Wild  cat 

0 

2 

12  Machairodus  latidens  . 

Broad  -  tooth     sabre  - 

tooth 

♦ 

.. 

3 

I 
I 


I 


♦  A  History  of  British  Fossil  Mammals  and  Birds.  By  Richard  Owen, 
F.iLS.,  P.O.8.  etc.  Hunterian  Professor  and  Conservator  of  the  Museum  of 
the  Boyal  College  of  Surgeons  of  England.    m.dccc.xlvi. 


THE  LITERATURE  OP  KENT'S  CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        608 


Scientiflc  Nome. 

Common  Name. 

Extinct. 

Recent 

Figures. 

13  Arvicola  amphibia 

Water  vole 

, , 

4 

14  A.  agrestis 

Field  vole 

•  • 

3 

15  A.  pratensis 

Bank  vole 

•  • 

4 

16  LepuB  timidus    . 

Hare                   . 

.. 

1 

17  L.  cuniculua 

Rabbit 

1 

18  Lagomys  spelffiiia 

Cave  pika 

• 

.• 

3 

19  Elephas  pnmigonius  . 

Mammoth 

9 

t  • 

1 

20  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus 

Partiton  -  wall  -  nosed 

rhinoceros 

• 

.. 

1 

21  EqnuB  fossilis     . 

Fossil  horse 

• 

•  • 

1 

22  Hippopotamas  major . 

Greater  hippopotamus 

• 

.. 

•  • 

23  Me^racoros   hibemicus 

Gigantic  Irish  deer    . 

• 

•  • 

24  Strongylocerosspelttjus 

Giirantic  round -ant - 

lored  deer 

• 

•  • 

2 

25  GervuB  elaphua  . 

Red  doer 

Totels    . 

.. 

• 

12 

13 

41 

In  his  Preface,  the  Professor  speaks  of  the  Cavern  as 
"that  rich  depository  of  the  remains  of  Extinct  Mammalia" 
(p.  X.) ;  and  similar  expressions  occur  subsequently  and  fre- 
quently. The  following  are  the  descriptions  which  he  gives 
of  the  fossils : — 

Iihi7U)lophv3  ferncm-equinum: — "Unequivocal  remains  of 
this  species  of  Bat,  from  the  Bone-cave  called  Kent's  Hole 
near  Torquay,  Devon,  are  contained  in  the  British  Museum  : 
some  of  the  specimens  appear  to  be  in  the  same  absorbent 
condition,  as  the  bones  of  the  Hyccna,  lUiinoceros,  &c.,  from 
the  same  cave;  others  are  evidently  more  recent.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  Greater  Horse-shoe  Bat  is  most 
commonly  met  with  in  the  Devonshire  Caves  at  the  present 
day,  and  is  the  only  species  known  to  frequent  Kent's  Hole." 
(p.  16.) 

Sarex  vulgaris: — "The  remains  of  Shrew  mice,  which 
have  been  found  in  the  bone-cave  called  Kent's  Hole,  near 
Torquay,  and  in  the  raised  beaches  near  Plymouth,  have 
oflFered  no  indication  of  species  distinct  from  those  now 
existing  in  Great  Britain.  The  best  preserved  specimen 
which  I  have  seen  is  identical  with  the  Sarex  vulgaris!* 
(p.  28.) 

Ursus  priscus : — "The  contour  of  the  skull  of  the  Ursfus 
priscus  is  less  elevated  than  in  the  Brown,  or  Alpine  variety, 
and  the  flattened  forehead  passes  into  the  nose  with  a  less 
sensible  concavity  than  in  tiie  skull  of  the  Fen  Bear.    The 

L  L  2 


T> 


504        THE  LTTEIlATtmi:  OF   KENT'S   CAVEEN,  TOBQUAT, 

coTonoid  process  of  tlie  lower  jaw  is  ratller  broader  and 
higher,  and  the  interval  between  the  antepeDultimat^  molar 
and  the  canine  tooth  is  longer. 

By  the  kttor  character,  a  very  interesting  fossil  of  a  Bear, 
from  the  cavern  called  'Kent s  Hole/  near  Torquay  Devon, 
is  referable  to  the  Ursus  p^-^istuSf  hei-etof ore  only  known  from 
the  Genaaii  cave -depositaries  of  Ursine  remains  Tl^e 
British  fossil  consists  of  a  large  proportion  of  a  lower  jaw, 
with  the  incisors,  canines,  and  the  entire  series  of  molar  teeth 
on  both*  sides,  .,,...  The  persistent  premolar  in  front  of 
the  antepannltimate  molar  is  in  place,  and  the  socket  of  the 
lii^t  snmll  single  premolar  is  distinctly  preserved  in  the 
fossil,  thus  manifesting  a  well-marked  character  by  which  the 
Ur^uB  priat'E*  i-e^embles  the  Ursns  Arctos,  and  diffei^  from 
the  UrsuB  ^pebvmi  i^i  which,  at  least,  that  molar  is  most 
commonly  wanting,  and  its  socket  obliterated.  The  trace  of 
a  socket  of  a  second  small  single-fanged  premolar  is  \i6ible 
in  the  jaw  from  Kent's  Hole  near  the  lai^^^e  premolar,  with 
whicli  the  series  of  grinding  teeth  commenct*s,  and,  in  the 
<^ailenreuth  specimen,  the  corresponding  small  premolar  id 
retained  in  the  npper  jaw. 

The  absorbent  condition  of  the  fossil  jaw  from  Kent's  Hole 
harttly  permits  a  doubt  that  it  is  of  the  same  antiquity  as 
the  remains  of  tlie  gigantic  Urms  »pel<euSj  found  in  the  same 
cavern  "  (i>p.  SS-i,) 

Ursus  spelaus: — "An  idea  of  the  formidable  size  which 
the  old  males  of  the  Uraus  spelcRus  attained  in  this  country, 

may  be  estimated  by  the  upper  canine  tooth, figured 

from  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay.  It  matches  the  canine  teeth  of 
the  largest  of  the  continental  specimens  of  the  Ursua  spekeus, 
the  size  of  which  extinct  Bear  Cuvier  says  must  have  equalled 
that  of  a  large  Horse.  In  the  same  bone  cave,  near  Torquay, 
has  been  found  the  anterior  part  of  the  lower  jaw,  with  the 
canines  of  corresponding  magnitude,  of  the  Uratts  Bpelceus, 
in  which  the  small  simple-fanged  premolar  close  behind  the 
canines  has  been  retained  on  each  side;  and  its  crown  has 
been  flattened  by  attrition 

The  fossil  humerus,  or  ann-bone  of  a  large  bear  from  Kent's 
Hole,  manifests  all  the  characters  of  that  bone  in  the  Uraus 
spelosusy  which  appear  to  me  to  be  as  well  marked  as  those 
distinguishing  the  humeri  in  any  other  two  species  in  one 
genus."  (pp.  90-91.) 

"A  large  ulna  from  Kent's  Hole,  agrees  with  that  of  the 
Ursus  spelceus  from  the  German  caves. 


THE  LITEEATURE  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        505. 

•  The  upper  extremity  of  the  radius  of  the  Cave  Bear,  from 
a  bone-cave  in  the  Mendips,  and  the  gnawed  shaft  and  lower 
end  of  a  radius  from  Kent's  Hole,  match  the  largest  speci- 
mens from  the  German  caverns  in  size,  and  equally  demon- 
strate the  oval  form  of  the  upper  articular  surface  which 
rotates  on  the  humerus  and  ulna,  and  the  larger  oblique  oval 
surface  at  the  distal  end,  which  distinguish  the  radius  of  the 
great  extinct  Bear  from  the  corresponding  bone  in  the  great 
feline  animals. 

The  scapho-lunar  bone,  the  os  magnum  with  its  character- 
istic shallow  surface  for  the  proximal  tuberosity  of  the 
metacarpal  bone  of  the  index,  and  some  of  the  metacarpal 
and  phalangeal  bones  of  the  Ursus  speheics  have  been  obtained 
from  British  bone -caves,  as  Kent's  Hole,  that  at  Paviland, 
and  those  in  the  Mendips."  (pp.  95-96.) 

"  Perhaps  the  richest  cave-depositary  of  the  fossil  bones  of 
Bears  hitherto  found  in  England  is  that  called  Kent's  Hole, 
near  Torquay.  The  natural  history,  with  a  special  account  of 
the  organic  riches  of  this  cave,  will  be  given  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  *  Keliquice  Diluvianue,'  which  Dr.  Buckland  is 
now  preparing  for  the  press.  It  is  to  the  assiduous  researches 
of  the  late  Kev.  Mr.  Mac  Enery,  that  the  discovery  of  the 
various  and  interesting  fossils  of  this  cave  is  principally  due, 
and  some  of  the  rarest  and  most  valuable  of  this  gentleman's 
collection  have  been  lately  acquired  by  the  British  Museum. 
Among  the  Ursine  fossils  meriting  especial  notice,  are  portions 
of  the  skull  and  teeth  of  the  Ursus  speloBus,  some  of  the  latter 
equalling  in  size  the  largest  specimens  from  the  German 
caverns. 

The  anterior  portion  of  a  low^er  jaw,  including  the  anchy- 
losed  symphysis,  with  two  enormous  canines,  is  likewise 
remarkable  from  the  circumstance  of  its  retaining  a  small 
and  simple-fangled  premolar  in  the  interspace,  or  diastema, 
between  the  canines  and  the  double-fanged  molars 

Amongst  the  bones  of  the  trunk  and  extremities  of  the 
Ursu&  spelceua  from  Kent's  Hole,  there  occur  remarkable 
examples  of  diseased  action ;  a  lumbar  vei-tebra,  for  example, 
presents  extensive  exostosis  from  the  under  pai-t  and  sides 
of  the  body;  the  distal  extremity  of  a  radius  exhibits  an 
oblique  fracture  of  that  bone,  in  the  attempt  to  heal  which  a 
new  and  irr^ular  ossific  mass  has  been  deposited  on  the 
surface  of  the  bone.  Several  bones  and  teeth  of  the  Bear 
from  Kent's  Hole  exhibit  very  decided  marks  of  having  been 
gnawed,  most  probably  by  a  hyaena.  One  of  the  fragments 
of  the  lower  jaw  of  a  young  B^r  shows  the  same  interesting 


506        THE  LITEaATlJRE  OF  KENT  S   CAVEEK,    TOfiQUAY. 

transitional  state  of  dentition  which  has  been  discovered  in 
fossils  from  the  Continental  Bear-caves,  The  point  of  the 
permanent  canine  has  just  protuded  from  its  socket,  and  the 
crown  of  the  last  molar  is  hollow  and  without  a  fang,"  (pp. 

Mclc3  taxiis: — "The  remains  of  a  Badger,  not  distinguishable 
from  the  existing  British  species,  have  been  discovered  in  the 
caves  at  Torquay  and  lierrj  Head,  Devonshire,  in  juxta- 
position with  the  bones  of  the  extinct  Mammalia,  and  mani- 
festing precisely  the  same  mineral  condition,  so  that  no 
reasonable  doubt  Ci\n  be  entertained  of  their  equal  antiquity 
with  the  Spelaean  Bear,  Hyiena^  and  Tiger 

The  most  perfect  fossil  spechnen  from  British  localities  is 
alluded  to  by  AL  de  Blainville,  on  the  authority  of  ilr. 
Mac  Enery,  as  ha\'ing  been  found  in  Kent's  Hola     It  is  now 

preserved  in  the  British  Museum It  la  an  entire 

mmua  of  the  lower  jaw.  with  ail  the  teeth  in  sitti  except 
two  of  the  incisors  and  the  second  ])  re  molar.  It  corresponds 
precisely  in  size  and  shape,  and  in  the  fonns  and  proportions 
of  the  several  kinds  of  teeth,  with  the  existing  male  Jiadger, 

We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  food,  Hke  the 

dentition,  of  the  diminutive  plantigmde  associate  of  the 
gigantic  Cave  Bear  and  Hyaena,  mnst  have  been  the  same  aa 
that  of  ita  existin^T  rle^t^einljiTit;  find  thiit  it  must  have  owed 
its  safety  from  the  formidable  contemporary  beasts  of  prey, 
to  the  same  cautious  concealment  and  nocturnal  habits  which 
still  continue  to  preserve  the  harmless  species,  amidst  the 
more  numerous  and  dangerous  class  of  enemies  which  has 
arisen  from  the  increasing  population  of  a  civilized  country," 
(pp.  109,  110.) 

Putorim  erminevs: — "The  most  instructive  fossil  of  the 
ancient  British  Ermine  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Bartlett  of 
Plymouth  in  the  Bone-cave  at  Berry  Head,  and  is  now  in  the 

British  Museum.    It  is  a  remarkably  perfect  skulL 

A  less  entire  skull,  which,  by  its  size,  must  also  be  referred 
to  the  larger  Weasel,  (Putorius  crmineus^  discovered  by  Mr. 
MacEnery  in  Kent's  Hole,  and  having  all  the  fossilized 
characters  of  the  extinct  mammals  of  that  rich  natural 
mausoleum,  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  In  this  skull  the 
thin  cranial  bones  are  broken  away :  the  lower  jaw  is  lost., 
but  the  upper  molar  teeth  are  preserved  in  situ. 

The  specimen  is  cited  by  M.  de  Blanville,  from  a  figure  of 
it  commnnicated  to  him  by  Mr.  Mac  Enery,  as  appertaining 


THE  LITERATUEE  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        507 

without  any  doubt  to  the  common  Weasel  (Belette),  As  there 
is  no  appreciable  difference  in  the  dentition  of  the  Ermine 
and  common  Weasel,  the  question  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
determined;  but,  if  the  present  specimen  belongs  to  the 
PtUariiLS  vulgaris,  it  indicates  an  individual  of  unusually 
large  size."  (pp.  116-7.) 

Cants  lupus : — "  The  cranial  characters  of  the  Wolf  pointed 
out  by  Cuvier  are  good  and  available  in  its  determination 
when  compared  with  those  of  a  Dog  of  equal  size,  and  a 
cranium,  therefore,  was  the  most  desirable  fossil  for  the  re- 
solution of  the  question  of  the  nature  of  the  ancient  species 
of  Canis,  associated  in  Great  Britain  with  spelaean  Bears  and 
Hyienas. 

The  rich  caveraous  depositary  of  tlie  Mammalian  remains 
of  that  epoch,  called  Kent's  Hole,  has  afforded,  thanks  to  the 
persevering  explorations  of  Mr.  Mac  Enery,  the  desired 
evidence,  viz.,  an  almost  entire  skull  with  the  teeth. 

Tliis  specimen  exactly  equals  in  size  the  skull  of  a  fine 
male  Arctic  Wolf,  has  the  same  flat  and  narrow  triangular 
frontal  space,  an  equally  developed  occipito-sagittal  crest,  and 
as  large  canines.  The  only  differences  worth  mentioning, 
wliich  a  close  comparison  has  yielded,  are,  that  the  antepenul- 
timate or  sectorial  molar  is  a  little  larger  in  the  fossil,  and 
the  lower  border  of  the  jaw  rather  more  convex. 

Other  more  important  points  of  accordance  between  the 
skull  from  Kent's  Hole,  and  those  of  the  existing  Wolf  leave 
no  reasonable  ground  for  doubting  their  specific  identity ;  and 
the  Naturalist  who  does  not  admit  that  the  Dog  and  the 
Wolf  are  of  the  same  species,  and  who  might  be  disposed  to 
question  the  reference  of  the  British  Fossils  described  in  the 
present  section  to  the  Wolf,  must  in  that  case  resoit  to  the 
hypothesis,  that  there  fonnerly  existed  in  England  a  wild 
variety  of  Dog  having  the  low  and  contracted  forehead  of  the 
Wolf,  and  which  had  become  extinct  before  the  records  of 
the  human  race. 

The  conclusion,  however,  to  which  my  comparison  of  the 
fossil  and  recent  bones  of  the  large  Canida  have  led  me  is, 
that  the  Wolves  which  our  ancestors  extirpated,  were  of  the 
same  species  as  those  which,  at  a  much  more  remote  period, 
left  their  bones  in  the  limestone  caverns  by  the  side  of  the 
extinct  Bears  and  Hyaenas."  (pp.  131-2). 

Vvlpes  tnUgarta: — "One  may  unhesitatingly  concur  with 


508        THE  UTEEATUBE  OF  KENT'S    CAVEBK,  TORQUAY;' 

Mr.  Mac  Enery,  in  referring  to  the  Fox  the  right  ramus  of 
the  lower  jaw  discovered  by  him  in  Kent's  Hole,  so  saper- 
ficially  situated,  indeed,  as  might  justify  the  suspicion  of  itg 
recent  introduction. 

The  remains  of  the  Fox  from  the  same  cavern,  now  iu  the 
British  Museum,  present,  however,  precisely  tbe  same  fossil- 
ized state  as  the  bones  of  the  SpeloBan  Be.ar  and  Hya?na 
One  of  these  fossils,  the  anterior  half  of  the  left  ramus  of 

the  lower  jaw rfctaiiis  the  canine  and  the  last  three 

of  the  series  of  five  premolars,  A  second  fossil,  consisting 
of  the  binder  half  of  the  same  ramus  of  the  lower  jaw  of 
anotber  individual,  retains  tbe  last  premolar  or  sectorial  tooth, 
and  the  first  tubercular  molar."  (pp.  135-6), 

Hytx^na  spclwa: — "The  skull  from  the  bone-cave  called 

Kent's  Hole  near  Tonpiay measures  fourteen 

inches  in  total  leu^rth,  and  exhibits  tbe  dental  characters,  and 
the  strong  intermuscular  ridges  of  the  formidable  speltean 
llytena  iu  gi^eat  perfection. 

»  >  ■  «  *  4  ■ 

Several  characteristic  specimens  of  the  Hijmna  ^dmt  from 
this  cavern  are  preserved  in  tbe  collection  of  Dr.  BuckJand; 
and  some  very  interesting  ones  were  obtained  for  tbe  Briti.'^h 
Museum,  at  the  sale  of  the  collection  of  tbe  late  Mr.  Mao 
Enery.  Ainun^^  tlicse  is  the  anterior  part  of  the  lower  javF, 
shewing  a  malposition  of  tbe  second  permanent  premolar  on 
the  left  side-  the  corrospundiug  deciduous  tooth  is  retained, 
worn  down  to  the  stumps,  and  its  successor  projects,  external 
to  it,  from  the  outer  side  of  the  jaw.  Here,  as  in  the  Kirk- 
dale  and  Oreston  caves,  the  jaw  of  a  young  Hyaena  was  found, 
which  shows  the  deciduous  and  permanent  teetL  The  point 
of  the  permanent  canine  has  just  begun  to  protrude  from 
the  socket ;  the  three  deciduous  molars  are  retained,  the  last 
having  the  form  of  the  sectorial  tooth :  these  are  succeeded 
and  displaced  by  the  first  three  molars  of  the  adult,  which 
have  the  conical  form:  the  permanent  sectorial  tooth  is 
developed  behind  these,  and  rises  behind  the  deciduous  sec- 
torial, which  it  does  not  displace ;  it  is  developed  earlier  than 
the  anterior  permanent  molares. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  skeleton  of  the  Hycena  spdcea  has 
now  been  recovered  from  the  different  localities  of  that  extinct 
species  in  England.  The  larger  bones  of  the  extremities 
found  in  Kent's  Hole  are  fractured,  as  in  the  Kirkdale  cave ; 
but  the  smaller  bones,  as  the  astragalus,  calcaneum,  meta- 
carpals, and  metatarsals,  are,  for  the  most  part  remarjcably 


THE  LITERATURE    OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        509 

perfect.  They  differ  from  their  analogues  in  the  skeleton  of 
the  Hycena  crocuta  chiefly  in  the  larger  and  more  robust 
proportions:  the  scapula  appears  to  be  rather  narrower  in 
proportion  to  its  articular  extremity ;  the  deltoid  crest  of  the 
humeiiis  is  longer  and  stronger."  (pp.  156-8.) 

Felis  spelcea : — "  From  the  paucity  of  the  remains  of  the 
Felis  spelcea  in  the  cave  of  Kent's  Hole,  and  the  occurrence, 
there  of  gnawed  bones  of  Ehinoceros,  Mammoth,  and  Horse, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  they  may  have  belonged  to  indi- 
viduals whose  carcases  were  introduced,  as  Dr.  Buckland 
conjectures  those  of  Kirkdale  to  have  been,  by  the  agency  of 
the  Hifocna  spelcea.  The  canine  tooth  is  rather  smaller  than 
the  one  in  the  portion  of  the  upper  jaw"  [figured  by  the 
author] ;  "but,  from  the  thickly  coated  and  solidified  fang,  this 
tooth  must  have  belonged  to  an  old  Tiger.  M.  de  Blainville 
has  figured  a  second  and  third  molar  tooth  of  the  Felis  spelcea 
from  Kent's  Hole,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  MacEnery."*  (pp. 
165-6.) 

Felis  catus : — "  The  most  authentic  specimen  of  the  Felis 
Catus,  in  relation  to  their  antiquity,  which  appears  yet  to 
have  been  obtained  from  British  localities,  are  the  right  ramus 
of  the  lower  jaw,  retaining  the  canine  tooth,  discovered  in  the 
brick-earth  at  Grays,  Essex,  and  a  corresponding  part  of  the 
lower  jaw,  almost  identical  in  size  and  shape^  but  retaining 
the  three  molar  teeth,  from  the  cave  of  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay. 

The  Essex  jaw  of  the  Wild  Cat,  which  was  found  in  the 
same  deposit  that  has  yielded  so  many  remains  of  the 
Mammoth,  was  in  the  usual  condition  of  the  bones  of  that 
period.  And  the  specimen  from  Kent's  Hole,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  precisely  accords,  in  colour  and  chemical 
composition,  with  the  fossils  of  extinct  quadrupeds  from  the 
same  cava"  (pp.  172-3) 

Genus.  Machairodus: — "Amongst  the  rich  collection  of  fos- 
sils discovered,  principally  by  the  Kev.  Mr.  Mac  Enery,  in  the 
bone-cave  of  Kent's  Hole  near  Torquay,  Devon,  two  canines 
were  recognized  by  Dr.  Buckland  as  very  similar  to  those  of 

•  (Note  by  Prof.  Owen.)  "M.  do  Blainville  frequently  cites  a  *  Description 
of  the  Gayema  of  Kent's  Hole,  Devonshire,'  which  ho  supposes  to  have  been 
published  by  Mr.  MacEnery,  but  which  he  regrets  that  he  has  not  been  able 
to  procure.  I  have  been  assured  by  Dr.  Buckmnd  that  Mr.  MacEnery  never 
published  such  a  work ;  and  it  is  most  probable  that  the  drawings,  or  litho- 
graphic impressions,  shewn  by  Mr.  MacEnery  to  Professor  De  Blainville, 
wore  those  designed  to  illustrate  the  forthcoming  second  volume  of  the 


510        THE  LITEHATURE  OF   KENT's   CAVEBN,  TOEQUAY. 

Italy  and  Germany,  ou  which  Ciivier's  gpecies  *lTr$us  cul- 

trideit^*  had  been  fcninded.     - ,     »     . 

JJr.  Kaup  lays  sti'ess  on  the  obvious  ditTei'^nces  which  the 
falciform  caniues  present,  as  compai^d  witli  the  known  Bears 

and  feline  animals ; and  concludes  by 

proposing  Lo  forui  a  distinct  geana,  AfacJiairodm,  fur  the 
extinct  species  to  %vMcli  these  singular  teeth  helongei  .  ,  ,  . 
*.,*•...,  The  discovery  m  Kent's  Hole  of  the  external 
upper  incisor  liaving  its  gliarp  edges  ag  strongly  serrate  as 
in  the  gi-eat  falciform  canines,  left  little  doubt  that  they  ap- 
pertained to  the  same  species,  and  afforded  corresponding 
proof  of  its  carnivorous  character. 

The  real  aliinitiea  of  the  problematic  Maehaimdus  have  at 
length  been  decided  by  ItL  liravard^s  discovery  of  the  skull  of 
his  Fclis  magaidermn!'  {pp,  175—7.) 

Maclmirodm  laiidenM : — "  In  tbis  island,  anterior  to  the  de* 
position  of  the  drift,  there  was  aasociitted  with  the  great 
extinct  Tiger,  liear,  and  Hyaena  of  the  caves,  in  the  destructive 
task  of  contmliing  the  numbers  of  the  richly  developed  order 
of  the  herbivrirouii  ilaminalia,  a  feline  animal  as  large  as  the 
Tiger,  and,  to  judge  by  its  instruments  of  destruction,  of 
gi-eater  femcity. 

In  this  extinct  animal  ,...,»  the  canines  curved  back- 
wards, in  form  like  a  pruniug-knife,  having  the  greater  part 
of  the  compressed  crown  provided  with  a  double  cutting 
edge  of  serrated  enamel ;  that  on  the  concave  margin  being 
continued  to  the  base ;  the  convex  margin  becoming  thicker 
there,  like  the  back  of  a  knife,  to  give  strength;  and  the 
power  of  the  tooth  being  further  increased  by  the  expansion 
of  its  sides.  Thus  ...  .  each  movement  of  the  jaw  with  a 
tooth  thus  formed  combined  the  power  of  the  knife  and  saw; 
whilst  the  apex,  in  making  the  first  incision,  acted  like  the 
two-edged  point  of  a  sabre.  The  backward  curvature  of  the 
fall-grown  teeth  enabled  them  to  retain,  like  barbs,  the  prey 
whose  quivering  flesh  they  penetrated.    Three  of  these  canine 

teeth were  discovered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  MacEnery 

in  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay,  and  were  recognized  by  Dr.  Buck- 
land  as  bearing  a  close  resemblance  to  the  caniues  of  the  Urstis 
cultridens  of  the  Val  d'Arno.  Professor  Nesti,  to  whom  Dr. 
Buckland  transmitted  casts  of  these  teeth,  recognized  the 
same  resemblance,  but  noticed  their  proportionally  greater 
breadth.  The  cast  of  one  of  the  largest  of  the  canines  of  the 
Maclmirodus  ctdtridcns  from  the  Val  d'Amo  ....  measures 
eight  inches  and  a  half  in  length  along  the  anterior  curve. 


THE  LITERATUKB  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        511 

and  one  inch  and  a  half  in  breadth  at  the  base  of  the  crown. 
The  largest  of  the  canines  of  the  Machairodus  from  Kent's 
Hole  measares  six  inches  along  the  anterior  curve,  and  one 
inch  two  lines  across  the  base  of  the  crown:  the  English 
specimens  are  also  thinner  or  more  compressed  in  proportion 
to  their  breadth,  especially  at  the  anterior  part  of  the  crown, 
which  is  sharper  than  in  the  Mach.  cultrideTis. 

These  differences  are  so  constant  and  well-marked  as  to 
establish  the  specific  distinctness  of  the  large  British  sabre- 
toothed  Feline  animal;  for  which,  therefore,  I  propose  the 
name  ef  Ma^hairodvs  latideiis. 

The  right  external  incisive  tooth  strongly  indicates,  by  the 
serration  of  the  anterior  and  posterior  margins  of  the  crown, 
that  it  belonged  to  the  same  species  as  the  falciform  canines, 
and  closely  conforms  in  other  respects  with  the  external 
incisors  of  the  existing  Feline  animals.  Assuming  it  to 
belong  to  the  Machairodus  IcUidens,  it  proves  this  species  to 
have  relatively  larger  external  incisors  than  any  of  the 
existing  Felines,  or  than  the  Mach,  niegarUereon,  The  obtuse 
consolidated  fang,  thickly  coated  by  cement,  which  this  in- 
cisor, like  the  canine,  possesses,  proves  both  kinds  of  teeth 
to  have  belonged  to  an  aged  animal. 

Hitherto,  no  parts  of  the  skeleton  have  been  found  in 
England  so  associated  with  the  characteristic  teeth  of  the 
Macliairodus  as  to  throw  any  additional  light  on  the  organi- 
zation of  this  once  formidable  beast  of  prey 

Machairodus  latidens  must  have  equalled,  or  nearly  equalled, 
in  bulk  the  spelaean  Tiger ;  and  we  can  scarcely  doubt,  from 
its  remains  being  found  with  those  of  the  previously  described 
large  extinct  Carnivora  in  the  same  recent  tertiary  deposits 
in  India,  Italy,  Germany,  and  France,  as  well  as  in  the  caves 
of  England,  that  it  was  their  contemporary. 

When  we  are  informed  that,  in  some  districts  of  India, 
entire  villages  have  been  depopulated  by  the  destructive  in- 
cursions of  a  single  species  of  large  Feline  animal,  the  Tiger, 
it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  Man,  in  an  early  and  rude  con- 
dition of  society,  could  have  resisted  the  attacks  of  the  more 
formidable  Tiger,  Bear,  and  Machairodus  of  the  cave  epoch. 
And  this  consideration  may  lead  us  the  more  readily  to 
receive  the  negative  evidence  of  the  absence  of  well-aulhen- 
ticated  human  fossil  remains,  and  to  conclude  that  ilan  did 
not  exist  in  the  land  which  was  ravaged  simultaneously  by 
three  such  formidable  Carnivora,  aided  in  their  work  of  de- 
struction by  troops  of  savage  Hyaenas."  (pp.  179-83.) 


512         THE  LITEBATURE  OF    KRNT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY. 

Anncola  amfhibm:^ — "The  specimens  of  upper  and  lower 
jaw  of  the  Anncola  amphibia^  figured  at  the  head  of  the 
present  section,  are  amongst  several  specimens  of  thia  species 
from  the  cave  of  Kent's  Hole,  some  of  which  are  now  in  the 
British  Museum 

So  desirahle  a  specimen"  [as  an  entire  skull]  "has  not, 
lutherto,  been  obtained  fnim  any  British  cavern.  An  os 
innominatum,  the  characterL^tic  anchylosed  tibia  and  fibula, 
and  some  vertebra  of  the  Arvicola  from  Kent's  Hole,  are  not 
inferior  in  size  to  those  of  the  existing  Water-vole,  with  the 
dental  and  maxillary  characters  of  which,  the  fossils  of  both 
Kirkdale  and  Kent's  Hole  closely  agree."  (pp.  204-5,} 

Amimlo  agrestic: — '*  The  best  preser\"ed  fossil  specimens, 
from  the  caves  at  Kirkdale  and  Torc[uay,  of  the  jaws  and 
teeth  of  the  species  of  Aruicola  which  are  inferior  in  size  to 
the  common  Water-rat,  appear  t*:>  me  to  be  Jdeutical  with 
the  corfespondin^  parts  of  two  of  our  existing  Voles.    .     , 

The  anchylosed  tibia  and  fibula  from  Kent's  Hole  agree, 
like  the  jaws,  with  that  of  the  existing  Field-vole.  .,,,.. 
,  ,  ,  .  ,  These  specimens  have  all  the  characters  of  tli*j 
fossils  of  tlie  extinct  Mammalia  of  the  cave,  Kent's  Hole, 
fmm  which  they  were  obtained  by  Mr.  MacEnery ;  tliey  are 
DOW  in  the  British  Museum."  (pp»  206-7.) 

Arvicola  pratensis : — The  Bank-vole  is  distinguished  from 

the  Field-vole by  the  early  addition  of 

roots  to  the  molar  teeth ;  the  crowns  of  these  teeth  are  also 
narrower  in  proportion  to  their  antero-posterior  extent,  than 
in  the  Arvicola  agrestis;  both  this  character,  and  the  smaller 
size  of  the  jaws,  are  shown  in  the  specimens  jSgured"  [at  the 
head  of  the  section] 

They  were  obtained  by  Mr.  MacEnery  from  Kent's  Hole, 
and  are  now  in  the  British  Museum."  (p.  208.) 

Lepu^tiinidm: — "The  fossil  lower  jaws,  both  from  Kirkdale 
and  Kent's  Hole  wliich  I  have  examined,  have  presented  a 
somewhat  shorter  interspace  between  the  molars  and  incisors, 
than  in  the  common  Hare  of  this  country,  with  the  same 
proportions  of  depth  and  other  dimensions,  and  the  same  sized 
teeth ;  whereby  it  would  appear  that  the  Hare  of  the  caves 
had  a  rather  shorter  head,  and  resembled  in  that  respect  the 
variety  or  species  to  which  the  name  of  Lepus  Hibemicus  has 
been  given,  and  which  has  also  somewhat  stouter  limbs  than 
our  English  Hare."  (p.  211.) 


.THE  LITERATUKB  OF  KENT'S  CAVEBN,  TORQUAY.        513 

Lepm  cunicultts: — "Of  this  smaller  species  of  the  Hare 
tribe  portions  of  the  jaws,  teeth,  and  bones  of  the  extremities, 
have  been  found  fossil  in  the  cave  at  Kirkdale,  in  Kent's 
Hole,  and  in  the  cave  at  BeiTy  Head,  Torquay ;  they  closely 
accord  with  the  corresponding  parts  in  the  existing  wild 
Eabbit. 

The  specimen  figured"  [at  the  head  of  the  section]  "is  the 
right  ramus  of  the  lower  jaw  of  a  young  individual,  from 
Kent's  Hole ;  it  is  now  in  the  British  MuseuuL"  (p.  212.) 

Lagomys  spelceus: — "The  fossil  from  Kent's  Hole  consists 
of  the  facial  or  maxillary  part  of  the  skull  of  a  full-grown 
individual,  with  the  molar  and  incisive  teeth  in  situ  on  one 
side,  demonstrating  the  longitudinal  furrow  on  the  large  an- 
terior chisel-shaped  incisor,  and  the  small  posterior  supple- 
mentary incisors,  which  the  genus  Lagomys  has  in  common 
with  ordinary  Hares  and  Rabbits. 

The  dentition  of  the  small  Siberian  tail-less  Hares  closely 
resembles  that  in  the  true  genus  Lepiis,  in  the  form  of  the 
teeth,  and  differs  principally  in  the  absence  of  the  small  molar 
tooth  which  terminates  the  series  posteriorly  in  the  Hare ; 
the  number  of  molars  is  thus  reduced  in  the  Lagomys  to  five 
on  each  side  of  the  upper  jaw,  instead  of  six,  as  in  the  Hares; 
and  it  is  precisely  th^  sub-generic  distinction  that  the  fossil 
from  Kent's  Hole  demonstratea"  (pp.  214-5.) 

Elephas  primigenivs : — In  this  section  the  author  figures  a 
tooth  which  "  gives  a  view  of  a  second  molar  tooth  of  the 
lower  jaw  of  a  young  Mammoth,  from  the  bone -cave  at 
Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay :  the  crown  of  which  is  divided 

into  eight  transverse  plates :  and  is  supported  by 

two  fangs  or  roots,  a  small  anterior,  and  a  thick  and  laige 
posterior  one."  (pp.  223-4.) 

"  The  molars  of  the  Mammoth  which  I  have  hitherto  seen 
from  the  cave  called  Kent's  Hole  near  Torquay  are  of  young 
specimens;  here  they  are  associated  with  the  Hyaena,  the 
great  Cave  Tiger,  the  Cave  Bear,  &c. :  and  I  entirely  accede 
to  Dr.  Buckland's  explanation,  that  the  bones  or  bodies  of 
these  young  Mammoths  were  introduced  into  the  cave  by  the 
Camivora  which  co-existed  with  them."  (p.  259.) 

Bhinoceros  tichorhinus : — "  The  fossil  bones  of  the  Bhinoce* 
roses  foxind  in  this"  [Elirkdale]  "cavern,  as  well  as  in  that  near 
Torquay,  called  Kent's  Hole,  belonged  to  animals  which 
inhabited  England  during  the  period  immediately  preceding 


514        THE   LITEEATCTIE  OF    KENT's   CAVERN,  TORQUAY. 

the  depositioa  of  the  unstmtified  drift,  and  they  coexisted 
with  the  Mam  mo  til,  Hippopot^imua,  huge  Aurochs,  Ox  and 
Deer,  which  likewise  became  the  occasional  prey  of  the 
Hyaeiiaa,  whose  dwelling-place  was  thus  converted  into  a  kind 
of  charnel-house  of  the  large  Herbivora."  (p.  345.) 

Equus  fos^^ilis: — '*The  largest-sized  fossil  JSquus  from 
Eritii^h  strata  is  LndicateJ  by  molar  teeth,  obtained  by  Mr, 

LyeU  from  a  bed  of  laminated  blue  clay at  Croinen 

Several  of  the  equine  molar  teeth 

from  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay,  indicate  a  horse  as  large  as  that 
from  the  blue  clay  at  Cromer;  but  the  size  of  the  fossil 
specias  would  be  inet:iiTectly  estimated  from  the  size  of  the 
teeth  alone.*'  (pp.  384-5.) 

"  Figure  143'*  [at  the  head  of  the  section]  "shows  the  grinding 
snrfiice  of  the  third  molar,  right  side  of  the  upper  jaw,  in  a 
fossil  fram  the  cave  of  Keot*3  Hole,  Tortiuay.  It  pi'esents 
the  sauie  fossilized  condition  as  the  bones  and  teetli  of  the 
extinct  Rhinoceros  and  the  great  Carnimra  from  the  same 
depository.  The  upper  molars  of  the  Horse  are  slightly 
curved ;  and  a  fossil  species,  contemporary  with  the  Mega- 
therium in  South  America,  difters  from  the  existing  Horse  by 
the  greater  degree  of  that  curvatuiB:  but  there  is  no  such 
difference  in  the  present  fossil,  which  is  of  equal  length  with  a 
large"  [recent]  "  Horse's  tooth,  viz.,  tht^  inches  and  a  quart-er ; 
neither  is  there  any  niodihcation  of  the  pattern  of  the  enamel 
folds  on  the  grinding  surface  deserving  to  be  r^arded  as 
specific.  This  degree  of  difference  is  indicated  only  by  the 
smaller  transverse  as  compared  with  the  antero- posterior 

diameter. In  general,  I  have  found  that 

the  lower  molar  teeth  of  the  fossQ  EguiLs  present  the  same 

difference  in  their  narrower  transverse  diameter : 

Some  of  the  numerous  fossil  equine  teeth 

of  large  size,  from  the  cave  at  Kent's  Hole,  do  not  manifest 
this  character ;  but  the  large-sized  molar  teeth  of  the  Horse, 
from  the  newer  pliocene  blue-clay  at  Cromer,  are  as  much 
narrower  transversely,  compared  with  the  teeth  of  the  large 
varieties  of  the  existing  Horse,  as  are  the  somewhat  smaller 
molars  from  Kent's  Hole,  KirkdaJe,  and  Oreston."  (pp.  387-8.) 

Hippopotomus  major: — "Remains  of  the  extinct  Hippo- 
potamus have  been  found  in  other  limestone  caves  in  England 
than  at  Kirkdale ;  as,  for  example,  at  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay." 
(p.  410.) 


THE  LITERATURB  OP  KENT'S   CAVEBN,  TORQUAY.        515 

Megaceros  AiJeiTii^M^ :—"  Fragments  of  the  huge  antlers 
and  other  remains  of  the  Megaceros  have  been  discovered  in 
some  of  the  ossiferous  caverns  in  England.  A  characteristic 
specimen,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  was  obtained  by  Mr. 
M'Enery  from  Kent's  Hole ;  it  consists  of  part  of  the  upper 
jaw,  with  both  series  of  molar  teeth ;  it  precisely  corresponds 
with  the  same  parts  in  the  skull  of  a  Megaceros  from  Ireland." 
(p.  467.) 

Strongyloceros  spelams : — "  The  base  of  an  antler,  equalling 
in  dimensions  that  of  the  largest  Megaceros,  has  been  found 
fossil  and  partly  gnawed  by  Hyaenas,  in  the  cavern  of  Kent's 
Hole  near  Torquay.  This  fragment,  fifteen  inches  in  circum- 
ference, differs  from  the  antler  of  the  Megaceros  in  sending 
off  the  bezantler  at  a  shorter  distance  from  the  brow-antler, 
and  in  the  beam  diminishing  in  size  and  preserving  the 
cylindrical  figure  above  the  origin  of  the  bezantler,  by  which 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  species  so  represented  belonged 

to  the  round-antlered  section  of  the  Cervine  genus, 

and  to  which  section  the  subgeneric  name  Strongyloceros  may 
be  applied.  The  existing  species  in  this  group  which  most 
nearly  approaches  in  size  the  extinct  one  indicated  by  the 

present  fossil,  is  the  great  Wapiti  Deer  of  Canada ; 

but  the  fossil  differs  from  those  antlers  of  the  Wapiti  that 
have  come  under  my  observation  in  the  greater  distance 
between  the  brow-antler  and  bezantler.  Cuvier,  however, 
figures  some  specimens  which  resembled  the  fossil  in  this 
respect. 

Such  a  fragment  of  an  antler  as  the  one  from  Kent's  Hole 
here  described,  though  it  be  sufficient  to  determine  the  great 
Deer,  of  which  it  once  formed  a  part,  to  have  been  not  only 
distinct  from  the  Megaceros,  but  to  have  belonged  to  a  dis- 
tinct subdivision  of  the  cervine  genus,  does  not  permit  a 
satisfactory  determination  of  its  specific  distinction  from  the 
largest  existing  species  of  its  own  subgenus:  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  affords  as  litUe  ground  for  asserting  its  specific 
identity  with  them,  and,  from  analogy,  it  is  more  probable 
that  it  was  a  distinct  species,  which,  therefore,  I  propose  to 
indicate  as  the  Cenms  (Strongyloceros)  spekeus. 

If  the  trunk  and  limbs  bore  the  same  proportions  to  the 
head  and  antlers  as  in  the  Wapiti  and  Eed  Deer,  as  most 
probably  they  did,  the  species  indicated  by  this  remarkable 
fragment  of  antler  must  have  been  the  most  gigantic  of  our 
extinct  English  Cervine  animals. 

The  fragment  of  the  lower  jaw  indicates  clearly  a  Cervine 


516        THE   LITEEATUKE  OF  KENT'S  CAVERN,    TOEQ0;VY. 

animal  with  a  head  larger  than  that  of  the  Megaceros :  this 
fmgmeut  shows  a  depth  of  jaw  of  two  iuchea  and  a  half  below 
the  second  true  molar,  but  has  belonged  to  an  imiuature 
animal,  which  had  not  shed  the  last  deciduous  molar,  nor  had 
fully  acquired  the  second  tnxe  molar,  Suftlcient  of  tlie  crown 
of  thia  tooth  has  risen  above  the  gum  to  show  that  it  had  not 
the  accessory  column  at  the  base  of  the  outer  interspace  of 
the  two  lobes,  as  in  the  Megaceros  aud  the  lar^e  B<jvine 
Iluminants ;  but  that  it  resembled  the  Wapiti  and  Ked-deer, 
both  in  the  absence  of  that  column,  and  in  its  presence  in  the 
first  true  molar.  The  last  deciduous  molar  shows  tlie  same 
large  proportional  size  of  the  third  lobe,  which  characterizes 
this  tooth  in  all  Kuminauts,  and  distinguishes  it  from  the  last 
true  molars.  I  conclude,  therefore,  that  this  fragment,  wliich 
is  also  from  Kent's  Hole,  and  has  apparently  been  fractured 
by  the  teeth  of  Kyienas,  belonged  to  another  individual  of 
the  same  great  species  of  Round -an  tiered  Deer,  to  which  I 
have  referred  the  base  of  the  antler  above  described."  (pp. 
469-710 

Cenms  (StrQngrfloctrm)  Elaphi^: — '^Fragments  of  the  shed 
antlers  of  the  Eed*dcer,  associated  with  others  referable  to  the 
M€{iac^rm  and  the  great  Strmi^t/ioceroSj  liave  lieen  found  in 
Kent's  Hole  at  Torq^uay;  they  all  show  the  efTeclB  of  gnawing, 
and  indicate  that  all  the  three  species  of  Deer  co-existed  in 
England  with  the  Hy;ena  and  other  extinct  caruivora  at  that 
remote  period."  (p.  478.) 

Before  proceeding  to  the  author  who  next  in  chrouological 
order  wrote  on  Kent's  Cavern,  the  following  brief  remarks 
may  be  of  service. 

Some  difference  of  opinion  exists  among  palaeontologists 
respecting  the  affinities  of  Felis  spelcea.  The  prevalent 
opinion  has,  no  doubt,  been  to  regard  it  as  a  tiger  rather  than 
a  lion,  as  Professor  Owen  has  provisionally  done  in  the 
description  which  has  just  been  quoted  from  his  "British 
Fossil  Mammalia."  In  1806,  Cuvier  concluded  "that  the 
most  characteristic  of  the  fossils  of  the  great  feline  animal 
could  be  referred  neither  to  the  existing  Lion  or  Lioness,  nor 
to  the  Tiger,  still  less  to  the  Leopard  or  Panther ;  but  that  it 
more  resembled,  in  the  curvature  of  the  lower  border  of  the 
under  jaw,  the  Jaguar."  M.  Goldfuss,  subsequently  and 
from  better  materials,  described  it  under  the  name  of  Feiis 
spelcea.  Cuvier  adopted  the  name,  and  subsequently  spoke 
of  the  species  as  "a  lion  or  Tiger."    Professor  Owen^  in 


THE  LITERATUKB  OF  KEKT'S  CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        517 

1846,  thus  introduces  a  specimen  found  in  Kenfs  Cavern, 
and  which  he  figures  at  the  head  of  the  section,  page  161 : — 
"  The  most  characteristic  British  fossil  of  the  great  spehean 
Tiger,  as  it  will,  for  convenience'  sake,  be  here  termed,  is  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  right  upper  jaw."*  I  perfectly 
remember,  however,  that  at  the  Meeting  of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation, at  Leeds,  in  1858,  Professor  Owen  distinctly  stated 
that,  after  all,  it  was  a  Lion  and  not  a  Tiger.  This  is  the 
opinion  also  of  Messrs.  Dawkins  and  Sandford  in  their 
"  British  Pleistocene  Mammalia."  (p.  xx.)t 

Though,  as  Dr.  Buckland  assured  Professor  Owen,  Mr. 
MacEnery  never  published  a  Description  of  the  Cavern,  it  is 
certain  that  he  intended  to  do  so,  as  has  been  stated  by 
Mr.  Northmora  In  the  prospectus  from  which  Mr.  North- 
more  quotes, — and  a  copy  of  which  is  in  my  possession — 
Mr.  MacEnery  says  "it  has  been  found  necessary  to  extend 
the  number  of  plates  to  thirty,"  and  he  adds  that  "specimens 
of  the  plates  may  be  seen  at  Cole's  Library,  Torquay."  It  is 
not  improbable,  therefore,  that  the  drawings,  or  lithographic 
impressions,  shown  by  him  to  Professor  De  Blainville,  "  were 
those  designed  to  illustrate,"  not  "  the  second  volume  of  the 
SeliquicB  Bilurnance,"  but  his  own  work. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  other  observers,  as  well  as  by 
Professor  Owen,  that  "the  molars  of  the  Mammoth  which 
they  have  seen  from  Kent's  Hole  are  of  young  specimens,** 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  small  molars  greatly  prepon- 
derate. Nevertheless,  there  are  in  the  Museum  of  the  Tor- 
quay Natural  History  Society,  teeth  which  must  have  belonged 
to  adult  animals. 


ME.  VTVnAN.    1847. 

In  1846,  the  Torquay  Natural  History  Society  appointed  a 
Committee  to  make  an  exploration  of  a  small  portion  of  the 
Cavern.  Though  the  object  was  mainly  that  of  obtaining 
specimens  for  the  Society's  Museum,  very  careful  attention 
was  given  to  the  positions  and  associations  of  all  the  articles 
found.  A  paper  embodying  the  results  of  this  investigation 
was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Vivian,  a  member  of  the  Committee, 
and  read,  in  1847,  to  the  British  Association,  during  the 
meeting  at  Oxford,  and  to  the  Geological  Society  of  London. 
The  following  abstract  of  this  commimication  was  printed 

*  See  '^Hifltory  of  British  Fossil  Mammalia,"  &c.,  p.  162-4. 
t  *<  The  Britiah  Fleiatooene  Mammalia.  By  W.  Boyd  Dawkins,  ila.,  ¥.q.8^ 
aiidW.A78hfi>xd8aiidfoid,7.Q.8.    PartL''^   1866.    (PaL  Soa) 
VOL.  n.  MM 


618        THE  LITEEATDRB  OF  KENT*S  CAVERN,   TOEQ0AT. 

in  the  "Report"  of  the  former  body: — "The  important 
point  that  we  liave  established  is,  that  relics  of  human  art 
are  found  hcfuath  the  unbrnken  floor  of  8talagiiitt«,  After 
taking  every  precaution,  by  sweeping  the  surface,  and  exaodn- 
log  most  minutely  wliether  there  were  any  traces  of  the  floor 
liaving  been  previously  disturbed,  we  broke  through  the  solid 
stalagmite  in  three  different  parts  of  the  cavern,  and  in  each 
instance  found  flint  knives,  closely  resembling  those  in  tha^ 

most  ancient  barrows Tfie  thickness  of  the  stala 

luite  19  ab<:iat  tln^e  feet    lu  the  spot  where  the  most  highly  j 
finished  specimen  was  found  the  passage  was  so  low  that  ft  j 
was  extremely  difticult,  with  quarrymen'a  tools  and   goo<lj 
workmen,  to  break  through  the  cruat;  and  the  supposition 
that  it  had  been  previously  disturbed  is  iniposaibla"  (p.  73).' 

The  Council  of  the  Geological  Society,  being  unprepared 
to  publish  in  their  Quarterly  Journal  the  statements  contaiTied 
in  this  paper,  contented  themselves  with  printing  the  follow- 
ing notice ; — 

"  On  KEifT'8  Cavbhit  ne^r  Torquay,  By  Edward  TittaKp 
Esq,  In  this  paper  an  account  was  given  of  iwine  recent 
researches  in  that  cavern  by  a  committee  of  the  Torquay 
Natural  History  Society,  during  which  the  bones  of  various 
extinct  species  of  animals  were  found  in  several  situationi3."t 

It  is  wortliy  of  remark  tliat  tlie  foUowijig  aunouneement  is 
always  printed  on  the  wKt]>per  of  the  Journal :  **  Tiie  Editor 
of  the  Quarterly  Journal  is  directed  to  make  it  known  to  the 
Public,  that  the  Authors  alone  are  responsible  for  the  facta 
And  opinions  contained  in  their  respective  Papers." 

In  1856,  Mr.  Vivian  read  to  the  British  Association,  during 
the  meeting  at  Cheltenham,  a  paper  "  On  the  earliest  traces 
of  Human  Eemains  in  Kent's  Cavern."  The  following  is  a 
portion  of  the  abstract  of  it  which  was  printed  in  the 
"Eeport:"  The  cavern  is  situated  between  Torquay  and 
Babbicombe,  beneath  a  conical  hill  of  the  Devonian  lime- 
stone, extending  to  a  circuit  of  about  600  feet  It  appears  to 
have  been  first  occupied  by  the  bear  and  hyaena,  the  remains 
of  which,  Mrith  the  bones  of  the  elephants,  rhinoceros,  deer, 
&c.,  upon  which  they  preyed,  were  strewn  upon  the  rocky 
floor.     By  some  violent  and  transitory  convulsion,  a  vast 

♦  "  Report  of  the  Seventeenth  Meeting  of  the  BritiBh  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science."     1847. 

t  The  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  toL  iii. 
p.  353.     1847. 


THE  LITERATURE  Of  KENT'S  CAVERN,   TORQUAY.        519 

amount  of  the  soil  of  the  sun'ounding  country  was  injected 
into  the  cavern,  carrying  with  it  the  bones,  and  burying 
them  in  the  inmost  recesses.  Immediately  upon  its  subsid- 
ence the  cavern  appears  to  have  been  occupied  by  human 
inhabitants,  whose  rude  flint -knives  and  arrowheads  are 
found  upon  the  mud  beneath  the  stalagmite.  A  period  then 
succeeded,  during  which  the  cavern  was  not  inhabited  until 
about  half  of  the  floor  was  formed,  when  a  streak  containing 
burnt  wood  and  the  bones  of  the  wild  boar  and  badger  was 
deposited,  and  again  the  cave  was  unoccupied,  either  by  men 
or  animals,  the  remaining  portion  of  the  stalagmite  being, 
above  as  below,  pure  and  unstained  by  soil  or  any  foreign 
matter.  Above  the  floor  have  been  found  remains  of  Celtic, 
early  British  and  Roman  remains,  together  with  those  of 
more  modern  date.  Among  the  inscriptions  is  one  of  interest 
as  connected  with  the  landing  of  William  III.  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay,  'W.  Hodges,  of  Ireland,  1688/ 

The  position  of  the  flint  implements  beneath  the  stalag- 
mite, although  contrary  to  the  generally  received  opinion  of 
geologists,  and  carrying  back  the  first  occupation  of  Devon 
to  very  high  antiquity,  was  shown  to  be  not  necessarily  at 
variance  with  Scriptural  chronology,  the  deposit  of  stalagmite 
having  apparently  been  much  more  rapid  at  those  periods 
when  the  cavern  was  not  inhabited,  in  consequence  of  a 
greater  discharge  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  Without  attempting 
to  affix  with  any  certainty  more  than  a  relative  date,  Mr. 
Vivian  suggested  that  there  was  reason  for  believing  that  the 
introduction  of  the  mud  was  occasioned,  not  by  the  com- 
paratively tranquil  Mosaic  Deluge,  which  spared  the  olive 
and  allowed  the  ark  to  float  without  miraculous  interposition, 
as  was  once  assumed  by  Dr.  Buckland,  but  by  the  greater 
convulsion,  alluded  to  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  which 
destroyed  the  pre-existing  races  of  animals — most  of  those  in 
this  cavern  being  of  extinct  species, — and  prepared  the  earth 
for  man  and  his  contemporaries. 

The  original  formation  of  the  cavern  was  attributed  prin- 
cipally to  the  action  of  trap  and  the  volcanic  action  which 
had  disturbed  the  strata  in  many  paits  of  this  district,  causing 
deep  fissures,  as  at  Daddy's  Hole  and  Anst/s  Cove. 

The  sources  from  which  the  statements  in  the  paper  were 
obtained  were  principally  the  original  manuscript  memoir  of 
the  late  Rev.  J.  Mac  Enery,  f.g.s.,  which  is  deplored  by  Pro- 
fessor Owen,  in  his  Fossil  Mammalia,  and  by  other  writers, 
as  lost  to  science,  but  which  had  been  recovered  by  Mr. 
Vivian  and  waQ  produced  before  the  section ;  also  the  report 

M  M  2 


620        tHE  UTERATOEE  OF    KENT'S  CAVERN,  TOEQUAT, 

of  the  sub-comtnittee  of  the  Torquay  Natural  HbtoTy  Society, 
and  his  owa  researchea-"  (pp,  119-22,)* 

The  remainder  of  the  abstract  consists  of  extracts  from 
Mt.  MacEoery^s  Manuscript,  which  ilr.  Yiviau  proposed 
"sliortly  to  edit  with  annotations  in  a  connected  form." 
(Ibid  p,  79). 

The  inscription  mentioned  hy  Mr.  Vivian  Ixbb  been  mis- 
printed in  his  abstract  It  should  have  been  "  Eobt  Hedges, 
of  Ireland,  Feb.  20,  1688," 

It  does  not  appear  to  be  easy  to  connect  this  inscription 

with  the  landing  of  William  IIL,  which  took  place  November 
5,  1688,  and  therefore  nine  months  after,  or  three  niontha 
before,  the  date  of  the  inscription,  according  as  the  scribe 
regarded  January  1st  or  March  25tb  as  New  Year's  day  ;  the 
latter  being  the  Nev?  Years  day  in  England  for  all  oMcial 
records  until  A.D.  1752. 

DE.  MANTELL,   IB60. 

lu  1850,  Dn  Mantell  read  to  the  Archieoloj^cal  Institute 
a  paper  **0a  the  Remains  of  Man  and  Works  of  Art 
Imbedded  in  Eocks  and  Strata,"tin  which  he  says,  "Every 
one  knows  that  near  Torquay^  in  Devonshire,  tbere  is  a  chasm 
or  fissure  in  the  limestone  strata^  named  '  Kent's  Hole/  which 
has  long  been  celebrated  for  the  quantities  of  fossil  bones 
belonging  to  extinct  species  of  bears,  hyaenas,  lions»  tigers, 
&c.,  that  have  from  time  to  time  been  dug  up  fix)m  its  re- 
cesses. These  remains  occur  in  a  bed  of  sandy  loam,  which 
covers  the  bottom  of  the  chasm,  or  cavern,  to  a  thickness  of 
twenty  feet.  The  teeth  and  bones  are  for  the  most  part  in 
an  excellent  state  of  preservation.  The  principal  cbiasm  is 
600  feet  in  length;  and  there  are  small  lateral  fissures  of 
less  extent.  A  bed  of  hard,  solid  stalagmite,  from  one  to 
four  feet  thick,  is  spread  over  the  ossiferous  loam,  and  covered 
with  a  thin  layer  of  earth,  with  here  and  there  patches  of 
charcoal  mixed  with  human  bones  and  coarse  earthen  vessels. 

On  breaking  through  the  sparry  floor,  the  red  loam,  con- 
taining teeth  and  bones,  is  brought  to  view ;  and  imbedded 
in  it,  and  at  a  depth  of  several  feet,  and  intermingled  with 

*  "Report  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Meeting  of  the  British  ABSodation  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science."     1856. 

t  "  On  the  Remains  of  Man  and  Works  of  Art  Imbedded  in  Bocks  and 
Strata."  By  Gideon  Algernon  Mantell,  Esq.,  ll.d.,  F.&.B.  Read  at  the 
Oxford  Meetinpr,  Juno  21,1 850.  "  The  Archieological  Jounoal  of  the  Arch»- 
ological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  yoL  viL 


THE  LTTEBATURE  OF  KENT'S    CAVERN,  TORQUAY.        521 

remains  of  extinct  bears  and  carnivora,  there  have  been 
discovered  several  flint  knives,  arrow  and  spear  heads,  and 
fragments  of  pottery.  The  stone  implements  are  of  the 
kind  usually  found  in  early  British  tumuli,  and  doubtless 
belonged  to  the  same  period;  yet  here  they  were  unques- 
tionably collocated  with  fossil  bones  of  immense  antiquity, 
and  beneath  the  impermeable  and  undisturbed  floor  of  the 
cavern,  which  was  entire  till  broken  through  by  the  explora- 
tion that  led  to  the  exhumation  of  these  relics.  This  discovery 
gave  rise  to  many  curious  speculations,  because  it  was  sup- 
posed to  pi'esent  unequivocal  proof  that  man,  and  the  extinct 
carnivora,  were  the  contemporary  inhabitants  of  the  dry  land, 
at  the  period  when  the  ossiferous  loam  was  deposited :  but  the 
facts  described  do  not  appear  to  warrant  this  inference. 
Kent's  Hole,  Banwell  Cave,  and  indeed  all  the  ossiferous 
caverns  I  have  examined,  are  mere  fissures  in  limestone  rocks 
that  have  been  filled  with  drift  while  submerged  in  shallow 
water,  and  into  which  the  limbs  and  carcases  were  floated  by 
currents :  for  the  bones,  though  broken,  are  very  rarely  water- 
worn,  and  consequently  must  have  been  protected  by  the 
muscles  and  soft  parts.  Upon  the  emergence  of  the  land,  of 
which  the  raised  beds  of  shingle  afford  proof,  the  fissures 
were  elevated  above  the  waters,  and  gradually  drained ;  the 
formation  of  stalactites  and  stalagmites,  from  the  percolation 
of  water  through  the  superincumbent  beds  of  limestone,  then 
commenced  and  continued  to  a  late  period. 

If,  when  Kent's  Hole  first  became  accessible,  and  while  the 
floor  was  in  a  soft  and  plastic  state,  and  before  the  formation 
of  the  stalactitic  (sic)  covering,  some  of  the  wandering  British 
aborigines  prowled  into  the  cave,  or  occasionally  sought  shelter 
there,  the  occurrence  of  stone  instruments,  pottery,  bones,  &c,, 
in  the  ossiferous  loam  may  be  readily  explained ;  for  any  hard 
or  heavy  substance,  even  if  not  buried,  would  quickly  sink 
beneath  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  a  few  feet,  and  afterwards 
become  hermetically  sealed  up,  as  it  were,  by  the  crust  of 
stalagmite  that  now  forms  the  solid  pavement."  (pp.  340-1.) 

Were  it  not  that  Dr.  Mantell's  langui^e  indicates  that  he 
had  "examined"  Kent's  Hole,  it  might  be  inferred  that  all 
his  information  respecting  it  had  been  obtained  from  un- 
trustworthy second-hand  sources.  Kent's  Cavern,  instead  of 
being  a  "  chasm  or  fissure,"  is  an  undoubted  tunnel  cavern ; 
it  hi^  not  yielded  bones  of  both  lions  and  tigers ;  no  "frag- 
ments of  pottery"  have  ever  been  found  in  the  red  loam 
beneath  the  stalagmitic  floor;  the  "stone  implements"  instead 


D22        THE  LIXEEATURE   OF  EENT*S   CATEBK,  TOEQTJAT* 

of  being  ''of  the  kind  usually  found  in  early  British  tumuli/* 
ate  unpolished  and  hiilong  to  the  Paleeulithic  age,  whilst  those 
from  British  burrows  belong  to  the  more  moderiij  or  Neolithic, 
period. 

The  hy]Jothe9es  tliat  the  cavern  received  its  contents  whilst 
it  was  snbniorged;  that  "limbs  and  carcases"  were  washed 
in  whilst  they  wei^  "protected  by  the  muscles  and  soft 
parts;"  tlmt  there  was  no  deposition  of  Btalagmite  during 
the  accumnlation  of  the  red  loam  or  whilst  bones  of  extinct 
animals  were  introduced;  that  the  red  loam  or  cave  earth 
was  ever  in  such  "a  fioJt  and  plastic  state"  that  "any  hard  or 
heavy  substance  would  quickly  sink  beneath  the  surface  to  a 
depth  of  a  few  feet/'  are  opposed  to  the  best  established  fiicta 
of  the  cavern. 

Dr.  Manteirs  paper,  however,  is  by  no  means  without 
value.  It  distinctly  recognizes  the  human  origin  of  the  "flint 
implements/'  and  asserts  that  "they  were  unquestionably 
collocated  with  fossil  bones  of  immense  antiquity/' 

Coiichmon: — So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the 
foregoing  are  the  only  notices  of  the  Cavern  which  had 
appeared  prior  to  the  year  1859,  when,  in  accoi'dance  with 
the  intention  which  he  announced  in  1856,  Mr,  Vivian  pub- 
lished Mr,  MacEnery's  Manuscript,  and  thereby  opened 
what  may  be  called  the  Second  CliEipter  in  the  Litemtni>e  of 
Kent's  CaveriL  Tlie  exigencies  of  time  and  space  wiirn  mo 
that  this  important  Memoir,  and  the  Eeports  by  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  British  Association,  must  be  deferred 
to  some  future  occasion. 

It  may  be  of  service  to  conclude  this  transcript  with  a 
Chronological  list  of  the  authors  quoted  in  it. 


Authors. 

Dates. 

Authors. 

Bates. 

Maton 

.     1797 

Blewitt 

.      1832 

Polwhele 

.     1797 

Northmore 

.     1832 

Editor    of    Guide 

to 

Phillips 

.     1832 

"Watering  Places 

,     1803 

Godwin- Austen 

.     1840 

Montague 

.     1805 

Owen 

.     1846 

De  la  Beche 

^827 
.     1831 

Vivian 

(1847 
•  11856 

1839 

ManteU 

.     1850 

[Throughout  this  paper,  not  merely  the  words,  but  the  capitals,  italics, 
orthomphy,  punctuation,  &c.  of  the  different  authors  have  been  strictly 
copiea.  This  will  account  for  the  numerous  typographical  irr^ularities,  and 
the  occasional  inaccuracies  which  are  obseryaole.    W.  P.] 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY. 


BT  DR.  ALEXANDER  V.  W.   RIKKERS. 


If  thought  is  silent  speech,  and  speech  is  thought  revealed, 
then  there  must  of  necessity  exist  a  most  intimate  connection 
between  language  and  the  human  mind.  A  man  s  individuality, 
that  great  compound  result  of  a  bundle  of  little  things, — be 
they  natural  or  circumstantial — influences  his  language  in  as 
much  and  in  as  far  as  the  features  of  the  same  leave  him  free 
in  the  choice  of  his  words,  idioms,  and  metaphors.  By  our 
words  are  we  often  justified,  and  by  our  words  again  may  we 
be  condemned.  We  have  all  of  us  our  pet  words  and  sayings; 
we  do  not  all  of  us  attach  an  equal  meaning,  in  degree  afid 
extent,  to  the  same  words  in  the  self-same  spoken  language ; 
and  whilst  we  may  be  ourselves  unable  to  account  for  our 
apparent  predilections  and  valuations,  these  often  reflect  the 
image  of  many  a  phasis  of  our  soul  in  the  eye  of  the  philoso- 
phical student  of  language.  And  in  the  same  way  as  our 
individual  turn  of  mind  often  directs  and  governs  our  phrase- 
ology, so  does  our  individual  choice  and  use  of  metaphor 
mainly  depend  on  external  circumstances,  over  which  the 
mind  has  sometimes  no  control  whatever. 

Taking  the  word  language  then,  in  its  wider  philosophical 
sense  of  thought  revealed,  we  may  be  allowed  to  remark  that 
there  are  indeed  many  languages  spoken  in  the  self-same 
country,  which  grammatically  recognizes  not  more  than  one 
within  its  geographical  boundaries.  There  are  the  different 
vernaculars  of  the  different  social  divisions;  the  idioms  of 
infancy,  of  youth,  and  of  mature  age ;  the  language  of  the 
man,  of  the  woman,  and  of  the  child.  Each  of  these  tongues 
or  dialects  may  require  proper  and  careful  translation  into 
the  others ;  and  this  not  so  much  because  they  are  made  up 
of  so  many  words  and  phrases  familiar  to  one  or  two  ex- 
clusively, but  meaningless  to  others,  but  rather  because  all  of 
them,  whilst  making  use  of  identical  symbols  of  thought,  do 


524  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  TEEBAL  MONOPOLY, 

not  ascribe  to  those  signs  the  same  degree  and  extent  of 
significatioiL  Endless  strife  in  this  worid — religious,  social, 
political— what  is  it  but  A^yo^x^io,  misunderstanding^  It 
seems  often  supeThuuiaidj  difficult  for  the  sexes  to  translate 
from  wonifin-sf^  into  man-^^c^,  or  from  nian*5^A  into  woman-^A, 
and  so  it  is  that  they  do  not  always  understand  each  other. 
Equally  so  the  language  of  childhood,  with  its  utter  disr^ard 
for  inflexion  and  pi-ofound  contempt  for  the  particles,  with  its 
fluctuation  of  vowels  and  interchangeableness  of  conaonaiits, 
will  be  beat  nnderatood  by  the  mother,  or  by  the  nurse,  or  by 
such  men  as  that  philosophic  old  bachelor  who,  having  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  he  knew  all  about  men  and  quite  enough 
about  women,  turned  his  thoughts  to  chiidren,  and  studied 
their  vernacular. 

To  say  that  an  investigation  into  the  philosophy  of  language 
13  at  the  same  time  a  study  of  the  human  mind,  that  both 
are  indeed  nothing  but  two  different  aspects  of  what  is  most 
niarvellouSp  most  Jiumau  in  mankind— to  assert  this  is  to 
utter  a  hackneyed  truism ;  for  bpeech  is  thought,  and 
THOUGHT  IS  BPEECH ;  Xoyot.  But,  this  being  admitted,  may 
we  not  further  extend  the  circle  of  our  infereucea  from  m- 
dimdrmHties  to  iiationalitirs  f  What  applies  to  the  different 
classes  or  categories  of  individuals,  using  characteristically 
different  dialects,  of  wliat  is  grammatically  speaking  one 
vehicle  or  medhim  of  thought,  the  language  ot  oiu  nation, 
must  likewise  \a^  a  certain  extent  be  applicable  to  the  mani- 
fold civilized  idioms  of  tlie  different  nation;;,  offshoots  of  tho 
same  great  human  family  ;  and  here  we  stand  before  a  most 
important  two-fold  problem  of  speculative  philosophy:  Ik 

WHAT  WAY  AND  IN  HOW  FAB  CAN  THE  IDI0SYNCBACIB8  OF  DIF- 
FERENT LANGUAGES,  WHICH  MORPHOLOGICALLY  OOBiE  UNDER 
THE  SAME  RUBRIC,  BE  ACCEPTED  AS  A  FAIR  STANDARD  BY  WHICH 
TO  READ  AND  TO  JUDGE  THE  DIFFERENT  NATIONS  WHO  USB 
THOSE  VERNACULARS  TO  EXPRESS  AND  COMMUNICATE  THSIB 
THOUGHTS,  FEELINGS  AND  IDEAS? 

I  will  not  apply  to  this  question,  "  Qaeste  parole  di  colore 
oscuro : " 

"  Lasciate  ogni  gperanza  voi  che  *ntrate  "  {Inferno^  iii.  9) ; 

but  I  venture  to  say  that  in  it  is  involved  a  problem  unsolved, 
and  perhaps  admitting  of  no  solution ;  untried,  but  probably 
worthy  of  a  bold  attempt.  Yet  do  I  not  flatter  myself  to  the 
same  extent  as  the  Latin  poet  when  he  sang : 

" me  Pamaasi  deserta  per  ordua  dulcis 

Raptat  amor  :  juvat  ire  jugia,  qua  nuUa  priorum 
Castaliam  moIU  devertitur  orbita  clivo."  {Otorg.  iii.  292.) 


i 
I 

I 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY.  525 

for  it  is  owing,  partly  to  circumstances  of  education,  and 
chiefly,  perhaps,  to  that  audacity  of  ambition  which  is  pre- 
conceive to  be  in  natural  juxtaposition  with  immature  age, 
that  I  have  ventured  on  a  hint  of  Leibnitz  to  approach  the 
question  here  raised  with  regard  to  nationalities.  For  the 
present  it  is  to  one  single  point  connected  with  it  that  I  beg 
leave  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  members  of  this  associa- 
tion. 

It  has  been  industriously  circulated,  and  is  indeed  generally 
believed,  that  when  a  nation  has  not  a  word,  it  has  not 

THE  idea  or  the  THING  THAT  THE  WORD  REPRESENTS.      This 

somewhat  alluring  dogma  of  verbal  deficiency,  badly  worded 
as  it  stands,  originated — I  rely  on  third -hand  but  very  safe 
authority — originated,  I  believe,  with  the  German  philosopher 
Herder,  and  is  most  likely  to  be  found  in  that  learned  dis- 
sertation, Id^^en  zur  Fhilosophie  der  Geschichte  der  MensMieit, 
The  idea  was  taken  up,  or  at  least  endorsed,  in  1813  by  a 
Hungarian,  Kazinczy, — perhaps  the  greatest  manufacturer  of 
artificial  words  that  ever  lived — and  it  grew,  and  grew,  and 
grew,  until  it  had  assumed  the  shape  and  dimension  of  what  I 
should  wish  to  christen  the  PHILOSOPHY  op  verbal  monopoly 
as  now  received,  not  only  by  the  current  opinion,  but  even  by 
the  tacit  assent  of  the  literati  of  various  nations.  As  nation- 
alities and  languages  are  cross-alteniately  lauded  and  blamed 
for  the  lack  or  possession  of  certain  woixls  to  represent  ideas 
of  bad  or  good  repute ;  so  vice  versa  do  they  get  credit  for,  and 
pride  themselves  on,  being  the  only  and  exclusive  possessors 
of  others  denoting  desirable  qualities  and  objects,  or  lofty 
and  favourable  ideas.  With  a  mixed  gesture  of  chaff  and 
pride  the  Frenchman  raises  his  head  and  says,  "  We  have  no 
word  for  your  bribe;**  with  an  enviable  air  of  self-complacency 
and  self-sufficiency  the  Englishman  surveys  his  "  castle"  and 
feels  himself  solitarily  comfortable  ;  and  all  along  Neckar 
and  Rhine,  forgetful  of  hard  mental  labour,  far  away  from 
the  musty  college-halls  and  leather-smelling  library,  the 
German  Burschen  will  boast  of  tJieir  qemCthlicheeit. 

Such  is,  I  believe,  the  orthodox  philosophy  of  verbal 
monopoly ;  in  my  opinion  an  innocent  popular  illusion  with 
a  very  sUght  under-current  of  truth.  The  task  before  us  is 
to  examine  this  doctrine  by  the  light  of  reason,  probability, 
and  analogy.  I  will  endeavour  to  do  so,  unbiassed  by  any 
national  feeling  or  predilection ;  and  whilst  speaking  to  you 
with  a  foreign  accent  in  a  language  not  my  own,  I  will  neither 
take  advantage  of  my  exceptional  position  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  accept  the  slightest  consideration  on  the  other.    I  claim 


526  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY. 

to  be  regarded  in  one  light  only, — as  "  one  of  us^"  as  one  of 
the  youngest  members  of  our  association. 

Let  us  first  touch  on  such  points  as  are  most  tangible: 
the  monopoly  of  words  which  are  the  symbols  of  material 
or  sensible  objects,  and  of  those  expi-essive  of  relations 
and  distinctions — domestic,  social,  or  otherwise — which  im- 
mediately fall  within  reach  of  our  daily  observation.  A  man 
who  does  not  see  is  blind ;  a  person  who  cannot  hear  is  deaf ; 
but  what  idiom  has  a  name  for  the  unfortunate  or  privileged 
being  who  lacks  the  organ  of  smelling  ?  And  yet  the  absence 
of  such  a  word  docs  not  preclude  the  existence  of  the  oiganic 
defect,  although  it  be  partly  admitted  that  it  is  one  less  com- 
mon than  blindness  or  deafness.  ThereT  is  no  distinct  word  in 
English  for  the  Latin  homo,  the  German  Mensch^  nor  in 
French  for  the  Latin  vir;  this  may  give  rise  to  a  considerable 
amount  and  peculiar  kind  of  philosophical  speculation,  but 
not  a  man  in  his  senses  denies  the  genus  in  the  one  nation,  or 
the  species  in  the  other.  The  German  schwaqeb,  a  sisters 
husband,  for  which  no  separate,  un-compound,  or  integral 
word  exists,  either  in  French  or  in  English,  does  find  an 
equivalent  in  a  low-German  sister-dialect;  but  the  cor- 
responding feminine  form  zwagerin  for  schwAgebinn  would 
jar  on  the  ears  of  a  Dutchman  like  citizeness  and  presielcntess 
would  on  ours.  Whilst  the  French  distinguish  between  homkb 
and  MARI — not  so  many  languages  of  the  Teutonic  family; 
they  shift  with  one  word  for  ivoman  and  wife  in  common  and 
familiar  parlance.  Nay,  such  odd  qualifications  as  my  man 
and  his  woman,  instead  of  husband  and  wife  are  used  and 
sanctioned  in  the  best-toned  drawing-room  of  Holland.  Nor 
do  the  Dutch  make  any  distinction  in  their  language  between 
nrjyJtew  and  cousin,  or  between  cousin  and  niece.  The  want  of 
so  comprehensive  a  word  as  the  German  geschwister  makes 
itself  felt  in  all  the  languages  that  have  come  under  my 
notice,  and  yet  many  of  us  speak  of  our  brothers  and  sisters. 

It  would  be  great  waste  of  valuable  time  to  swell  the 
number  of  these  illustrations,  purposely  restricted  to  four 
idioms  only,  and  these  two  and  two  connected.  With  regard 
to  such  words,  it  is  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt  that  the 
popular  tenet  of  the  philosophy  of  verbal  monopoly  is 
altogether  and  absolutely  untenable.  Why  words  in  one 
dialect  are  lost  and  in  another  of  the  same  stock  preserved, 
or  vjhy  coined  or  foreign  words  and  phrases  more  readily  find 
admittance  into  one  language  than  another  is  often  difiicult 
to  say  or  to  ascertain.  This  is  generally  a  case  of,  "  Wliy 
did  you  cough  when  I  passed?"   and  "Why  did  you  pass 


THE  PHttOSOPHY  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY.  527 

when  I  coughed?"  Verbal  competition,  struggle,  and  sup- 
plantation  on  the  one  hand;  ignorance,  whim,  fashion, 
prestige  on  the  other,  with  many  combinations  and  permuta- 
tions of  the  like — these  may  account  for,  but  cannot  alto- 
gether explain,  the  phenomenon  as  we  observe  it  Such 
languages  as  live  on  their  own  stock, — Greek,  or  to  confine 
ourselves  strictly  to  the  living  idioms,  high  and  low  German, 
and  of  these  the  latter  particularly — through  their  unusual 
power  of  combination,  have  of  course  a  decided  advantage 
over  others,  such  as  their  Komance  or  neo-Latin  sisterhood ; 
and  hence  the  former  idioms  will  be  generally  found  in  pos- 
session of  many  words  which  it  would  be  very  dilB&cult  or  im- 
possible to  translate  or  to  introduce  into  other  dialects.  Like 
capital  that  begets  capital,  such  is  all  human  speech ;  facility 
of  coinage  invites  and  gives  rise  to  boldness  of  introduction, 
whilst  natural  and  immediate  comprehensibility  secures  swift 
or  uncontested  circulation.  A  writer  or  orator  may  have 
clearly  on  his  mind  certain  ideas  for  which  he  finds  no  words 
at  his  command  in  the  language  in  which  he  is  writing  or  speak- 
ing, and  this  cannot,  therefore,  be  ascribed  to  the  idea  being 
wanting  in  himself,  but  may  be  dependent  on  the  fact,  that 
the  idiom  which  he  is  using  lacks  that  grammatical  power  of 
formation  or  coinage  which  may  be  inherent  in  other  idioms 
that  have  SET  the  idea  to  word.  In  a  somewhat  spirited 
debate  with  young  English  scholars,  I  once  happened  to  use 
the  word  bueaddrunkenness  ;  the  new-born  infant  was 
hailed  with  shouts  of  admiration  and  recognized  in  a  moment; 
but  as  it  was,  I  received  credit  for  what  I  did  not  deserve;  my 
apparent  coinage  was  simply  a  down-right  translation  of  a 
word  occurring  in  a  cognate  idiom  in  the  sense  of  a  half- 
wanton,  half-idiotic  phasis  of  hilarity.  Now  I  grant  that  few 
persons,  even  linguists  or  philologers,  would  have  understood 
the  word  without  its  context,  but  what  I  deny  is  this :  Ist, 
that  the  original  word  created  in  me  the  idea,  and  2nd,  that 
my  translation  caused  the  idea  to  dawn  in  the  minds  of  my 
English  friends.  When  Coleridge  coined  the  word  othbr- 
worldiness  he  deserved  great  credit  for  ready  wit  and  bold- 
ness, but  will  anybody  state  even  as  a  i>robability,  that  the 
idea  represented  by  the  word  did  not  exist  in  the  poet's  mind 
before  he  had  heard  of  the  sisters  of  mercy  whom  he  charged 
with  the  misdemeanour  conveyed  by  his  happy  and  pithy 
creation  ?  Nor  do  I  conceive  it  to  follow  by  any  means,  that 
the  word  has  not  been  better  received  and  wider  circulated  in 
the  English  language  because  of  the  complete  absence  of  the 
idea  in  the  English  mind.  I  have  occasionally  been  met  with 


528  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  VEEBAL  MOHOPOLIT, 

tliG  objection  that  the  heaiiug  of  a  word  may  Icatl  to  tli« 
conceptioE  of  the  idea,  but  I  should  not  like  to  confess  that 
I  unfeigoedly  believe  in  such  inspiration.  Either  or  not, 
words  are  the  vestments  of  our  thuuglit*i  and  ideas;  and  if 
they  are,  how  are  the  vestments  to  call  forth  the  limbs  which 
thi^  are  called  npon  to  cover  ?  But  granting  even  that  a  word 
in  a  certain  language,  foreign  but  known  to  all  of  us  present, 
create  in  us  the  conception  of  the  corresponding  idea,  must 
it  therefore  follow  that  we  find  at  once  in  our  respective 
idioms  a  corresponding  word  for  our  new  ideal  acquisition  t 
And  in  case  we  do  not  find  one,  do  we  lose  or  drop  again  the 
idea  which  wc  had  just  conceived  ?  Naturally  not  If  then, 
having  once  conceived  the  idea  within  onrselves^  we  continue 
to  do  without  the  corresponding  woal,  can  we  in  any  way, 
or  with  any  shadow  of  reason,  be  ta^ed  to  go  without  the 
idea,  as  popular  philosojjliy  would  have  it  %  Can  we  wish  for 
things  unknown  to  us,  and  is  not  our  desire  to  possess  certain 
words,  the  idea  of  wliich  must  be  ours  already,  clearly 
evinced  by  our  repeated  attempts  to  circulate  and  to  naturalise 
thoae  words  of  foi-eign  soil,  of  which  we  are  supposed  or 
taxed  not  to  liave  the  itlea,  simply  hcraiLw  owr  Hn(jidslie 
dommn  hits  v^i  ham  fitted  up  as  ikt  hahitat  of  tin-  word? 

Was  an  Englishman  never  seen  galtchK?  or  is  it  not 
rather  rare  to  see  a  Freuchmfin  of  that  description?  Is  there 
perhaps  any  nation  less  known  for  its  naIVET^  than  the 
French  1  Does  the  carrying  weight  through  peebtige,  de- 
servedly or  undeservedly,  not  extend  to  all  nationalities 
alike?  And  what  indeed  can  surpass  the  nonchalance  of 
travelling  Englishmen  and  German  tradespeople?  Is  there 
no  HUMBUG  outside  the  British  isles?  no  qentlbman  in 
France  or  in  Russia  ?  no  comfort  to  be  found  in  Holland  or 
Italy?  no  KLBiNSTADTiscH-ness  out  of  the  German  boroughs? 
no  idea  of  sehnsucht  and  wonne  except  in  the  hearts  of 
SCHWABM-ing  Teutonic  lovers?  no  feeling  of  heimwbh  in 
the  breast  of  the  French  or  Italian  Swiss?  no  notion  of  the 
Latin  gba vitas  beyond  the  naiTow  geographical  limits  of  the 
Netherlands?  no  disappointment*  perhaps  in  Portugal? 
and,  as  Matthew  Arnold  would  make  us  believe,  no  GEIST 
whatever  in  Englishmen  ? 

•  a  Portuguese  poet  is  said  to  have  boldly  appropriated  the  English  word 
in  the  foUowing  lines : 

Fiquei  dcsapontado^  como  dizem 
Os  Ingleses ; — nao  ha  na  vossa  lingua 
Com  que  o  dizer — e  venha  ou  nao  do  diabo 
Tomem-na  que  hao  mister  d'essa  palavra. 
(See  the  "Transactions  of  the  Philological  Society."  No.  14,  1866.) 


I 


THE  PHHiOSOPHT  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY.  529 

If  the  PHILOSOPHY  OF  VERBAL  MONOPOLY  is  indeed  as 
popular  as  I  imagine  it  to  be — as  I  have  found  it  to  be  both 
here  and  abroad — then  I  venture  to  think  that  the  quotation 
of  so  many  words,  apparently  or  absolutely  untranslatable 
from  their  monopoly,  may  contribute  something  at  least  to- 
wards its  aimed-at  depopularization.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
must  all  do  homage  to  the  ** Gloria  viriiUis  umbra;'*  no 
popularity  was  ever  won  without  a  cause,  or  altogether  un- 
deservedly, and  it  would  nearly  take  us  a  paper  of  similar 
dimension  were  I  to  point  out  in  detail  that  which  I  conceive 
to  be  the  approximate  amount  of  truth  hidden  in  the  current 
estimate  of  the  significance  of  verbal  deficiency  and  mo- 
nopoly. Confining  ourselves  for  the  present  to  a  general 
summary  only,  I  believe  the  favourite  doctrine  to  stand  on 
one  of  those  tempting,  sweeping  assertions  which  invariably 
take^  as  the  saying  is,  with  the  unthinking  majority;  a  kind 
of  anti-paradox,  which  at  first  sight  seems  as  true  as  it  after- 
wards appears  to  be  erroneous,  and  above  all,  involving  an 
idea  or  thought  with  a  wish  of  the  same  for  a  father.  But 
the  implacable  enemy  of  time  is  hard  and  close  upon  us,  and 
all  that  remains  to  be  done,  and  can  be  done,  is  to  sum  up 
the  evidence  of  our  own  case :  I  MdU  abstain  for  this  time  to 
ask  for  a  "  Sdre  facias"  to  be  served  upon  Herder  and  his 
followers. 

If  you  say,  no  thing  or  no  idea— no  word,  concedo;*  but  as 
soon  as  you  invert  your  thesis,  nego, 

*  In  the  discuanon  which  foUowed  the  reading  of  this  paper,  the  above 
proposition  was  endorsed  by  the  learned  chairman  with  an  amendment  to 
this  effect:  that  the  natives  of  a  country  might  also  have  words  for  those 
things  which,  although  not  present  amon^  themselves,  might  yet  be  known 
to  them  through  occurrence  or  existence  in  other  or  neighbouring  parts.  I 
accepted  this  amendment  at  the  moment,  when  five  or  six  other  questions 
had  engaged  my  thoughts,  but  I  do  not  unrestrainedly  now.  If  nations  do 
observe  and  desire  to  mention  such  objects  or  phenomena  from  outside,  thbt 
no  NOT  CRSATB  OR  coiM  NBW  woBDS  FOR  THB  SAME,  but  invariably  mark  them 
by  the  word  usbo  for  tub  thing  thbrb  wherb  thb  thino  bxists.  We  may 
use  the  word  mouchard  in  England  where  the  thing  does  not  exist,  but  the 
word  is  not  only  French  by  etymology,  but  likewise  not  English  by  spelling 
and  pronunciation.  Thb  word  j>obs  not  bxirt  in  the  lanouaob  bbcausb 
the  thino  is  not  known  in  thb  country  where  the  lanouaob  is  spoken. 
All  foreign  importations  and  inventions  almost  by  their  names  betray  for  a 
long  time  their  origin  or  originator.  The  word  tea^  and  the  names  of  the 
various  sorts  of  \/&B^r—poudre  h  canon  excepted — are  aU  Chinese  words.  Hoi- 
lattds  and  del/,  cambric  and  tuUef  the  cherry  and  the  pheasant^  the  dahlia  and 
the  fuchsia,  all  owe  their  christening  to  local  or  personal  names,  which 
names  point  to  habitat  or  importation.  A  most  remarkable  instance  of 
second-hand  introduction,  seemingly  destructive  or  impairing  of  my  own 
views  in  this  respect,  does  in  reality  strengthen  and  confirm  my  theory. 
The  English  word  potato  is  of  course  a  naturalisation  or  adaptation  fkt)m  the 
name  potato^  by  which  it  waa  known  in  the  oountiy  whence  it  mm  imported 


530  THE  PEILOSOPHV  OF  VEEBAL  MOKOPOlT, 

In  the  firat  place  we  should  consider  the  fact,  observable  in 
every  language,  whatever  may  be  its  stratum  of  formatioo, 
that  ext^3mal  ot  accidental  circumstances,  which  it  would  be 
diflicult  to  categorize,  will  always  influence  the  generalization 
and  particukrization  of  ideas  and  things,  which  in  its  turn 
bears  again  upon  the  creation,  formatioii,  and  absence  of 
words  in  general  We  have  read  of  savage  tribes  that  have 
no  word  for  the  general  idea  of  innrder^  and  yet  different 
names  for  father-murder,  fratricide,  child— nay,  enibTyo-mur- 
den  Three  languages — Tni'kisb,  Hungarian,  and  Clunes© — 
have  no  word  for  drotHEK  simply,  but  the  Magyars  have  one 
for  ELDEST  BROTHEn  notwithstanding.  The  English  language, 
without  HOMO,  distinguishes  between  man,  wdslvn,  child, 
BOY,  oiBL,  LAI).  LASS,  and  Other  species  of  correspoTKliiig  ac- 
ceptation. In  opfMDsite  direction  the  English  word  GENTLE- 
MAN might  be  analysed  in  its  manifold  ideas,  which  it  wouhl 
not  be  impossible  to  express  or  to  tranalate  into  those  idiouja 
which  do  not  possess  a  word  for  the  general  or  compound  idea 
itself.  It  is  perhaps  another  question  of  speculative  philoso- 
phy what  might  be  infeiTcd  from,  or  have  given  rise  to,  either 
the  one  or  the  other  of  these  phenomena.  The  combination 
of  generalisation  and  particularixation  points  to  richness^ 
beauty,  and  perfection  in  language,  and  to  logic  of  mind  in 
the  nation  by  wlioni  the  idiom  is  spoken  ;  on  the  other  band, 
the  abaeuce  of  cither,  and  careless  distinction  between  shade 
and  degree  of  variety,  points  to  feeble  perception,  or  to  inac- 
curacy of  ideal  arrangement.  The  lack  of  a  word  to  embody 
an  idea  is  sure  to  make  itself  felt,  unless  the  want  be  imaginary 
or  fastidious;  and  necessity,  the  mother  of  invention  and 
activity,  with  boldness  of  wit  and  imagination,  are  the  only 
safe  remedies  for  the  evil  wherever  it  may  be  found.  In  so 
far,  and  in  this  respect,  I  conceive  that  the  monopoly  of 
words,  whether  good  or  bad  in  meaning,  reflects  credit  on  the 
possessors ;  for  clearness,  correctness,  and  fulness  of  expres- 
sion arises  from  where  it  leads  to — naturalness,  regularity,  and 
richness  of  thought.  Making  due  and  reasonable  allowance 
for  all  external  circumstances,  I  firmly  believe,  from  experi- 
ence and  observation  in  locOy  that  the  various  civilized  nation- 
alities— much  like  children  in  early  youth — are  all  as  good  as 
their  respective  constitutions  will  allow  them.     The  insane 

directly  into  England;  but  when  transplanted  from  here  again  into  other 
paiis  of  Europe,  the  voiretablo  almost  universally  received  a  name  from  its 
natural  associations — Erdapfel,  Aardappely  Fomnie  de  tet^ej  Grunddime,  etc. 
The  Spanish  speaks  for  itself  as  an  exception,  if  it  may  be  called  an  ex- 
ception at  all,  considering  the  plant  had  its  origin  in  America. 


BESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  531 

desire  to  stand  aloof  or  to  be  distinguished  from  the  geiius  is 
at  the  bottom  of  all  personal  and  national  vanity.  To  ham- 
mer down  imaginary  distinctions  is  to  work  at  the  grand  task 
of  social  progress  and  reform ;  to  recoil  the  boundaries  of 
prejudice,  and  to  attack  popular  error  from  the  root  by  honest 
and  earnest  investigation  of  truth,  by  fearless  and  liberal 
spread  of  knowledge, — such  should  be  the  highest  and  ulti- 
mate aim  of  an  association  for  the  advancement  of  science, 
literature  and  art. 

I  am  happy  and  proud  to  know  and  to  feel  that  the  mem- 
bers of  such  a  society  are  joined  and  held  together  by  a 
stronger  and  less  chimerical  bond  than  that  of  nationality. 


MORAL  AND  PECUNIARY  RESULTS  OF  PRISON 
LABOUR 

BT  SIR  JOHN  BOW&INO,  LL.D.,  F.R.B.,  J.P.  AND  D.L.  IN  DBTON. 


When  diseases,  whether  personal,  social,  or  political,  are 
pointed  out,  and  remedies  proposed  for  their  diminution,  their 
modification,  or  their  cure,  it  is  quite  right  it  should  be  first 
ascertained  that  the  diseases  are  properly  defined,  with  a 
view  to  their  being  thoroughly  understood,  and  the  remedies 
tested,  not  by  vague  generalities  of  rejection  or  of  approval, 
but  by  such  facts  as  special  attention  and  experience  have 
gathered  together,  and  which  must  be  tried  not  only  by  the 
evidence  of  their  own  validity  and  power,  but  by  any  other 
facts  which  may  justify  or  appear  to  justify  different  con- 
clusions. 

Though  men  are  sometimes  apt  to  disregard  or  to  refuse  to 
give  proper  weight  to  evidence  nostile  to  the  judgments  they 
have  formed,  there  is  really  no  class  of  combatants  who 
render  greater  services  to  the  progress  of  knowledge  than  the 
objectors,  who  point  out  the  weak  positions  of  any  given 
problem,  and  who,  though  unable  to  propound  better  theories 
of  their  own,  lead  to  farther  examinations  and  inquiries,  and 
by  denouncing  error  become  real  auxiliaries  in  the  service  of 
truth. 

In  the  field  of  economical  science  there  are  many  questions 
of  the  highest  interest  and  importance  which  cannot  be 
brought  to  the  test  of  the  statistics  of  figures,  either  from 
the  complication  or  obscurity  of  causes,  or  the  undefinable 
character  of  leaults, — questions  in  which  there  can  be  no 


532  MORAL  AND  PECUKIAEY 

generalization,  inasmucli  as  every  individual  idiosyncrasy  has 
to  be  taken  into  account.  Yet  without  such  evidence  as 
arithmetic  is  able  to  furnish,  it  will  periiaps  be  found  that 
abstract  reasonings  will  often  lead  to  the  most  correct  cnu- 
clusions,  and  afford  adequate  motives  for  the  actioa  of  the 
philanthropist  and  the  interference  of  the  le^^slator. 

A  paper  which  was  read  at  the  laat  meeting  of  the  British 
Association^  whose  object  was  to  show  that  the  proiluctive 
labour  of  criminals  has  been  less  regarded  than  it  was  entitled 
to  be,  not  only  as  a  source  of  profit,  but  as  an  instrument  of 
reformation,  lias  met  with  some  adverse  criticism.  The  jj^ravity 
of  the  question,  not  only  in  its  bearings  upon  economical 
administration,  but  on  the  far  more  tmpoiiant  inquiry  as  to 
how  the  punitory  power  of  the  law  can  be  made  best  to  serve 
for  the  security  of  persons  and  property,  for  the  diminution 
of  crime,  and  for  the  well-being  of  society  in  ita  widest 
ramilications,  make  it  quite  desirable  to  give  attentiou  to 
every  suggestion  and  to  every  objection  which  bears  upon  so 
interesting  a  topic,  and  which  may  in  any  way  be  made 
instrumental  in  the  diminution  of  the  evils  which  afflict,  and 
the  augmentation  of  the  blessings  which  are  associated  witfa« 
our  mortal  career. 

The  objections  to  making  prison  labour  profitable  or  pro- 
ductive which  have  been  put  forward  may  be  maiidy  grouped 
under  four  heads,  to  each  of  which  consideration  shall  be 
given. 

1.  That  prison  discipline  should  be  simply  punitory,  or,  to 
use  a  more  popular  word,  deterrent. 

2.  That  to  teach  a  convict  a  trade  is  to  place  him  in  a 
better  position  than  that  of  the  honest  man  outside  the 
prison  who  may  know  no  trade,  and  if  he  knows  it,  may 
know  it  imperfectly. 

3.  That  the  cost  of  work  in  prisons  is  less  than  the  cost 
of  work  outside,  and  that  the  produce  of  honest  labour  is 
consequently  put  in  a  condition  of  unfair  competition  with 
the  produce  of  prison  labour. 

4.  That  in  agricultural  counties  especially,  the  abstraction 
of  labourers  from  field  work,  and  the  teaching  them  other 
trades,  must  lead  to  a  diminution  of  the  supply  of  agricultural 
labour,  and  a  rise  of  wages,  to  the  detriment  of  the  agricul- 
tural interests. 

Keeping  these  objections  in  view,  it  is  my  purpose  to 
make  a  few  general  observations  bearing  upon  the  whole 
subject  of  prison  discipline,  and  in  which  I  hope  a  satis- 
factory answer  will  be  found  to  the  objector;  and  I  will 


I 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  533 

then  present  some  statistics  bearing  particularly  on  the 
administration  of  our  English  prisons,  which  I  will  supple- 
ment by  particulars  of  the  progess  of  prison  reform  in  those 
vast  East  Indian  regions  subjected  to  our  administration,  and 
by  an  example  or  two  of  the  more  successful  management  of 
prisons  in  the  United  States  of  America.  One  reflection  I 
can  scarcely  avoid  making  in  dwelling  on  the  causes  of 
offence  among  our  Hindoo,  Buddhist,  and  Mahomedan  sub- 
jects,— and  that  is,  the  general  absence  of  intemperance; 
intemperance,  which  may  be  called  especially  the  Christian 
vicCy  or  rather  the  vice  in  which,  if  professedly  Christian 
nations  have  not  a  monopoly,  they  at  least  exhibit  it  in  its 
most  offensive  and  most  dangerous  forms.  For  while  engaged 
in  studying  the  history  of  the  origin  and  consequences  of 
crime  among  us,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the 
fearful  influence  of  drunkenness,  and  with  the  multitudinous 
offences  traceable  to  this  sole  fount  and  origin  of  mischief. 
Two  paramount  difficulties  present  themselves  as  barriers  to 
beneficial  change.  The  whole  licensing  system  is  associated 
with  a  power,  and  often  a  personal  intei'est,  which  the  magis- 
tracy are  not  willing  to  part  with ;  while  the  enormous  con- 
tributions which  spirituous  liquors  bring  to  the  revenue  give 
stupendous  weight  to  the  fiscal  resistance.  And  as  r^ards 
this  branch  of  indirect  taxation,  it  is  associated  with  so  much 
of  pleasing  excitement — aye!  even  of  delirious  delight — 
that  the  difficulty  of  the  legislator  is  really  to  prevent  the 
willing  payment  of  the  tax.  In  what  shape  the  evils  are 
best  to  be  modified  and  controlled  is  one  of  the  gravest 
questions  in  the  whole  area  of  legislative  action.  I  have  on 
other  occasions  presented  many  facts  connected  with  prison 
management  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  and  announced  what 
appeared  to  me  irresistible  conclusions  from  those  data ;  but 
I  shall  not  on  this  occasion  venture  to  explore,  as  it  would 
be  impossible  to  exhaust,  so  wide  a  field. 

The  first  impulse — and  it  is  a  veiy  natural  one — produced 
by  a  sense  of  wiong  is  a  desire  to  punish  the  wrong  doer. 
Among  savages,  where  every  man  is  the  guardian  of  his  own 
rights,  the  defender  of  his  own  person  and  propeity,  and  he 
is  left  unaided  by  any  arm  stronger  than  that  which  Provi- 
dence has  given  him,  he  is  his  own  legislator,  and  sentences 
the  man  who  has  injured  him  to  such  suffering  as  he  is  able 
to  inflict.  He  neither  exhibits,  nor  can  be  expected  to  exhibit, 
anything  beyond  a  determination  of  a  wholly  selfish  character 
to  show  that  he  will  not  tamely  submit  to  what  he  deems  an 
injustice,  and,  if  his  sense  of  that  injustice  be  strong,  will 

VOL.  EL  N  N 


( 


634  MORAL  AND  PECUNIARY 

nmtilate  the  body  or  sacrifice  tbe  life  of  the  indivifhial  he 
deeaia  his  enemy.  In  the  next  stage  of  civilization,  this 
rude  revenge  is  regulated  or  coutrolled  by  that  public  opinicm 
whieh  pliices  in  the  hand  of  some  person  or  |>ei-9on3  in  the 
comniutiity,  cliiefa  or  elilers,  the  powers  of  punishing  guilt, 
rewarding  merit,  and  giving  to  person  and  property  a  protec- 
tion which  the  possessor  would  himself  alone  be  uQable  to 
bestow.  Eude  laws,  traditions,  aud  usages  attach  certain  _ 
penalties  to  certain  ofteiicL's,  aud  obedience  is  rendered  to  ■ 
that  authority,  whether  of  age  or  social  rank,  which  carries 
with  it  a  recognized  influence,  A  more  marked  advance  is 
exhibited  when  recorded  judgmunts  or  written  laws  visit 
defined  crimes  with  what  are  deemed  appropriate  penalties ; 
but  nothing  is  thought  of  the  criminal  beyond  condemning 
him  to  a  certain  amount  of  bodily  suffering,  which  suffering 
being  inflicted  society  takes  of  him  no  farther  care  or  concern, 

But  as  society  advances  in  the  march  of  civilization,  and 
social  questions  occupy  the  thoughts  of  the  legislator  and 
the  philanthropist,  the  proper  treatment  of  crime  becomes 
one  of  deep  interest,  and  to  deal  with  it  becomingly  is  a  duty 
involving  the  highest  responsibility.  Not  only  is  it  felt  that 
appropriate  i)enalties  should  attach  to  different  offences,  but 
that  the  interests  of  society,  the  gi"eat  and  personal  interests 
of  men  in  general,  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  desire  to 
punish  the  iuciividual  man  who  has  violated  its  laws.  The 
lawgivers  and  the  magistrates  have  two  powers  placed  at 
their  disposal  i  in  the  one  hand  they  hold  penalties — in  the 
other,  rewards ;  in  other  words,  pains  and  pleasures.  The 
field  in  which  pain  can  be  used  is  limited  by  the  powers  of 
human  endurance — a  certain  amount  of  misery  during  life — 
a  severe  but  shorter  infliction  ending  in  deathl  The  field  is 
wider  where  pleasures — whether  in  the  shape  of  enjoyment 
in  the  present  or  hope  in  the  future — may  be  created ;  but 
such  pleasures  are  far  less  intense,  less  defined,  and  less  at 
the  disposal  of  authority  than  are  the  contrasted  pains ;  but 
they  are  not  on  that  account  to  be  neglected,  but  rather  to  be 
cautiously  and  judiciously  employed. 

It  has  been  a  favourite  practice  to  cover  a  fallacy  by  the 
introduction  of  an  obscure  phraseology.  If  those  who  object 
to  any  form  of  prison  discipline  other  than  the  infliction  of 
pains  and  penalties  ;  if  they  would  say  distinctly,  "  Our  only 
object  is  to  punish,  and  to  look  to  suffering  alone  as  the 
instrument  by  which  we  mean  to  deal  with  the  misdoer;"  in 
other  words,  that  the  sole  purpose  of  penal  legislation  and  of 
prison  discipline  is  to  enable  society  to  be  revenged  on  those 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  535 

who  have  broken  its  laws,  and  that  vindictive  justice  is 
the  ouiy  power  which  is  to  be  called  into  action  for  the 
suppression  of  crime,  the  position  would  be  unintelligible, 
and  might  easily  be  overturned.  But  of  late  the  word  deter- 
rent has  been  used  to  replace  punitory,  though  it  might  be 
shown  that  to  deter  men  from  crime — the  hopes  as  well  as 
the  fears,  pleasures  as  well  as  pains — might  be  most  usefully 
employed. 

Deterrent  discipline !  But  who  would  deny  that  to  deter 
the  evil-disposed  from  their  evil  career  is  one  of  the  main 
objects  of  all  wise  legislation — to  deter  not  only  the  man 
who  has  been  convicted  and  punished  by  the  infliction  of 
suffering  from  continuing  a  course  of  misdoing  when  he  has 
paid  the  penalty  of  his  guilt,  but  also  to  deter  others  by 
warnings  and  threatenings,  by  examples  and  evidences  of  the 
power  of  the  law  to  punish  misdemeanants  ?  After  all  the 
inquiry  should  be  whether  the  use  of  profitable  labour,  as  one 
of  the  resources  of  the  magistrate,  ought  not  to  be  made  con- 
current and  co-operative  with  the  restraints  and  severities  of 
prison  discipline  for  the  reformation  of  the  criminal  and  the 
prevention  of  crime  ?  Will  punishment  alone  be  as  efficient 
for  the  removal  of  what  is  known  to  be  bad,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  that  which  is  or  may  be  good,  in  the  character  of 
the  offender,  as  punishment  associated  with  other  influences  ? 

Under  no  conditions  can  the  results  of  labour  in  a  prison 
be  as  productive  as  those  of  free  labour;  for  as  regards 
the  individual,  the  convict  can  never  be  placed  in  circum- 
stances so  favourable,  or  be  surrounded  by  motivas  to 
industry  so  urgent,  as  the  honest  labourer.  All  the  social 
influences  are  far  removed;  the  affections  and  sympathies 
associated  with  wife  and  children,  and  family  and  friends,  are 
all  absent.  No  reputation  is  connected  with  his  laborious 
efforts;  no  encouragements  from  the  smiles  of  those  he  loves; 
no  public  opinion  to  help  his  industry  or  control  his  idleness. 
The  witnesses  who  mark,  the  tribunal  which  judges,  are  not 
likely  to  help  him  onwards  or  upwards.  Prison  studies  for 
the  most  part  have  not  been  how  best  to  obey,  but  how  most 
easily  to  evade  the  law.  The  beginning  and  the  end  of  the 
rogue's  decalogue  is,  that  honesty  is  not  the  best  policy;  but 
that  craft  and  cunning,  fraud  and  violence,  are  better  and 
more  agreeable  instruments  for  supplying  the  wants,  the 
comforts,  the  luxuries  of  life  than  the  laborious  hand  and  the 
upright  heart. 

And  then  the  appliances  which  co-operation  and  mechanical 
improvements  supply  for  cheap  and  good  manufactures  are 

N  N   2 


SS8  WOEJLL   AND  PECUSUET 

for  the  most  part  wanting.  The  despotic  interference  neces- 
sary to  the  discipline  and  good  government  of  a  giiol  will  not 
allow  of  the  expuhnients  and  the  combinations  by  which  the 
unfettered  and  intelligent  master  seeks  the  coK>peration  of 
hia  workmen  for  the  promotion  of  a  common  end  One 
BoHtriry  mutive — no  doubt  a  strong  one — is  presented  to  the 
convict;  namely,  that  the  burthen  of  Lmpris<innient  and 
isolation  may  Im  lightened,  and  hope's  glimmerings  will  sug- 
gest that  some  future  recompence  may  attach  to  liis  present 
deservings.  Experience  tells  us  but  too  eraphatically  that 
hnman  beings  are  little  influenced  by  remote  contingencies 
and  couspquences.  If  they  were,  the  annals  of  crime  would 
be  wonderfully  shortened.  What,  alas  I  have  the  teachings 
of  moralists  and  ecclesiastics  done  for  the  suppression  of 
crime,  even  though  thtsir  teachings  tell  of  eternal  punishment 
as  the  penalty  of  sin.  of  everlasting  happiness  as  the  iiewarcl 
of  virtue  ?  Have  they  not  for  thousands  of  years  been  crying 
in  the  wildumess  ?  What  munieraus  hand  have  they  arrest«$d  f 
What  schemes  of  roguery  have  they  contnwerted  ?  Tbej 
may  indeed  have  done  something;  but  sessions  and  assi^st*^ 
indictments  and  verdicts,  the  nnconvict^id  witlioutt  thu  con- 
victs within  your  gaols,  in  multitudinous  records  tcdl  but  too 
sad  a  tale  of  your  impotence,  whatever  may  have  been  your 
benevolent  designs. 

Let  us.  however,  do  what  we  can  with  these  hopes  and 
expectations.  They  are  worth  something  in  the  wide  area  of 
legislation.  The  legislator  is  partially  blind  who  does  not  see 
that  if  he  can  make  the  prospect  of  recompence,  more  or  less 
distant,  an  instrument  of  reform,  he  is  as  much  bound  to  use 
it  as  is  a  physician  to  apply  a  medicine  which  he  has  found 
to  be  salutary.  Moral  diseases  are  very  various,  and  in  the 
various  stages  of  the  same  disease  the  appropriate  medica- 
ments may  be  various.  No  doubt  some  of  these  diseases  are 
incurable.  Men  there  are  who  are  neither  to  be  disciplined 
into  reformation  by  the  heaviest  penalties,  nor  seduced  into 
virtuous  courses  by  the  most  persuasive  attractions ;  and 
these  cases  may  not  be  uncommon.  But  there  is  no  reason 
whatever  why  all  the  influences  of  pain  and  pleasure  should 
not  be  employed,  separately  or  conjointly,  to  correct  criminals 
and  to  diminish  crime,  and  there  is  every  reason  why  they 
should  be  so  employed.  Let  us  agree  about  the  end,  and  we 
shall  more  easily  co-operate  as  to  the  means.  And  spite  of 
all  that  has  been  said  in  the  shape  of  doubt,  and  all  that  has 
been  done  or  left  undone  in  the  way  of  resistance,  everybody 
OW  that  the  suppression  of  crime  is  the  great  purpose 


I 


I 


I 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON   LABOUR.  537 

of  penal  legislation,  and  that  crime  can  only  be  suppressed 
or  diminished  by  fit  action  on  those  who  are  or  may  be 
criminals. 

Happily  we  have  passed  those  barbarous  days  in  which 
indiscrimiuating  vengeance  dealt  out  its  inflictions  upon 
those  it  deemed  evil  doers.  Among  savages  life  is  of  little 
value — labour  of  scarcely  any.  We  have  arrived  at  a  stage 
of  civilization  in  which  the  extinction  of  the  life  of  a  single 
subject  of  the  State  is  deemed  a  matter  of  grave  concern; 
and  perhaps  the  days  are  not  remote  in  which  the  State  may 
hesitate  under  any  circumstances  to  curtail  the  existence  of 
any  human  being,  and  may  ask  whether  the  worst  of  men 
may  not  be  more  wisely  and  usefully  disposed  of  than  by 
strangling  or  beheading  him.  The  question,  perhaps,  will 
be  less  what  a  criminal  may  deserve  and  ought  to  expect  as 
a  tit  retribution,  than  what  society  deserves  and  has  a  right 
to  expect  at  the  hands  of  the  legislator  as  the  best  means  of 
promoting  good  and  lessening  evil.  And — though  certainly 
of  less— it  is  undoubtedly  of  great  impoi-tance  to  determine 
what  shall  be  done  with  that  labour  w^hich  has  been  forfeited 
to  and  has  become  the  property  of  the  State. 

Let  us  suppose  that  instead  of  convicts  condemned  to 
labour  within  the  prison,  the  same  persons  were  employed  as 
industrious  workmen  out  of  the  prison.  Would  not  the  pro- 
duce of  their  labour  be  in  the  field  of  competition  equally  as 
if  they  had  worked  within  the  prison  walls  ?  Nay ;  would 
they  not  have  brought  a  greater  amount  into  the  market, 
and  have  lowered  prices  to  a  still  greater  extent?  But  if 
it  were  proved  that  the  supplies  from  prison  labour  did  tend 
to  lower  prices,  is  that  to  be  deemed  a  calamity  ?  If  a  low 
price  of  corn  be  a  blessing  to  the  consumer,  is  not  a  low 
price  of  clothing  also  a  blessing  ?  But  it  is  said,  The  com- 
petition with  prison  labour  is  not  fair,  because  the  prison 
labourer  is  provided  for.  By  whom  and  at  whose  cost  is  he 
provided  for?  Surely  by  the  public,  who,  as  they  pay  for 
his  lodging,  living,  and  apparel,  have  an  undoubted  right  to 
the  labour  of  his  hands.  The  indoor  servant  gets  lower 
wagei)  than  the  servant  who  finds  himself  a  home,  his  meals, 
and  his  garments;  and  what  are  convicts  but  "indoor  ser- 
vants"— who  live  at  no  charge  to  themselves,  and  who  are 
bound  to  give  their  services  to  those  who  provide  for  their 
support  ? 

The  agricultural  objection,  that  to  teach  field  labourers  any 
other  trade  is  to  diminish  the  supply,  and  so  increase  the 
wages  to  be  paid  by  the  farmer,  has  been  strongly  insisted 


538  MOHAL  AKD   PECUNIABY 

on  in  Devonahira  It  would  seem  sufficient  to  reply,  that  no 
interference  with  labour  can  long  reai^t  the  gmat  laws  that 
regulate  ^supply  and  dt^mani  Any  legislation  by  which 
the  labourer  is  prevented  from  bettering  his  condition  must 
in  its  coaser[Ueiices  be  pernicious,  m  lessening  those  individual 
profits  whose  aggregate  amount  represents  the  natural  pros- 
perity;  and  the  desire  to  retain  jail  birds  among  the  rural 
peasantry  would  not  aeem  very  creditable  to  the  sjigacity  of 
their  employers.  Is  not  the  drafting  away  of  the  criminal 
classes  from  any  species  of  industry  a  benefit  to  those  who 
remain?  Is  not  the  absence  rather  than  the  pmsence  of 
felons  desifablo  in  any  of  the  departments  of  labour  ?  Cer- 
tainly the  moml  perception  of  the  objection  cannot  be  very 
acute  when  they  propose  to  keep  down  the  wage^  of  honest 
men  by  introducing  as  competitors  with  him  the  outpouringa 
of  thieves  and  vagabonds  who  are  released  from  our  houses 
of  correction. 

It  may  be  at  once  conceded  that  the  eoonoraical  is  of  less 
imi>ortance  than  the  moral  question;  and  if  it  be  proved 
that  a  simply  punitor)*  system  is  more  corrective  than  that 
which  would  at  thu  same  time  employ  labour  as  an  instru* 
nicnt  of  reform  as  well  as  proHt,  that  punitory  system  is 
entithjd  to  approval  and  to  preference.  But  it  will  be  found 
in  this  as  in  most  cajses^  that  economy  in  cost  and  etticiency 
in  result  may  be  deemtid  as  twin  sisters,  who,  ejiga^ed  in  a 
commrin  work,  mutually  assist  and  benefit  each  othun  Ac- 
curate statistics  and  good  accountancy  are  auxiliaries  of  the 
highest  value — not  only  as  exhibiting  clearly  the  facts  and 
the  figures  of  separate  establishments  in  the  same  districts, 
but  as  affording  means  of  comparison  between  dififerent  plans 
of  discipline — not  only  of  importance  to  the  magistrate  as 
regards  local  administration,  but  affording  the  best  materials 
for  the  legislator  by  the  discussion  and  adoption  of  an  appro- 
priate code.  The  want  of  unifcrmity  generally,  the  imperfect 
accountancy  locally,  the  attachment  to  old  usages,  the  abhor- 
rence of  novelties,  the  unwillingness  to  confess  to  the  imper- 
fections and  errors  which  have  had  the  sanction  of  generations, 
and,  above  all,  the  love  of  ease  which  turns  away  from  weari- 
some and  perplexing  inquiries,  are  evils  which  are  not  easily 
subdued. 

Those  who  think  that  prison  discipline  can  be  used  for 
no  other  purpose  than  that  of  inflicting  pain,  may  evade  or 
reject  with  disapproval  or  unconcern  the  evidence  that  a  gaol 
can  be  made  a  i*eformatory  school,  not  only  for  the  improve- 
ment of  morals,  but  for  that  of  the  physical  and  mental 


I 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  539 

powers,  and  for  the  development  of  faculties  perhaps  not  even 
discovered  until  some  benevolent,  or  rather  beneficent,  influ- 
ences have  been  employed  for  enabling  their  possessor  to 
become  wiser  or  better.  Because  there  may  exist  out  of 
prison  wretches  worse  clothed,  and  fed,  and  lodged  than  are 
convicts  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  that  any  reason  why 
the  convict  who  is  committed  to  the  care  of  the  magistracy 
should  not  be  adequately  provided  for?  Because  there  are 
multitudes  condemned  to  ignorance  and  misery  far  greater 
than  common  humanity  would  allow  to  exist  in  a  jail,  is  that 
an  excuse  for  not  conveying  instruction  and  the  means  of 
elevation  to  the  convict  for  whose  well-being  and  well-doing 
society  incurs  a  responsibility  from  which  it  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  escape?  The  convict  is  indeed  not  only  the 
servant,  but  the  slave  of  that  society  upon  whose  rights  he 
has  intruded ;  he  is  the  enemy  who  has  been  vanquished  in 
his  contest  with  the  superior  power  of  order  and  the  law ; 
he  is  altogether  at  the  mercy  of  his  conquerors,  whose  duty 
is  to  turn  him  to  the  best  account  in  the  interests  of  the 
whole  community;  but  that  community  has  a  right  to  require 
that  if  possible  he  may  be  made,  not  the  hostile  foe,  but  the 
conciliated  ally  of  his  master,  and  be  not  the  breaker  of  the 
law,  but  its  observer  and  supporter. 

Has  so  great  an  object  been  accomplished  ?  To  whatever 
the  failure  on  so  large  a  scale  is  to  be  attributed  the  number  of 
recommittals,  the  amount  of  crime  undetected  and  unpunished 
is  the  sad  answer  to  the  inquiry.  The  evidence,  as  far  as 
statistics  can  be  trusted,  shows  that  the  number  of  criminals 
who  carry  on  their  trade  outside  the  prison  walls  is  at  least 
equal  if  not  considerably  wider  than  those  who  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  police.  But  as  regards  the  deterrent  influence 
of  productive  as  compared  with  unproductive  labour,  the 
returns,  not  only  from  English  prisons,  but  from  every  part 
of  the  civilized  world,  show  that  to  make  prison  labour 
profitable  is  to  employ  one  of  the  most  potent  motives  and 
to  provide  one  of  the  most  eflicient  means  for  the  prisoner  s 
improvement 

It  is  because  unproductive  labour  is  ordinarily  a  severer 
punishment  than  productive  that  it  has  been  advocated  as  a 
more  appropriate  discipline.  But,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  not 
the  fact  that  productive  labour  is  necessarily  heavy,  or  un- 
productive labour  necessarily  light.  On  the  contrary,  there 
are  many  profitable  employments  which  require  the  greatest 
stretch  of  the  muscular  powers,  while  some  of  the  most 
irksome  employments  give  no  pecuniary  benefit    There  is 


540  MORAL  ASD   PECinCTAK? 

not  much  clifference  between  the  trouble  of  ptckiog  oakttm 
for  caulking  ships,  or  the  tearing  of  rags  for  makiug  paper ; 
each  is  suited  ta  solitary  confinement  By  one  oot  a  penny 
B  diiy  is  the  protit  of  labour ;  by  the  other  six  or  eight  tiui^ 
the  amount  may  be  re^ilized.  Yet  when  there  has  been  an 
abandonment  of  oakum  picking,  which,  if  it  produce  liltk\ 
costs  nothing,  there  has  been  too  often  the  introduction  of 
cranks  and  the  treadmill,  which  not  only  produce  notliing, 
but  cost  much.  In  the  Devon  County  Gaol  the  labour  of 
the  prisoners  leaved  annually  an  enormous  loss ;  in  fact  the 
system  is  but  a  very  expensive  machinery  for  flinging  labonr 
away.  The  labour  had  better  be  flung  away  at  no  cost  at  all ; 
for  punishments  enough  may  be  found  sutlciently  grievous, 
even  intolerable,  whoso  infliction  would  not  necessitate  a 
heavy  charge  upon  the  community. 

In  the  pivsent  state  of  our  legislation,  and  with  a  general, 
but  in  my  judgn^eut  a  somewhat  hasty  determination  to 
deem  the  cellular  separation  of  prisoners  both  by  night  and 
day  as  a  sim  qua  non  for  efficient  gaol  discipline,  1  do  not 
think  it  desirable  to  dwell  long  on  the  olijections  to  this 
mode  of  management  I  would  merely  remark  in  passing, 
that  whatever  may  be  the  merits  of  a  system  of  iaolution  or 
total  separation— and  that  it  has  merits  and  may  most  pro- 
perly be  used  in  many  cases  no  one  can  deny^its  main 
recommendatioii^was,  that  it  is  abhorrvmt  to  man*s  gi^garious 
nature^  an<l  is  in  itself  alone  a  vltv  severe  punishment. 
But  is  it  not  obvious,  if  continued  solitude  is  repugnant  to 
almost  every  human  being,  and  if  the  social  influences  are  a 
part,  and  by  far  the  most  predominant  part,  in  the  formation 
of  character,  that  they  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  as 
instruments  for  the  reformation  and  amelioration  of  the 
wrong  doer,  and  that  to  repudiate  the  powers  of  association 
is  to  neglect  one  of  the  most  potent  weapons  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  lawgiver.  Now,  "evil  communications"  are  not 
a  necessary  consequence  of  co-opemtive  labour ;  and  there  is 
abundant  evidence  that  under  proper  r^ulations  intercourse 
may  be  wholly  prevented. 

It  is  a  matter  deeply  to  be  regretted,  that  after  the  accu- 
mulated and  still  accumulating  evidence  of  the  moralizing 
influence  of  productive  labour,  that  the  tread-mill,  unem- 
ployed in  any  one  of  the  Scotch  prisons,  which  are  dii-ectly 
under  the  control  of  the  Government,  should  be  again 
introduced  into  some  of  the  prisons  of  England.  It  is  a 
retrograde  step ;  for,  independently  of  the  waste  of  labour, 

|,ja£fo]iDg8  inflicted  by  the  tread-mill  are  most  uncertain 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON   LABOUR.  541 

and  unjust.  To  the  weaker  and  feebler  convicts  the  punish- 
ment is  heavy  ;  to  the  muscular  and  robust  it  is  scarcely  any 
punishment  at  all.  It  has  been  pointed  out  to  me  by  obser- 
vant governors  that  old  practitioners  manage  to  escape  from 
the  supposed  inflictions  of  the  mill,  and  to  throw  more  than 
their  proportion  of  burthen  upon  the  less  sagacious  sufferer. 
The  tread-mill  inflicts  a  most  unequal  punishment  upon  men 
whom  it  is  intended  equally  to  punish. 

The  prisons  of  England  present  every  conceivable  variety 
of  management,  of  cost,  and  of  result.  It  would  be  supposed 
that  a  national  legislation,  a  general  system  of  inspectorship, 
and  a  common  object,  would  produce  some  unifonnity  of 
practice,  and  that  recognised  improvements  in  any  one  of 
the  goals  would  force  their  way  into  those  of  less  satisfactory 
condition.  Hut  the  power  of  the  local  justices  is  so  great, 
their  attachment  to  ancient  routine  so  strong,  that  novelty 
and  change  are  quite  repugnant  to  their  habits.  The  influence 
and  suggestions  of  the  prison  inspectors  avail  little  against 
the  dogged  pei"severauce  of  county  magistrates  in  an  ancient 
routine.  If  a  return  were  made  of  the  attendance  of  the 
visiting  magistrates  to  whom  the  management  of  our  gaols 
is  committed,  it  would  be  found  that  of  the  numerous  list 
nominated  at  the  sessions  very  few  take  any  active  part,  or 
favour  the  meeting  with  their  presence.  Exceptions  excepted, 
there  is  little  intercourse  between  the  different  boards  of 
visiting  justices  in  our  various  counties.  I  attach  the  very 
highest  importance  to  a  suggestion  of  Chief  Justice  Eyre. 
He  recommends  that  from  time  to  time  a  congress  should  be 
held  of  the  governors  of  prisons  to  compare  the  results  of 
their  experiences,  and  to  introduce  such  improvements  as  by 
common  accord  might  appear  desirable.  The  incredible 
difference  of  cost,  the  variety  of  management,  the  contrasted 
results  of  the  various  systems  as  regards  the  repression  or 
diminution  of  crime,  are  absolutely  staggering  to  the 
thoughtful  observer.  The  independent  action  of  visiting 
justices  in  dififerent  parts  of  the  kingdom  leads  to  results 
more  incongruous  and  contradictory  than  would  seem  possible 
in  a  representative  country,  supposed  to  be  ruled  by  a  common 
law,  and  that  law  to  be  carried  out  by  the  same  forms  of 
administration.  Whatever  be  the  intentions  of  the  legislature, 
the  action  of  the  magistracy  is  the  i*eal  omnipotence.  In- 
spectors of  prisons  are  powerless  to  introduce  anything  like 
unifonnity  of  principle  or  pi-actice,  and  the  central  supre- 
macy of  the  Homo  Office  exercises  a  very  feeble  influence 
upon  county  justices  jealous  of  their  own  little  authority, 


tfOUlL  AND  PECtTNIARY 

and  wedded  to  habiU  of  routine.  When  at  the  Devon 
connty  sessions  a  atnall  sum  was  proposed  to  be  voted  out  of 
the  county  rates^  eitlier  to  allow  the  governor  of  the  pni4*>u 
to  visit  one  or  Tuore  of  the  beat  maoaged  estHbli^hmenH  or 
to  invittj  the  governors  of  such  establishraeut^  to  examine 
and  report  on  any  desirable  araelioratian,  the  vote  found  nu 
supporters,  though  a  trilling  expenditure  would  assuredly 
have  led  to  a  large  profit. 

Under  the  severe  and  stringent  regulations  of  the  esiating 
Prisons'  Act,  which  makes  profitable  labour  quite  a  secondary 
and  subordinate  object,  and  which  allom  labour  to  he  utterly 
and  wholly  wasted,  if  such  be  the  decision  of  the  visiting 
justices^  the  systems  adopted  in  various  counties  are  alto- 
gether opposed  and  contradictory.  In  some  (as  in  Hevon* 
shire)  not  only  is  labour  wholly  unpmductive^  but  most 
costly,  as  treadmill,  cmnks^  and  other  ingenious  devices  for 
vmMing  w^ork  form  a  heavy  charge  upon  the  county  ratea 
The  broken  stones  will  nut  pay  the  expense  of  the  hammers 
with  which  they  are  broken,  still  less  the  damage  dc*n6  to 
the  clothes  of  the  stone-breakers.  The  oakum-tearers  do  not 
get  a  half-penny  a  day,  and  now  that  oakum  is  so  little  nsed 
in  naval  constructions,  the  supply  of  raw  material  is  nft<3ii 
wanting.  In  some  gaols  the  labour  of  the  convicts  is  sold  to 
contractors ;  as  in  Knutaford  house  of  correction,  where,  in 
1867,  £200  59.  9d.  was  received  for  the  hired  work  of  shoe- 
makers, weavers,  wool  and  oakum  pickers,  while  £226  9s.  9d. 
was  received  for  the  sale  of  mats  and  rugs.  The  average 
gross  cost  of  prisoners  is  £27  6s. ;  the  nett  cost,  £20  17s.  In 
the  gaol  of  the  county  of  Norwich  the  nett  earnings  of  an 
average  number  of  prisoners  are  reported  to  be  for  sales  out 
of  the  prison,  £242  3s.  lid.;  work  done  in  the  prison,  £112 
Os.  6d. ;  total,  £354  4s.  5d. 

The  action  of  the  magistracy  in  the  suppression  of  crime 
ought  to  have  some  uniformity  in  practice,  and  to  present,  if 
properly  conducted,  some  similarity  of  result.  Yet  if  we 
take  the  two  great  cities  of  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  we 
find  inexplicable  discrepancies.  Liverpool,  with  a  population 
(1861)  of  443,938,  had  in  1866  one  policeman  to  every  402 
inhabitants ;  Manchester,  with  a  population  of  339,722,  one 
policeman  to  every  502, — a  proportion  increased  in  1867  to 
one  for  every  476  inhabitants.  In  Manchester  the  number 
of  indictable  offences  was  (1867)  reported  to  be  7159  ;  in 
Liverpool,  4792.  For  every  100  crimes  committed  in  Man- 
chester 21  persons  were  appi'ehended,  8  committed  for  trial, 
and  only  6  punished;   so  that   94  per  cent  escaped.      In 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  543 

Liverpool,  for  every  100  crimes  committed  44  persons  were 
apprehended,  19  committed  for  trial,  14  punished,  and  86 
escaped.  Taking  the  whole  average  of  England  and  Wales, 
for  every  100  crimes  committed  54  persons  were  apprehended, 
29  punished,  and  71  escaped.  In  Manchester  the  number  of 
known  thieves,  receivers  of  stolen  goods,  prostitutes,  vagrants 
and  tramps,  and  suspected  persons  (1867)  was  4486.  In 
Liverpool  7380.  In  Sheffield  53  per  cent,  of  crime  is  punished. 
In  Leeds  45  per  cent.  In  Birmingham  86  per  cent.  In  the 
Metropolitan  districts  22  per  cent.  In  Manchester  the 
amount  of  property  stolen  in  1867  was  ;£24,900,  of  which 
i'4855  (or  about  19  per  cent.)  was  recovered.  In  Leeds  the 
property  stolen  was  i;4007,  of  which  £2273  (or  more  than  56 
per  cent.)  was  recovered.* 

From  the  last  report  of  the  Wakefield  county  prison,  April, 
1868,  the  following  extract  speaks  most  eloquent  language : — 

"  The  manufacturing  department  is  in  active  operation.  A 
constant  demand  for  mats  and  matting  has  furnished  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  work  for  the  prisoners. 

"The  savings  for  the  year  have  been  £7383  lis.  6d.  The 
whole  of  the  trade  capital  which  belonged  to  government  has 
been  repaid  during  the  year  (amounting  to  £10,000),  so  that 
the  working  tools  and  stock  in  hand  now  belong  exclusively 
to  the  county.  The  average  earnings  of  the  prisoners  were  in 
1864  £4  12s.  6d.,  in  1867  they  were  £7  4s.  7d." 

In  the  Salford  piison  the  net  earnings,  May,  1867-8,  were 
£3369  5s.  6d.,  being  an  average  of  £5  18s.  lOd.  per  prisoner. 

The  Governor  of  the  Derby  county  prison  reports  that  the 
net  profits  of  prison  labour  are  from  £500  to  £600 ;  the 
average  number  of  prisoners  211. 

One  of  the  model  prisons  of  England,  whose  excellent 
management  has  been  again  and  again  recognised  by  the 
highast  authorities,  and  the  progressive  productiveness  of  the 
work  of  the  convicts  is  shown  by  the  excellent  governor,  Mr. 
Eoberts,  in  an  official  return,  by  which  it  appears  that  the 
total  profits  of  prison  labour  were — 

In  1853-57,  with  average  of  561  committals... £1993     4     7 
„   1858-62  „         „         406         „  ...    2515     0     5 

„   1863-67  „         „         520         „  ...    3948  18     1 

8457  3  1 
Stock  in  hand  1867...  582  17  3 
Other  receipts 577  10     6 


£9617  10  10 


*  "Ciimo  in  Manchester."  By  Alfred  Aspland.  1868.  ManehgtUr  Guardian, 
16th  July,  1868. 


544  MORAX  AKU  PECUSUEY 

In  this  the  progressive  action  of  a  judiciotiB  system  is  sh<mur 
as.  notwithstanding  a  diminution  of  6  per  cent  in  tlie  nnnjber 
of  committala,  the  increased  produce  of  labour  ia  100  per 
cent  M 

In  reference  to  the  system  employed  in  this  excellently 
managed  prison,  Mr.  Justice  Keatinj^'  i-eaiarked  at  the  last 
assizes  :  '*  The  object  of  all  punishment  was  not  retaliation, 
but  reformation,  lie  ftjund  that  the  syst4?m  adopted  was 
this  '.  That  after  a  couree  of  severe  penal  labour  a  gradual 
relaxation  fi>ni}wed  The  prisoners,  by  being  allowed  to  have 
an  interest  in  the  profits  of  the  work,  wert3  taught  how  to 
obtain  a  living  honestly.  Even  if  the  system  had  not  been 
tried,  he  should  have  considered  it  no  adniinible  system — 
wortli  a  trial ;  but  he  was  glad  to  find  that  it  had  been  in 
operation  here  for  some  yeai*s,  and  that  the  result  had  been 
most  satisfttctory.  That  was  very  encouraging  to  the  magis- 
trates, and  he  thought  the  governor  deserved  credit  for  the  h 
interest  he  took  in  pnrsuiug  this  very  proper  course.  Of  fl 
course  be  could  not  do  anything  without  the  sanction  of  the 
magistrates,  and  therefore,  indirectly,  the  credit  was  due  to 
them;*  ■ 

Somei^setshire  county  prison,  from  Michaelmas,  1^6i>-67,  " 
produced  from  labour  of  jmsoners  and  sale  of  sundry  articles 
—Taunton,  £SU  Os,  9d,j  Shepton  Mallet,  £320  12s.  3d,;  tir 
;£1154  13s,  The  number  of  prisoners  in  Taunton,  160  ;  in 
Shepton  Mallet,  86.  The  net  cost  of  prisoners  in  Taunton, 
5s.  2id.  per  week  ;  in  Shepton  Mallet,  lOs.  Sjd.  per  week, 
being  in  the  same  county  a  difference  of  100  per  cent.  I 
have  taken  these  statistics  almost  at  hap-hazard  from  a 
variety  which  have  been  collected.  It  will  be  seen  there  is 
not  one  of  them  to  which  the  wasted  labour  of  our  county 
prison  does  not  present  a  most  melancholy  contrast — one 
that  ought  and  must  at  last  force  itself  upon  the  attention  of 
the  magistracy,  alike  in  the  interests  of  economy  and  of  the 
public  morals. 

I  will  present  a  few  facts  connected  with  the  Devon  county 
prison,  with  which  I  am  more  particularly  associate,  and  in 
which  for  many  years  the  system  of  non-productive  labour 
has  been  inexorably  carried  out.  For  very  many  years  the 
earnings  of  the  prisoners  have  not  been  one  farthing  per 
day.  The  recommittals,  instead  of  being  5,  8,  or  10  per 
cent.,  as  in  the  best  regulated  prisons,  have  averaged  con- 
siderably above  25  per  cent.  The  perseverance  in  this  ill- 
advised  system  has  cost  the  county  twenty  thousand  pounds 
at  least,  which  large  sum  has  been  levied  on  the  ratepayers; 


RESULTS  OF  PKISON  LABOUR.  545 

and  it  is  only  lately  that  an  additional  tax  has  been  imposed 
for  the  erection  of  a  treadmill — £1600  has  been  already 
voted — by  which  the  waste  of  labour  is  to  be  perpetuated. 

In  the  county  accounts  it  is  desirable  that  the  manufac- 
turing department  of  prison  labour  should  be  kept  distinct 
and  separate  from  the  general  statistics  of  receipt  and  expen- 
diture. In  many  well  conducted  prisons  the  county  treasurer 
only  receives  from  time  to  time  the  balance  of  profits  as 
they  are  realised;  and  as  that  labour  is  sufficient  to  provide 
for  all  raw  materials,  there  is  no  demand  on  the  ratepayers 
for  any  outlay  in  connection  with  convict  work.  The  work 
done  for  the  use  of  the  prison  is  not  reported  nor  estimated 
in  many  cases ;  but  it  ought  not  to  be  ignored,  as  it  is,  no 
doubt,  a  saving  as  far  as  it  goes.  In  some  prisons  there  is 
neither  an  estimate  of  its  value,  nor  a  recognition  of  its 
existence ;  in  others  it  appears  in  the  accounts  rendered  as 
so  much  work  done  for  which  nothing  is  paid.  But  the 
simplest  and  most  satisfactory  plan  is  that  adopted  in  the 
Derby  county  prison,  where  all  the  work  done  on  the  estab- 
lishment is  paid  for  by  the  county  treasurer,  and  appears  in 
the  accounts  as  receipts  for  prison  labour,  just  as  much  as 
the  produce  of  labour  sold  outside  the  gaol. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  and  instructive  reports  ever 
made  on  the  subject  of  prison  discipline  is  that  of  Dr.  T. 
F.  Monatt  on  the  Gaols  of  the  Lower  Provinces  of  the  Bengal 
Presidency,  for  the  year  1867.  (Calcutta,  1868.)  It  is  printed 
by  the  gaol  press  of  Alipore.  No  statistical  element  is  want- 
ing in  this  remarkable  volume,  and  the  spirit  in  which  it  is 
written  is  as  enlightened  as  are  the  facts  convincing.  The 
financial  statements  are  eminently  satisfactory.  In  Bhan- 
gulpore  gaol  the  average  earnings  of  each  manufacturing 
prisoner  was  75r.  la.  Ip.,  his  cost  39r.  11a.,  leaving  a  net  profit 
per  prisoner  of  35r.  5a.  In  Eajmehat  gaol  the  earnings 
84r.  15a.,  the  cost  66r.  8a.,  profit  18r.  7a.  In  the  Hoogly 
earnings  51r.  6a.,  cost  40r.  6a.,  profit  llr.  Four-tenths  of  the 
prisonei*s  are  engaged  in  profitable  work.  Weaving  of  various 
sorts  is  the  most  common  employment ;  but  there  is  scarcely 
any  trade  which  is  capable  of  being  carried  on  with  the 
cellular  system  which  is  not  introduced.  The  receipts  from 
the  57  gaols  of  Southern  India  were  544,577r.  8a.,  the  realised 
profits  from  prison  labour  194,608r.,  being  per  prisoner  20r.  5a. 
Independently  of  this,  in  the  Alipore  gaol  there  are  392 
persons  employed  in  the  printing  and  lithographic  establish- 
ment, whose  net  profits  were  217,086r.,  or  553r.  12a.  per 
man,  being  an  average  of  more  than  £55  per  annum.    The 


646  MORAL  AND   PECUKlAltY 

produce  of  labour  in  the  prison  is  dotible  that  of  the  free  ^ 
labourer  outside.  Twenty -nine  millions  of  sheets  weru  >■ 
printed,  and  a  small  per  centage  is  gratited  to  encourage 
industry*  The  inspector  speaks  of  the  cheeri'ubiess  of  the 
workmen,  and  punishment  for  idleness  is  almost  unknown. 
Independently  of  labour  for  the  service  of  the  ^aols^  the 
whok  net  profits  were  441,2;i8r.  The  total  cost  of  the  gaola 
was  l,045,208r.;  so  that  about  43  per  cent  of  the  wliole 
chai^  is  paid  by  the  labour  of  prisoners.  The  gross  cost 
per  prisoner  is  5lr.  12a.;  the  net  cost  alxjut  29r.  The  fieUl 
of  ol>scrvation  is  very  wide,  comprising  75,696  prisoners,  of 
wJiom  71,712  are  males,  and  3,984  are  femalea  A  very 
lai-ge  pmportion  are  sentenced  to  less  than  one  year  9  im- 
prisonment; and  it  is  reported  that  in  1867  the  value  of 
labour  was  exceptionally  depressed.  The  reconvictions  are 
stated  to  be  2-70  per  cent;  the  recommittals  about  5  per 
cent  I  a  contrast  sadly  to  the  disadvantage  of  prison  discipline 
at  home,  where  at  least  six  times  the  average  amount  of 
re4K)mnuttals  show  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  our  legis- 
lation or  administration,  or  both. 

The  last  report  of  the  Ma-gsachussets  State  Prison  (18*i8) 
is  of  extraordinary  interest  It  has  been  pmnounced  by  high 
authority  *'tbe  best  prison  in  the  world"  Tlie  labour  of  the 
prisoners  is  sold  to  contractors  under  prison  regulations,  Th€ 
receipts  for  prison  labour,  in  the  year  endlnji;;  lSi\7,  were 
123,097  dols.  25c.  The  t<(tixl  chai^ges,  including  salaries  and 
every  other  expense,  101,351  dols.  9c.  So  that  there  was  a 
net  profit  to  the  State  of  2:i,346dols.  16c. 

Of  571  prisoners  the  labour  was  thus  paid  for : — 

143  making  chairs,  sofas,  &c 60  cents,  per  day. 

189       „       bronzed  ironwork .      83  „ 

142       „       ditto  ditto     .  107 

74       „       whips 77 

33       „       brushes  1  „ 

For  the  year  1868  the  receipts  are  estimated  at  130,000 
dollai*s ;  the  expenses  of  every  sort  105,000  dollars ;  so  that 
instead  of  being  any  charge  upon  ratepayers  the  rates  will  be 
diminished  by  prison  labour  to  the  extent  of  25,000  dollars. 
The  mortality  in  the  prison  scarcely  exceeds  1  per  cent  The 
sole  discipline  is  the  dark  cells.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
discipline  tends  to  a  reformation  to  the  extent  of  80  per  cent, 
on  convicted  criminals — an  average  immensely  greater  than 
results  from  our  system,  with  its  excesses  of  punishment,  its 
too  frequent  pitiless  disregard  of  the  criminal,  its  reckless 
waste  of  the  labour  of  the  convict,  and  consequently  of  the 


I 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  547 

public  wealth.  The  productions  of  the  Massachussets  prison 
carried  off  one  of  the  prizes  of  the  Paris  Exhibition,  and  were 
purchased  by  the  Emperor  of  the  French  and  the  King  of 
Prussia,  and  have  brought  considerable  orders  from  European 
countries.  The  New  York  Prison  Association  report  that  the 
Massachussets  prison  is  preeminently  excellent  for  its  dis- 
cipline. From  1847  to  1857  the  ancient  inexorable  system 
was  carried  out  in  all  its  severity.  With  a  State  population 
of  1,000,000  the  committals  were  1622,  the  re-committals 
230.  In  1857  a  wiser  policy  was  introduced,  grounded  on 
the  principle  that  convicts  should  be  reformed  as  well  as 
punished.  And  now,  from  1857  to  1867,  with  a  population 
of  1,200,000,  the  committals  have  been  1495,  the  re-com- 
mittals 175.  The  improvements  still  progress.  Upon  505 
prisoners,  from  1857  to  1860,  the  re-committals  have  been 
69.  From  1864  to  1867,  upon  504  prisoners  the  re-commit- 
tals have  been  only  40,  or  just  8  per  cent.  In  the  year  1857 
the  cost  per  prisoner  was  154dols.  87c.;  his  earnings  121dols. 
54c.  In  1867  the  cost  per  prisoner  was  156dols.  17c.;  his 
earnings  197dols.  79c.  So  that  under  an  improved  system 
of  discipline  the  yearly  benefit  to  the  State  has  been  7496 
upon  every  prisoner. 

We  have  no  results  like  these  to  show  in  any  of  our 
prisons,  in  which  the  very  best  receive  from  the  labour  of 
criminals  only  about  one-third  of  the  cost  of  their  main- 
tenance. The  educational  statistics  of  the  prison  show,  that 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Massachussets  the  average  unable  to 
read  and  write  was  6  per  cent. ;  of  the  Irish  29  per  cent. ; 
while  the  average  of  the  whole  number  of  prisoners  was  13 
per  cent 

The  prisons  of  the  United  States  present  in  their  manage- 
ment and  in  the  results  of  that  management  contrasts  almost 
as  striking  as  those  found  in  the  prisons  of  the  United 
Kingilom,  and  with  better  reason;  for  while  those  of  America 
are  under  the  separate  legislation  of  the  States,  our  own  are 
under  the  common  control  of  the  Imperial  Parliament. 

In  the  Sing  Sing  male  prison  the  cost  is  220,259  dols. ; 
the  earnings  125,704  dols.  In  the  Sing  Sing  female  prison 
the  cost  is  27,149  dols.;  the  earnings  4,829  dols.  In  Auburn 
prison  the  cost  is  134,001  dols.;  the  earnings  97,734  dols. 
Clinton  prison  the  cost  is  191,640  dols. ;  the  earnings  193,376 
dols.;  the  last  being  just  self-supporting,  and  the  labour  is 
not  let  to  contractors,  but  Applied  to  different  manufactures. 
In  the  State  penitentiary  of  Eastern  Pensylvania,  containing 
(1867)  569  prisoners,  re-committals  are  863  per  cent.    Of 


548  MORAL  AND   PECUNUET 

the  whole  number  of  priaonera  27  per  cent  are  engaged  in 
cane-work,  13  per  cent  in  shoeruakiiig,  9  per  cenL  on  yani- 
vrinding,  6  per  cent,  in  weaviug,  the  i-eniainder  on  other 
employment— 30  per  cent  being  the  estimate  of  unproductive 
hands.  In  ihm  establishment  the  total  expenses  of  subsUtence 
were  51,22Gdols,  57c.;  the  produce  of  conirict  labour  2Sj9^l 
dols.  G3c.  On  admission  the  educational  reports  give  21*35 
per  cent  illiterate,  18'54  per  cent  read^  57  55  per  cent  iie^d 
and  wi-ite,  2'59  per  cent  well-educated,  equal  100 ;  as  taugljt 
in  penitentiary  2  50  per  cent  illiterate,  S^dS  |>er  cent  read, 
82- 10  per  cent  reati  and  writ^  &S9  per  cent  well-educated, 
equal  100.  What  English  prison  can  show  such  satisfactory 
results  ? 

In  1844  the  enormous  increase  of  the  criminal  e^tpenses 
in  the  county  of  AibAny  (U.S.Ji  which  had  risen  fix>m 
IJj^.OOOdoU  to  nearly  20,000dol3.  per  annum,  led  to  a  th*i- 
rough  examination  of  the  causes  of  thia  unsatisfactorj*  st^te 
of  things,  with  a  view  to  their  removal,  by  a  committee,  who 
were  enabled  to  report  in  1859,  that  while  the  expenditure 
of  the  |)enitentiary  was  13,562  dola  45a,  the  income  had 
been  i-aised  by  prison  labour  to  18, 119  dels.  6c.,  leaving  a  net 
profit  of  4,556 dol 9.  61c.  The  good  work  has  progressed,  and 
with  a  pride  antl  exultation  full}"  warranted  by  success  ihe 
inspecturs  report,  that  from  1848  to  1806,  while  the  whok 
county  expenditure  for  prisons  has  been  125,000  dollars, 
the  money  received  and  the  property  purchased  I'epresent 
363^,723  dollars,  leaving  a  balance  of  profit  amounting  to 
245,723  dols.  "Zc.  beparation  at  night,  absolute  silence,  and 
enforced  order  by  day,  have  been  found  quite  sufficient  secu- 
rities for  discipline.  The  regulations  are  rigid;  but  the  object 
laid  down  as  priinaiy  and  peremptory  is  the  moral  reforma- 
tion of  the  culprit.  So  admirable  are  the  arrangements,  so 
perfect  the  submission  to  the  rules  of  the  penitentiary,  that 
a  late  observer  says,  on  going  through  the  apartments,  not  a 
single  eye  was  turned  towards  him  or  diverted  from  work, 
nor  could  he  before  have  believed  that  such  subordination 
could  ever  have  been  uninterruptedly  maintained.  The  latest 
report  says  that  the  discipline,  though  strict  and  inflexible, 
has  produced  such  regular,  steady,  uniform,  and  almost  un- 
conscious subjection  to  autliority,  that  the  movements  seem 
rather  of  machines  than  that  of  human  beings.  Not  an 
officer  is  ever  armed,  and  the  results  are  obtained  almost 
wholly  from  moral  agencies.  Every  prisoner  is  immediately 
put  to  work,  and  it  is  found  that  from  three-fourths  to  seven- 
eighths  of  the  prisoners  implicitly  submit  to  the  rules  of  the 


RESULTS  OF  PRISON  LABOUR.  549 

penitentiary.  The  dark  cell  is  almost  always  found  sufficient 
to  subdue  the  prisoners;  the  power  of  flogging  is  reserved, 
but  scarcely  ever  used.*  The  mortality  scarcely  exceeds  one 
per  cent.,  and  a  passage  full  of  instruction  from  the  inspec- 
tor's report  is  well  worthy  of  especial  note:  "That  State 
prisons  have  sometimes  shown  a  self-supporting  ability  is 
not  so  remarkable ;  but  that  the  inmates  of  an  establishment 
like  the  Albany  Penitentiary,  composed  of  the  vilest  dregs 
of  society,  the  rakiugs  of  the  gutter  and  the  brothel,  the  pio- 
fligate,  and  even  the  diseased,  more  fit  for  a  hospital  than 
the  workhouse,  destitute,  half-naked,  and  sentenced  often  for 
a  term  scarcely  sufficient  to  work  off  the  last  debauch,  who 
must  be  fed  and  nursed,  and  sent  forth  again,  perhaps,  in  a 
few  days  fully  clothed, — that  such  a  class  so  circumstanced 
can  be  managed  in  such  a  way  as  to  rid  the  community  from 
the  burthen  of  their  maintenance  is  certainly  a  wonderful 
achievement  in  political  economy."!  The  value  of  this  testi- 
mony is  increased  from  the  fact  that  the  shortness  of  the 
sentences  imposed  on  a  large  proportion  of  the  prisoners  in 
county  gaols  is  represented  as  an  invincible  barrier  to  their 
instruction  and  their  reformation  under  our  system  of  prison 
discipline,  and  thus  much  ought  to  be  conceded  to  the  objec- 
tors ;  that  committals  for  short  periods,  and  the  repetition  of 
such  committals,  serve  rather  to  harden  than  to  deter  or  to 
reform ;  that  such  short  sentences  reduce  the  means  of  teach- 
ing ti-ades  by  which  honest  labour  might  provide  means  of 
support  when  the  imprisonment  terminates,  and  do  not 
enable  the  convict  to  acquire  habits  of  industry.  The  statis- 
tics of  the  Albany  Penitentiary  show  that  an  enormous  pro- 
portion of  the  crimes  committed  are  traceable  to  drunkenness, 
and  thoroughly  confirm  the  observations  made  in  reference 
to  the  prevalence  of  the  vice  among  European  Christian 
communities. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  rather  to  present  for  con- 
sideration some  contrasted  facts,  than  to  collect  the  multi- 
tudinous statistics  connected  with  prison  discipline  and  its 
results.  I  am  deeply  sensible  I  am  only  making  a  fragmentary 
and  imperfect  contribution  towards  the  solution  of  a  very 
grave  question  of  social  interest. 

•  See  "  History  of  the  Albany  Penitentiary.*'  By  David  Dyer,  chaplain 
(Albany,  1867) :  a  volume  equally  interesting  and  instructive.  Due  honour 
is  paid  to  the  deservings  of  Amos  Pilsbury,  the  superintendent  of  the  estab- 
ment.  f  Page  143. 


VOL.  II.  0  O 


WHAT    IS     CAPITAL? 


BT    W.    a    nODQflON,    LUDw 


No  words  need  explanation  more  than  many  that  are  in 
constant  and  familiar  use.  Words  of  rare  occurrence  call  for 
and  commonly  receive  an  interpretation  when  they  happen 
to  be  employed,  and  their  first  impression  is  then  clear,  sharp, 
and  more  or  less  accurate  But  words  that  we  have  heaid 
and  uttered  daily,  it  may  be  oftener,  from  our  childhood,  we 
take  for  granted  that  we  understand,  and,  further^  that  others 
accept  theui  in  the  same  sense  as  that  which  to  ua  they  bear. 
In  both  these  respects  we  are  liable  to  err.  Our  own  notions 
of  their  meaning  are  not  unlikely  to  be  confused,  indistinct^ 
and  mixed  up  with  what  is  inelevant,  if  not  false ;  while  to 
others  they  may  suggest  ideas  widely  differing  from  ours, 
and  yet  not  on  that  account  the  more  correct  Without 
illustrating  this  poaiti(Ui  by  eaeamples  that  might  easily  be 
given,  I  may  say  that  Capital  (to  which,  in  spite  of  its  name, 
I  see  that  the  printer  of  your  programme  has  refused  a 
capital  G)  is  a  word  much  more  freely  than  accurately  used ; 
and  that  many  fallacies  cluster  round  it  which  it  is  very 
important  should  be  removed,  or,  at  least,  as  far  as  possible, 
abated.  I  shall  make  no  apology,  therefore,  for  being  more 
elementary  in  my  statement  than,  on  many  other  subjects, 
would  be  seemly  or  needful  in  an  Association  of  this  kind. 

Capital  is  frequently  defined,  and  I  accept  the  definition, 
to  be  that  part  of  wealth  which,  instead  of  being  at  once 
consumed,  (as  wine  is  when  it  is  drunk,)  is  reserved  for  the 
purpose  of  future  production.  The  seed-corn  of  the  farmer  is 
roughly  an  example  of  Capital  in  one  of  its  forms  as  distin- 
guished from  wheat  which  is  made  into  bread,  and  in  that 
form  is  consumed.  Waiving  the  objection  to  which  this 
example  is  fairly  open,  and  to  which  I  may  ere  long  return, 
let  me  say  that  this  definition  obviously  suggests  two  other 
questions :  1st,  What  is  wealth  ?     2nd,  What  is  production  ? 


WHAT  IS  CAPITAL?  551 

First,  What  is  wealth  ?  As  I  heard  Mr.  Suskin  not  a  fort- 
night ago  complain  that  economists  confound  wealth  with 
money,  I  am  required  to  declare  that  invariably,  so  far  as  I 
know,  economists  understand  by  wealth  those  almost  infi- 
nitely various  material  substances  which,  being  more  or  less 
in  one  way  or  other  the  result  of  human  labour,  and  having 
more  or  less  of  value  in  exchange,  minister  to  the  necessities, 
the  comforts,  or  the  refinements  of  human  life.  Food,  and 
houses,  and  horses,  and  cattle,  and  steam-en^^inus,  and  pictures, 
and  innumerable  things  besides,  are  all  wealth.  Money  is 
wealth  only  potentially,  because  in  exchange  for  it  can  be 
obtained  any  of  those  things  which  really  constitute  wealth. 
To  the  individual  among  individuals,  or  to  a  nation  among 
nations,  money  is  wealth  in  a  secondary  and  figurative  sense. 
By  this  I  mean  not  merely,  though  this  also  is  true,  that  the 
metals  of  which  money  is  usually  composed  may  be  melted 
and  employed  for  various  purposes  of  use  or  ornament,  but 
that  potentially  they  are  wealth  from  their  capacity  of  being 
converted  into,  or,  more  strictly,  of  being  exchanged  for  real 
wealth.  Language  is  much  more  commonly  and  subtly 
metaphorical  than  the  multitude  know  or  suspect.  The 
Lancashire  workman  who,  being  urged  to  save  his  earnings, 
replied,  "  I  puts  my  money  down  my  neck,  and  gets  the  good 
of  it,"  little  thought  that  his  words  were  boldly  figurative ; 
yet  he  could  not  deny  that  it  was  not  the  silver  shilUngs  that 
he  swallowed,  but  the  beef,  the  bread,  and,  perhaps  still  more, 
the  beer  for  which  he  gave  those  shillings  in  exchange.  Just 
so  in  other  cases.  But  to  Robinson  Crusoe  coins  were  not 
wealth,  because  nothing  that  he  wished  for  could  they  enable 
him  to  obtain.  Without  money  wealth  may  still  exist  abun- 
dantly, though  its  exchange  from  hand  to  hand  would  be 
much  more  difficult,  and  laborious,  and  slow,  and  rare.  On 
the  other  hand,  money  would  of  itself  neither  feed,  nor 
clothe,  nor  lodge  any  one,  nor  minister  to  any  of  the  thousand 
wants  that  wealth  supplies. 

The  second  question — What  is  production  ?  is  much  more 
difficult  to  answer.  Adam  Smith's  definition  of  productuni 
expressly  excludes  from  the  title  of  productive  labourers  not 
only  opera-singers  and  ballet-dancers,  but  domestic  servants, 
teachers,  clergymen,  physicians,  and  a  host  besides.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view  the  tailor  who  makes  a  coat  is  productive, 
the  servant  who  brushes  it  is  unproductive.  Nay,  as  has 
been  well  observed  by  Mr.  P.  Stirling  in  his  PhUoaaphy  of 
Trade,  the  artizan  who  makes  a  violin  is  productive,  the 
artist  who  plays  upon  it  is  unproductive ;  the  masons  and 

0  0  2 


552  WHAT  IS  CAPITAL? 

carpenters  and  others  who  build  a  church  are  productive,  the 
parson  who  preaches  in  it  is  unproductive ;  the  butcher  who 
kills  an  ox  and  cnta  the  flesh  into  joints  is  productive,  the 
physician  who  siives  a  human  life  is  unproductive.  Never- 
theless, no  less  a  nmn  than  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill  adheres  to  Adam 
Smith  s  distinction,  while  he  freely  grants  the  title  of  itsefui 
labourers  to  those  to  whom  he  fancies  he  is  in  strictne^ 
obliged  to  deny  the  title  of  produdwc  Now,  in  order  to 
evade  this  controversy,  which  you  may  think  m  a  dispute 
about  terrns,  rather  thati  about  thinf^s  or  idea^,  let  us  here  con- 
fine onr  view  to  those  forms  of  pnjducEion  to  which  all  alike 
freely  concede  that  term  ;  I  mean  material  products,  whether 
the  stages  thmugh  which  they  pass  on  their  way  to  comple- 
tion be  few  or  mauy,  easy  or  ditiicnlt^  slow  or  rapid,  simple 
or  complex.  Tlie  grazier  breeds  a  sheep  ;  from  its  back  the 
wool  is  shorn  ;  it  is  subjected  to  a  succession  of  various  sorts 
of  treatment  which  I  need  not  enumerate,  until  it  is  made 
into  cloth,  and  the  cloth  is  made  into  garments  for  human 
use.  At  each  stage,  in  econoudc  phmse,  a  value  is  added  ; 
and  the  value  of  the  finished  product  is,  or  ought  to  bo,  the 
aggregate  of  all  the  values  progi^essively  added  by  tlie  pre* 
vious  processes,  all  separately  and  collectively  productive. 

Now  in  this,  and  in  all  other  similar  cases,  what  is  the 
part  that  Capitai  plays  ?  A  short  analysis  will,  I  hope,  make 
this  clear.  In  ordvr  lliat  a  man  or  a  set  of  men  should  work 
productively,  what  thirjgs  are  indispensable?  First,  he  or 
they  must  have  the  means  of  living  while  they  are  at  work. 
No  man  lives  or  can  live  literally  on  the  produce  of  what 
he  is  then  making,  but  on  the  produce  of  what  he  or  some 
one  else  has  previously  made.  No  man  can  live  on  the 
gi*ain  of  the  next  coming  harvest  while  he  is  coltivating  the 
ground  in  hope  of  the  future  crop.  No  man  can  be  clothed 
in  the  garment  he  is  then  making  any  more  than  by  the 
wool  that  is  still  on  the  sheep's  back.  No  man  can  be  lodged 
in  the  house  of  which  the  building  has  just  begun.  He  must 
have  the  means  of  subsistence  (which  it  is  a  serious,  though 
common,  mistake  to  identify  w^th  mere  food)  provided  in 
advance,  if  not  by  himself,  then  by  some  other  who  is  able 
and  willing  to  anticipate  for  him  the  result  of  the  labour 
actually  in  progress.  Now,  in  actual  practice,  this  provision 
in  advance  of  the  subsistence  of  the  labourer  is  called  the 
wages  fund.  It  is  not  necessary,  and  most  assuredly  not 
desirable,  that  wages  should  be  limited  to  the  bare  means  of 
subsistence,  but  they  must  at  the  very  least  amount  to  and 
supply  the  means  of  subsistence.     Without  these,  no  one 


WHAT  IS   CAPITAL?  553 

will,  no  one  can  work.  "  To  live  working  or  to  die  fighting  " 
was  the  cry  at  Parisian  barricades.  "  As  well  starve  idle  as 
starve  busy  "  is  the  cry  natural  to  humanity  itself.  It  is  very 
desirable  that  the  workman  should  himself  possess  a  sufti- 
cient  and  even  an  ample  share  of  the  means  of  subsistence ; 
but,  in  the  event  of  his  failing,  from  whatever  cause,  to  possess 
them,  is  it  or  is  it  not  for  his  benefit  that  there  should  be 
others,  and  as  many  others  as  possible,  able  and  willing  to 
make  for  him  the  indispensable  advance?  If  a  man  has  no 
store  of  food,  is  it  for  his  benefit  that  others  should  be  able 
and  willing  to  advance  to  him  food,  or  the  means  of  purchas- 
ing food  ?  If  a  man  has  no  house  or  cottage  of  his  own,  is 
it  or  is  it  not  well  for  him  that  others  should  be  willing  and 
able  to  lend  him  a  dwelling  on  the  understanding  that  its 
use  will  be  paid  for  hereafter  out  of  the  protluce  of  the 
labonr  still  incomplete,  it  may  be  not  yet  begun?  The 
payment  of  wages  in  the  form  of  money  ought  not  to, 
though  it  often  does,  hide  the  true  nature  ot  the  transaction. 
Wages  may  be  paid  wholly  in  money  or  wholly  in  kind,  or 
partly  in  kind  and  partlj^  in  money.  The  lawyer  receives  his 
wages,  which  he  calls  fees,  wholly  in  money.  The  clerk 
receives  his  wages,  which  he  calls  salary,  wholly  in  money. 
The  female  domestic  servant  receives  her  wages  partly  in 
money,  but  chiefly  in  food  and  lodging.  The  male  domestic 
servant  receives  his  wages  partly  in  money,  but  chiefly  in 
food  and  lodging  and  also  clothes,  so-called  livery.  A  gar- 
dener may  receive  his  wages  partly  in  money,  partly  in 
lodging,  and  not  at  all  in  either  food  or  clothes.  These  and 
any  number  of  such  varieties  in  detail  do  not  touch  the 
great  fact  that  real  wages  in  every  case  are  not  to  be  esti- 
mated in  money,  but  in  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of  those 
things  for  which  the  money  must  be  exchanged,  or  which 
take  the  place  of  money.  A  man. may  have  higher  money 
wages  and  less  real  wages  than  before,  and  vice  versa.  Lastly, 
for  I  must  not  here  enlarge,  every  man  engaged  in  producing 
the  means  of  subsistence  is  really,  though  he  may  not  think 
of  it  or  know  it,  helping  to  swell  the  fund  which  is  to  pay 
not  merely  his  own,  but  others'  labour.  Every  such  labourer 
is  therefore  directly  and  strongly  interested  in  the  produc- 
tiveness of  the  industry  of  every  other  such  labourer.  Every 
such  labourer  who  is  idle  in  the  production  or  wasteful  in 
the  consumption  of  the  means  of  subsistence,  pro  tanto 
lessens  the  common  fund  for  the  remuneration  of  industry. 
The  first  fonn  of  Capital^  then,  is  the  means  for  the  subsis- 
tence of  the  producer,  or,  in  ordinary  phrase,  the  wages  fund. 


554  WHAT  IS  CAPrrAL? 

That  wa^es  are  paid  out  of  Capital^  not  profits,  aa  some  vainly 
fancy,  is  proved  by  a  very  simple  eonaidenition.  Wages  are 
prudent  and  certain;  protit  is  future  and  uncertain.  There 
may  he  tmich^  or  litUe,  or  none ;  there  may  he  some  profit,  of 
a  loss,  sTimller  or  gt-eater ;  still  the  wages  are  paid,  and  Capita! 
beai-s  tlie.  loss.  It  is  true  that  if  the  Capital  fund  be  ex- 
hausted by  losses,  wages  will  no  longer  continue  to  be  paid  j 
and  also  that  profits  go  to  renew  the  Capital  fund ;  but  the 
faot  remains,  that  wages  are  and  must  bo  paid  out  of  Capital* 

The  ^i'c^nd  form  of  Capital  is  equally  obvious  on  a  little 
consideration,  and  equally,  in  truth,  if  not  aa  obviously 
indispensable.  Labour  must  have  some  material  on  wfaidli 
it  is  employed.  The  joiner  must  have  his  wood,  the  baker 
his  flour,  the  blacksmith  his  iron,  and  so  on  and  on.  We 
speak  of  mv;  material ;  but  the  amount  of  material  to  which 
this  name  is  strictly  applicable  is  very,  very  small  indeed 
All  material,  not  the  very  rawest  of  the  raw,  has  had  some 
previous  labour  bestowed  npnn  it ;  and  what  is  to  one  man 
his  fioished  article  is  to  another  his  raw  material.  The 
currier  and  the  tanner  and  the  shoemaker  follow  each  other 
in  orderly  succefislou,  each  handing  on  to  the  other  an  article 
loss  raw  and  monj  iinished,  each  carrying  onward  the  incom- 
plete work  of  his  predecessor  Now  here  i^ain  it  is  very 
desirable  that  every  workman  should  own  the  mateiial  on 
which  he  works  ;  but  if  from  any  cause  he  owns  it  not,  is  it 
or  is  it  not  to  his  benefit  that  some  one  else  should  supply  it 
to  him  f*n  terms  to  be  settled  between  tlie  two  parties? 

Tlie  third  kind  of  Capital  may  be  almost  as  brietly  disposed 
of.  A  workman,  even  with  the  means  of  subsistence  while 
he  works  and  a  material  on  which  he  works,  can  do  bat  little 
with  his  unassisted  limbs.  He  must  have  tools  which  render 
his  labour  more  and  ever  more  productive.  Mr.  Baskin  I 
have  heard  say,  that  every  working  man  ought  to  own  the 
tools  with  which  he  works,  and  so  say  I,  though  I  cannot  see 
why  he  ought  to  own  the  tools  with  which  he  works  more 
than  the  material  on  which  he  works.  So  say  /,  however,  if 
by  ought  I  am  allowed  to  mean  that  this  is  very  desirable, 
and  no  more.  Ought,  it  has  been  said,  stands  for  nmigJU. 
A  workman  ought  to  be  sober,  and  industrious,  and  frugal, 
and  much  besides.  He  ought  to  have  two  or  three  suits  of 
clothes,  a  stock  of  books,  and  a  house  well  furnished  and  well 
kept,  if  humble  and  but  small.  But  when  I  hear  such  talk  as 
this,  I  am  reminded  of  the  Irishman,  who,  being  advised  to 
get  a  trunk  to  hold  his  clothes,  replied,  "  What,  and  go  naked 
myself!"    When  men  have  not  tools  or  materials  any  more 


4 


WHAT  IS   CAPITAL?  555 

than  clothes,  what  can  they  do?  Is  it  well  for  them  that 
others  are  able  and  willing  to  employ  their  labour  and  pay 
them  for  it,  putting  into  their  hands  the  needful  tools? 
Machines  of  every  kind  are  but  complex  and  more  powerful 
and  productive  tools  ;  and  the  economic  principle  is  the  same 
throughout,  from  the  screw  or  paddle  driven  by  st^am,  down 
to  the  sail  or  the  oar;  from  the  stake  hardened  by  fire,  to 
the  spade,  to  the  lioi*se-plough,  up  to  the  steam-plough,  the 
reaping  and  thrashing  machines,  and  all  the  wonders  of 
modern  invention  for  the  improvement  of  man's  estate. 

These,  in  my  estimate,  are  the  three  kinds  of  Capital,  and 
I  confess  I  know  no  other.  Of  money  in  relation  to  Capital 
I  may  repeat  what  I  said  in  its  relation  to  wealth, — it  is 
Capital  potentially ;  and  surely  it  is  a  vast  convenience  to 
hold  what  may  in  a  moment  enable  one  to  obtain,  so  far  as 
it  avails,  true  Capital  in  any  or  all  of  its  forms. 

The  finished  article' in  its  ultimate  sense  may  be  Capital 
potentially,  if  it  can  be  used  in  one  or  other  of  the  three 
forms  of  true  Capital.  The  plough,  which  is  the  manufac- 
turer's finished  article,  is  the  farmers  tool,  and  so  on  in  other 
cases ;  the  difference  is  not  in  the  articles  themselves,  but  iu 
the  purposes  to  which  they  are  applied.  A  carriage  of  every 
kind  is  a  sort  of  wealth,  however  it  may  be  employed ;  but 
to  the  physician  the  carriage  which  he  drives  to  enable  him 
to  visit  more  patients  in  a  shorter  time  is  a  sort  of  Capital ; 
while  to  the  nobleman,  who  uses  his  for  a  pleasure-drive  in 
the  park,  it  is  merely  wealth,  and  not  Capital  as  well. 

Further,  it  may  happen  that  the  same  article  may  be  used 
as  the  first,  or  the  second,  or  the  third  kind  of  Capital  Thus 
coal  burned  in  a  retort  to  make  gas  is  raw  material ;  burned 
in  the  furnace  of  a  locomotive,  &c.,  it  is,  in  no  mean  or  doubtful 
or  obscure  sense,  a  tool—it  is  the  very  life  of  the  machine  it 
keeps  a-going ;  while  if  burned  in  a  cottage  fire  to  cook  the 
workman's  dinner,  it  is  truly  a  part  of  the  subsistence  of  the 
labourer,  subsistence  being  understood  as  before  explained. 

If  what  I  have  said  of  money,  and  even  the  finished  article 
in  their  relation  to  Capital,  be  accepted  as  true,  I  need  spend 
few  words  on  the  heresy  of  Mr.  McLeod  in  England,  and  (I 
grieve  to  say)  of  M.  M.  Chevalier  in  Fmnce,  that  credit  is 
Capital  To  the  individual,  or  to  a  nation,  credit  may  no 
doubt  procure  Capital,  but  only  by  taking  it  from  some  one 
else  who  is  willing  to  lend  it.  Unless  and  until  a  thing  can 
be  in  two  places  at  one  and  the  same  time,  we  must  maintain 
that  credit  can  at  most  only  transfer  Capital  from  one  to 
another;  and  it  would  be  well  indeed  if  in  every  case  the 


55<>  WHAT   IS   CAPITAL? 

trantfer  were  made  from  on©  who  is  lesa  to  another  who  is 
more  aWc  to  turn  it  to  profitable  account,— if  borrowing  wem 
free  from  dishonesty,  and  lentUug  from  improvidence,  and 
both  from  waste  and  su^f^rlng. 

I  havt?  now  finished  all  that  I  wish,  or  at  lea.**t  think  needful, 
and  hiive  time  to  ^wy,  iu  answer  to  the  question  proposed, 
"What  is  Capital?"  But  there  remain  a  few  fallacies  (as  I 
regard  them)  reganjing  the  reward  of  capital,  its  ownership, 
a^i  well  as  its  sonrceSj  which  I  am  anxious  very  briefly  to  point 
out  I  can  but  hint  at  the  expositions  whi^h  I  have  not 
time  to  elaborate,  or  you  to  hear  in  full 

L  Exceptional  instances  of  great  returns  from  the  use  of 
Capital  arc  incorrectly  assumed  to  be  normal.  Large  profits 
hem  and  there  disguise  the  small  profits,  the  no  profits,  the 
losses,  sometimes  total,  which  too  frequently  occur.  It  is  only 
by  the  average  returns  that  the  profit  on  Capital  generally- 
Capital  as  a  whole — can  witli  fairness  be  &gtimated.  It  is 
dilbcult,  it  may  even  be  injpossible,  to  ascertain  this  accurately. 
But  there  is,  at  least,  one  trustworthy  indication  of  thia 
aveni;|e,  taken  apart  from  elements  which  unduly  complicate 
the  question.  Thtt  rate  of  interest, — that  is,  payment  for  the 
\WH  of  Capital, — taken,  not  in  brief  and  exceptional  periods^ 
or  in  a  few  exceptional  cases,  but  the  usual  current  rate  takeu 
during  long  periods*  is  the  index  required.  Will  it  be  said 
that  five  pc^r  cent,  (and  the  rate  has  lotig  been  below  two  per 
cent.}  is  an  cxcessive-inte  ?  Yet  where,  without  more  or  less 
risk  of  loss,  is  a  higher  rate  to  be  obtained  ?  It  cannot  too 
often  be  declared  that  high  interest  means  bad  security,  and 
the  higher  the  interest  the  worse  is  the  security,  as  a  rule. 
The  difference  between  the  ordinary  rate  and  a  high  rate  is 
but  the  premium  set  against  the  danger  of  the  loss  of  prin- 
cipal. 

2.  If  the  rate  of  so-called  profit  seems  often  largely  to  exceed 
the  current  rate  of  interest,  one  reason  is  that  fuuch  of  what 
is  delusively  called  profit  on  Capital  is  really  the  payment 
due  to  more  or  less  exceptional  skill,  intelligence,  vigilance, 
enterprise,  &c.,  is  in  fact  salary,  not  profit.  A  manufacturer 
conducts  his  own  business  and  earns  a  large  income.  How 
much  of  it  is  profit  on  his  mere  Capital ;  or  salary  for  his 
assiduous,  indefatigable  service ;  for  organizing,  and  control- 
ling, and  harmonizing  power?  It  is  difficult  to  separate  the 
capitalist  and  the  manager  when  they  meet  in  one  and  the 
same  individual.  But  if  he  die,  and  another  take  his  place, 
what  becomes  of  the  concern  if  managed  with  less  energy, 
wisdom,  foresight,  than  formerly  ?    Or  again,  take  the  case  of 


WHAT  IS  CAPITAL?  557 

the  non-capitalist  manager  of  a  large  and  important  establish- 
ment ;  if  of  great  and  peculiar  ability,  and  of  tried  integrity, 
his  remuneration  is  great,  as^$'jiometimes  almost  beyond 
belief.     Want  of  time  forbids  the  enumeration  of  examples. 

3.  The  aggregate  Capital  of  this  country  belongs  not  to  a 
few  millionaires,  such  as  the  very  word  Capitalist  brings  to 
our  minds ;  but  to  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  small 
capitalists.  Look  at  our  banks,  our  docks,  canals,  railways, 
steamboats,  insurance  companies,  building  societies,  &c.  And 
here  it  may  be  asked.  What  return  is  yielded  to  Capital  in 
most  of  those  cases?  Our  railways  have  cost  hundreds  of 
millions;  the  pi-ofit  on  them  is  not  of  enviable  magnitude. 
The  profits  in  all  cases  vary  according  to  the  management. 
Just  as  a  certain  general  has  been  said  to  be  equal  to  some 
thousands  of  soldiers,  so  is  the  etficient  manager  when  weighed 
against  his  subordinates.  Such  men  as  Peabody,  Morrison, 
Whitworth,  Piatt,  Arkwright,  Eothschild,  (and  how  much  of 
their  Capital  is  due  to  their  mental  superiority  in  one  or  other 
way  ?)  hide  from  us  the  fact  of  the  wide  distribution  among 
numbers  of  the  mass  of  Capital  taken  as  a  whola  Be  it 
remembered  further,  that  the  growing  tendency  of  the  present 
time,  encouraged  greatly  by  recent  legislation,  is  to  multiply 
joint-stock  companies,  and  to  supersede  the  few  rich  indi- 
viduals or  firms  by  the  united  Capital  of  many  individually 
almost  poor.  Two  hundred  and  forty  pence  alike  make  a 
pound,  whether  the  pence  belong  to  one  man,  or  to  any  num- 
ber of  men. 

4  People  are  apt  to  confound  a  lai^e  total  return  on  a 
large  aggregate  Capital  with  a  high  rate  of  profit  on  each 
item  of  the  Capital  Say  that  a  Capital  of  ±100,000  em- 
ployed in  manufacture  yields  £20,000  a  year,  i«.,  20  per 
cent,  or  £20  for  every  £100,  including  both  profit  on  Capital 
(strictly  so  called),  and  payment  for  management,  and  reserve 
fund  for  the  replacing  of  the  fixed  Capital  when  more  or  less 
rapidly  destroyed.  The  mere  profit  on  the  Capital  will  not 
here  be  found  to  be  the  greatest  item.  But  whatever  the 
total  return,  it  is  the  result  of  a  vast  number  of  transactions, 
on  each  of  which  the  profit  may  be  almost  infinitesimal,  not 
20,  or  10,  or  5  per  cent,  not  even  1.  What  is  meant  by  the 
phrase,  "Small  profits,  and  quick  returns?"  If  I,  by  re- 
duction of  the  rate  of  profit,  can  "  turn  over"  (as  the  words 
go)  my  capital  many  times,  instead  of  only  few  times,  the 
aggregate  of  the  many  small  profits  may  enormously  exceed 
the  aggregate  of  the  few  large  profits.  And  to  this  issue 
free  trade  ever  tends.    And  with  what  result  to  the  com- 


ess  WHAT  13  CAPITAL? 

munity?  Does  not  every  purchaser  save,  that  is,  gain  acj 
much  by  the  reduction  of  the  rate  of  proJit?  Every  work- 
ing man  who  buys  a  pair  of  boots  for  his  child,  every 
working  woman  who  bays  a  cotton  gown  for  herself^  has  the 
benefit  And  it  is  the  irresistible  tendency  of  cheapened 
production  thmugh  increased  skill,  and  application  of  natural 
forces  embodied  in  machinery,  t(3  multiply  exchanges  at 
diminished  profit  Just  as  Capital  in  the  sum  increases,  does 
the  rate  of  pro  lit  on  each  Han  of  it  diminish,  with  yet  a 
gain  on  the  whole,  to  the  benefit  not  merely  of  the  producer, 
but  still  more  of  the  whole  community,  and  especially  of  the 
poor.  Some  things  formerly  beyond  their  hope  are  brought 
within  their  reach ;  other  things  of  which  their  supply  was 
before  scanty  are  obtainable  in  greater  ahundauce ;  and  what 
is  saved  in  the  price  of  one  article  is  available  towards  the 
purchase  of  another. 

Yet  thousands  of  artisans,  instead  of  striving  by  increasetl 
industry,  frugality,  and  skill  to  gather  freah  Capital  for  them- 
selves and  for  the  world,  grudge  existing  Capital  its  profits, 
and  in  the  hope  of  sharing  them  obstruct  tis  growth,  as  if 
the  quotient  could  be  increased  by  diminution  of  the  divi- 
dend. By  lessening  production  they  raise  to  each  other  the 
cost  of  the  neceaaariea  and  C4:)mforts  of  life,  to  the  injury  of 
all^  themselves  included,  thus,  in  an  economic  sense,  addiBg 
suicide  to  murder.  Yet  who  teaches  them  when  young  to 
know  better?  In  towns  much  larger  than  this — towns  to 
which  industry  is  the  very  breath  of  their  nostrils — a  room 
such  as  this  is  far  too  large  for  all  who  care  to  know  anything 
about  the  matter;  while  a  room  very  much  smaller  would 
easily  contain  all  who  have  any  clear,  definite,  connected,  and 
consistent  notions  regarding  it.  A  learned  doctor  of  divinity 
said  to  me  not  long  ago,  ''  Political  economy  is  not  the  whole 
truth."  Who  said  that  it  is  ?  Is  mathematics,  or  chemistry, 
or  aught  else — even  theology — the  whole  truth  ?  The  question 
is  not  whether  this  science  is  the  whole  truth  (a  monstrous 
assumption),  but  first,  is  it  the  truth?  and  secondly,  is  it 
important  to  be  known  1  If  so,  ignorance  of  it  will  assuredly 
find  its  punishment  in  this  and  succeeding  generations.  On 
the  middle  and  upper  classes  the  responsibility  lies  heavy. 
They  have  more  culture,  more  leisure  than  the  so-called  lower; 
and  they  are  answerable  for  the  talents  committed  to  their 
care.  The  working  classes  are  the  great  majority — are  the 
mass  of  the  people ;  and  for  that  reason  is  it  especially 
needful  that  they  should  be  taught  to  understand  what  con- 
cerns them  so  nearly.     Alas!  their  teachers  too  often  feed 


WHAT  IS  CAPITAL?  559 

their  prejudices  because  they  share  them,  and  so  confirm  their 
errors  and  deepen  their  delusion.  For  myself,  with  my  whole 
heart,  I  say  in  the  eloquent  words  of  Eichard  Cobden,  who 
"  being  dead,  yet  speaketh  : " 

"I  wish  to  see  the  great  mass  of  the  working  classes  of 
this  country  elevate  themselves  by  increased  temperance, 
frugality,  and  economy.  I  tell  you  candidly,  that  no  people 
were  ever  yet  elevated  except  through  their  advancing  wealth, 
morality,  and  intelligence ;  and  any  one  who  tells  the  work- 
ing men  of  this  country  that  they  may  be  raised  in  the  social 
scale  by  any  other  process  than  that  of  reformation  in  them- 
selves, is  interested  either  in  flattering  or  deceiving  them." 


Introdud  14)71 : — Hiiving  for  some  years  carefully  observed 
and  recorded  the  Raiufall  on  the  St.  Mary  Church  Eoad, 
Tgrt^uay,  I  have  been  led  to  compare  it  with  tliat  in  other 
parts,  not  only  of  Devonshire,  but  of  England  generally,  and 
have  been  drawn  on  to  nmko  certain  calcalatious,  based  on 
the  accumulated  data.  Believijig  the  suhject  to  come  within 
the  pmviuce  of  our  AssoeiAtion,  I  have  thrown  tlie  facts 
illustrative  of  the  last  two  years  into  the  form  of  Tabla^,  in 
the  hope  that  tliey  may  iiud  a  place  in  our  Transactions,  and 
with  the  intention  of  presenting  annually  similar  Tables  in 
future. 

The  most  important  figures  in  the  Tables  have  been  derived 
from  Mr.  Symons's  "British  Rainfall"  for  1866  and  1867. 
To  these  I  have  added  the  results  of  a  considerable  amount 
of  calculation,  as  well  as  such  other  data  as  appeared  to  be 
desirable. 

I  have  chosen  to  go  no  further  back  than  to  include  1866, 
because  that  year  was  the  commencement  of  the  last  half  of 
the  present  decade. 

Devonshire  Stations : — Table  I.  consists  of  37  columns,  each 
numbered  at  the  bottom.  Of  these,  the  second  contains  the 
names  of  36  stations  in  Devonshire  at  which  the  rainfall  is 
observed  and  registered.  A  glance  at  a  map  shows  that  these 
cannot  supply  all  the  information  requisite  for  a  full  and 
accurate  opinion  respecting  the  rainfall  of  the  county.  There 
are  no  returns  from  the  large  district  between  Kingsbrid^'e, 
Dartmouth,  and  Dartmoor.  No  one  appears  to  attend  to  the 
subject  at  either  of  the  towns  on  the  Dart, — Dartmouth, 
Totnes,  Buckfastleigh,  or  Ashburton.     Similarly,  that  great 


lURING  1866  AHD  1867. 


IN  1867. 

1 

i 

. 

a 

i-  ii 

i  S 

1 

•g 

•S.S 

o§  ■  0) 

g 

GO 

5 

.a 

1 

It 
H 

U  1- 

•35  -S: 

1 

0 

0  Si.    0 

1^  1  !• 

183 

lOI 

•24 

4536 
53-08 

103 
115 

245 

135 

•33 

87-22 
5392 

109 
102 

153 

85 

•29 

46-91 
51-47 

107 
105 

162 

90 

•27 

45-74 
41-44 
49-87 

104 

no 
106 

199 

no 

•24 

51-52 

5733 

105 
106 

... 

... 

... 

34*55 

120  I 

188 

104 

•25 

... 

132 

73 

•31 

... 

.. 

190 

105 

•22 

41-40 

98  IC 

162 

90 

•24 

4042 

102  ,  ( 

170 

94 

•23 

3836 

99  1  i^ 

146 

81 

•28 

4220 
3933 

104  !  < 

100  !  IC 

178 

'98 

•21 

37*12 

100   i; 

177 

98 

•20 

36*58 

103   < 

184 

102 

•19 

3702 
34-65 

104  i 
100  u 

133 

73 

•23 

34-82 

106  i 

193 

107 

•18 

3707 

104'  i 

114 

63 

•29 

36*31 

no  1  < 

... 

... 

35*79 

105 

! 

231 

128 

•I's 

4418 
44^11 

105   ! 

112  i 

196 

108 

'22 

4691 

107  .  i 

1  202 

112 

•23 

50*43 
57*74 

108  j 
107  j 

1  203 

112 

•19 

4118 

104  >  1 

194 

107 

•18 

3770 

109 

1  217 

120 

•21 

5110 

109 

- 

!  181 

100 

•24 

44*01 

4271 

1  17 

18 

J!L 

20 

21 

~( 

THE  RAINFALL   IN   DEVONSHIRE.  561 

region  of  the  county  is  entirely  unrepresented  which  lies 
within  a  line  drawn  through  Tavistock,  Chagford,  Exeter, 
Tiverton,  Southmolton,  Bideford,  Hartland,  and  along. the 
western  seabord.  On  the  other  hand,  observers,  so  to  speak, 
are  crowded  together  in  some  localities.  Mr.  Symons  reports 
no  fewer  than  four  gauges  at  Exeter,  and  three  at  Sidmouth. 
The  introduction  of  all  these  into  the  Table  would  be  calcu- 
lated to  vitiate  the  averages.  Accordingly  one  only  at  each 
station  has  been  admitted. 

To  facilitate  reference,  the  stations  are  numbered  from  1  to 
36,  the  numbers  being  inserted  in  the  1st  and  37th  columns, 
— on  the  extreme  left  and  right  of  the  Table.  Bovey  Tracey 
has  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  list,  because  by  doing  so, 
and  by  following  the  order  observed  in  the  column,  a  line 
drawn  through  the  stations  would  have  comparatively  few 
violent  zigzags. 

Distance  and  Direction  of  the  Sea : — The  ocean  being  the 
great  source  of  rain,  it  is  important  in  all  questions  connected 
with  the  rainfall  to  know  how  the  sea  is  situated  with 
respect  to  the  station.  To  a  large  extent,  information  on  this 
point  is  given  in  the  third  column.  It  is  not  so  full  as  is 
perhaps  desirable,  inasmuch  as  certain  stations  are  com- 
paratively near  to  more  than  one  arm  of  the  sea.  For 
example ;.  Bratton  Fleming  (No.  33),  as  the  Table  shows,  has 
the  Bristol  Channel  7  miles  north  of  it ;  but  it  is  almost  as 
near  to  Barnstaple  Bay  on  the  west.  Atmosphere  transported 
to  this  station  from  the  north  can  bring  but  little  moisture, 
as  it  has  crossed  the  narrow  Bristol  Channel  only ;  and  that 
little  it  is  not  very  likely  to  precipitate,  as,  coming  from  a 
colder  to  a  warmer  latitude,  its  power  of  holding  moisture  in 
solution  increases.  On  the  other  hand,  the  atmosphere  from 
the  west  may  have  traversed  the  entire  breadth  of  the  At- 
lantic, and  be  saturated  with  moisture.  The  Table,  however, 
would  require  to  be  greatly  enlarged  in  order  to  the  insertion 
of  details  of  this  kind. 

Of  all  the  stations,  Tiverton  (No.  29),  which  has  the  Eng- 
lish Channel  at  a  distance  of  20  miles  in  a  south-east 
direction,  is  the  most  distant  from  the  sea. 

Distance  and  Direction  of  Dartmoor : — Whilst  it  is  of  im- 
portance to  recognize  the  position  of  a  district  with  respect 
to  the  nearest  arm  of  the  sea,  it  is  scarcely,  if  at  all,  less 
necessary  to  attend  to  the  proximity  and  direction  of  high 
land.     Every  upland  is  a  condenser  of  vapour;  and  atmos- 


THE  EAIOTALL  IN  DETONSHIRE. 

phere  18  drier  aftea*  crossing  a  mountain  region  than  it  waa 
before.  If»  aa  is  no  doubt  tlie  case,  the  winds  which  come 
from  any  point  of  the  quadrant  extetiding  from  south  to  west 
are  the  wet  winds  of  Devonshire*  districts  on  the  opposite  side 
of  elevated  land — on  which,  so  to  s].»eak,  the  shadow  of  the 
upland  falls — wiU  certainly  have  a  less  hea^'y  annual  rainfall 
than  those  which  are  situated  elsewhere,  all  other  things 
being  the  same. 

Dartmoor  is  unquestionably  the  great  condenser  of  Devon- 
shire; hence  it  is  neccesaary,  when  speculating  on  the  rain 
falling  in  different  parts  of  the  county,  to  bear  in  mind  how 
this  ©levatetl  district,  is  situated  with  respect  to  them.  The 
fourth  column  of  Table  L  contains  the  rajuisite  inforuiation 
on  this  head  When  measuring  '*  Distances  and  Directions/' 
it  is  necessary  to  fix  on  a  definite  point,  and  in  the  Table  that 
which  appears  to  be,  at  least  approximately,  the  '* Centre  of 
the  Moor"  has  been  selected;  that  is  to  say,  a  point  atxiut 
four  mil&s  from  Two  Bridges,  on  the  road  to  Moreton- 
hampstead. 

It  cannot  be  necessary  to  remark  that  what  is  true  of  Dart- 
moor, is  true  also  of  all  other  high  ground.  The  moor,  how- 
ever, heing  much  the  loftiest  district  in  the  county,  will  the 
most  obviously  make  itself  felt. 

It  may  be  hoped  that  the  absurd  notion  that  mountains 
attrad  clouds  is  so  far  exploded  as  to  require  no  mr?re  than  a 
paf5aing  blow  on  the  present  occasion-  Tiie  '*  Cap"  or  "  Table- 
cloth" of  cloud  which  frequently  covers  a  mountain  top 
appears,  when  seen  from  a  distance,  to  be  stationary.  The 
near  observer,  however,  soon  discovers  that  it  is  very  far 
indeed  from  possessing  the  character  of  fixity.  Instead  of 
being  a  cloud-attractor  the  mountain  is  a  cloud-maker.  The 
saturated  atmosphere  impinging  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
mountain  is  compelled  to  ascend  to  a  higher  level,  where  it  is 
subject  to  less  superincumbent  pressure,  and  a  portion  of  the 
caloric  within  it  avails  itself  of  the  opportimity  to  expand  it ; 
but  in  order  to  this  the  heat  must  pro  tanto  cease  to  do  the 
work  of  maintaining  temperature,  which  accordingly  and 
correspondingly  falls.  In  consequence  of  its  lowered  tem- 
perature, the  atmosphere  is  no  longer  capable  of  retaining  in 
solution  all  the  moisture  with  which  it  is  fraught,  and  the 
surplus,  as  minute  particles  of  water,  forms  a  cloud.  This  is 
either  precipitated  as  rain,  or  the  air,  impelled  by  the  continued 
arrival  of  fresh  supplies  of  atmosphere,  crosses  the  mountain, 
sinks  to  a  lower  level  on  the  leeward  side,  is  exposed  to 
increased  pressure,  undergoes  compression,  becomes  warmer 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIBE.  563 

and  therefore  more  capable  of  holding  moisture  in  solution, 
and  the  minute  visible  specks  of  water  are  transmuted  back 
again  into  invisible  vapour.  This  return  to  the  vaporous  state 
frequently  takes  places  at  a  sharply  defined  level  below  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  and  forms  the  lower  edge  of  the  "Table- 
cloth" cloud.  The  newly  arrived  atmosphere  passes  through 
all  the  same  changes,  and  hence  there  is  for  some  time  a 
permanent  cloud  on  the  hill  top,  but  the  material  composing 
it  is  for  ever  changing.  The  hill  has  not  the  power  to  retain 
it.  Now  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  if  the  hill  could 
attract,  it  could  a  fortiori  retain.  The  latter,  however,  it  is  not 
capable  of;  consequently  it  is  even  less  capable  of  the  former. 

Gauges: — The  fifth  column  shows  the  dimensions  of  the 
Gauges  used  at  the  various  stations,  except  in  the  case  of 
Bradninch  (No.  28),  from  which  no  information  on  this  point 
has  been  received.  Without  intending  to  express  any  doubt 
respecting  the  accuracy  of  some  of  those  employed,  it  seems 
desirable  that  gauges  of  the  same  size  and  character  should 
be  used  at  all  the  stations,  and  probably  none  are  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the-five  inch  gauges  made  by  Mr.  Casella,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science.  One  of  their  great  recommendations  is  that  the  loss 
of  their  contents  by  evaporation  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
They  consist  of  a  receiver  and  a  reservoir.  The  latter  is 
simply  a  stone  bottle.  The  receiver  is  a  copper  circular 
funnel,  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  terminating  in  a  tube  8*5 
inches  long  and  '3  inch  in  diameter.  Outside  this  is  a  cylin- 
drical phlange  2*25  inches  deep.  Between  the  tube  and  the 
phlange  there  is  a  space  for  the  reception  of  the  head  of 
the  reservoir,  which  it  exactly  fits.  "When  the  instruments 
are  fitted  together,  a  horizontal  section  passing  through  the 
phlange  would  disclose  three  concentric  closely-fitting  tubes ; 
the  innermost  being  the  narrow  tube  in  which  the  receiver 
terminates ;  the  second,  the  head  of  the  reservoir ;  and  the 
third  or  outermost,  the  phlange  of  the  receiver. 

Height  above  the  Ground : — Accuracy,  however,  is  not  neces- 
sarily restricted  to  any  one  size  or  construction.  The  height 
at  which  the  receiver  is  placed  above  the  ground  is  a  much 
more  important  question.  It  is  well  known  that  on  a  rainy 
day  there  are  in  the  atmosphere  a  large  number  of  particles 
of  water  too  minute  to  be  able  to  fall  of  themselves.  The 
larger  falling  drops,  however,  in  their  descent  catch  and 
absorb  many  of  them.     If,  therefore,  a  drop  of  rain  is  caught 


564  THE  EAINFALL  IN   DEVONSHIRE. 

by  the  receiver  several  feet  above  the  ground,  its  mass  is  less 
thau  it  would  have  been  if  caught  at  the  surface  uf  the  i^rouml, 
by  an  amouut  equal  to  the  aggi-egate  mass  of  all  the  imrticles 
it  would  have  caught  between  the  two  levels.  In  short  the 
rairifall  at  the  lower  level  may,  and  probably  very  often  does, 
exceed  that  at  the  higher  by  the  aum  of  all  the  particles 
tioating  betweeo  the  two  levels. 

Oo  the  other  hand,  it  seems  desirable  that,  instead  of  being 
flush  with,  or  but  an  inch  or  two  above  the  ground,  the  top  of 
the  gauge  should  be  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  above  the 
surface,  in  order  to  prevent  drops  which  fall  outside,  rebound- 
ing iram  the  ground  into  the  receiver. 

It  is  obvious  that  until  a  near  approach  to  uniformity  ia 
secured  in  tliia  matter,  or  until  experiment  has  shown  what 
per  centage  is  lost  by  given  elevations  above  the  surface^ 
the  iiunfails  at  diflerent  stations  will  xemaiti  incapi^ble  rf 
accurate  comparison. 

The  sixth  column  contains  the  requisite  infonnation  on  thia 
point,  and  shows  that  the  gauges  vary  in  elevatiou  above  the 
ground  from  two  inches  at  Pruices  Town  (No.  3J,  to  20  feet 
at  Tavistock  (No  5),  305  feet  at  Burton  (No  12),  40  feet  at 
Plymouth  (No,  S),  and  44'25  feet  at  Exeter  (No.  24). 

Height  of  tht  Ground: — Whilst  height  above  the  ground 
diminishes  the  rainfall,  height  of  the  ground  auguients  it; 
high  land  being  a  condenser,  as  already  i^marked. 

The  seventh  column  shows  that  the  stations  vary  con- 
siderably in  this  particular.  The  lowest  is  that  at  Budleigh 
Salterton  (No.  20),  which  is  no  more  than  16  feet  above  mean 
tide;  and  the  highest  that  at  Prince's  Town  (No.  3),  where  the 
top  of  the  gauge,  though  almost  level  with  the  ground,  is 
1400  feet  above  the  sea.  No  information  on  this  point  has 
been  received  respecting  the  gauges  at  Mount  Tavy  and 
Endsleigh  (Nos.  4  and  6). 

Bain/alls : — In  the  8th  and  14th  columns  are  recorded  the 
absolute  annual  depths  of  rain,  in  inches,  at  each  station 
during  the  years  186G  and  1867.  No  returns  were  made 
from  Kingsbridge  (No.  13),  Lupton  (No.  14),  and  Bradninch 
(No.  28)  respecting  the  former  year. 

The  20th  column  shows  the  absolute  mean  annual  depth 
at  each  station  for  the  two  years.  In  all  probability  these 
"means"  would  differ  from,  and  in  most  cases  exceed  those 
obtained  from  observations  extending  over  a  greater  number 
of  years. 


THE  RAINFALL  IK  DEVONSHIRE.  565 

At  the  foot  of  each  of  the  three  columns  just  mentioned 
tliere  are  two  "  Means."  The  first  or  uppermost  in  each  case 
shows  the  average  annual  rainfall  in  Devonshire  as  a  whole, 
including  Prince's  Town  (No.  3),  where  the  fall  is  exception- 
ally great;  whilst  the  second  or  lowermost  excludes  this 
station.  Thus  on  the  average,  during  1866  and  1867,  every 
part  of  Devonshire  received  annually  4401  inches,  or  42'71 
inches  of  rain  according  as  Prince's  Town  is  or  is  not  in- 
cluded. 

An  inspection  of  these  columns  shows  : — 

1st.  That,  with  very  few  exceptions,  more  rain  fell  in  1866 
than  in  1867. 

2nd.  That  at  all  stations  east  of  Dartmoor,  and  lying 
between  the  parallels  of  its  northern  and  southern  limits, — 
from  Lupton  (No.  14)  to  Bradninch  (No.  28)  inclusive — the 
falls  were  below  the  county  avei'age. 

3rd.  That,  with  the  exception  of  Plymouth  (No.  8)  and 
Burton  (No.  12)  in  the  south,  and  Barnstaple  (No.  34)  and 
Northam  (No.  35)  in  the  north,  the  falls  at  all  the  other 
stations  were  above  the  average  of  the  county. 

4th.  That  stations  at  great  elevations  above  the  sea  had 
conspicuously  great  falls.  Thus  at  Prince's  Town  (No.  3), 
1400  feet  above  the  sea,  the  mean  annual  fall  for  the  two 
years  was  87*22  inches ;  at  Chagford  (No.  2),  660  feet  high, 
the  mean  fall  was  5308  inches ;  at  Bratton  Fleming  (No.  33), 
at  a  height  of  600  feet,  it  was  57*74  inches ;  and  at  Buckish 
(No.  36),  550  feet  high,  it  amounted  to  5110  inches ;  whilst 
the  mean  for  the  county,  including  Prince's  Town  (No.  3), 
amounted  to  no  more  than  4401  inches. 

5th.  That  the  stations  at  which  the  gauges  are  many  feet 
above  the  ground  are  conspicuous  for  their  comparatively 
low  returns.  Thus  Tavistock  (No.  5),  having  its  gauge  20 
feet  above  the  surface,  reported  no  more  than  46*91  inches 
as  its  mean  annual  fall ;  whilst  Mount  Tavy  (No.  4),  barely 
a  mile  to  the  north-east,  where  the  guage  is  no  more  than 
six  inches  above  the  ground,  registered  53*92  inches,  or  an 
increase  of  15  per  cent.  Again  the  gauge  at  Plymouth  (No.  8), 
elevated  40  feet  above  the  ground,  received  no  more,  on  the 
average,  than  41*44  inches;  whilst  those  at  Saltram  (No.  9)  and 
Ridgeway  (No.  10), — respectively  3  and  4  miles  to  the  north- 
east, further  from  the  sea,  at  less  heights  above  mean  tide, 
but  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface, — collected  49 '87 
inches  and  51*52  inches ;  the  least  of  which  is  8*43  inches, 
or  20  per  cent  above  the  Plymouth  mean.  Were  the  fore- 
going figures  taken  as  correctly  indicating  its  rainfall,  it  must 

VOL.  IL  p  p 


666  THE  RAINFALL  m  DEVONSHIEE. 

be  admitted  that  the  character  of  the  great  Devonshire  sear- 
port  has  been  greatly  maligned.  But  what  shall  be  said  of 
Burton  (Ko.  12}  ?  It  ia  utterly  unprotecled  by  Dartmoor, 
within  one  mile  of  the  sea,  directly  exposed  to  the  winds 
sweeping  across  the  Atlantic,  and  on  ground  at  a  considerabl© 
height  above  mean  tide,  It^a  gauge,  however,  is  $0  5  feet 
above  the  ground,  and  received  no  more  than  34'5o  inchea  as 
its  average  annual  rainfall  during  the  two  years,  or  21  per 
cent,  below  the  county  mean.  The  return  from  this  station 
during  1867  was  no  more  than  27"52  inches,  or  35  per  cent. 
below  the  mean  of  the  county  the  same  year,  and  42  per  cent. 
below  the  fall  at  the  neighbouring  station  of  Kingsbridge, 
which  ia  but  four  miles  to  the  east  of  it,  less  elevated  above 
mean  tide,  and  further  fi-om  the  sea,  but  has  its  gauge  no  more 
than  6  inches  above  the  ground. 

The  very  low  return  from  Burton  having  induced  me  to 
suspect  an  error,  I  wrote  to  the  gentleman  who  registers  the 
observations  tlieie,  asking  him  to  be  so  good  as  to  correct  ot 
confirm  it  for  me.  In  his  prompt  reply  he  furnished  me  with 
a  copy  of  his  register  for  the  year,  which  he  appears  to  have 
no  doubt  correctly  represents  the  rain  which  his  gauge 
received.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  though  in  186ti  the 
minfall  at  his  station  was  also  below  the  general  average,  the 
deficiency  was  less  marked  than  in  the  succeeding  year. 

The  comparatively  low  fal!.^  at  Barnstaple  (No.  34}  and 
Northam  (No.  35)  are  probably  attributable  to  the  fact  that 
they  are  on  the  dry  side  of  the  high  ground  on  which  Buck- 
ish (No.  36)  stands. 

If  figures  are  capable  of  showing  anything,  those  befoie  us 
disclose  the  facts  that  in  Devonshire  the  water-bearing  winds 
are  those  having  a  south-westerly  character  >  that  all  other 
things  being  the  same,  high  ground  has  more  rain  than  low 
ground ;  that  there  is  more  rain  at  the  bottom  of  a  house 
than  at  the  top  of  it;  and  that  the  wet  winds  are  wrong 
comparatively  dry  in  passing  over  Dartmoor. 

The  9th  column  shows  what,  in  1866,  was  the  fall  at  each 
station  relatively  to  the  mean  of  the  county  for  the  same  year, 
and  was  calculated  thus: — The  county  mean  (46-95  inches) 
was  put=  100,  and  the  fall  at  each  station  equated  to  it  Thus 
to  take  Bovey  Tracey  (No.  1)  as  an  example,  as  45*95 :  46*87 
; :  100 ;  102.  In  other  words,  if  the  rain  which,  on  the 
average,  fell  in  every  part  of  the  county  in  1866  were  divided 
into  100  equal  parts,  102  such  paits  would  make  the  fall  at 
Bovey  Tracey  that  year.    In  short,  the  Bovey  Tracey  fall 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIRE.  567 

exceeded  the  mean  fall  of  all  the  stations  by  2  per  cent.  An 
inspection  of  the  column  shows  that  the  least,  mean,  and 
greatest  falls  were  as  the  numbers  75  (St.  George's  Clyst,  No. 
23),  100,  and  206  (Prince's  Town,  No.  3),  or  almost  exactly  as 
the  numbers  3,  4,  and  8 ;  the  first  being  25  per  cent,  below, 
and  the  last  106  per  cent,  above,  the  average  fall  at  all  the 
stations  that  year. 

The  15th  column  shows,  in  the  same  way,  the  fall  at  each 
station  relatively  to  the  county  mean  in  1867,  when  the 
minimum,  mean,  and  maximum  were  as  65  (Burton,  No.  12), 
100,  and  189  (Prince's  Town,  No.  3);  or  nearly  as  the  num- 
bers 3,  5,  9 ;  the  first  being  35  per  cent,  below,  and  the  last 
89  per  cent,  above  the  average  of  all  the  stations  that  year. 

Similarly,  the  23rd  column  shows  the  relation  between  the 
mean  annual  fall  during  the  two  years,  1866  and  1867,  to 
that  of  the  county  in  the  same  period ;  the  minimum,  mean, 
and  maximum  being  as  79  (Burton,  St.  George's  Clyst,  and 
Exeter,  or  Nos.  12,  23,  and  24),  100,  and  198  (IMnce's  Town, 
No.  3) ;  or  nearly  as  the  numl>ers  3,  4,  and  8 ;  the  first  being 
21  per  cent,  below,  and  the  last  98  per  cent,  above  the  average 
of  the  county  during  the  two  years. 

The  10th,  16th,  and  24th  colunms  differ  from  the  9th,  15th, 
and  23rd  in  no  other  respect  than  in  the  exclusion  of  Prince's 
Town  (No.  3);  the  ratios  being  based  on  44*425,  41*15  and 
4271  inches,  instead  of  on  45-95,  42*23,  and  4401  inches, — 
the  lowermost  means  instead  of  the  uppermost. 

The  21st  column  shows  the  ratio  which  the  fall  at  each 
station  in  1866  bears  to  the  mean  annual  fall  at  the  same 
station  during  the  two  years  1866  and  1867.  To  take  Bovey 
Tracey  (No.  1)  as  an  example ;  the  fall  there  in  1866,  as 
shown  in  the  8th  column,  was  46*87  inches,  and  the  average 
annual  fall  during  the  two  years,  as  shown  in  the  20th 
column,  was  45*36  inches.  Putting  the  latter  number  =  100, 
we  have  45*36 :  46*87  ; :  100  :  103.  In  other  words,  the  fall 
during  1866  'was  3  per  cent,  above  the  mean  annual  fall 
during  the  2  years. 

The  22nd  column  shows  the  same  ratio  during  1867.  Thus, 
by  an  inspection  of  this  and  the  preceding  column,  it  is  seen 
that  at  Bovey  Tracey  (No.  1)  the  fall  in  1866,  the  mean 
annual  fall  during  1866  and  1867,  and  the  fall  in  1867,  were 
as  103,  100,  and  97 ;  the  first  being  3  per  cent  above,  and 
the  last  as  much  below  the  average  of  the  two  yeara 

An  inspection  of  the  same  two  columns  also  discloses  the 

p  p  2 


568  THE  KAJNFALL  IN   DEVONSHIEE. 

fa^t  that  the  greati^t  fluctuation  iti  the  rain  of  the  two  yeara 
occurred  at  Burton  (No.  12);  the  fall  in  IfifiCJ  being  20  per 
cent  above,  and  in  1867  as  much  below  the  average  of  the 
two  years;  whibt  the  tluctuation  was  inappreciable  at  Dawlish 
(No.  19),  Badleigh  Salterton  (No,  20),  and -St  G«oiige*8  Clyat 
(No.  23), 

The  25th  column  shows  the  ratio  which  the  fall  at  each 
station  during  1866  bears  to  the  me.au  annual  fall  of  the 
county  duiing  18(>G  and  1867,  and  was  thus  calculated:^ The 
mean  annual  fall  at  all  the  stations,  as  shown  at  tlie  foot  of 
the  20th  column,  was  44  01  inclie.s,  whOst  the  fall  at  Bovey 
Traccy,  for  example,  dming  lSt>ti  was  46-87.  Putting  the 
former  number  ^  100,  we  have  44  01 :  46*87 ; :  100 :  106 ;  or  at 
the  station  selected  the  fall  during  1866  was  6  per  cent  above 
the  average  fall  of  the  county,  not  for  that  yeai-,  but  for  the 
two  years  1866  and  1867. 

The  26th  column  differs  from  the  preceding  only  in  the 
exclusion  of  Prince's  Town ;  the  lowermost  average  at  the 
foot  of  the  20th  column,  4271  inches,  being  substituted  as 
the  standard  instead  of  the  uppermost  of  44  01  inches- 

The  27th  and  28th  uolumus  show  for  1867  precisely  what 
the  2ath  and  26th  show  for  1866, 

Wd  Days:— It  cannot  be  necesaaiy  to  remark  that  it  is 
difficult  to  define  a  "wet  day."  It  is  obvious  that  the  amoimt 
of  the  rainfall  is  not  a  safe  criterion,  as  a  heavy  shower  of  brief 
duration  occasionally  precipitates  more  rain  than  the  entire 
twenty-four  hours  occupied  with  the  proverbial  "  Devonshire 
drizzle."  The  former  may  interfere  but  little  with  our  labours 
or  pleasures,  whilst  the  latter  may  be  utterly  corafoitleas. 
Without  intending  it  as  anything  more  than  a  convenient . 
conventionalism,  a  fall  amounting  to  .01  inch  in  the  24  honis 
will  in  this  communication  stamp  the  day  as  a  v^et  one. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  attention  is  not  given  at  all  the 
stations  to  the  number  of  days  on  which  rain  falls ;  some  of 
the  gauges  being  examined  once  a  week  or  at  still  longer 
intervals.  The  1 1th  column  contains  a  record  of  those  days  on 
which,  at  23  stations,  at  least  01  inch  fell  in  1866 ;  and  the 
17th  column,  of  those  at  the  same  number  o^  but  not  the 
same  stations  in  1867  ;  whilst  the  29th  column  shows  the 
mean  annual  number  of  wet  days  during  the  two  years  at  21 
stations.  It  appears  that  1866  surpassed  1867  in  this  respect 
at  every  station,  with  the  single  exception  of  Tiverton  (No. 
29).    In  1866  the  greatest  number  was  264  days,  at  Prince's 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIRE.  569 

Town  (No.  3) ;  the  least,  144,  at  Hele  (No.  26) ;  and  the  mean 
at  all  the  stations,  as  shown  at  the  foot  of  the  11th  column, 
207  days.  In  other  words,  there  were  on  the  average,  in  the 
county  as  a  whole,  9  wet  days  out  of  every  16  throughout  the 
year. 

In  1867  the  greatest  number  was  245  days,  at  Prince's 
Town;  the  least  was  114,  at  Hele;  whilst  the  mean  was  181 
days,  or  almost  exactly  half  the  year. 

The  greatest  annual  average  at  one  station  during  the  two 
years  was  254  days,  at  Prince's  Town;  the  least,  129,  at  Hele; 
whilst  for  all  the  stations  it  was  194  days. 

The  12th  column  shows  the  relation  which  the  number  of 
wet  days  at  each  station  in  1866  bore  to  the  average  number 
at  all  the  stations  in  the  same  year,  and  was  thus  calculated : — 
The  average  number  of  days  for  the  entire  county,  as  shown 
at  the  foot  of  the  11th  column,  was  207;  and  the  number  of 
wet  days  at  Bovey  Tracey  (No.  1),  for  example,  was  202. 
Putting  the  former  =  100,  we  have  207  :  202  : :  100  :  98; 
or,  in  other  words,  the  days  on  which,  in  1866,  rain  fell  at 
Bovey  Tracey  were  98  per  cent,  of  those  on  which  it  fell  on 
the  average  throughout  the  county  during  that  year ;  and  so 
on  for  the  other  stations. 

In  accordance  with  what  has  been  already  said,  the  highest 
and  lowest  relative  numbers  were  those  representing  Prince's 
Town  and  Hele ;  the  former  being  128,  and  the  latter  70;  or 
28  per  cent,  above,  and  30  per  cent,  below  the  average  respec- 
tively. 

The  18th  column  shows,  on  the  same  principle,  the  relative 
number  of  wet  days  at  each  station  in  1867,  the  only  difference 
being  that  181  days,  shown  at  the  foot  of  the  17th  column, 
is  put  =  100. 

In  like  manner,  the  relation  which  the  average  annual 
number  of  wet  days,  during  the  two  years,  at  each  station, 
bore  to  the  average  annual  number  throughout  the  county 
for  the  same  period,  is  shown  in  the  34th  column,  which  was 
calculated  thus : — It  is  shown  at  the  foot  of  the  29th  column, 
that  on  the  average  there  were,  during  the  two  years,  194  wet 
days  annually  in  the  county ;  and  at  the  top  of  the  same 
column  that  the  mean  annual  number  during  the  same  period 
at  Bovey  Tracey,  for  example,  was  192.  Putting  the  former 
number  =  100,  we  have  194  :  192  : :  100  :  99,  and  this  last 
number,  99,  is  entered  to  the  credit  of  Bovey  Tracey  in  the 
34th  column ;  showing  that  the  average  number  of  wet  days 
there,  during  the  two  years,  was  99  per  cent,  of  those  of  the 
county  generally. 


570  TTO  KAIKFAIX  IN  fJBTONSniRE. 

A  glance  at  the  11th  and  17th  col^mna  shows  that,  with  two 
exceptions  only,  wet  days  were  everywhere  more  numerous  ia 
18156  than  in  1867.  To  facilitate  comparison,  the  30th  and  31st 
columns  have  been  constructed  on  the  following  method: — 
At  Bovey  Tracey,  for  example,  there  were  202  wet  daya  m 
the  former,  and  183  in  the  latter  year;  giving  an  annuaL 
mean  of  I&2  5  days.  Putting  this  last  number=  100,  we  bavts 
for  18Gt>  the  following  proportion,  192*5  :  202  ; :  100  :  105  ; 
Rnd  for  1867,  192  5  :  183  :  :  100  :  95  j  which  numbers,  lUft 
and  95,  are  entered  i^ainst  Bovey  Tracey  in  the  30th  and 
31st  columns;  and  so  on  for  the  other  stations,  Henc^  at 
Bovey  Tracey  the  wet  days  in  1866  were  5  per  cent  above, 
and  in  1867  they  were  as  much  below  the  annual  average  for 
llie  two  years  at  the  same  stution. 

The  inequality  of  the  two  years  in  this  respect  is  further 
shown  in  the  32nd  and  33rd  columns,  which  have  been  cal- 
cttlated  as  follows  :— The  average  annual  number  of  \ret  days 
at  all  the  stations,  for  the  two  years,  was  1^*4,  as  shown  at  the 
foot  of  the  29th  column ;  and  tlie  number  at  Bovey  Tracey, 
for  example,  during  1866  akiue  was  202,  as  shown  at  the  he^d 
of  the  11th  column.  Putting  the  former  number^  100.  we 
have  194:  202:  r  100:  104;  and  for  1867  we  have,  in  the 
&ame  way,  the  pmportion  194  :  183 : :  100 :  94.  The  numbers 
thus  obtained,  104  and  94,  are  accordingly  entered  against 
Bovey  Tracey  in  the  3 2 rid  and  33rd  columns  ref^pectively ; 
and  so  on  for  the  other  stations.  In  other  words,  the  wet 
days  in  1866,  at  the  station  just  named,  were  4  per  cent,  above 
the  annual  mean  for  the  county  during  the  two  years,  and  in 
1867  they  were  6  per  cent,  below  it. 

Mean  Daily  Rainfall : — If  the  total  rainfall  of  the  year  at 
any  station  be  divided  by  the  total  number  of  wet  days,  the 
quotient  will,  of  course,  be  the  nuan  daily  fall  at  that  station 
for  the  year.  The  question  of  this  quantity  or  element  in 
the  meteorology  of  any  district  is  one  of  more  than  mere 
curiosity  ;  for  on  it  depends  the  further  question  of  whether 
a  large  or  small  portion  of  the  year's  rain  has  or  has  not 
penetrated  the  soil,  which,  in  its  turn,  is  closely  connected, 
not  only  with  the  agriculture  of  the  district,  but  with  the 
geological  changes  it  is  undergoing,  and  with  its  general 
thermal  condition.  Heavy  falls  are  calculated  to  furrow  the 
surface  ;  sluggish  ones,  to  promote  its  general  degradation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  latter,  by  penetrating  the  soil,  are 
calculated  to  do  more  internal  work  than  the  former,  to  dis- 
integrate and  decompose  rocks  beneath  the  surface,  and  to 


THE  RAINFAXL  IN  DEVONSHIRE.  571 

excavate  subterranean  water-courses.  The  latter  also  render 
the  district  more  uniformly  an  evaporating  surface,  and  in 
every  way  promote  the  augmentation  of  the  quantity  of 
vapour  yielded  by  it.  Vapour  is  formed  by  the  abstraction 
of  heat  which  does  not  raise  temperature.  Hence,  all  other 
things  being  the  same,  a  district  devoted  to  sluggish  rain,  that 
is  to  a  low  average  daily  rate  of  fall,  is  thereby  kept  cooler 
than  one  having  a  more  energetic  rain.  Further,  the  motion 
of  the  falling  drops  is  necessarily  destroyed,  as  motion,  when 
they  reach  the  ground ;  and,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
correlation  of  forces,  is  converted  into  heat,  the  amount  of 
which  varies  directly  as  the  square  of  the  velocity  of  the 
moving  body  ;  hence  the  heat  into  which  the  motion  of  rain 
is  transmuted  is  greatest  when  the  rain  falls  most  energeti- 
cally, and  vice  versa.  In  other  words,  the  quotient  of  the 
total  rainfall  of  the  year  divided  by  the  annual  number  of 
wet  days,  is  a  quantity  on  which  to  some  extent,  probably  a 
small  one,  the  mean  temperature  of  the  district  depends. 

The  13th,  19th,  and  35th  columns  respectively  show  this 
daily  rate  for  1866,  1867,  and  the  mean  for  the  two  years. 
The  highest  rate  in  1866  was  that  at  Prince's  Town  (No.  3), 
where  it  amounted  to  36  inch ;  and  the  lowest  occurred  at 
Bishopsteignton  (No.  17),  Broadhembury  (No.  22),  and  Bramp- 
ford  Speke  (No.  25),  at  each  of  which  it  was  no  more  than 
•18  inch.  In  1867  the  greatest  was  also  at  Prince's  Town,  and 
amounted  to  '33  inch ;  the  lowest  was  at  Brampford  Speke, 
Tiverton  (No.  29),  and  Northam  (No.  35),  and,  as  the  year 
before,  was  18  inch.  The  greatest  mean  daily  rate  during 
the  two  years  was  necessarily  from  what  had  been  stated, 
that  at  Prince's  Town,  where  it  amounted  to  '34  inch ;  and 
the  least  that  at  Northam  and  Brampford  Speke,  being  at 
each  "18  inch. 

The  average  for  all  the  stations  was  23  inch  in  1866,  *24 
inch  in  1867,  and  '23  inch  during  the  two  years ;  agreeing  in 
each  instance  with  Bovey  Tracey.  Had  the  daily  rate  of 
rainfall  at  Prince's  Town  been  the  same  as  that  of  the  county 
generally,  every  day  in  the  year  must  have  been  there  a  wet 
one  in  order  to  make  up  its  average  annual  fall 

The  36th  column  shows  the  ratio  which  the  mean  daily 
fall  at  each  station,  for  the  two  years,  bears  to  that  of  all  the 
stations  for  the  same  period,  and  was  calculated,  as  before,  by 
putting  the  latter  quantity  =  100,  and  equating  the  others  to 
it.  In  the  case  of  Prince's  Town,  for  example,  the  proportion 
being  *23 :  *34 : :  100 :  148 ;  and  so  on  for  the  other  stations. 


572 


THE  RAIXFALL  IN   DEYONSHJO- 


EainfaU  of  Devamhire  compared  with  that  of  the  Saufh- 
wesltT^i  C&utUu^  t^memilif : — Mr.  Synions,  iu  his  '*ilain  FoJl^'' 
divides  Britiiin  into  "  Diviaious/*  which  are  the  same  as  those 
adopted  by  the  Eegistrara  GeoemL  Devousbii^  belongs  to 
the  ''Fifth/'  or  *' South- Western  Division/*  which  also  includes 
WOtshirtJi  Dorset,  Somerset,  and  Cornwall. 

Table  IL  displays  the  prominent  facts  connected  with  the 
rainfall  of  each  of  the  five  conuties  for  the  two  years. 

The  2od  colnmn  shows  the  number  of  stations  at  which, 
in  each  county,  the  rain  is  observed;  from  which  it  appears 
that  Devonshire  has  the  gre^iteat  number,  and  Dorset  the 
,  ^east.     The  3rd  column,  however,  shows  that  reference  being 
\  kad  to  their  acreage*  Cornwall  has  the  greatest  and  Dorset 
the  least,^each  gauge  in  thti  former  representing  40,008  acres 
on  the  average,  whilst  in  the  latter  it  represents  51,315.     In 
j^descending  order,  Devonshire  stands  lowest  but  one  in  this 
Tespectj  there  being  but  one  gauge  for  every  47,48S  aci-^s,  or 
upwards  of  74  square  mile^s.     The  average  acreages  per  sta- 
tion, however,  do  not  difter  so  very  widely  as  to  render  it 
probable  that  much  error  can  he  due  to  this  sourea;   tli^i 
maximum,  moan,  aad  minimum  being  respectively  as  th^ 
jiumbers  112,  100  and  88 ;  as  is  shown  in  the  4th  coluino. 

According  to  the  5th  column,  Oornwall  had  the  greal 
mean  annual  fall  during  the  two  years,  and  ^Yilt5Jhi^e 
least;  the  former  being  4*74  inches  above,  and  the  latter 
11*74  inches  below  the  Devonshire  mean;  which,  in  its  turn, 
was  5*27  inches  above  the  annual  average  of  the  Division. 

The  6th  column  shows  the  relative  mean  annual  fall  in 
each  county;  from  which  it  appears  that  the  minimum, 
mean,  Devonshire,  and  maximum  falls  were  respectively  as 
the  numbers  83,  100,  114,  and  126. 

In  the  7th  column  are  recorded  the  maximum  mean  faUs  in 
each  county  during  the  two  years.  According  to  this  state- 
ment no  station  in  either  of  the  other  counties  had  a  mean 
annual  fall  equal  to  that  of  the  87'22  inches  at  Prince's 
Town  in  Devonshire,  the  nearest  approach  being  that  of 
Cornwall,  which,  however,  was  upwards  of  21  inches,  or  24 
per  cent,  below  it  It  is  but  just  to  add,  however,  that  in  no 
other  county  is  there  a  station  so  high  above  the  sea  level  as 
the  1400  feet  at  Prince's  Town  in  Devonshire,  the  nearest 
approach  being  850  feet,  at  Kingston  Down  in  Cornwall. 

The  average  of  the  greatest  mean  annuals  in  the  Divi- 
sion amounted  to  55*35  inches,  as  shown  at  the  foot  of  the 
7th  column.     Putting  this  number  =  100,  and  equating  to  it 


Relative 
mean 
Daily 

Fall. 

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ill  I 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIRE.  573 

the  different  maxima,  it  appears,  as  is  shown  in  the  8th 
column,  that  the  number  64  represents  the  lowest  or  Wilt- 
shire maximum,  and  158  that  of  Devonshire;  or  respectively 
36  per  cent,  below,  and  58  per  cent,  above  the  mean  maximum 
of  the  Division. 

Of  minimum  mean  falls  for  the  two  years,  the  lowest,  as 
is  shown  in  the  9th  column,  was  that  at  a  station  in  Somer- 
setshire, and  amounted  to  no  more  than  2653  inches;  whilst 
the  greatest  occurred  at  one  in  Cornwall,  and  was  35*89 
inches.  In  this  respect,  Devonshire  stands  second  in  de- 
scending order,  and  is  represented  by  the  Burton  record  of 
34-55  inches,  which  has  been  already  spoken  of. 

The  mean  of  the  minima  in  the  five  counties  composing 
the  Division  is  shown  at  the  foot  of  the  9th  column  to  be 
3164  inches.  Putting  this  =  100,  and  reducing  the  separate 
minima  to  this  scale,  Cornwall,  the  greatest,  is  represented 
by  the  number  113,  as  is  shown  in  the  10th  column,  Devon- 
shire by  109,  and  Somerset,  or  the  least,  by  84;  the  greatest 
and  least  being  respectively  13  per  cent,  above,  and  16  per 
cent,  below  the  mean  minimunL  Whilst  in  Devonshire  the 
least  mean  annual  fall  was  9  per  cent,  above  the  same  mean. 

By  comparing  the  8th  and  10th  columns,  it  is  found  that 
the  minimum  mean  annual  falls  in  the  five  counties  differ 
from  one  another  by  a  less  quantity  than  in  the  case  of  the 
maxima;  the  extremes  in  the  former  case  being  as  the  num- 
bers 113  and  84,  and  in  the  latter  as  158  and  64. 

The  11th  column  shows  that  Cornwall  had  the  greatest 
mean  annual  number  of  wet  days,  and  Dorset  the  least;  the 
former  being  203,  and  the  latter  180 ;  or  respectively  9  days 
above,  and  14  days  below  the  mean  number  of  wet  days  of 
Devonshire.  The  annual  mean  in  the  Division  was  189 
days;  hence,  during  the  two  years,  something  more  than 
every  alternate  day  was  a  wet  one  throughout  the  five  south- 
western counties.  In  Dorset,  where  the  wet  days  were  a 
minimum,  they  amounted  to  very  nearly  half  the  entire 
year. 

In  the  12th  column,  which  is  constructed  from  the  data 
contained  in  the  11th,  on  the  principle  so  frequently  ex- 
plained in  this  paper,  it  is  seen  that  Devonshire  had  fewer 
annual  wet  days  than  Cornwall  during  the  two  years,  in  the 
ratio  of  103  to  107,  but  more  than  the  average  of  the  Divi- 
sion in  the  ratio  of  107  to  100,  and  more  than  Dorset  in 
the  ratio  of  107  to  95. 


574  TEE  EAtNFiLLL  D*   DEVONSHIRE, 

The  average  daily  fall  in  the  Division,  durbg  the  two 

years,  is  shown  at  the  foot  of  the  13th  cohimn  to  have  beeti 
'21  inch.  The  maxirauin  occurred  in  Cornwall  where  it  was 
'24  inch,  in  Devon  it  was  *S3  inch,  and  '19  in  each  of  the 
remaining  connties. 

According  to  the  14th  column,  it  was  in  Devonshire  10 
per  cent  and  in  Cornwall  14  jwr  cent,  above  the  average  of 
the  Division.  In  fact^  the  latter,  or  niost  south -westerly  conoty 
of  the  Division,  had  the  greatest  number  of  wet  days,  the 
greatest  daily  fall,  and  the  greatest  total  amount  of  rain ;  and 
in  each  of  these  respects  Devonshire  stands  next  below, 

Itainfall  of  Devonshire  compared  iinih  that  of  England  and 
fTirfes r^Table  III.  shows  both  the  absolute  and  the  relative 
mean  annual  rainfall,  number  of  wet  days,  and  daily  rate  of 
rain  in  each  of  the  52  counties  of  England  and  Wales,  during 
the  years  1306  and  1867i  and  is  introduced  here  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparing  Devonshire  with  the  other  parts  of  the 
country  generally.  It  is  based  on  the  best  materials  avaiLabl^ 
— tliose  furnished  by  Mr,  Symons's  "  British  Itainfall." 

The  2ud  column  contains  the  names  of  the  counties, 
arranged  in  descending  order,  according  to  tlieir  mean  annual 
rainfall  during  the  last  two  years,  and  shows  Devonshire 
occupying  the  thirteenth  place  in  the  list  In  other  word^ 
there  are  tw^elve  counties  in  which  the  fall  exceeded,  and 
thirty-nine  in  which  it  fell  below  that  of  Devonsdiire — Cum- 
berland heading  the  former,  and  Bedfordshire  closing  the  latter. 
Of  the  twelve  counties,  eight  are  in  Wales,  and  the  remaining 
four  are  Cumberland,  Westmoreland,  Lancashire  and  Com- 
waJL  In  fact,  they  are  all,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in 
or  near  the  western  seabord,  and  most  of  them  have  a  mean 
elevation  considerably  greater  than  that  of  the  country 
generally. 

As  is  stated  at  the  bottom  of  the  3rd  column,  the  mean 
annual  fall  in  England  and  Wales,  as  a  whole,  during  the 
two  years,  was  35*77  inches.  That  of  Devonshire  was  8*24 
inches  above  this,  22*72  below  that  of  Cumberland;  and  20-81 
inches  above  that  of  Bedfordshire. 

The  4th  column  shows  the  relative  mean  annual  fall ;  the 
absolute  mean  for  the  entire  country,  35*77  inches,  being 
put  =  100,  and  the  fall  in  each  county  equated  to  it  From 
this  column  it  appears  that  the  Devonshire  mean  fall  was  23 
per  cent,  above  that  of  the  country  generally,  and  that  the 
minimum,  mean,  Devonshire,  and  maximum  falls  were  as 
the  numbers  65,  100,  123,  and  187. 


TABLE  IIL 


SHOWING  THE  MEAN  ANNUAL  RAINFALL  IN  ENGLAND 
AND  WALES  DURING  1866  and  1867. 


Ko0. 


OOl^T^IES. 


Cumberland 

Westmoreland 

Merionethshire 

Montgomeryshire 

Carnarvonshire 

Cardiganshire 

Cornwall. 

Peubrokcshire 

Monmouthshire 

Lancashire 

Glamorganshire 

Carmarthenshire 

Devonshire 

Radnorshire 

Derbyshire 

Brecknockshire 

Anglesea 

Cheshire 

Yorkshire 

Dorsetshire 

Buckinghamsbire 


22    Somersetshire 


in  inches. 


Mean 
Annual 
ItainfEdl, 


66.73 
65.54 
6553 
6325 
55-93 
50.05 
48.74 
47.02 
46.11 

45.75 
45.46 
44.10 
44.01 
41.16 
38.62 

37.81 
37.19 
36.74 
36.28 

34.64 
34.61 
34.01 


II 


187 

183 
183 
177 
156 
140 
136 

131 
129 
128 
127 
123 
123 

"5 
108 
106 
104 
103 

lOI 

97 
97 
95 


195 
195 
223 
192 
202 
202 
203 
164 
176 
194 
190 
198 
194 
209 
180 
167 
205 
182 

183 
180 

171 
181 


S2 

1. 
Ill 


107 
107 

122 

105 
III 
III 
III 
90 
96 
106 
104 
108 
106 
114 

99 
91 

1X2 

100 
100 

99 
94 
99 


I 


•34 
•34 
•29 

•33 
•28 

•25 
•24 
•29 
•26 
•24 

•24 
•22 

'23 
*20 
•21 

•23 
•18 

•20 
•20 

•19 

•20 

19 


170 
170 

145 
165 
140 

"5 
120 

145 
130 
120 
120 
no 

100 

90 

loo 
100 

95 
loo 

95 


4 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIBK  575 

The  5th  column  contains  the  mean  annual  number  of  wet 
days,  which  was  greatest  in  Merioneth,  and  least  in  Bedford- 
shire; being  223  and  143  respectively.  Devonshire  fell  below 
the  former  by  29  days,  and  exceeded  the  latter  by  51.  The 
mean  of  the  country  as  a  whole  was  183  days,  or  exactly  half 
the  year.     This  was  exceeded  in  Devonshire  by  11  days. 

The  6th  column  contains  a  relative  statement  of  the  same 
facts,  the  mean  at  the  foot  of  the  5th  column,  183,  being  put 
=  100,  and  that  of  each  county  reduced  to  it.  The  minimum, 
mean,  Devonshire,  and  maximum  number  of  wet  days  were 
respectively  as  the  numbers  78,  100,  106,  and  122.  In  other 
words,  the  wet  days  in  Bedfordshire  were  22  per  cent,  below 
the  mean  for  the  country,  whilst  those  of  Devon  and 
Merioneth  were  respectively  6  and  22  per  cent,  above  it. 

The  7th  and  8th  columns  contain  the  absolute  and  relative 
mean  daily  falls  during  the  two  years.  That  for  the  entire 
country  was  20  inch ;  the  maximum,  in  Cumberland  and 
Westmoreland,  was  34  inch;  the  minimum,  in  Cambridge- 
shire, was  14  inch ;  and  that  for  Devonshire,  as  previously 
stated,  was  *23  inch.  Putting  the  mean  for  England  and 
Wales =100,  the  maximum  becomes,  on  that  scale,  170,  the 
minimum  70,  and  Devonshire  115. 

In  brief,  Devonshire  stands  amongst  the  English  and  Welsh 
counties,  and  in  descending  order,  thirteenth  in  it^  mean  annual 
fall,  ninth  in  the  average  number  of  wet  days,  and  twelfth  in 
its  mean  daily  falL  Compared  with  the  entire  country,  its 
rainfall  is  23  per  cent.,  its  wet  days  6  per  cent.,  and  its  daily 
fall  15  per  cent,  above  the  average. 

Conclusion — Illustrative  and  Specidative: — I  venture  to 
conclude  this  paper  with  the  following  illustrative  and  specu- 
lative remarks : — 

Devonshire  has  an  area  of  572,330  acres,  and,  taken  as  a 
whole,  an  annual  rainfall  during  the  last  two  years  of  4401 
inches;  hence  its  total  amount  of  rain  per  year  has  amounted 
to  91,433.323,179  cubic  feet  (=  572330  x  4840  x  9  x  4401  -^ 
12).  The  Thames  at  London  Bridge  is,  at  low  water,  nearly 
700  feet  wide  and  from  12  to  13  (say  12*5)  feet  deep;*  hence 
its  sectional  area  is  8750  square  feet  (700  x  125).  The  annual 
rain  of  Devonshire,  therefore,  would  fill  a  river  having  an 
uniform  width  and  depth  equal  to  those  of  the  Thames  at 
London  Bridge,  and  a  length  of  1979  miles  (=  91,433,323,179 
•  Penny  Cyclop.  voL  xxiv.  p.  280. 


576  THB  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIRE. 

-J-  8750  X  5280),  or  nine  times  the  length  of  the  Thames  from 
its  source  to  its  mouth. 

A  cubic  foot  of  distilled  water,  at  the  temperature  of  62"* 
Fahr.,  weighs  about  1000  oz.  Av. ;  hence  the  entire  weight  of 
water  which,  during  the  last  two  years,  annually  fell  on 
Devonshire  was  637,738,247  tons  (=  91,433,323,179  x  1000 
-J-  35840),  or  4457  tons  on  every  acre.  This  total  weight  was 
equal  to  that  of  a  globe  of  water  5588  feet  in  diameter,  or  a 
sphere  of  lead  fully  2050  feet  in  diameter;  that  is  a  diameter 
precisely  equal  to  the  height  of  the  highest  point  of  Devon- 
shire, Yes  Tor,  above  the  sea  level 

The  heat  required  to  convert  a  given  weight  of  water,  at 
212"*  Fahr.,  into  steam  of  the  same  temperature,  would  raise 
the  temperature  of  the  same  quantity  of  water  through  967® 
Fahr.,  or  967  times  that  weight  of  water  through  1**.  In 
other  words,  the  heat  that  does  the  internal  work  of  convert- 
ing water  into  vapour,  but  which,  being  so  employed,  does 
not  affect  the  temperature  or  do  any  other  kind  of  work, 
would,  were  it  employed  in  raising  temperature  only,  leave 
the  liquid  on  which  it  operated  at  967**  higher  temperature 
than  it  found  it.  Conversely,  this  amount  of  heat  is  given 
out,  and  ready  for  any  work,  when  steam  at  212**  is  converted 
back  into  water  of  the  same  temperature.  Evaporation  takes 
place  at  all  temperatures,  but  the  lower  the  temperature  of 
the  water  wliich  is  converted  into  vapour,  the  greater  the  heat 
required  for  the  internal  work  of  vaporization,  and  this 
increase  of  caloric  is  at  the  rate  of  "7°  Fahr.  for  every  degree 
the  temperature  is  below  that  of  boiling  water.* 

The  heat  required  to  do  the  internal  work  of  vaporization 
was  termed  latent  heat  by  Dr.  Black  and  his  followers ;  and 
tliough  the  idea  on  which  the  name  is  based  is  erroneous, 
being  a  confounding  of  heat  with  temperature— a  cause  with 
one  of  its  effects, — the  term  is  still  retained  as  one  of  con- 
venience. 

From  what  has  been  stated,  it  is  obvious  that  the  amount 
of  lieat  liberated  by  the  conversion  of  va[)our  into  rain  is 
easily  calculated,  if  the  temperature  at  which  the  change  takes 
place,  that  is  of  the  rain  at  its  formation,  is  known.  For 
example,  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  mean  temperature  at 
which,  throughout  the  year,  this  conversion  takes  place  in 
Devonshire  is  52  Fahr. — which  is  prol)ably  above  the  truth. 
The  "latent  heat"  liberated  will  in  that  case  be 967°  +  (212  -  52) 

*  "  Lardnur'b  Hand  Book  of  llydrostatica,  Puoumalics,  and  Iloat,"  p.  346 
(1855). 


THE  RAINFALL  IN  DEVONSHIRE.  577 

X  -7"  =  967  +  112*'  =  1079^  Hence  the  atmosphere  annually 
presents  our  county,  not  only  with  nearly  640  million  tons  of 
rain,  but  with  it,  and  as  a  consequence  of  its  formation,  heat 
enough  to  raise  its  temperature  through  1079°;  or  to  raise  six 
times  the  same  quantity  of  water  from  the  freezing  to  the 
boiling  point. 

It  would  not  be  safe  however  to  regard  this  as  an  actual 
addition  to  the  stock  of  caloric  in  the  atmosphere  of  Devon- 
shire. The  answer  to  this  question  depends  on  that  to  the 
further  one  of  "  What  is  the  annual  amount  of  evaporation 
in  Devonshire  ?"  Were  this  found  to  be  equal  to  the  annual 
precipitation,  so  also  would  the  heat  taken  up  in  the  one  case 
be  equal  to  that  liberated  in  the  other.  But  if  they  were 
unequal,  the  thermal  effect  of  the  two  processes  would  be  a 
function  of  the  difference  between  them,  and  would  be  calcu- 
lated to  raise  or  to  lower  the  general  temperature  according 
as  the  precipitation  was  in  excess  or  defect  of  the  evapora- 
tion. Though  the  mean  annual  amount  of  evaporation  in  this 
county  is  probably  undetermined,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
it  is  considerably  below  the  precipitation  on  the  same  area ; 
that  in  fact  our  rain  is  not  home  made,  but  imported ;  and 
that  with  it  we  import  large  quantities  of  caloric. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  thermal  effect  produced  by  the 
rainfall  Motion  destroyed,  as  such,  becomes  heat ;  and  the 
relation  of  one  to  the  other  is  well  known.  If  a  pound 
of  water  fall  freely  through  a  vertical  height  of  772  feet,  it 
acquires  a  motion  which,  on  being  destroyed  on  collision,  is 
converted  into  caloric  suflBcient  to  raise  the  temperature  of 
the  pound  of  water  through  one  degree  of  Fahr. ;  and  the 
amount  of  caloric  varies  directly  as  the  height  fallen  through. 
Now  let  it  be  supposed  that  the  mean  height  of  the  rain- 
cloud  in  Devonshire  is  772  yards — an  estimate  probably 
below  the  truth.  The  motion  of  each  drop  of  rain  would, 
on  being  destroyed,  be  converted  into  heat  suflBcient  to  raise 
its  temperature  3°  Fahr.  The  motion,  however,  would  be  de- 
stroyed gradually  on  account  of  the  resistance  of  the  air,  and 
consequently  the  evolution  of  the  equivalent  caloric  would 
also  be  gradual  Part  of  it  would  be  given  to  the  atmos- 
phere, and  part  to  the  earth,  on  impact.  This,  however,  simply 
affects  the  distrihutian,  not  the  amount  of  the  heat  evolved. 
The  heat,  therefore,  which  is  produced  by  the  annual  fall  in 
Devonshire  of  637,738,247  tons  of  rain,  through  a  height 
of  772  yards,  must  be  suflBcient  to  raise  the  temperature  of 
10*5  million  tons  of  water  from  the  freezing  to  the  boiling 
point. 


BBOBABnjrnM  to  legal  amp  JTOMMIAL  :* 

SI 


..{>.. 


sr  JJkMwnanroQs,  ila.,  7.o.i.,  t^a^a^  sm 


of  tiie  illustrious  Tirrgot,  that  the  tmtlis 
and  poiitdcal  sciences  are  susceptible  of  being 
upon  Had  SRme  mathematical  certainty  as  as* 
tmmaaif,  Mid  the  other  physical  scienceH.  With  the  view  of 
OiVPfiilg  Tuimirf  notioits  into  actual  effect,  his  di^iple,  tha 
Ibrqm  Oonoioidelb  ooamosed  hia  celebrated  treatise,  entitled 

a<0M    Ikfli^rotk  win  always  claim  admiration  far  the  gifted 
nthoi^t  talents^  sad  oocasion  regret  for  his  ill-starred  fate 

Laplicehas  writlen  de  resp^mnce  morale  et  de  la  probability  \ 
des  jugemenB  in  his  celebrated  Theorie  Analyttque  dea  iVote- 
hUiiis;  he  has  also  interestingly  treated  on  the  applicatioii 
of  probabilities  to  the  moral  sciences — to  testimony — to  the 
choice  of  decisions  of  assemblies,  and  the  judgments  of  tri- 
bunals in  his  Essai  Philosophique  mr  les  Probabiltti^ 

L' Acroix,  in  his  TraiUdu  Calcul  ProbabilitdSy  has  also  applied 
the  calculus  to  testimony  and  decisions;  Les  JSeeMrchss  sur  la 
ProbabUiU  des  Jugemens  en  matiire  Criminelie  et  en  moHire 
Civile :  Par  Poisson,  contain  the  application  of  the  theory  to  legal 
matters.  Perhaps  this  is  the  most  complete  treatise  that  baa 
been  written  on  the  subject.  English  authors  have  not  hitherto 
turned  their  attention  with  much  efiTect  to  this  part  of  the 
theory  of  probabilities.  Except  the  tract  in  Mr.  G^alloway'8 
treatise,  taken  from  the  Enclyclopoedia  Britannica;  another 
in  Professor  De  Mogan's  more  elaborate  work  in  the  Encyclo- 
pcedia  Metropolitana,  and  the  article  by  Sir  John  Lubbock,  in 
the  Uuseful  Knowledge  Society's  publications,  it  is  not  known 
where  the  English  student  can  find  even  a  compilation  on  the 
subject.  Mr.  Tozer's  interesting  memoir  in  the  Cambridge 
Transactions  must  not  be  omitted;  and  Dr.  Young's  tract  on 


ON  THB  APPLICATION  OP  THE  CALCULUS,  KTC.    579 

the  force  of  testimony  should  be  mentioned.  Coumot's 
masterly  work,  entitled  Hxpositian  de  la  Tlieorie  des  Cfuinces  it 
des  Prdabilitfy,  should  have  been  referred  to  above. 

The  late  Professor  Starkie,  in  his  valuable  treatise  on 
Evidence,  has  slightly  touched  upon  the  subject;  and  Mr. 
Wills,  in  his  interesting  essay  on  Circumstantial  Hvidence, 
has  merely  adverted  to  the  subject.  W.  M.  Best,  Esq., 
barrister-at-law,  has  published  a  treatise  on  Premmptions  of 
Law  and  Facty  with  the  theory  and  rules  of  presumption  or 
circumstantial  proof  in  criminal  cases — a  work  for  which  the 
whole  profession  ought  to  feel  indebted  to  the  learned  author. 
The  performance  does  him  great  credit,  both  as  a  scholEu*  and 
a  lawyer,  notwithstanding  the  disparaging  opinions  of  some 
of  his  very  conceited  critics.  If  legal  critics,  instead  of 
bestowing  their  objurgations  on  Mathematicians  for  their  pre- 
sumption in  attempting  to  apply  the  calculus  of  probabilities 
to  legal  topics,  were  to  advise  scientiiic  men  in  the  first  place 
to  provide  themselves  with  the  requisite  materials  for  such 
application,  they  would  be  acting  judiciously  towards  their 
own  profession,  and  friendly  towards  abstract  science.  When, 
however,  the  master  minds  of  the  age  have  applied  all  the 
vigour  of  their  understandings  to  the  subject,  it  cannot  with 
justice  be  considered  altogether  without  interest.  Critics 
may  throw  their  dark  light  on  it  by  verbose  dissertations; 
philosophic  word-stringers  may  sneer  at  what  they  cannot 
comprehend,  and  deny  that  the  calculujs  can  ever  be  applied 
to  testimony  or  to  judgments  with  any  effect.  But  Laplace, 
on  the  same  topic,  says:  "Je  vais  essayer  d'appliquer  le 
calcul  k  cet  objet :  pursuad^  que  les  applications  de  ce  genre 
lorsqu'elles  sont  bien  conduites  et  fond^  sur  des  donn^ 
que  le  bon  sens  nous  sugg^re  sont  toujours  pr^f^rables  aox 
raisonnemens  les  plus  specieux."  * 

Lock  says :  "In  every  day  affairs,  the  sole  foundation  of  our 
judgments  and  rules  of  action  is  probability.  We  act  upon 
propositions  or  facts,  according  to  their  conformity  or  their 
repugnance  to  our  general  knowledge,  observation,  and  ex- 
perience. Our  judgment  also  frequently  rests  on  the  testi- 
mony of  others,  who  vouch  their  knowledge,  observation,  or 
experience  for  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  such  proposition  or 
facts  as  form  the  matter  in  question.  In  this  and  similar 
cases,  our  judgments  rely  on  the  credit  of  the  relators, 
generated  by  past  experience  of  their  veracity,  or  from  the 
intrinsic  probability  of  their  story."  f 

*  Theorie  Analytique  des  Piofis  sapp.  Ire.  p.  28  me. 
t  Look's  £aM7,  lib.  iv.  «.  16,  eect  4. 


580     OH  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALCULUS  OF 

Since,  theoj  probability  is  the  mainspriDg  of  all  our  actions. 
If  tlie  calculus  of  probability  be  only  good  sense  put  into 
analytical  language,  and  if  such  calculus  be  preferable  to  the 
most  specious  reaaonin^,  the  mere  attempt  to  extend  its 
application,  oue  might  suppose,  would  deserve  commendatioD, 
and  not  censure.  The  calculus  is  an  instrument  ready  to  adapt 
itself  to  all  the  business  of  life.  If  we  are  not  prepared  to  use 
it;  if  we  have  uot  stored  away  facts  for  it  to  rest  upoD;  if  our 
stock  of  experience  be  too  slender  to  support  it,  we  ought 
ti)  set  about  qualifying  ourselves  by  suppl}ing  the  deficiency: 
at  all  events,  we  ought  not,  in  coDsequence  of  our  own  want^ 
or  imperfections  to  throw  discredit  on  the  calculus.  We  may 
not  be  in  a  position  to  apply  it  satisfactorily  to  many  sub- 
jects; but  the  calculus  is  not  to  blame;  it  might  be  no 
imperfection  in  a  musical  instrument  if  a  man  without 
fingers  could  not  fetch  out  its  tones. 

S^o  one  pretends  to  measure  motives  with  mathematical 
exactness.  Is  there  any  inducement  upon  which  we  act  that 
we  can  so  measure  ?  K  we  cannot  submit  testimony  which 
b,  or  ought  to  be,  the  foundation  of  legal  decisions  to  actual 
calculatioti,  what  circumstances  prevent  us?  The  pki 
answer  is,  the  want  of  proper  dat^  derived  finam  observ^atioa 
and  experience. 

With  regard  to  the  application  of  the  theory  of  pmbabilitii 
to  such  matters,  we  are  now  in  nearly  the  same  position 
our  predecessors  were  with  respect  to  its  application  to  some- 
what similar  subjects  a  century  or  two  ago.  Take,  for  instanoe^ 
the  insurance  of  lives.  At  first,  the  uncertainty  of  life  would 
appear  to  render  every  application  of  the  calcidus  entiiely 
nugatory,  as  no  one  can  determine  the  exact  length  of  time 
that  any  individual  will  live ;  that  his  life  will  end  at  aome- 
time  seems  very  probable,  but  the  length  of  time  that  may 
elapse  before  he  mil  cease  to  exist  is  a  problem  that  cannot 
be  solved.  When  insurance  on  lives  began  to  be  established 
in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  their  tarue  princiidea 
were  so  little  understood  or  acted  upon,  that  every  insurer, 
of  whatever  age  he  might  be,  paid  the  same  premium;  the 
only  restriction  being  that  his  life  should  be  between  five 
and  forty  years.  * 

Life  is  proverbially  uncertain ;  since  casting  of  nativities, 
&c.,  became  obsolete,  no  sane  person  has  attempted  to  apply 
calculation  to  determine  the  exact  time  that  any  individual 
will  exist :  the  attempt  would  be  just  as  absurd,  as  it  would  be 
to  measure  the  probity  or  duplicity  of  any  witness  in  a  court 
*  8ir  John  Lubbock  on  Chances. 


cu 

ial       I 

Lin 

oa 


PROBABILITIKS  TO   LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.        581 

of  law ;  or  to  try  to  prove  by  any  calculus,  that  a  decision 
of  such  court  is  right  or  wrong.  But  notwithstanding  the 
uncertainty  of  human  life  in  individual  cases,  the  calculus 
of  probabUity  has  been  successfully  applied  to  the  subject, 
and  the  insurance  of  lives  founded  upon  such  application,  is 
become  a  matter  of  national  importance.  Companies  safely 
invest  their  capital  on  it ;  individuals  contribute  their  annual 
payments  with  entire  confidence ;  and  all  parties,  when  their 
transactions  rest  on  the  principles  which  the  calculus  really 
indicates,  find  their  interests  mutually  safe,  and  their  whole 
proceedings  grounded  on  moral  certainty.  There  are  upwards 
of  eighty  insurance  offices  of  different  kinds  in  London:  what- 
ever may  be  said  of  some  of  them,  the  whole  together  are 
become  a  matter  of  national  consideration.  Immense  sums 
of  capital  are  invested  in  them,  and  the  welfare  of  millions 
depends,  and  very  generally  safely  depends,  upon  the  sound- 
ness of  their  principleJs.  What  then  formed  the  germ  of  these 
vast  establishments?  Perhaps  the  tables  constructed  by 
Halley  from  the  Registers  of  Brislaw :  these  tables,  and  others 
similariy  though  more  carefully  formed,  have  become  data 
upon  which  companies  rest  all  their  calculations ;  these  data 
are  the  result  of  experience  and  observation,  but  the  calculus 
of  probabilities  renders  them  practically  usefuL  How  then 
is  a  subject,  appearing  as  intricate  and  as  far  beyond  the 
powers  of  calculation  as  human  testimony  can  possibly  be, 
to  which,  nevertheless,  the  calculus  of  probabilities  has  been 
applied  with  marked  success.  This  point  has  been  discussed 
at  some  length,  because  the  calculus  of  probabilities  has  been 
applied  with  admitted  success  to  the  insurance  of  lives ;  and 
although  such  insurance  and  the  subjects  which  form  the 
groundwork  of  legal  proceedings  are  not  exactly  analogous,  it 
is  thought  they  are  not  so  totally  unlike  as  to  admit  of  no 
comparison. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  the  practical  accuracy  of  in- 
surance matters  depends  upon  recorded  experience  and  ob- 
servation ;  these  have  furnished  materials  for  the  calculus  of 
probabilities  to  work  with.  The  calculus  could  be  applied  to 
legal  subjects  with  the  same  facility,  and  probably  with  like 
success,  if  we  were  prepared  with  similar  data  in  legal  pro- 
ceedings. The  calculus  is  an  instrument  fully  comprehensive, 
and  sufficiently  accommodating  to  adapt  itself  to  the  geneml 
outline  of  such  matters,  if  we  had  had  the  precaution  to 
store  up  the  results  of  experience  necessary  for  ite  foundation : 
the  calculus  is  not  deficient,  though  we  may  not  at  present 
possess  sufficient  power  to  apply  it  efiTectively. 

VOL.  IL  Q  Q 


582  OK  THE  APPLICATIOH  OF  THE  CALCULUS   OF 

The  registers  of  births,  marring,  and  deaths,  shaw  the 
number  of  boy^  and  gti^U  born  in  a  year,  &c.  They  have 
supplied  the  calculus  with  many  inter^ting  topics  for  it^ 
apphcatioa  liegisteia  of  this  kind,  carefully  kept,  shew 
what  has  happened.  The  calcalus  using  the  data  thus  sup- 
plied, teaches  us  what  will  most  likely  happen  again  at  given 
periods. 

By  way  of  showing  the  futility  of  attempting  to  apply  the 
theory  of  probability  to  legal  testimony,  it  has  been  said  that 
the  value  of  an  Englishman's  testimony  m  different  from  that 
of  an  inhabitant  of  Hiudostan;  the  value  of  a  partizan'a 
testimony  is  different  from  that  of  an  indifferent  person's 
testimony ;  the  evidence  of  a  friend,  of  an  enemy,  of  a  rela- 
tion, of  a  stranger,  is  to  be  weighed  in  ilifterent  scales,  and  tried 
by  a  different  standard.  Nay,  the  evidence  of  the  sarae  man 
will  be  entitled  to  far  more  conaidemtion  in  some  ciitjum- 
stances  than  in  othersv  Now,  admitting  all  this  to  be  true, 
before  the  calculus  can  be  pronounced  to  be  alt(>gether  inap- 
plicable, the  qne:stion  must  be  answered,  "  Is  an  Englishman 
more  likely  to  speak  the  truth  in  a  given  number  of  relaUans 
tlian  an  inhabitant  of  flindostan  is,  and  if  so,  how  much 
more  likely  ?"  Ilo  the  different  diatinctioas  pointed  out  admit 
of  the  terms  more  or  less  ?  If  they  do,  the  calculus  is  appli- 
cidjle.  The  exact  quantity  constituting  the  difference,  wbethdr 
njure  or  less,  is  matter  of  obsorvation;  but,  undoubtedly,  if 
tliat  quantity  be  not  accurately  detenuiried,  the  error  uiu^t  ii^t 
be  attributed  to  the  calculus.  Were  those  values  assomed, 
and  the  assumptions  wrong,  and  were  those  assumptions 
employed  in  the  calculus,  and  the  consequent  results  be 
fallacious  or  absurd,  no  blame  could  fairly  be  attached  to  the 
calculus.  The  calculus  is  an  instrument  quite  free  from  aU 
liability  to  error,  if  we  only  prepare  ourselves  for  its  opera- 
tions. If  we  supply  it  with  substantial  facts,  it  will  funush 
results  that  may  be  depended  upon.  That  a  machine  may 
form  a  silk  thread,  we  must  supply  it  with  the  silk;  it  cannot 
make  the  silk.  In  like  marmer  the  calculus  of  probabilities 
cannot  make  the  material  for  producing  correct  results.  Give 
it  well-grounded  data,  and  its  working  may  be  relied  upon. 
But  in  the  case  of  the  machine,  3'ou  would  hardly  find  fault 
with  it  if,  without  your  furnishing  the  silk,  it  produced 
no  thread;  and  in  such  failure,  it  would  be  ridiculous  to 
blame  those  who  work  the  machine,  and  it  would  be  quite 
as  absurd  to  find  fault  with  tlie  instrument  or  its  managers,  if 
it  were  supplied  with  cotton  and  did  not  produce  silk.  Just 
so  with  respect  to  the  calculus;  you  must  supply  well- 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.       583 

founded  facts  for  its  working  if  you  would  have  results  that 
will  stand  the  test  of  daily  experience.  But  in  the  absence 
of  such  facts  the  calculus  is  not  to  be  censured,  nor  ought 
mathematicians  who  apply  it;  the  calculus  operates  upon 
data,  but  it  cannot  make  them. 

Perhaps  the  measuring  human  testimony  by  the  mode 
applied  to  dice-boxes,  balls,  &c.,  is  not  so  very  absurd  if  the 
matter  be  duly  considered.  Suppose  it  be  ascertained  that 
a  person,  in  the  relation  of  an  event,  is  just  as  likely  to  give 
9,  false  relation  as  a  true  one.  Is  not  the  chance  of  his  telling 
the  truth  correctly  denoted  by  i — ^^certainty  being  represented 
by  1  ?  K  a  coin  be  thrown  up  it  is  just  as  probable  that 
head  will  fall  uppermost  as  the  reverse,  the  chance  of  either  is 
denoted  by  J.  Why,  then,  may  not  the  probability  of  the 
persons  speaking  the  truth,  and  that  one  of  the  faces  falling 
upwards  be  calculated  alike,  and  represented  by  the  same 
number  ?  If  a  person  is  known  to  speak  the  truth  once  and 
not  the  truth  n  times  in  relating  any  circumstance,  the  pro- 
bability of  his  speaking  the  truth  at  any  time  is  i.  If  a 
dice  have  n  feces,  numbered  from  1  to  n,  be  thrown  up,  the 
probability  of  any  given  face  turning  up  in  one  throw  is  also  i. 
What  absurdity  is  there  then  in  either  of  the  above  supposi- 
tions, in  comi)aring  the  probability  of  either  person's  speaking 
the  truth,  with  the  throw  of  the  coin  or  dice  ?  There  may  be 
difficulty  in  ascertaining  a  person's  proneness  to  speak  the 
truth,  or  to  deviate  from  it,  but  the  knowledge  is  often 
practically  obtained. 

If  a  person,  then,  in  a  +  b  relations  tells  a  of  them  true 

and  b  of  them  false,  — ?  and  — 7  will  be  the  probabilities 

of  his  speaking  the  truth  or  the  reverse  at  any  given  relation 
— certainty  being  denoted  by  1.  The  numbers  a  and  b  being 
settled  by  observation,  or  even  by  supposition,  clearly  they 
may  be  subsequently  treated  exactly  as  though  they  had 
reference  to  a  number  of  balls  or  to  the  faces  of  dica 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the 
novice,  that  the  theory  of  probabilities  is  only  common  sense 
put  into  calculation,  and  that  the  employment  of  symbolical 
language  only  facilitates  the  processes  of  deductive  reasoning, 
but  does  not  change  them.  The  assigning  of  numerical 
measures  to  the  probabilities  involved,  defines  with  accuracy 
their  magnitudes,  but  it  in  no  wise  modifies  them.  • 

The  French  Government  has  published  "  Compt^s  g^n^raux 

•  Toser'B  Memoir,  Camb.  Trana. 
Q  Q  2 


684  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALCXJLD3  OF 

de  rAdiDinistration  de  la  Justice  Crimmelle:  de  la  Justice 
Militaire,  et  de  la  Justice  Civile."  Poissou,  in  his  work  already 
referred  to,  has  applied  the  theory  of  probabilties  to  each  of 
these  topics,  from  which  we  learn  that  in  Fmnce  during  the 
years  from  1825  to  1880  the  jury  in  ciiminal  mattei^  consisted 
of  twelve  men :  the  concurrcDce  of  a  simple  majority  W4i3 
only  requiTed  to  cany  conviction;  but  when  the  majority  was 
the  least  possible,  the  c^urt  possessed  the  power  to  overrule 
the  verdict  Taking  the  cases  tried  before  the  criminal  courts 
during  those  six  years,  applying  the  theory  of  probabilities 
to  them,  and  tlie  formulae  given  in  his  work,  Poisson  has  found 
that  for  the  whole  of  France  the  probability  of  jurors  giving 
a  correct  verdict  is  a  little  grctiter  than  f  respecting  crimes 
against  the  person,  and  nearly  equal  to  {^  with  i^egai-d  to 
crimes  against  property.  Taking  aU  cases  without  distinction 
of  crimes,  it  was  nearly  ef|ual  to  J.  The  probability  of  the 
guilt  of  the  first  named  kind  of  criminals  before  the  trial  was 
a  little  gT6at4ir  than  |;  that  of  the  latter  a  little  more  tlian  |, 

One  of  the  elements  required  in  this  interesting  inquiry  is, 
that  the  number  of  jurors  who  concur  in  and  dissent  from  a 
verdict  be  known.  In  England  juries  in  criminal  mat  tens 
must  give  a  unanimous  decision,  consequently  we  cannot 
apply  the  theory  just  discussed  in  the  same  manner  to  Englidi 
critniual  jurisprudenca  Tliis  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  th« 
point  tts  to  how  far  it  is  rational  to  requii-e  twelve  men  i/o  1«" 
unanimous  upon  a  difiBcult  matter.  However,  were  it  ascer- 
tained when  a  verdict  is  returned  how  many  jurors  had  con- 
curred in  it  and  dissented  from  it,  the  theory  of  probabilities 
might  interestingly,  perhaps  usefully,  be  applied  to  criminal 
law  and  similar  decisions ;  but  if  we  follow  a  system  which 
sets  all  calculation  at  defiance,  we  ought  to  censure  ourselves 
or  our  system,  and  not  the  calculus  of  probabilities. 

The  evidence  of  testimony  is  measured  in  the  same  way 
with  other  probabilities,  and  is  expressed  by  the  number  ot 
instances  in  which  men  circumstanced  in  a  particular  way 
have  been  known  to  speak  true,  divided  by  the  nimiber  of 
cases  on  which  they  have  given  evidence,  whether  true  or 
false.* 

It  will  be  found  tliat  the  calculus  and  actual  practice  agree 
in  many  respects,  although  the  results  have  been  arrived  at 
independently  of  each  other.  Perhaps  one  example  will 
sutficiently  explain  this  position. 

Let  certitude  be  denoted  by  1.    Suppose  an  individual  has 
made  m  +  n  assertions,  of  which  m  are  true  and  n  false.    The 
•  Playfair'a  Works,  voL  iv.  p.  440. 


■J 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.       585 

probability  of  his  telling  the  truth  when  he  asserts  that  an 
event  has  taken  place  is n-    ^ow  he  speaks  the  truth, 

or  the  reverse ;  therefore  1 5  = s  is  the  pro- 

fn  4- 1 
bability  of  his  not  speaking  the  truth.     Put   ^  =  V, 

and  let  P  be  the  d  priori  probability  that  the  event  did  take 
place.  Suppose  the  event  did  take  place,  and  that  the  indi- 
vidual speaks  the  truth  on  this  hypothesis,  the  probability  of 
the  event  is  PV ;  the  probability  of  the  event  on  the  contrary 

PV 

hypothesis  is  (I - P)  (1  -  V) ;  therefore  py — n  ^pvi-V^  ^ 

the  probability  that  the  event  did  take  place  on  the  above 
liypothesis. 

Similarly  if  n  individuals,  whose  veracities  are  represented 
by  Vi  Vj  V,  .  .  .  .  V„  assert  that  an  event  takes  place,  the 
probability  that  it  did  take  place  is 

V|V,V, .  .  .  V,P 

v.v,v. . . .  V.P+ (1  -  vo(i  -  V.X1  -  V.) ....  (1  -  V.X1  -  py 

Suppose    the    individuals  all  equally  credible,    or   that 
Vi  =  V,  ^  V,  =  ....  =  V»,  the  above  expression  becomes 
V,P 1 

v,p + (1  -  V)"(i  -  P)  - 1  +  (i-vo"(i-P)  • 

V,         P 

1  —V 

Suppose  Vx  =  i,  then     ^   '  =  1,  and  the  expression  for  the 

probability  becomes  simply  equal  P.  From  which  it  appears 
that  the  probability  of  an  event  is  not  increased  by  the  testi- 
mony of  any  number  of  witnesses  when  the  veracity  of  each 
witness  is  only  one-half;  that  is,  when  it  has  been  ascertained 
that  each  witness  is  just  as  likely  to  speak  falsehood  as  truth. 
The  above  expression  also  makes  it  manifest  that  when  a 
witness  asserts  that  an  event  did  take  place,  he  increases  the 
d  priori  probability  of  the  event,  if  his  credibility  be  greater 
than  one-half;  but  his  testimony  diminishes  that  probability 
if  his  veracity  be  less  than  one-half 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  our  belief  in  the 
occurrence  of  any  event  is  diminished,  if  it  be  first  related 
to  us  by  an  individual  whose  veracity  experience  has  taught 
us  is  not  to  be  trusted.  The  testimony  of  such  a  relator 
clothes  the  event  with  fiction,  and  we  doubt  a  circumstance 
so  related  which  we  should  not  hesitate  to  believe  if  it  were 
told  us  by  a  person  entitled  to  our  credit     Courts  of  law,  to 


586  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE   CJLLCULU3   OF 

a  certain  extent,  follow  tliia  every-day  rule  of  common  sense. 
When  an  accomplice  is  admitted  as  a  witaess  against  hia 
fellow-criraunal,  there  are  so  many  inducements  urging  him 
to  convict  others  in  order  to  escape  LimBelf,  that  his  evidence 
must  ahvays  be  received  witlt  very  grave  suspicion ;  hia 
df  priori  veracity  cannot  he  considered  greater  than  one- halt 
It  used  to  be  left  to  the  jury  to  determine  whether  they 
believed  the  particeps  criimnis  or  not ;  aud  many  cases  have 
occurred  in  which  a  priaoner  has  beea  convicted  upon  the 
unsupported  testimouy  of  an  accomplice.  It  will  not  be 
disputed  that  such  convictions  rest  upon  grounds  which 
impartial  justice  and  common  humanity  can  hardly  hold  ta 
be  tenable.  N"ow,  however,  the  practice  is  much  amended ; 
the  evidence  of  an  accomplice  must  be  established  by  inde- 
pendent testimony.  Were  his  evidence  confirmed  only  with 
respect  to  the  particulars  of  his  story,  it  might  only  prove 
that  the  accomplice  was  a  participant  in  the  crime.  Ilia 
evidence,  therefore,  must  also  be  confirmed  in  some  facta 
which  go  to  fix  the  person  charged.  Mr  Justice  littledale, 
in  summing  up  a  case  in  which  two  accomplices  were  wit^ 
nesses  against  the  prisoner,  told  the  jury  "that  two  of  his 
accomplices  speak  distinctly  to  him.  If  their  statemeiite 
were  the  only  evidence  against  him,  I  should  not  a^ivise  yo^ 
to  convict  upon  their  testimony-  It  is  7wt  uaiatl  to  convict 
upon  the  evidence  of  07ie  accomplice  without  confirmalioii, 
and  in  my  opinion  it  makes  no  diflference  that  there  are  more 
than  one."*  Thus  the  deduction  that  the  probability  of  an 
event  is  not  increased  by  the  testimony  of  any  number  of 
witnesses  when  the  veracity  of  each  is  only  one-half,  or 
when  each  is  just  as  likely  to  give  false  evidence  as  tarue, 
occurs  in  actual  practice.  Of  course,  if  the  evidence  of  an 
accomplice  be  more  likely  to  be  false  than  true,  the  calculus 
would  lead  to  a  corresponding  result,  and  judges  very  pro- 
bably would  direct  accordingly. 

There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  actually  applying  the 
preceding  formulae  to  particular  cases  if  we  were  prepared 
with  data,  so  that  we  could  assign  values  nearly  correct  to 
the  assumed  probabilities.  We  want  the  number  of  true 
and  false  statements  made  generally  by  men  placed  in  similar 
circumstances.  Experience  might  furnish  much  useful  matter 
upon  such  subjects ;  but  no  registers  of  the  kind  have  been 
kept.  It  is  clear  that  our  criminal  and  common  law  courts 
would  afford  data  of  a  very  interesting  description  on  these 
heads,  as  well  as  on  many  others,  if  steps  were  taken  to 
♦  Russell  on  Crimes,  page  967. 


i 


PROBABILITIBS  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICLIL  SUBJECTS.       587 

accumulate  them,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  much 
important  knowledge  should  be  allowed  to  pass  imperceptibly 
and  uselessly  away.  The  statistics  of  crime  that  have  been 
published  in  the  British  Almanack  would  appear  to  indicate 
that  such  valuable  information  begins  to  be  appreciated,  and 
that  it  will  not  in  future  be  permitted  to  be  lost. 

It  is  alleged  that  the  calculus  is  inadequate  to  meet  the 
varied  shades  of  value  that  may  be  attached  to  the  testimony 
of  different  witnesses  in  all  their  multiform  character.  In 
this  allegation  a  want  of  comprehensiveness  is  unfairly 
attributed  to  the  calculus.  If  we  possessed  data  sanctioned 
by  experience  as  to  the  relative  number  of  true  and  false 
statements  made  by  witnesses  placed  in  somewhat  similar 
circumstances,  it  is  evident  the  calculus  might  generally  be 
applied.  Such  data  would  enable  us  to  assign  a  value  to  V 
and  P  in  the  above  result.  The  charater,  the  relations,  and 
frequently  the  motives,  of  a  witness  may  be  elicited  in  his 
examination. 

Very  seldom  does  a  witness  give  his  evidence  without 
affording  pretty  good  proof  as  to  whether  his  veracity  in  the 
case  is  greater  or  less  than  one-half,  or  equal  to  it  No  one 
pretends  that  the  value  of  the  fraction  represented  by  V  can 
be  accurately  determined ;  but  experience  might  store  away 
facts  enough  to  assist  in  approximating  towards  the  values ; 
at  any  rate,  the  powers  of  the  calculus  are  sufficiently  exten- 
sive for  the  purpose. 

The  testimony,  however,  of  witnesses  in  certain  cases  may 
be  confirmed  independently  of  our  previous  knowledge  of 
their  veracity.  Playfair  gives  the  following  example :  When 
the  stones  which  are  said  to  have  fallen  from  the  heavens 
came  to  be  chemically  analysed,  they  were  found  to  have  the 
same  character,  and  to  consist  of  the  same  ingredients,  nearly 
in  the  same  proportions.  Now  let  us  suppose  two  such 
instances.  The  first  person  gives  the  stones  into  the  hands 
of  a  naturalist,  and  their  characters  are  ascertained ;  the 
second  does  so  likewise,  and  the  stones  have  the  same 
character.  Suppose  now  that  there  are  261  species  of  stones, 
and  that  the  individuals  of  the  species  to  which  the  meteoric 
stones  belong  amount  to  ^fr^h  part  of  all  the  stones  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  The  accidental  coincidence  of  the 
second  witness  with  the  first  is  denoted  by  the  fraction  ^hr  of 
a  third,  with  the  other  two  by  i^^)*  of  a  fourth,  with  the 
other  three  by  (tJt  *>  and  so  on.  As  there  are  more  than  ten 
such  cases,  the  chance  of  deceit  or  imposture  is  not  more 
than  (t^tm  that  is,  than  1  divided  by  a  number  consisting 


588     OH  THE  APFLICATION  OP  THE  CALCULUS  Of 

of  22  places,  Tbe  fractioo,  thougli  extremely  small,  is  really 
greater  than  the  truth.  The  individuab  of  this  species, 
instead  of  making  -^ih  part  of  all  the  stones  on  the  surface 
of  tbe  earth,  make,  as  far  as  we  know,  no  part  of  them  at  alL 
Here,  therefore,  we  have  the  testimony  confinned  indepeo- 
deiitly  of  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  vemcity  of  the 
witneaaea 

But  supposing  the  character  of  a  witness  to  be  altogether 
unknown,  and  that  we  have  no  means  of  determining  the 
value  of  his  veracity;  if  under  these  circumstances  he  assert 
that  an  event  took  place,  the  probability  that  it  actually  did 

p  -pjrp_|yy  ■  to  the  integral  of  this  a  con- 
stant must  be  added,  the  value  of  which  will  be  determined 
from  the  limits  assumed.     If  the  integral  be  taken  between 
the  limits  of  V=0  and  V  =  lpWe  shall  consider  the  proba- 
bility of  tbe  event  under  every  hypothesis  that  can    lie- 
formed.     The  veracity  of  the  witness  from  0  up  to  1   * 
taken  into  account     The  probity  of  a  witness  is  nothing  ort 
something,  and,  be  it  what  it  may,  the  calculus  is  capable  of  J 
dealing  %vith  it.     If  any  miinber  of  witnesses  are  equally/ 
credible,  the  same  rule  can  be  appUedj  if  the  veracity  of  i 
one  witness  be  greater  or  less  than  that  of  another,  the 
increased  or  diminished  value  can  be  considered  in  taking 
the  limits  of  the  above  integral     Hence  the  calculus  can 
modify  itself  so  as  to  include  the  testimony  of  witnesses, 
whatever  may  be  their  number  or  the  value  of  their  veracity. 
In  treating  the  question  of  determining  the  probability 
whether  the  verdict  of  a  jury  be  correct  or  not,  we  may 
assume  that  the  A  priori  probability;  that  each  juryman  will 
give  a  correct  verdict  according  to  the  facts  adduced,  are  of 
the  same  valua     Let  u  be  the  probability  that  each  juryman 
will  give  a  correct  verdict,  and  1-n  the  probability  that  he 
will  give  a  wrong  one.     Suppose  P  the  a  priori  probability 
that  the  accused  is  guilty,  and  1  -  P  the  probability  that  he 
is  innocent.    Suppose  that  he  has  been  pronounced  guilty 
by  m  jurors,  and  not  guilty  by  n  jurors ;  then* 


tt"'(l  -  m)-  +  tt"(l  -  w)'"(l  -  P) 

is  the  probability  that  the  verdict  is  correct,  and 
u"(l-u)"*(l-P) 
^•"(1  -  u)y  -f  M*(l  -  tt^l  -  P) 

*  Galloway  on  Prob. 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.       589 

is  the  probability  that  it  is  wrong.     If  the  verdict  be  a 
unanimous  one,  the  probability  that  it  is  right  is 

w»p-f  (l-w)-(l-P)' 
and  the  probability  that  it  is  wrong  is 

u"p+(i-u)'»(i-py 

whose  n  denotes  the  whole  number  of  jurors. 

In  all  cases  it  is  only  fair  to  assume  that  jurymen  are  more 
likely  to  give  correct  verdicts  than  coiTupt  ones;  that  is,  that 
they  will  endeavour  to  act  honestly;  consequently  the  pro- 
bability that  a  juryman  will  give  a  correct  verdict  is  a  priori 
never  less  than  i;  but  it  may  have  all  values  between  i  and  1. 
When  a  mean  value  of  u  cannot  be  determined  by  inference, 
it  is  shown*  that  the  probability  of  the  verdict,  being  correct 
under  the  hypothesis  of  u^i  to  u=l,is 

f^'ur{\-uYdu' 

Here  the  integral  in  the  numerator  must  be  taken  between 
the  limits  ofw  =  i  to  w=l;  that  in  the  denominator  from 
t^  =  0  to  1^  =  1. 

The  probability  that  the  verdict  is  wrong  is 

The  integral  in  the  numerator  must  be  taken  from  w  =  0 
to  w=l. 

If,  under  the  limits,  a  verdict  be  returned  by  a  majority  of 
9  to  3,  the  probability  that  the  verdict  is  correct  is  JfH;  ^^^ 
probability  that  it  is  wrong  is  ^V  If  it  be  a  unanimous 
verdict  under  the  same  limits,  %\i\  is  the  probability  that 
the  verdict  is  correct,  and  ^tV?  the  probability  that  it  is 
wrong.  For  the  investigation  see  the  Oent'a  Diary  for  1842, 
page  42. 

For  a  general  investigation  of  the  preceding  formulae  the 
reader  must  turn  to  the  works  cited,  or  to  other  authors  on 
the  subject.  The  reason  for  citing  them  was  simply  to  prove 
that  with  respect  to  the  verdicts  of  juries  the  calculus  of 
probabilities  is  amply  suflBcient  to  include  them  under  every 
hypothesis  that  may  be  adopted.  We  may  safely  and  fairly 
assume  that  juries  are  equally  honest ;  that  is,  that  they  are 
alike  desirous  to  deal  justly  with  the  facts  that  are  submitted 

•  Lacroiz  Traite  de  Prob.,  page  273. 


590  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALCULUS  OF 

to  them,  and  upon  which  they  are  to  form  their  judgments. 
Assign  what  value  you  may  to  their  probity,  the  calculus  is 
fully  capable  of  dealing  with  the  result.  If  the  credibility 
of  each  juryman  be  different,  such  difference  would  occasion 
greater  complexity  in  calculating  the  probability  of  the  ver- 
dict; still,  if  we  could  ascertain  the  values  of  the  several 
probabilities  that  each  would  give  a  correct  decision,  the 
calculus  would  not  be  found  deficient  to  treat  with  all  of 
them. 

Hence,  if  what  has  been  advanced  be  not  founded  in  error, 
the  calculus  of  probabilities  is  fully  comprehensive  to  deal 
with  the  testimony  of  a  single  witness,  or  with  that  of  any 
number,  or  with  the  verdict  of  any  number  of  jurymen. 
Whether  we  are  prepared  with  the  necessary  data  obtained 
from  experience  or  other  sources,  so  that  we  may  derive  from 
the  calculus  results  practically  entitled  to  our  confidence  is 
another  matter.  If  we  have  not  such  data  at  hand,  our  remiss- 
ness in  not  procuring  them  may  be  regretted,  but  the  regret 
should  stimulate  our  endeavours  to  supply  the  deficiency,  so 
that  hereafter  we  may  be  better  prepared  to  apply  the  prin- 
ciple of  common  sense,  reduced  to  calculation,  to  the  most 
interesting  afiiiirs  of  life. 

When  an  accused  person  comes  before  a  jury  it  can  seldom 
occur  that  P  in  the  above  formula  can  be  0.  Although  it  is 
a  humane  maxim  of  English  law  that  every  person  is  to  be 
considered  innocent  until  he  is  found  guilty,  still,  when  he 
conies  to  be  tried,  it  must  be  known  that  he  is  strongly 
suspected  of  having  broken  the  law,  or  he  would  not  be 
where  he  is.  It  must  also  be  known  that  the  case  has,  in 
some  measure,  been  gone  into  before  the  committing  magis- 
trate, and  that  he  would  not  have  sent  the  accused  for  trial  if 
the  charge  upon  oath  had  not  satisfied  him  that  the  culprit 
was,  at  least,  not  free  from  suspicion  of  having  committed  an 
offence.  A  true  bill  having  been  found  by  the  grand  jury, 
forms  another  element  of  suspicion  that  adds  something  like 
d  priori  probability  of  the  prisoner's  guilt.  I^t  jurymen 
divest  tlieniselves  of  all  prejudice  as  much  as  they  can,  still 
considerations  of  tlie  kind  mentioned  will  naturally  suggest 
themselves.  Hence  it  is  thought  that  the  d  priori  value  of 
P,  in  criminal  matters,  may  always  be  taken  between  ^  and  1. 

Poisson  says,*  "  L'accuse  (juand  il  arrive  ii  la  cour  d'assises 

a  deja  etc  I'objet  d'un  arret  (le  ])revention  et  d'un  arret  d'accu- 

sation  qui  etablisseut  contre  lui  une  probability  plus  grande 

(|ue  2  (ju'il  est  eoui)al)le:  et  certainement  personne  n'hesiteniit 

♦  Vide  ut  supra,  p.  4. 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.       691 

k  piinir  k  jeu  ^gal  plutSt  pour  sa  culpability  que  pour  son 
innocence."  The  same  remarks  exactly  apply  to  English 
jurisprudence. 

No  mathematician  as  such  can  say  whether  the  confidence 
due  to  the  verdict  of  an  English  jury  is  or  is  not  equivalent 
to  an  unbiassed  majority  of  eight  over  four,  nor  can  he  under- 
take as  such  to  say  whether  one  verdict  out  of  a  hundred  is 
within  or  without  the  limits  of  the  necessary  security.  But 
he  can  undertake  to  say  that,  upon  the  preceding  supposition, 
the  proper  amount  of  security  cannot  be  attained  unless  the 
individual  jurymen,  supposed  equally  worthy  of  confidence, 
be  such  as  can  be  depended  upon  for  correctly  deciding  about 
ten  cases  out  of  thirteen,  each  one  by  himself.  * 

Although  the  determining  the  probability  that  the  verdict 
of  a  jury  is  correct,  is  aualagous  to  determining  the  pro- 
bability that  an  event  attested  by  one  or  more  witnesses  is 
correct,  there  is  some  difierence  in  the  nature  of  the  grounds 
upon  which  the  verdict  of  juries  over  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  rest.  The  testimony  of  a  witness  with  regard  to 
any  fact  may  be  founded  on  his  actual  knowledge :  he  may 
have  seen  the  act  done.  For  instance,  he  may  have  seen  the 
accused  commit  the  offence  for  which  he  has  been  indicted. 
It  may  be  that  the  testimony  of  the  witness  is  not  that  he 
saw  the  accused  commit  the  offence,  but  that  he  saw  him  in 
such  a  situation  and  under  such  circumstances  as  tend  to  fix 
indubitably  the  charge  on  the  culprit.  Now,  the  jury's  verdict 
does  not  depend  upon  what  they  actually  know  of  the 
prisoner's  guilt  or  innocence,  but  upon  their  belief  or  the 
belief  of  the  evidence  brought  to  support  the  charge.  If  no 
evidence  were  adduced  against  the  accused  they  would  acquit 
him.  The  jury  are  judges  to  determine  whether  evidence 
brought  against  the  accused  be  suflScient  to  prove  that  he 
committed  the  alleged  infraction  of  the  law  or  not.  To  enable 
them  to  come  to  a  correct  determination,  they  hear  the 
witness  examined  and  cross-examined,  they  see  his  manner, 
and  may  have  any  questions  put  to  him  tending  to  clear  up 
any  doubts  which  they  may  have  respecting  his  interests, 
inducements,  passions,  or  prejudices.  Whatever  be  the  num- 
ber of  witnesses,  they  all  are,  or  ought  to  be,  submitted  to 
the  same  ordeal.  The  jury  have  ample  opportunity  of  com- 
paring the  evidence  of  one  witness  with  that  of  another,  and 
of  forming  an  opinion  whether  any  agreement  or  discrepancy 
between  their  testimony  follows  naturally  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  or  is  the  result  of  collusion.  Lastly,  they  hear  the 
*  ProfeMor  Do  Morgan,  Encydopeedia  Meiropolitana. 


592     ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALCULUS  OF 

testimony  which  the  accused  gives  in  his  defence,  and  com- 
pare it  with  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Upon  the 
whole,  the  jury  having  thus  sifted  and  weighed  all  the 
evidentiary  matter  of  the  case,  come  to  a  conclusion, — con- 
sequently the  jury's  verdict  depends  upon  whether  they  are 
satisfied  that  the  witnesses  are  credible  or  incredible  with 
respect  to  the  facts  upon  which  their  evidence  is  founded. 
And  also  supposing  tlie  jury  believe  that  the  witnesses  have 
spoken  the  truth ;  whether,  in  the  next  place,  they  consider 
the  facts  proved  are  sufficient  to  bring  home  the  charge  to 
the  culprit,  and  that  he  has  not  set  aside  these  facts,  the  case 
against  the  accused  is  proved ;  if  they  are  satisfied  that  the 
evidence  has  not  proven  the  offence  charged  against  the 
prisoner,  or  that  his  defence  is  a  valid  and  satisfactory  cue, 
they  acquit  him. 

Cases  may  occur  on  which  agreement  or  disagreement  on 
the  testimony  of  witnesses  happens  by  collusion;  but  it  must 
be  allowed  that  cross-examination  and  the  usual  process  of  a 
court  of  judicature  would  render  any  attempt  at  collusion 
almost  certain  to  be  detected.  When  a  witness  has  given  his 
evidence,  little  doubt  can  remain  on  the  minds  of  the  jury 
whether  his  evidence  be  probable  or  improbable ;  whether  it 
forms  an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  tending  to 
connect  the  accused  with  the  charge;  whether  it  be  wortii 
any  consideration  at  all ;  or  whether,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
does  not  go  far  to  i)rove  the  prisoner's  innocence.  It  has  been 
said  before,  that  no  calculus  can  measure  motives.  Perhaps 
it  cannot.  r>iit  can  motives  to  believe  or  disbelieve  a  circum- 
stance depend  upon  the  probabilities  that  it  is  true  or  not  ? 
Condorcet  says:  ''Ainsi  admettre  qu'une  probability  plus 
grande  (ce  mot  etant  i)ris  dans  le  sens  abstmit  de  la  defini- 
tion) est  un  motif  plus  grand  de  croire,  cest  admettre  en 
ineme  temps  que  ces  motifs  sont  proportionnels  aux  proba- 
bilitus.  Cela  pose  du  moment  qu'on  admet  que  d^s  le 
nombre  des  oombinaisons  (jui  ne  I'amenent  un  dv^nement,  est 
plus  grand  (jue  le  nombre  des  oombinaisons  qui  ne  ranieneut 
pas,  on  a  un  motif  de  croire  que  I'evfenement  arrivera;  on 
doit  admettre  ({ue  si  la  ])r()bahilitc  d'un  autre  dv^nement  est 
l)lus  grande,  le  motif  de  croire  sera  plus  «2Tand  aussi."* 

The  verdict  of  a  jury  must  be  admitted  to  involve  many 
complicated  considerations.  Tlie  witnesses  may  have  properly 
attested  facts  suilicicnt  to  convict  the  accused,  but  they  niay 
have  failed  to  impress  the  jury  witli  the  due  weight  of  their 
testimony ;  they  may  have  fabricated  evidence  and  deceived 
*  "  Discourse  Preliminarie,"  p.  8. 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.       593 

the  jury,  notwithstanding  the  application  of  the  tests  above 
discussed  on  either  supposition,  or  on  many  others  that  may 
easily  be  formed ;  the  verdict  depends  upon  the  probability 
compounded  of  the  probabilities,  that  the  jury  have  properly 
considered  the  veracity  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  weight  of 
their  testimony,  and  that  they  have  given  their  verdict  ac- 
cordingly. When  such  matters  are  submitted  to  calculation, 
the  process  is  necessarily  complicated ;  but  the  complexity  of 
the  calculation  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  soundness  or 
rottenness  of  the  principles  upon  which  the  process  is  based. 
There  would,  however,  be  no  difficulty,  and  very  little  com- 
plexity in  the  application  of  the  calculus  to  such  matters,  if 
we  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  proper  data.  Mathema- 
ticians do  not  pretend  to  predict  what  the  verdict  in  any 
particular  case  may  be,  but  if  the  necessary  data  be  supplied 
to  them  when  a  verdict  has  been  given,  they  can  ascertain  by 
the  calculus  the  degree  of  probability  that  it  is  correct  or  not. 

Perhaps  mathematical  certainty  is  not  attainable  in  such 
matters;  but  do  we  find  it  in  any  human  affairs  ?  Do  we  not 
act  in  almost  every  thing  upon  probability,  and  not  upon 
certainty?  It  has  been  asserted  above,  that  experience  in 
most  cases  supplies  us  with  data  on  which  we  found  our 
reasons  for  acting,  and  it  is  repeated,  that  if  we  had  laid  up 
data — the  result  of  experience  respecting  testimony,  verdicts, 
&c.,  the  theory  of  probability  might  be  applied  to  such 
inquiries  without  much  difficulty,  and  sometimes  with  useful- 
ness and  satisfaction.  As  long  as  we  allow  statistical  facts 
on  such  interesting  subjects  to  escape  us  without  keeping 
any  record  of  them,  we  are  much  like  men  who  have  no 
memory,  and  are  therefore  not  the  wiser  to-day  in  conse- 
quence of  what  they  did  yesterday;  experience  fails  to  teach 
them. 

What  degree  of  probability  is  sufficient  to  carry  conviction, 
is  a  question  about  wliich  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion. 
Professor  Starkie  says  :*  "  In  criminal  matters  it  seems  to  be 
perfectly  clear  in  principle  that  the  conjoint  effect  of  circum- 
stances, which  individually  are  inconclusive  in  their  nature, 
cannot  be  conclusive  unless  the  resulting  probability  be 
indefinUe  and  exceed  the  powers  of  calculation.  When  more 
independent  and  unconnected  circumstances  are  in  their 
nature  imperfect  and  inconclusive,  the  degree  of  probability 
which  results  from  their  united  operation,  although  greatly 
inci*eased  in  d^ee,  would  still  in  its  nature  be  d^nite  and 

*  Eiflaji,  YoL  i  p.  669,  laft  edition. 


594  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALOULTO  OF 

inconclusive,  and  therefore  inadequate  for  the  purpose  of 
conviction." 

"Whenever  the  probability  is  of  a  definite  and  limited 
nature,  whether  in  proportion  of  one  hundred  to  one,  or  one 
thousand  to  one,  or  any  other  ratio,  is  immaterial,  it  cannot 
be  made  the  grounds  of  conviction ;  for  to  act  upon  it  in  any 
case  would  be  rko  decide,  that  for  the  sake  of  convicting  many 
criminals  the  hSs^  of  one  individual  might  be  sacrificed.  The 
distinction  betweehy  evidence  of  a  conclusive  tendency,  which 
is  sufficient  for  this  pii;^pose,  and  that  which  ia  inconclusive, 
seems  to  be  this :  the  iS^er  is  limited  and  concluded  by  some 
degree  or  other  of  finite  puipbability  beyond  which  it  cannot 
go ;  the  former,  though  notN^monstration,  is  attended  with 
a  degree  of  probability  of  an  inSlafinite  and  unlimited  nature."* 

Any  position  laid  down  by  so  CS^lebrated  an  author  is  justly 
entitled  to  consideration.  Moreov^,  in  the  present  instance, 
the  author's  known  acquirements,  bN^  as  a  mathematician 
and  a  lawyer,  render  his  dicta  upon  Vhe  subject  of  much 
weight  and  authority,  and  makes  it  sonVg^^at  hazardous  to 
say  anything  by  way  of  controverting  an^^P^^n  which  he 
propounds.  Unless,  however,  in  judicial  mdtf^ers  we  entirely 
depart  from  the  ordinary  mode  of  forming  conclusions,  we 
entirely  fail  to  perceive  how  Professor  Starki*^  maxims  can 
be  fully  admitted.  In  deciding  upon  tlie  most  JF^ighty  affairs 
there  is  always  some  probability  of  our  coming  ilP  ^n  erroneous 
conclusion.  Yet  we  every  day  anive  at  such  decisions,  and 
find  no  evil  resulting  from  the  practice.  Condot^et,  speaking 
of  the  assurance  which  a  man  should  have  thaOy'^G  does  not 
condemn  the  innocent,  says,  "Qu'un  liomme  n'S^  P^  plns 
frappij  de  la  craiute  de  mourir  dans  sa  vingt  cinquil^^ne  ann(^ 
que  dans  sa  vingti^me;  les  tables  de  mortalite  dow^nent  ce 
risque  egal  k  j-eV^-  ainsi  nous  preiidrons  ici  |§J-J  pou  J  I'^^^^nr- 
auce  qui  pent  etre  regardee  conmie  suliisante."  Wlietlt^^  ^^^^^ 
be  a  correct  assum])tion  or  not,  Condorcet  shows  that  fry  ♦'Act- 
ing upon  it,  if  1000  men  are  condemned  in  a  generation,  the 
assurance  that  in  each  judgment  an  innocent  man  haV  not 
been  condemned  would  be  about  M^SaS^*  ^^  very  nel^f^y 
cei'tiiiuty.  in  most  cases  we  act  on  a  much  less  probability 
witliout  any  appreliension.  Professor  Starkie,  as  an  illus?" 
tration  of  the  ])osition  above  laid  down,  gives  this  example^. 
A  isrohbed  of  1  penny,  2  sixpences,  3  shillings,  4  half-crownsi 
5  crowns,  (>  lialf-sovereij^ns,  and  7  soverei<^ns.  B  is  found  in 
tlie  same  fair  in  possession  of  the  same  combination  of  coins. 
No  part  of  the  coin  can  be  identified,  and  no  other  circum- 
♦  Vide  ut  supra,  1574. 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.        595 

stances  operate  against  B.  Although,  says  the  professor,  the 
circumstances  raise  a  high  probability  of  identity,  it  is  still  one 
of  a  definite  and  inconclusive  nature.  The  example  is  a  case 
of  probability  admitting  of  exact  calculation  from  the  formula 

n(n~l)    .  .  .  .    3  2  1 
1  2  ai  X  1"  2  a,  X  1  2  a^  X  1  2  a^ 

Now,  although  the  resulting  fraction  be  definite,  and  although 
sometliing  may  be  wanting  legally  to  convict  B,  still  very  few 
men  would  hesitate  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  coins 
lost  by  A,  and  found  in  B's  possession,  were  the  same,  or 
would  have  any  scruples  to  call  upon  B  to  account  for  their 
possession.  Mr.  Wills  says :  "  If  the  degree  of  probability, 
high  as  it  is  in  this  case,  were  sufficient  to  warrant  a  convic- 
tion, it  would  be  impossible  to  draw  the  distinction  between 
the  degree  of  probability  which  would  and  that  which  would 
not  justify  the  infliction  of  penal  retribution  in  other  cases  of 
inferior  probability.  In  the  case  of  a  small  number  of  coins 
— two  or  three  for  instance — the  probability  of  their  identity 
would  be  very  weak ;  and  yet  the  cases,  though  different  in 
degree,  are  in  principle  the  same,  and  the  chance  of  identity 
is  in  both  cases  equally  capable  of  precise  determination."  This 
may  be  very  true,  but  it  is  in  opposition  to  the  above  rational 
rule  laid  down  by  Condorcet.  The  probability  of  an  event 
measures  the  motive  to  believe  it.  The  number  of  different 
coins,  and  the  precise  number  of  each  coin  in  the  first  sup- 
position, almost  change  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  from 
that  of  the  second.  Mr.  Wills's  doctrines  would  seem  to  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  equally  unsafe  to  act  upon 
probability  that  is  as  nearly  as  possible  equal  to  certainty,  as 
it  would  be  on  another  probability  that  is  only  a  millionth  of 
the  first,  provided  they  are  each  capable  of  being  determined. 
The  determination  of  either  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
safety  of  acting  upon  it.  Is  the  probability  so  great  that  in 
the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  we  should  rely  upon  it  ?  or  is  it  so 
small  that  in  common  matters  we  should  not  depend  upon  it? 
would  appear  to  be  the  more  rational  distinction  or  solution. 
Mr.  Tozer,  in  his  masterly  memoir  already  referred  to,  has 
combated  the  above  author's  doctrine  at  some  length.  He 
asserts  that  the  conclusiveness  or  inconclusiveness  of  evidence 
is  altogether  independent  of  the  definiteness  or  indefiniteness 
of  the  probability  it  raises.  The  only  condition  necessary  to 
conclusiveness  is,  that  the  probability  should  be  measured  by 
a  numerical  fraction  which  exceeds  some  given  definite  mag- 
nitude.   Mr.  Tozer  says,  the  hypothesis  that  B  is  innocent  of 


596  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  CALCULUS  OF 

the  theft  is  opposed  by  the  extraordinary  coincidence  of  the 
coins  in  number  and  value, 

Poisson  admits  the  diflSculty  of  satisfactorily  answering 
the  question  that  has  just  been  discussed.  He  says :  "Selon 
Coudorcet,  la  chance  d'etre  condamne  injustement  pourrait 
fitre  dquivalente  k  celle  d'un  danger  que  nous  jugeons  assez 
petite  pour  ne  pas  m@me  chercher  k  nous  y  soustraire  dans 
les  habitudes  de  la  vie :  car  dit  il,  la  soci^tiS  a  bien  le  droit 
pour  sa  sdret^,  d'exposer  un  de  ses  membres  k  un  danger  dont 
la  chance  lui  est,  pour  ainsi  dire,  indiffi^rent;  mais  cette  con- 
sideration est  beaucoup  trop  subtile  dans  une  question  aussi  de 
grace.  Laplace  donne  une  definition  bien  plus  propre  k  ^clairer 
la  question,  de  la  chance  d'erreur  qu*on  est  forc^  d*admettre 
dans  les  jugeniens  en  matiire  criminelle.  Selon  lui  cette 
probability  doit  6tre  telle  qu'il  y  ait  plus  de  danger  pour  la 
surete  publique,  k  Tacquittement  d'un  coupable,  que  de  crainte 
de  la  condamuation  d'un  innocent."* 

Professor  Starkie  says :  "  Evidence  of  a  conclusive  nature 
and  tendency  is  restricted  by  no  limits  of  mere  probability. 
In  the  case  of  the  ordinary  presumption,  that  an  admission 
of  a  fact  made  by  a  party  contrary  to  his  obvious  interests  is 
truly  made :  the  probability  that  the  admission  is  true  far 
exceeds  the  limits  of  mere  numerical  comparison.  In  some 
instances  mere  mechanical  coincidences  are  of  this  description. 
Thus  in  ordinary  cases  where  cloth  is  cut  and  stolen,  the  peiv 
feet  coincidence  between  the  cloth  found  in  the  possession  of 
the  prisoner  and  the  remnant  left  behind  is  of  this  description : 
the  probability  of  identity  arising  from  the  perfect  coincidence 
of  the  several  threads  exceeds  the  bounds  of  arithmetical 
calculation,  and  deprives  the  mind  of  all  power  of  attributing 
such  series  of  coincidences  to  mere  accident"  t 

The  foregoing  observations  on  admissions  can  only  apply 
in  their  fullest  extent  to  civil  cases.  In  criminal  matters 
admissions  and  confessions  are  very  far  indeed  from  being 
conclusive ;  the  probability  tliat  they  are  true,  instead  of  ex- 
ceeding the  limits  of  numerical  comparison,  really  amounts 
to  nothing  at  all.  Mr.  Tozer,  in  his  interesting  memoir,  has 
submitted  the  question  with  respect  to  the  coincidences  of 
two  pieces  of  cloth  to  actual  calculation.  The  matliematical 
result  is,  that  whether  the  measure  of  the  probability  be 
definite  or  indifinite,  the  evidence  is  conclusive,  but  the  pro- 
bability, when  the  measure  is  definite,  is  many  thousand  times 
as  great  as  the  other. 

•  **  Rechcrches  sur  la  Prob.  du  Jugement,"  page  5. 
t  Vt  Bupra,  p.  670. 


PROBABILITIES  TO  LEGAL  AND  JUDICIAL  SUBJECTS.        597 

The  statistics  of  crime  already  mentioned  will  hereafter,  no 
doubt,  supply  valuable  data  for  the  theory  of  probabilities. 
In  addition,  data  respecting  juries,  data  with  r^ard  to  true 
and  false  statements  made  by  witnesses  imder  given  circum- 
stances, such  as  have  been  adverted  to  above,  these  and  other 
like  data  would  enable  mathematicians  to  apply  the  calculus 
to  legal  subjects  with  much  interest,  and  in  some  cases  with 
some  utility.  Had  we  such  data,  and  still  supposing  the 
calculus  to  be  only  common  sense  put  into  calculation,  when-, 
ever  practice  and  the  calculus  differed  in  their  results,  it 
would  be  an  interesting  inquiry  to  determine  the  causes  of 
their  difference,  that  is,  why  does  the  result  of  a  trial  in  a 
given  case  differ  from  the  same  subject  when  tested  by  the 
calculation  of  common  sense  ?* 

But  in  the  absence  of  the  requisite  data,  it  cannot  be  too 
often  repeated  that  the  calculus  ought  not  to  be  censured  if 
its  application  cannot  be  satisfactorily  employed.  Every 
author  who  brings  forward  the  theory,  merely  to  show  that  the 
necessary  data  are  only  wanting  for  its  due  application,  acts 
as  the  friend  of  abstract  science,  and  assists  in  reducing 
interesting  subjects  to  matters  of  calculation.  It  is  not 
intended,  ever  so  remotely,  to  speak  disparagingly  of  our  legal 
proceedings.  Precedents  are  often  the  preserved  fruits  of 
exj:)erience;  nevertheless,  tliey  require  great  care  and  discrimi- 
nation in  using,  otherwise  the  dicta  of  the  dead,  in  the  shape 
of  a  precedent,  may  mislead  the  living.  "  Crude  notes,"  says 
a  legal  writer,  may  form  a  case — that  case  may  become  autho- 
rity, "  and  that  authority  may  ultimately  elbow  out  common 
sense."  If  this  may  possibly  happen,  particularly  in  criminal 
cases,  surely  the  bare  attempt  to  apply  the  additional  test  of 
calculation  to  a  subject  which  ultimately  concerns  the  whole 
community,  if  it  be  not  praiseworthy,  at  all  events,  ought  to 
be  free  from  censure. 

The  writer  of  the  preceding  somewhat  unconnected  remarks 
has  endeavoured  to  adduce  proofs  that  the  theory  of  proba- 
bility, in  its  application  to  evidentiary  subjects,  is  not  worse 
than  useless,  as  some  writers  have  stated  it  to  be;  on  the 
contrary,  that  the  topic  has  engaged  the  attention  and  exer- 
cised the  talents  of  the  most  illustrious  authors — men  who 
have  devoted  their  lives  and  exercised  their  splendid  talents 
to  exalt  the  human  intellect  and  to  enlighten  mankind.  These 
celebrated  writers,  in  his  opinion,  have  clearly  shewn  that  the 
theory  may  be  satisfactorily  applied  to  many  legal  and  judicial 

*  See  Benthain*B  Judicial  Evidonce,  and  Boat's  PresumptiYe  Evidence. 
VOL.  IL  R  R 


598         ON  THK  APFUGATION  OF  THB  CALCULUS,  ETC. 

matteniy  provided  that  proper  data  be  famished  for  such 
applicatioiL 

He  has  done  very  little  besides  adducing  their  dicta.  He 
is  fully  aware  that  an  article  so  made  up  of  odds  and  ends 
is  very  unlikely  to  make  converts  to  his  view.  His  object, 
however,  will  be  quite  answered  if  it  at  all  tend  to  draw 
attention  to  a  subject  hitherto  much  n^lected,  and  he  will  be 
especially  gratified  if  it  should  induce  writers  properly  quali- 
fied to  take  the  matter  up. 


SANITAEY  NOTES.     SEWER  VENTILATION. 

BT  EDWARD  APFLETON. 


There  is,  I  believe,  at  the  present  moment,  a  difference  of 
opinion  among  the  professors  of  medicine  as  to  the  possibi- 
lity of  contagion  through  the  medium  of  gaseous  emanations ; 
but  if  there  is  only  a  shadow  of  doubt,  it  behoves  us  to 
devise  means  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  bare  chance  of  such 
a  condition  of  tilings.  I  can  only  state  that  I  have  it  on  the 
authority  of  men  eminent  in  their  profession,  that  during  the 
late  epedemic  of  typhoid  fever,  sewer  gases  were  a  prolific 
source  of  the  spread  of  the  disease ;  and  I  also  have  it,  from 
careful  observation,  that  a  large  proportion  of  cases  admitted 
into  certain  public  hospitals  were  those  of  domestic  servants, 
who  were  supposed  to  have  taken  the  disease  from  the  emanar 
tions  of  sewers,  through  that  great  source  of  annoyance,  the 
domestic  sink;  but  this  circumstance  alone  would  not  be 
evidence  to  prove  that  the  disease  was  contagious  by  the 
vehicle  of  sewer  gases,  though  we  might  infer  that  it  was 
indtcced  therefrom.  It  is,  however,  generally  admitted,  that 
the  diseases  brought  about  by  unwholesome  effluvia  are^Tre- 
ventahle,  and  it  is,  therefore,  our  bounden  duty  to  use  every 
means  within  our  knowledge  to  overcome  such  an  evil 

The  system  of  public  and  private  drainage,  which  obtains 
at  the  present  day,  has  caused  a  complication  of  difficulties 
which  its  promoters  little  dreamt  of  when  they  promulgated 
it;  adding  another  proof  to  the  imperfection  of  all  things 
devised  by  man. 

The  great  change  of  system  from  cesspools  to  sewers  for  the 
removal  of  town  sewage,  (introduced  a  little  upwards  of  20 
years  since,)  brought  about  a  radical  alteration  in  the  con- 
struction of  sewers,  for  prior  to  that  date,  when  they,  were 
only  used  for  carrying  off  rainfall,  there  was  not  that  absolute 
necessity  for  impervious  and  airtight  construction  which  there 
is  at  present,  now  that  refuse  of  all  kinds  passes  through  these 
channels,  and  the  old  sewers  being  comparatively  free  from 

B  R  2 


600  SANITARY  NOTES. 

offensive  exhalations,  there  was  not  even  any  necessity  for 
trapping  the  openings  which  admitted  the  waters  passing  into 
them,  but  the  change  of  system  very  soon  proved  that  not 
only  was  it  necessary  to  deal  with  the  solids  and  fluids,  but 
that  something  also  must  be  done  with  the  gases  which  they 
evolved ;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  street  gullies  had 
all  to  be  trapped  to  prevent  annoyance  in  the  public  high- 
ways by  the  escape  of  these  gases ;  but  this  very  act  has 
again  brought  about  a  difficulty,  for  by  conhning  these 
vapours,  and  preventing  their  escape  in  our  streets  and  roads, 
they  are  driven  and  forced  (obedient  to  the  laws  of  nature)  to 
free  themselves  through  every  point  of  exit,  and  so  all  defec- 
tive joints  in  our  drains,  all  imperfect  sinks  and  water-closets, 
become  so  many  channels  for  bringing  back  into  our  very 
dwellings  that  which  we  have  sought  to  get  rid  of,  in  another 
form,  and  to  use  the  words  of  the  Registrar-General,  "  This  is 
one  of  the  serious  complications  of  the  modern  system  of 
water-closet  drains,  as  under  it  ever}^  house  is  put  into  com- 
munication with  every  other  house,  so  that  zymotic  volatile 
stuff  of  disease  has  a  chance  to  find  its  way  from  house  to 
house  through  these  artificial  channels." 

Medical  men,  as  well  as  the  members  of  my  own  profes- 
sion, have  long  felt  the  great  importance  of  this  question, 
and  have  earnestly  endeavoured  to  grapple  with  it ;  the  pub- 
lic, however,  have  not  in  general  been  willing  to  admit  the 
existence  of  the  evil,  and  so  have  shewn  but  little  anxiety  to 
remedy  it. 

Sewer  ventildtion  seems  naturally  to  divide  itself  into  two 
distinct  branches,  viz.,  the  purifying  of  public  sewers,  and  the 
keeping  pure  of  the  private  house  drains,  and  though,  with 
our  present  knowledge,  perfection  in  either  may  not  be  attain- 
able, yet  any  mitigation  of  the  evil  will  be  valuable,  and  if, 
instead  of  fighting  about  the  best  plan,  we  adopt  some  method, 
we  shall  be  doing  a  public  service. 

The  primary  and  most  easily  accomplished  point,  then,  is  so 
to  isolate  each  private  sewer  as  to  prevent  the  stinks,  emana- 
tions, exhalations,  gases,  or  whatever  you  like  to  call  them, 
passing  from  one  house  to  another,  and  then  to  adopt  means 
for  purifying  each  individual  drain. 

Many  plans  have  been  adopted,  with  more  or  less  success, 
but  nothing  seems  so  well  to  meet  the  exigency  as  the  syphon 
or  water-trap,  one  or  more  of  which  should  be  placed  on  the 
line  of  private  drain,  between  the  main  sewer  and  the  pre- 
mises drained ;  I  say  one  or  more,  because,  unless  carefully 
fixed,  the  trapping  is  incomplete. 


SEWER  VENTILATION.  601 

Where  the  fall  of  the  house  drain  is  but  slight,  it  is  desir- 
able to  provide  means  for  occasionally  cleaning  out  these  traps, 
whicli  are  more  or  less  liable  to  be  come  silted  or  choked  at 
the  dips  or  low  parts,  and  in  such  cases  the  ordinary  mc.«on  « 
trap  (as  it  is  called)  is  perhaps  a  preferable  arrangement,  for 
by  it  the  cover  can  be  taken  off  and  the  impediment  removed. 

The  Flap  Trap,  consisting  of  a  closely  fitting  metal  disc 
hinged,  and  falling  on  to  a  ground  surface  at  the  end  of  the 
private  drain,  has  been  advocated  by  many,  but  its  palpable 
defect  consists  in  the  fact  that  in  tlie  very  action  of  allowing 
matter  to  pass  down  into  the  main  sewer,  it  also  allows  the 
gases  to  rise  into  the  private  drains,  besides  which,  however 
delicate  the  working  of  the  flap,  it  is  found  practically  to 
obstruct  the  flow,  and  cause  deposit  Its  real  and  legitimate 
use  is  to  prevent  the  back  flow  of  tidal  and  storm  waters.  It 
will  not  do,  however,  to  trust  entirely  to  water-traps  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  sewer  gases ;  for  it  is  well  known  that  water 
may  become  saturated  (so  to  speak)  with  them,  and  give  out 
on  one  side  of  the  trap  what  it  receives  on  the  other.  Water 
absorbs  its  own  volume  of  some  gases,  and  600  times  its 
volume  of  others,  varying  as  shown  by  the  following  table ; 
obtained,  I  believe,  from  a  perfectly  reliable  authority. 

One  cubic  foot  of  wator  absorbs  of 

Cable  feet      Tempenitim. 

Sulphurous  acid  gas 43'78.  .at.  .64-4° 

Sulphide  of  hydrogen 263.  .at.  .64*4* 

Carbonic  acid 106.  .at.  .64-4' 

Nitrous  oxide 0-76.  .at.  .64-4° 

Oxygon    0-65.  .at.  .64-4'» 

Hydrogen   046.  .at.  .64-4*' 

Hydrochloric  acid 48000.  .ut.  .600' 

Ammonia    67000.. at.. 600»« 

*  The  foregoing  table  shows  an  additional  advantage  in  the  use  of  large 
quantities  of  water  for  Jlwthing  sewers ;  for  besides  the  mechanical  action  of 
removal,  there  is  the  chemical  action  of  absorbing  the  gases. 

And  here,  too,  I  should  caU  attention  to  the  very  injurious  but  common 
practice  of  using  the  same  cistern  for  supplying  water  for  consumption  and 
for  use  in  the  water  closets.  It  is  well  known  that  the  water  in  a  cistern 
supplying  a  water  closet  rapidly  absorbs  the  gases  which  arise  from  the  closet 
drain  and  overflow  pipe,  and  that  the  water  becomes  poisoned  thereby.  Dr. 
Parkes,  in  his  Manual  of  Practical  Hygiene,  writes,  "  The  absorption  of  sewer 
gases,  as  when  the  oveidSow  pipe  of  a  cistern  opens  into  the  sewers,  wiU  cause 
diarrha^;  this  seems  perfectly  proved  by  the  case  rocorded  by  Dr.  Greenshaw 
in  Mr.  Simons's  2nd  report :  all  the  conditions  of  an  exact  experiment  seem  to 
have  been  fulfilled.  In  the  jail  at  Salford  two  bodies  of  men,  viz,  the  prisoners, 
466  in  number,  and  the  officers  and  members  of  their  fiunilies,  63  in  number, 
were  distributeid  throughout  the  jail,  and  were  imder  the  same  conditions  of 
weather,  lodgings,  &c. ;  yet  of  the  former  266,  or  57  per  cent,  were  attacked 
with  sudden  diarrhoja  of  a  choleraic  t>'pe,  while  of  the  latter  not  one  was 
attacked,  although,  had  the  proportion  been  the  same,  30  should  have 
been  taken  iU.  As  the  attack  was  remarkably  sudden  and  evanescent  it  was 
a  case  of  poisoning  of  some  kind.    The  cause  was  not  in  the  air ;  for  both 


602  8ANITABT  NOTES. 

Apart,  too,  from  this  absorbing  power  of  water,  there  is 
another  difficulty  to  deal  with, — the  actual  blowing  through 
the  trap  caused  by  the  expansion  and  pressure  of  the  gases 
on  the  surface  of  the  water,  showing  itself  in  minute  bubbles 
passing  from  one  side  of  the  trap  to  another. 

This  fact  has  been  observed  by  many  persons,  and  is  men- 
tioned by  Dr.  Carpenter,  of  Croydon,  in  a  little  pamphlet 
published  by  him  entitled  Hints  on  House  Drainage,  He 
says,  "  On  the  night  of  October  17th  I  was  aroused  by  a  loud 
noise  proceeding  from  the  closet ;  it  continued  at  intervals 
throughout  the  next  day ;  unable  at  first  to  account  for  it,  I 
eventually  found  that  it  was  caused  by  the  ventilating  pipe 
doing  duty  as  a  waste  pipe  to  the  overflowing  cistern.  There 
was  no  room  for  exit  of  foul  air  from  the  sewer  which,  there- 
fore, was  forced  through  the  trap  of  the  water-closet  with,  at 
times,  the  force  of  steam  through  the  safety  valve  of  a  steam 
engine.  The  nuisance  continued  for  nearly  three  days  before 
the  weather  would  allow  th.e  plumber  to  rectify  a  mistake 
which  had  been  committed  in  the  previous  summer, — the 
mistake  of  making  the  ventilating  pipe  do  duty  for  the  waste 
pipe.  The  escaped  air  did  not  smell  offensively,  a  faint  odour 
alone  being  recognized,  it  was  therefore  tolerated ;  the  exces- 
sive rainfall  also  prevented  much  ventilation  of  the  house  by 
open  windows.  Two  or  three  days  afterwards  one  of  the 
occupants  of  a  room,  the  farthest  in  the  house  from  the  closet, 
fell  ill  with  symptoms  of  typhoid  fever,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
other  person  sleeping  in  that  room  also  showed  signs  of  the 
disease.  Into  the  room  occupied  by  these  two  persons  the  foul 
air  from  the  closet,  as  proved  by  experiment,  naturally  as- 
cended. Simultaneously  with  the  origin  of  these  cases 
appeared  many  others  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  and  in 
every  case  in  my  own  practice,  in  which  enteric  or  typhoid 
fever  occurred,  I  distinctly  traced  local  causes  for  the  disease 
in  some  defective  house-work.  It  generally  happened  that 
the  smell  was  not  enough  to  lead  to  the  discovery  of  the 

classes  were  on  a  par  in  that  respect;  the  food  of  the  prisoners  was  examined 
and  found  to  be  g^ood,  the  only  other  probable  channel  of  the  poisonous  agent 
was  the  drinking  water.  It  was  discovered  that,  while  the  water  was  derived 
from  the  same  source,  the  officers  used  the  water  of  one  cistern,  and  the 
prisoners'  food  was^  cooked  with  water  of  another  covered  cistern,  the  un- 
trappod  overflow  pipe  of  which  communic^itcd  with  a  common  sewer.  On 
the  day  of  the  outbreak  the  wat«r  was  noticed  to  be  less  light,  to  have  a 
yellow  colour,  and  a  somewhat  unplwisant  taste.  Although  the  water  was 
not  further  examined  there  can  bo  no  doubt  it  was  the  cause  of  the  attack, 
which  ceased  almost  as  rapidly  as  it  commenced  on  the  cistern  being  emptied 
and  the  pipe  trapped.  There  seema  to  be  no  point  of  eWdence  wanting  here, 
either  positive  or  negative,  to  fix  the  cause  in  the  water,  and  that  the  im- 
purity of  the  water  was  from  the  sewer  gases  is  really  as  certain. 


SEWEB   VENTILATION.  603 

defect,  a  faint  odour  alone  being  perceived.  In  my  own  house 
it  was  the  noise  not  the  smeU  which  led  to  the  early  dis- 
covery of  the  error." 

But  even  if  we  can  succeed  in  effectually  separating  the 
main  sewer  from  the  house  drain  by  well  constructed  water- 
traps,  we  must  not  rest  contented  here;  for  there  is  still  much 
to  do  in  guarding  against  the  exhalations  from  the  private 
drain  itself,  and  the  method  for  accomplishing  this  is,  in  fact, 
the  very  pith  of  the  whole  matter,  for  if  each  housendrain  is 
ventilated  a  large  amount  of  the  evil  is  prevented. 

The  only  way  to  prevent  the  admission  of  sewer  gas 
through  improper  channels  into  our  dwellings,  is  to  provide 
sufficient  legitimate  outlets  from  the  drains  where  they  can 
do  no  harm. 

It  has  been  asserted,  and  with  a  certain  amount  of  truth, 
that  sewer  gases  are  of  greater  specific  gravity  than  at- 
mospheric air,  and  therefore  will  not  ascend ;  and  had  wo 
only  to  deal  with  these  gases  in  a  quiescent  state,  and  at 
a  temperature  uniform  with  the  atmosphere,  the  statement 
might  be  admitted ;  but  it  is  also  known  from  practical  ex- 
perience that  sewer  gases  wiU  ascend,  and  are  lai^ely  acted 
on  by  expansion  and  displacement ;  it  is  also  a  known  fact, 
that  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  forms  an  ingredient  of  sewer 
exhalations,  though  of  considerably  greater  specific  gravity 
than  the  atmosphere,  diffuses  itself  equally  in  the  open  air  at 
all  altitudes ;  and  it  is  also  known  as  a  fact,  that  it  is  generally 
the  high  levels  of  a  district  which  suffer  most  fix)m  the  sewer 


It  has  been  ascertained,  by  many  and  careful  observations, 
that  in  London  the  temperature  of  the  sewers  varies  from 
11*61  degrees  to  3*07  above  the  external  atmosphere  during 
winter,  spring,  and  autumn,  giving  an  average  for  the  whole 
year  of  5*11  degrees  above  the  external  atmosphere ;  we  may 
therefore  assume  that  from  this  cause  alone  there  is  a  constant 
tendency  in  sewer  gases  to  ascend,  and  if  the  temperature  can 
by  artificial  means  be  further  raised,  so  much  the  easier  will 
be  the  removal  of  the  gases. 

In  the  erection  of  new  houses  the  readiest  method  which 
suggests  itself  is  a  combined  smoke  and  ventilating  flue, 
which  may  be  constructed  by  placing  a  q^lindrical  pipe  for 
the  smoke  within  a  hollow  cube  or  other  rectangular  shape, 
and  allowing  the  angular  spaces  thus  formed  to  serve  for 

*  Dr.  Ballard,  medical  officer  of  health  for  the  pariah  of  Isliiijgton,  in  his 
report  printed  in  Aogust  last  nys,  referring  to  cholera  in  his  dmiict,  "the 
disease  swept  over  the  parish  as  it  were  in  two  wav^t,  th0  Jlnt  the  higher  and 
most  oYerwnelming,  the  second  the  lower." 


604 


BANITAHY   NOTES. 


tlia  ventilating  flue,  the  heat  in  the  smoke  flue  would  then 
greatly  raise  the  temperature  of  the  air  ia  the  angles,  and 
thereby  cause  au  upward  current. 

Next  to  this  the  cooatruction  of  a  veniilaimg  fine  adjoinui^ 
stnoke  Hues  would  probably  best  meet  the  end,  but  as  all 
huilt  flues  are  more  or  less  liable  to  leak  from  carcileas 
workraaaahip  or  accidental  settleineut,  it  will  not  compare 
with  the  former. 

In  dealing  with  houses  erected  without  special  sower  venti- 
lating fluea,  the  simplest  and  best  means  of  meeting  the 
diSiculty  la  to  place  a  metal  pipe  as  uear  as  possible  t«j  a 
chimney  stack,  and  carry  it  up  above  the  hifrheat  point  of  the 
house  atid  chimney*  and  in  oixler  to  guard  agaiust  the  pomible 
passage  of  the  sewer  gases  down  adjoining  smoke  flues  into 
rooms  from  which  they  proceed,  either  the  smoke  flues  should 
be  protected  with  saddle  covers,  or  a  lai^ge  spreading  flange 
should  be  placed  round  the  top  of  the  ventilating  flue,  so  as 
to  disperse  as  much  as  possible  any  exhalations  acted  on  by 
the  sucking  action  of  an  adjoining  flue ;  but  perhaps  the 
safest  plan  would  be  to  furnish  all  sewer  ventilating  flues  with 
charcoal  chambers,  in  \\\iM\  case  tJie  apex  of  the  flue  mast 
be  covered  with  a  bonnet  or  cowl  to  exclude  the  rain,  as  tire 
etficacy  of  the  charcoal  is  greatly  diminished  by  moisture. 

Dr.  Letheby,  the  medical  officer  to  the  City  Commissioners 
of  Sewers,  in  report  io^r  on  the  efficacy  of  charcoal,  says,  **you 
have  but  to  place  a  small  box  containing  a  few  pennyworths 
of  charcoal  in  the  course  of  the  draught,  and  the  purification 
of  the  air  will  be  complete.  As  far  as  we  know,  the  strength 
and  endurance  of  this  power  is  almost  unlimited,  so  that 
when  once  the  air-filter  has  been  set  up  it  will  last  continu- 
ously for  years.  Its  action  also  upon  the  draft  is  not  parti- 
cularly injurious,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  temperature 
of  the  sewers,  and  the  agencies  which  are  now  at  work  in 
circulating  the  air  and  ventilating  them,  will  be  sufficient  to 
keep  up  a  current  of  foul  air  through  the  filters." 

But  I  do  not  think  the  ventilation  of  private  drains  will  be 
perfectly  met  by  an  external  flue,  such  as  that  just  described, 
alone,  because  the  soil  pipes  from  most  water-closets  are 
placed  within  the  walls  of  the  house,  and  the  increased  tem- 
perature of  the  internal  atmosphere  will  always  cause  a  pre- 
ponderance of  upward  current  to  set  in  from  the  lowest  part 
of  the  drain  to  the  highest  part  of  the  soil  pipe,  and  in  the 
case  of  water-closets  situated  in  an  upper  story,  there  will  be 
a  constant  tendency  in  the  sewer  gas  to  escape  at  that  point, 
it  would,  therefore,  be  desirable  to  place  a  syphon-trap  at  the 


SEWER  VENTILATION.  605 

foot  of  the  vertical  soil  pipe,  to  cut  off  the  gases  from  the 
interior  of  the  house,  and  to  construct  a  second  ventilating 
flue  from  the  highest  point  of  the  soil  pipe  immediately  below 
the  ordinary  closet  D  trap. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject,  allow  me  for  one 
minute  to  say  a  word  on  the  subject  of  our  ordinary  domestic 
sinks. 

Most  of  us  know  how  exceedingly  difficult  it  is  to  get 
servants  to  keep  the  sink  bell-trap  cover  in  its  place,  for 
whenever  the  sink  has  to  be  washed  or  swilled  down,  off  goes 
the  cover,  or  (as  they  say)  the  grating  will  become  choked, 
and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is  not  replaced,  and  if  the 
sink  is  connected  with  the  house  drain,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
an  uninterrupted  passage  is  at  once  formed  between  the 
sewers  and  the  interior  of  the  house,  and  the  higher  tempera- 
ture within  doors  sets  up  an  exhausting  or  sucking  action 
upon  the  drain,  drawing  the  sewer  gases  into  the  room  whence 
it  becomes  diffused  throughout  the  whole  house.  A  simple 
remedy  for  this  is  to  take  care  that  the  sink  is  not  placed  in 
direct  connection  with  any  drain,  but  dischai^es  itself  in  the 
open  air  on  to  a  paved  channel  communicating  with  a  trapped 
grating  outside  the  house.  No  bell  trap  is  then  necessary ; 
and  here  let  me  remark  that  the  ordinary  bell-trap  with 
moveable  cover,  as  generally  used  in  sinks  and  yards,  is  about 
the  most  unscientific  and  worst  possible  contrivance  which 
could  be  devised,  because  the  cover,  which  forms  the  trapping 
apparatus,  is  readily  removed,  and  is  frequently  broken,  and 
the  trap  ceases  to  exist ;  but  the  D  trap,  as  it  is  called,  is 
greatly  superior,  being  complete  with  or  without  its  cover, 
and  is  readily  cleaned. 

Antiirs  patent  stench-  trap  is  also  a  well  contrived  arrange- 
ment on  the  same  principle. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  part  of  the  subject,  about 
which  there  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion,  and  which 
is  undoubtedly  by  far  the  more  difficult  to  deal  with,  viz., 
the  ventilation  of  the  public  sewers.  It  may  be  at  first 
thought,  and  has  more  than  once  been  said,  **  Surely,  if  means 
be  taken  to  guard  against  the  passage  of  sewer  gas  from  the 
main  sewers  into  the  house  drains,  and  ventilate  the  house 
drains,  you  have  done  enough  ; "  but  this  is  not  the  case,  for 
the  gases  generated  in  the  public  sewers,  from  decomposition 
and  fermentation,  are  much  more  in  quantity  than  those  in 
the  private  drains,  and  they  find  their  escape  through  the 
street  gully  gratings,  impregnate  the  soil,  and  even  find  entry 
through  our  house  walls. 


606  SANITAKY   NOTES. 

Various  methods  have  beea  suggested,  posse^tDg  different 
advantages,  and  more  or  less  costly,  aud  because  doctors  have 
disagreed,  very  little  has  yet  been  done. 

The  two  bones  of  contention  have  been  whether  the  work 
cao  be  bext  accomplished  by  artijicial  or  natural  means,  the 
expense  of  the  former  has  been,  and  no  doubt  always  will  be^ 
a  great  dmwback  to  its  adoption,  it  includes  mechanical  ven- 
tilation by  fans  or  bellows  to  force  air  into  the  scwcrd,  with 
shafts  constructed  for  its  efflux,  a  grave  objection  to  which  i^ 
that  by  this  method  the  sewer  atmosphere  is  place^l  under 
greater  prtsBure  than  at  present,  and  therefore  all  defective 
points  are  more  severely  tried. 

Then  come  pumps  and  fans  for  emtractinfi  the  air,  but  this 
has  been  found  attended  with  great  practical  difficulty, 
because  the  openings  in  the  sewers  being  so  unnieroua,  the 
area  commanded  is  very  limited,  the  nearest  branch  cbanoels 
beini^  acted  on  with  great  force,  while  the  more  remote  are 

•pdknMi  to  do  the  work. 

The  atiiie  dtgectlm  holds  good,  in  e  leie  dqgn^  to  ilie  «Mi 
of  Ae  ffiflin  jtrf,  w^A  ^n  cTihMnfififf  MpHtPoeeL 

The  venUlatioft  of  all  eeweis  fp£jeh  tie  iUt  ledfai^  « 
when  the  ont&ll  is  so  plaoed  m  to  pravenft  the  frae  mod  xik¥ 
temipted  exit  of  atoim  wataEa^  beooone  itoiiMb^iiapoitooVet 
tiie  accamulated  sewerage  and  water  at  the  oadUl  diivee  badE 
the  specifically  lighter  gases,  placing  the  high  parts  ander 
pressure ;  this  &ct  was  singularly  corroborated  to  me  a  short 
time  since  by  a  medical  man,  who  informed  me  that  in  his 
practise  during  a  late  epidemic,  he  observed  that  the  fever 
cases  greatly  increased,  both  in  number  and  virulence,  after 
heavy  falls  of  rain. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  author  of  this  paper,  there  are  two 
great  essentials  in  sewer  ventilation,  the  meeting  of  which 
need  not  cause  a  large  expense  or  great  difficulty. 

Ist. — To  provide  a  large  number  of  outlets  for  the  natural 
escape  of  the  sewer  exhalations,  and 

2nd. — To  provide  a  sufficient  number  of  inlets  to  permit 
dilution  of  the  sewer  atmosphere,  just  in  the  same  manner  as 
one  would  set  about  ventilating  an  ordinary  chamber,  where 
the  proper  plan  is  not  only  to  provide  for  the  escape  of  the 
foul  air,  but  also  for  the  intake  of  fresh,  which,  besides  pro- 
viding for  healthy  respiration,  greatly  assists  in  the  removal  of 
the  vitiated  atmosphere. 

The  means  of  accomplishing  this  are  as  follows  : — 

st — ^To  make  arrangements  with  the  owners  and  users 


A*  Gully  gratinj^. 

h*  Side  opBTiin*T  lor  floods. 

c  Dstch  pit  for  road  i 


1^  Charcoal  l»a*ikct  of  wiro  £«,aao. 
E.  Din^hraj^ma  of  tiip. 
r.  Dnun  to  sewer. 


Mr 


L 


^J 


8EWBR  VENTILATION.  607 

of  furnaces  and  lofty  chimneys,  for  connecting  the  sewers 
with  the  furnaces,  or  above  them  with  their  shafts ;  fears  have 
been  expressed  by  some  that  permitting  the  sewer  gases  to 
come  in  contact  with  fire  would  be  attended  with  danger ;  if 
there  is  any  importance  to  be  attached  to  this,  which  is  not 
entertained  by  those  who  are  best  able  to  judge,  the  difficulty 
may  be  met  by  a  variety  of  means,  both  mechanical  and 
chemical,  but  we  have  it  on  the  authority  of  Professor  Fara- 
day, that  the  assumed  difficulty  is  not  likely  to  exist,  for  we 
find  him  saying,  in  his  evidence  before  a  committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  *'  I  have  often  thought  that  the  many 
furnace  and  engine  flues  that  rise  up  so  abundantly  in  many 
parts  of  London,  might  be  made  to  compensate  in  part  for  the 
nuisance  which  the  smoke  occasions,  by  being  turned  to 
account  in  ventilating  the  sewers,  and  burning  the  putrid 
vapours  generated  in  them." 

And  again,  we  find  the  following  in  Mr.  Hayward's  report 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  City  Sewers :  "  The  experiment 
in  Friar-street  proved  the  practicability  of  depriving  those 
gases  (the  sewer  gases)  of  their  noxious  smell  and  character  as 
rapidly  as  they  were  drawn  out  by  passing  the  jet  through  a 
coke  fire."  And  again,  "  if  only  a  few  of  the  private  furnace 
shafts  in  the  City  were  connex)ted  with  the  sewers,  they 
would  be  a  valuable  assistance  to  the  existing  or  any  other 
mode  of  ventilation." 

Second  suggestion. — That  the  public  lamp  posts,  sufficiently 
removed  from  houses,  should  be  connected  with  the  sewers ; 
this  I  lay  great  stress  on,  because  the  lamp  pillars  being  pub- 
lic property,  and  under  the  control  of  the  local  authorities, 
the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  private  interests  would  not 
arise,  and  the  increased  temperature  at  night,  caused  by  the 
burning  gas  in  the  lamps,  would  greatly  aid  the  upward  cur- 
rent ;  and  again,  the  immense  area  over  which  these  lamps  are 
often  spead  would  meet  one  of  the  great  requirements  of 
any  system  of  sewer  ventilation,  for  all  admit  that  to  be 
thoroughly  effective,  the  appliances  must  be  widely  diffused. 

If,  however,  objections  are  made  on  the  score  of  possible 
annoyance  to  the  frequenters  of  the  public  thoroughfare,  it  is 
but  to  introduce  a  charcoal  filter  into  the  lamp  post  or  line  of 
flue,  and  the  difficulty  is  got  over ;  but  1  believe  it  is  an 
admitted  fact,  that  the  air  breathed  out  of  doors  is  confined 
to  a  stratum  of  about  six  feet  above  the  ground,  except  under 
disturbed  conditions  of  the  atmosphere,  as  in  high  winds. 

The  third  suggestion  is  to  make  the  ordinary  street  gully 
gratings  serve  the  purpose  of  ventilators  as  well  as  their  pre- 
sent use.    (See  diagram.) 


608  SAl^lTAEY  KOTEti. 

As  iu  the  case  of  the  larap  piUara,  the  gully  gmtings  bdug 
public  property  aad  widtily  cUftused,  great  facility  for  their 
use  IS  obtaiaed  ;  those  at  low  levels  would  serve  as  inlet»  for 
atmosplieric  air  to  dilute  the  stjwer  gases,  and  those  on  high 
levels  as  outlets  for  their  escape;  of  course  in  this  case  the 
charcoal  filter  is  indispeusablep  the  outlet  being  below  the 
breathing  line. 

There  have  been  many  advocates  for  a  system  of  pipes  and 
tubes  to  be  placed  against  the  houses,  but  as  this  woidd  inter- 
fere with  private  rights,  and  to  a  certain  extent  be  an  eyesore, 
besides  entailing  (in  the  cases  of  houses  situated  at  a  diatanoe 
from  the  public  road,  as  suburban  villas)  a  considerable  length 
of  special  drain,  would  prove  generallif  objectionable. 

The  importance  and  absolute  necessity  of  sewer  veutilatioa 
is  now  admitted  by  all  who  have  given  the  subject  serioas 
considemtion,  and  its  value  has  been  proved  in  those  plac^a 
where  it  has  been  adopted, 

lunumerable  private  and  many  public  opinions  and  cases 
could  be  quoted,  but  I  will  content  myself  with  two  or  three. 

A  writer  in  one  of  our  leading  scientific  journals  sajs, 
*'  Ha\aag  for  many  years  devoted  much  tinie  to  investigationa 
respecting  the  cause  and  distribution  of  disease,  I  have  long 
since  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  with  the  exception  of  bad 
waUft  more  disease  is  engendered  by  sewer  gases  (from  imper- 
fect draiDS  and  water- closets)  than  fmm  all  other  preventable 
causes." 

Again,  in  the  last  blue  book  on  the  public  health  lately 
issued,  we  find  that  "at  Rugby,  Carlisle,  Worthing,  and 
Chelmsford,  the  sewage  is  received  into  pumping  works  at  the 
outfalls  in  such  a  manner  as  to  retain  much  of  the  sewer 
gases,  and  the  result  is,  the  atmosphere  being  charged  with 
the  gases  arising  from  decomposing  organic  matter,  there  is 

no  considerable  reduction  in  typhoid Sewer  gases,  we 

may  be  sure,  must  be  disease-dealing  agents  of  the  greatest 
powers  for  evil  wherever  they  occur.  Excreta  in  the  form  of 
gas  is  as  fatal  as  in  any  other  guise." 

Again,  another  writer  in  one  of  our  journals  says,  "  In  one 
town  which  has  been  drained  on  these  principles  (with  a 
system  of  ventilation)  the  cost  has  not  exceeded  for  ventilation 
10s.  per  house,  and  the  results  are  the  reduction  of  the  mor- 
tality from  zymotic  diseases  to  the  extent  of  60  per  cent. 
during  the  last  five  years,  since  the  works  were  completed, 
compared  with  a  period  of  ten  years  immediately  preceding 
that  time.  The  reduction  of  the  death  rate  is  not  the  only 
advantage,  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  days  of  sickness 


SEWER  VENTILATION.  609 

of  the  people  is  of  vast  calculable  advantage.  The  owners  of 
house  property  are  directly  interested  in  these  things  in  a 
pecuniary  way ;  for  if  the  man  and  his  family  are  made  sick 
the  one  cannot  work  and  the  others  become  a  burden :  soon 
he  finds  he  cannot  pay  his  rent,  and  goes  to  another  house  of 
lower  rent ;  and  too  often  this  goes  on  until  he  finds  his  way 
to  the  workhouse,  and  becomes  a  burden  upon  the  whole 
community." 

Again,  from  The  Builder,  Dec.  21st,  1867:  "In  March,  1867, 
the  Liverpool  Corporation  came  to  the  determination  to  venti- 
late the  sewers  of  the  borough,  and  without  loss  of  time  tlie 
work  was  in  rapid  progress.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Liverpool 
Burial  Board,  in  September  following,  it  was  stated  that  the 
number  of  interments  during  the  past  month  were  only  413 
compared  with  786  in  the  same  month  of  last  year,  showing 
a  decrease  of  373,  and  ever  since  the  sewers  have  been  venti- 
lated the  death  rate  had  sensibly  decreased  in  the  borough." 

Again,  at  Leek  a  system  of  sewer  ventilation  has  been 
practically  tested  for  the  last  six  years,  and  Dr.  Farrow,  sent 
to  report  on  the  results,  says,  "  During  the  six  years  previous 
to  the  drainage  works  the  mean  number  of  members  belonging 
to  the  Sick  Jiurial  Society  was  5,178,  and  the  total  number  of 
deaths  984,  and  the  average  age  at  death  18  66.  During  the 
six  years  since  the  drainage  works  came  into  operation  it 
stands  thus :  Mean  number  of  members  5,988,  number  of 
deaths  (508,  average  age  at  death  2706  years,  showing  the 
decrease  in  the  number  of  deaths,  corrected  for  the  increase 
of  members,  to  be  475,  which  is  equal  to  a  decrease  in  the 
annual  rate  of  mortality  of  13*24  to  1000  of  the  living. 

*'  I  estimate  the  total  number  of  weeks  sickness  prevented 
amongst  these  persons  during  the  last  six  years  to  be  upwards 
of  40,000.  It  is  found  that  one-third  of  the  total  amount  of 
sickness  experienced  occurs  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and 
fifty-five.  ^Supposing  each  male  between  these  ages  to  earn 
10s.  per  week,  and  each  female  5s.  per  week,  and  the  medical 
and  other  expenses  attending  each  person  sick  to  be  10s.,  and 
the  cost  of  each  funeral  £5,  the  total  saving  to  this  portion  of 
the  community  under  these  heads  during  the  six  years 
amounts  to  i;2000  more  than  the  cost  of  the  whole  drainage 
works.  And  supposing  the  same  state  of  things  that  has 
existed  during  the  last  six  years  to  continue  during  the  after 
life  of  the  present  members  of  this  society,  the  total  saving 
that  will  have  resulted  to  them  under  these  heads  when  the 
last  shall  have  died  off  will  be  ^()1,978.'' 


NOTES  ON  THE  BLIGHTS  OF  CORN,  WITH    SUCk 
GESTIONS  FOK  THEIR  EXTERMINATION. 

01  THS  BE?,  EU  EiRWAKf  H.^.,  RECTOR  OW  OnTEBaAM. 


The  different  varieties  of  our  com  cropsp  from  the  time  the 
seed  is  committed  to  the  ground  until  it  arrives  at  maturity, 
are  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  maladies  to  which  the  generic 
name  of  biif^hi  is  given.  The^e  maladies  are  usually  attn- 
buted  to  some  atmosphmc  phenomenon  sudden  in  its  oj>era- 
tioos,  so  that  tlie  farmer  wiJl  confidently  name  the  particular 
day  on  which  the  evil  occurred,  and  will  refer  to  a  thunder- 
storm or  to  a  sea-fog  to  which  he  believes  the  mischief  ia 
due.  In  this,  however,  as  in  many  other  popular  notioas, 
there  is  much  fallacy,  and  closer -observation  will  show  that 
the  evil  has  been  long  at  work,  though  probably  it  baa  escaped 
observation.  Some  abiimiinVl  ^'^iflittrkn  nf  the  atmosphere^ 
either  excessive  wet  on  the  one  hand,  or  drought  on  the  other, 
may  indeed  tend  to  intensify  the  evil ;  but  that  is  a  very 
difTerent  point,  and  one  the  force  of  which  it  is  easy  to  appre- 
ciate. 

These  observations  are  applicable  to  blight  in  both  its 
forms,  whether  induced  by  the  attacks  of  different  varieties 
of  parasitic  fungi,  or  due  to  the  ravages  of  some  minute  form 
of  insect. 

I.  Of  diseases  which  are  of  a  fungoid  parasitic  nature, 
those  most  commonly  met  with  are  known  popularly  as 
'*  Smut,"  "  Bunt,"  "  Rust,"  and  "  Mildew."  These  are  all  due 
to  the  ravages  of  true  epiphytal  parasites,  similar  to  those 
which  are  known  to  be  abundantly  diffused  everywhere.  They 
affect  every  part  of  the  plant  in  which  their  mycelium  can 
obtain  an  habitat.  Not  only  the  leaves  and  stems,  but  even 
the  several  parts  of  tlie  flower  are  affected,  and  at  different 
stages  of  the  growth  ;  thus  the  healthy  condition  of  the  plant 
is  interfered  with,  and  consequently  its  productive  powers  are 
more  or  less  deteriorated. 


NOTES  ON  THE  BLIGHTS  OF  CORN.         611 

"Smut"  and  "bunt"  may  be  considered  first,  because  they 
tell  more  directly  upon  the  produce  of  the  crop  by  destroy- 
ing the  seed  in  the  ears  that  are  afifected  by  them.  They 
differ  much  in  appearance  and  in  their  mode  of  attack,  though 
the  agriculturist  commonly  confounds  them  together,  and 
applies  the  name  of  "  smut "  to  both  forms  of  disease  indis- 
criminately. 

Bunt,  called  also  "  Pepper-brand,"  and  locally  "  Cheats,"  is 
known  technically  to  the  botanist  as  Uredo  fostida.  The  fun- 
gus which  occasions  this  most  nauseous  and  noxious  blight 
has  hitherto  been  found  only  in  wheat.  It  is  occasioned  by 
the  sporules  of  an  extremely  minute  parasitic  fungus,  which 
are  absorbed  by  the  rootlets  of  the  young  wheat-plant  long 
before  it  blossoms ;  thence  they  are  conveyed  by  the  rising 
sap  into  the  young  germen  where  they  quickly  germinate,  and 
thereby  prevent  the  growth  of  the  organs  of  fructification. 
Occasionally  it  may  be  observed  that  the  ear  is  but  partially 
affected  by  this  malady ;  in  this  case  the  infected  grains  con- 
tinue to  grow  as  long  as  the  sound  ones,  and  it  is  only  by 
close  examination  that  the  existence  of  the  malady  is  de- 
tected. Externally,  then,  the  ears  that  are  attacked  by  this 
form  of  blight  are  but  little  altered  in  appearance ;  they  are 
generally,  however,  taller,  and  before  ripening,  of  a  darker 
green  colour  than  the  healthy  ears,  but  unless  they  are  opened 
the  dark-coloured  fungi  escape  observation.  If  they  are 
handled,  the  infected  grains  burst,  and  are  at  once  recognised 
by  the  intolerably  offensive  odour  they  emit,  resembling  that 
of  putrid  fish. 

But,  nauseous  and  disgusting  as  these  fungi  are  to  the 
bread-consumer,  and  injurious  as  they  are  to  the  agriculturist, 
to  the  microscopist  they  are  objects  of  much  beauty  as  well 
as  of  interest.  If  a  portion  of  a  grain  of  wheat  infected  with 
this  fungus  be  submitted  to  the  miscroscope,  and  examined 
under  a  high  power,  it  will  be  found  that  the  dark-coloured 
dust  consists  of  a  multitude  of  sporules  of  a  globular  form, 
with  regular  and  beautifully  reticulated  markings,  and  which 
are  attcu)hed  by  a  fine  thread  to  a  short  pedicel  or  stalk ;  so 
minute  are  they  that  it  has  been  calculated  that  more  than 
2,000,000  of  them  would  be  required  to  cover  a  single  square 
inch. 

This  form  of  blight  appears  to  be  unusually  prevalent  dur- 
ing the  present  season  (1868).  I  have  observed  fields  in 
which  probably  five  per  cent  of  the  ripening  ears  are  de- 
stroyed by  it ;  and  when  the  com  is  threshed,  and  tiie  fungi 
thereby  disseminated  among  the  healthy  grains,  not  only  must 


612  NOTES  ON  THE  BLIGHTS  OF  CORN, 

the  farmer  submit  to  this  first  loss,  but  the  valae  of  the  sam- 
ple will  be  greatly  deteriorated,  both  by  the  dark  colour  and 
disgusting  odour  that  the  fungi  will  communicate  to  the  flour. 
Nor  does  the  evil  stop  here. 

In  the  process  of  threshing,  owing  to  their  inconceivable 
minuteness,  the  sporules  of  the  fungi  are  disseminated 
through  the  air  in  the  form  of  an  impalpable  powder,  and 
readily  adhere  by  means  of  an  unctuous  substance  which 
they  seem  to  have  the  power  of  secreting,  either  to  the  fur- 
row at  the  back,  or  the  beard  at  the  summit  of  any  sound 
gmins  with  which  they  may  chance  to  be  brought  in  contact 
Other  portions  of  this  powder  will  probably  harbour  within 
the  iuterstics  of  the  wood-work  in  the  steam  threshing- 
machine,  and  be  thereby  conveyed  to  some  neighbouring  farm, 
in  the  fields  of  which,  the  following  year,  the  disease  finds  a 
new  centre  of  propagation.  It  will  thus  be  seen  how,  from  a 
very  small  beginning,  the  evil  may  be  disseminated  through- 
out an  entire  neighbourhood,  unless  recourse  be  had  to  the 
simple  expedient  of  causing  the  wook-work  of  the  machine 
to  be  well  washed,  before  the  operation  of  threshing  is  com- 
menced, with  the  steep  solution  that  I  shall  recommend. 

The  prevalence  of  this  blight  is  probably  not  due  to  any 
abnormal  state  of  the  atmosphere  at  the  present  time  which 
has  favoured  its  increase ;  for  it  has  been  abundantly  proved 
that  it  is  a  condition  essential  to  the  development  of  this 
fungus  that  it  should  be  introduced  into  the  plant  at  the  early 
stages  of  its  growth,  and  that  it  becomes  parasitic,  not  by 
attucliment,  but  only  by  the  absorption  of  the  sporules  into 
the  sap  by  means  of  the  root.  If  this  view  be  correct,  it 
follows  that  the  mischief  was  done  last  year,  when  possibly 
the  ungenial  weather  that  prevailed  until  harvest  time 
favoured  the  growtli  of  the  fungus. 

The  next  disease  of  corn  that  I  will  describe  is  that 
known  popularly  as  '  Smut.'  Like  that  just  mentioned,  this 
too  is  produced  by  a  very  minute  parasitic  fungus,  resembling 
it  in  some  respects,  though  undoubtedly  of  a  different  species. 
Vvcdo  srifHum,  or  smut-fungus,  is  readily  distinguished  from 
Uredo  fivtida,  or  bunt-fungus,  by  the  fact  that  it  is  not  more 
than  about  half  its  sizc^  and  also  that  it  is  free  from  the 
extremiily  offensive  odour  that  has  been  mentioned  as 
cliaracteristic  of  bunt.  Its  mode  of  attack  upon  the  plant 
is  also  peculiar;  it  not  only  destroys  the  entire  ear,  but  some 
times  infects  also  the  leaves  and  stem.  And  again,  whilst 
Virdo  S(\(/f'tu7n  is  com])aratively  rare  in  wheat,  it  is  ver>'  com- 
mon in  barlrv,  and  still  more  so  in  oats  ;  maize,  and  some 


WITH  SUGGESTIONS   FOR  THEIR  EXTERMINATION.         613 

other  varieties  of  graminm  are  also  subject  to  its  attacks. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  bunt-fungus  resembles  the  smut-fungus 
in  the  mode  of  its  propagation.  Experiments  by  inoculation 
have  proved  that  the  sporules  of  the  fungi  of  smut,  like  those 
of  bunt,  are  absorbed  by  the  rootlets  of  the  young  plant,  that 
they  are  disseminated  through  the  tissues  of  the  plant  by  the 
circulation  of  the  sap,  and  that  they  continue  to  increase  and 
multiply  wherever  they  retain  their  vitality.  The  destructive 
effects  of  this  form  of  blight  are  far  more  rapid  than  are  those 
of  the  variety  first  deacribed.  The  whole  ear  is  destroyed 
commonly  some  weeks  before  the  corn  ia  ripe ;  the  sporules 
fall  oflf  and  disappear,  the  bare  stalk  alone  remains  at  harvest- 
time,  and  the  farmer  flatters  himself  that  the  malady  has  run  - 
its  course  and  is  at  an  end.  The  minute  fungi,  however, 
though  no  longer  visible,  are  not  the  less  surely  present. 
Dispersed  by  the  wind,  they  harbour  in  the  interstices  of  the 
chaff-scales  in  the  healthy  ears,  when  the  corn  is  threshed 
they  cling  to  the  sound  grain,  so  surely  to  reappear  in  the 
following  season. 

"  Rust,"  and  "  mildew"  ai'e  other  forms  of  blight  due  to  the 
presence  of  microscopic  fungi,  confining  their  attacks  to  the 
straw,  the  blade,  and  the  chaff ;  they  are  very  common  to  all 
the  cereals  cultivated  on  our  farms,  and  to  many  of  the 
grasses. 

The  "  rust "  is  produced  by  a  species  of  fungus  known  to 
cryptogamic  botanists  as  Uredo  RvMgo  vera,  consisting  of  fine 
threads  which  form  a  sort  of  net-work  in  the  cellular  tissue 
of  the  plant.  It  appears  in  the  shape  of  an  orange  powder 
which  forms  a  small  patch  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  chaff- 
scales.  It  was  suggested  by  the  late  Professor  Henslow 
that  "  nist "  and  "  mildew  "  are  in  fact  identical,  the  former 
being  an  early  stage  of  the  growtli  of  the  latter.  Mr.  Berke- 
ley, however,  who  is  our  chief  authority  on  this  branch  of 
botany,  demurs  to  this  opinion,  and  attributes  the  blight 
known  as  "mildew"  to  the  presence  of  an  aggregation  of 
bilocular  spores  of  a  fungus  called  Puccinia  graminis.  There 
are  few  wheat-crops  in  which  mildew  does  not  extensively 
prevail,  although  it  is  only  in  unfavourable  seasons  that  the 
ravages  of  this  form  of  blight  becomes  disastrous.  Its  inju- 
rious effects  are  apparent  in  the  shrivelled  appearance  of  the 
grain,  which  presents  but  little  of  that  plump  and  well- 
rounded  form  which  is  characteristic  of  the  healthy  and  well- 
rnatured  seed.  Notwithstanding  the  attention  that  has  been 
directed  towards  these  two  forms  of  blight,  no  remedy  is  yet 
known  against  their  attacks.  It  appears  certain,  however,  that 

VOL.   II.  8  8 


4 


•14  norm  uk  the  BLiaiiTB  of  vqh^, 

fliioiig  And  stimulatmg  niauures  have  a  beodeticy  to  aggravata 
the  malady.  B 

IL  We  will  now  pass  on  to  another  class  of  injuries  lo  S 
which  oar  oereals  are  liable,  namely,  that  due  to  the  pr^eseace 
of  Animaiculf^.  The  particular  blight  that  I  propose  to 
mention  is  the  result  of  the  attacks  of  a  tDtcroscopic  parasite, 
and  which  ia  known  popularly  as  *'  ear-cockle,"  or  '*  peppiir- 
bmnd/'  It  is  exceedingly  common  in  this  neighbourhood  ;  I 
have  never  failed  to  find  it  in  any  wheat  field  in  which  I 
liave  sought  for  it,  when  the  grain  is  nearly  ripe."  The 
infected  grains  are  of  a  dark  purple  colour,  and  generally 
9(  a  roundish  funa  resembling  a  t*epper-corn.  If  one  ofl 
these  grains  be  opened  with  the  point  of  a  pen-knife»  tha 
starch  of  the  grain  will  be  found  to  have  disappeared,  and 
ita  place  to  be  filled  with  a  white  fibnms  cotton^like  i^ub- 
stance  If  a  small  portion  of  tliis  be  placed  in  a  drop 
of  warm  water  and  submitted  to  the  miscroscoi»c»  a  lai^ge 
number  of  minute  eel-like  animatailx  will  be  observed  con- 
torting themselves  in  all  directions  This  animaloule,  to 
which  the  name  of  Vibrio  Tritici  is  given,  belongs  to  the 
oi-der  Infumrm,  and  prevails,  so  far  as  is  known,  only  in  the 
wheat-plant  A  single  diseased  ear  is  seldom  found  alone ; 
they  occur  for  the  moat  part  in  patches  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
together;  and  it  appears  from  experiments  made  by  Bauer, 
Henslow,  and  others,  that  when  a  sound  grain  is  sown  cdong 
with  a  diseased  one,  the  young  plant  continues  healthy  untd 
the  spring,  when  the  Vih^^nts  make  their  way  under  the  soil 
from  the  infected  grain,  and  attack  the  roots  of  the  young 
plants  within  their  reach ;  thence  they  ascend  within  the 
stem  until  they  reach  the  ear,  where  they  deposit  their  eggs. 
One  of  the  most  curious  points  in  the  natural  history  of  the 
Vibrio  Tritici  is  the  tenacity  of  life  with  which  it  is  endowed. 
Bauer  mentions  the  fact  of  a  specimen  that  had  been  pre- 
served in  a  herbarium  for  six  years,  and  which,  when  the 
diseased  grains  were  soaked  in  warm  water,  yielded  a  multi-" 
tude  of  living  animalcidce ;  the  same  specimen  was  also 
revived  many  times  in  succession  by  the  reapplication  of  warm 
water. 

1  propose  to  offer  no  further  remarks  upon  other  blights  of 
corn  due  to  the  ravages  of  insects.  In  such  ceises  the  skill  of 
man  is  generally  powerless  to  cope  with  evils  so  gigantic  in 
their  range  and  disastrous  in  their  effects :  his  hopes  would 
soon  be  destroyed  if  the  providence  of  God  had  not  supplied 

♦  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  boon  assured  that  this  variety  of 
blight  is  of  recent  introduction  in  this  neighbourhood. 


WITH  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THEIK  EXTERMINATION.        616 

some  natural  antidotes  to  the  multiplication  of  the  destructive 
hosts  of  insects  that  ravage  his  crops  in  their  successive  stages 
of  growth,  as  "first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  From  the  universal  law  of  nature  that  the 
life  of  one  creature  depends  upon  the  presence  of  another,  it 
is  plain  that  every  variety  of  insect  must  have  its  natural 
enemies  to  which  it  serves  as  food,  and  whereby  its  undue 
increase  is  kept  within  bounds.  These  are  chiefly  the  birds 
which  are  seen  following  the  plough,  and  picking  up  the 
various  sorts  of  larva  as  they  are  thrown  to  the  surface.  There 
is  also  a  marvellous  antagonism  existing  between  a  tribe  of 
insects  known  as  Ichneumonidce  and  many  of  the  minute 
destroyers  of  our  corn  crops.  But  whilst  this  agency  is  ever 
at  work  in  nature,  abundant  scope  is  left  for  the  exercise  of 
man's  science  and  skill ;  and  the  question  arises  as  to  what 
defensive  measures  he  can  take  against  the  evils  that  have 
been  mentioned. 

It  is  usual  to  adopt  some  treatment  of  the  seed  before 
committing  it  to  the  ground  as  a  precaution  against  the 
attacks  to  which  it  is  subject.  This  process,  which  con- 
sists in  carefully  steeping  the  seed-corn  in  some  previously 
prepared  solution,  is  undertaken  chiefly  with  the  view  of 
destroying  the  sporules  of  the  parasitic  fungi  that  I  have 
already  described.  For  this  purpose  a  great  variety  of  steep- 
ing solutions  are  employed.  That  generally  used  is  blue 
vitriol  (sulphate  of  copper),  in  the  proportion  of  lib.  to  a 
sack  of  grain.  Green  vitriol  (sulphate  of  iron)  is  also  com- 
monly employed,  and  in  the  same  proportions,  though  I  believe 
it  is  quite  useless  for  the  purpose.  In  many  parts  of  England 
arsenic  was  used  for  this  purpose  until  it  was  proscribed  by 
the  Legislature.  Saturated  brine,  caustic  soda,  Glauber's  salts, 
and  even  hot  water,  all  have  their  advocates  as  steep  solutions. 
In  many  cases  a  nostrum  known  as  the  "  Farmer  s  Friend " 
or  "Anti-smut  Compound,''  purchased  at  the  druggist's  in  the 
neighbouring  town,  is  the  agriculturist's  only  remedial  or 
palliative  measure  against  the  formidable  attacks  to  which  his 
corn  crops  are  liable. 

It  seems,  however,  to  be  pretty  generally  admitted  that  the 
use  of  all  these  nostrums  is  unsatisfactory.  The  sporules  of 
the  fungi  are  still  to  be  found  in  our  fields  in  as  great  abun- 
dance as  ever,  and  as  ready  to  prey  upon  the  crops  that  are 
subject  to  their  influences.  I  have  lately  instituted  a  series 
of  experiments  with  the  view  to  the  discovery  of  a  steep 
solution  that  shall  be  cheap,  simple  in  its  application,  and,  it 
possible,  more  efficacious  than  any  of  the  preparatioos  that  I 

s  3  2 


NOTES   ON    THE   BLIGHTS   OF    CORN, 

have  mentioned.  As  the  result  of  these  experiments  I  believe 
that  an  aqueoua  solution  of  carbolic  add,  in  the  proportion 
of  from  two  to  four  per  cent,  of  tbe  acid,  is  the  best  steep- 
solutian  hitherto  known. 

Carbolic  acid  is  one  of  the  products  of  the  destructive  dia- 
tillation  of  coal  When  perfectly  pure  it  is  a  white  cryst^il- 
Umi  substance  resembling  camphor  in  appearance ;  the  pre- 
aence  of  a  very'  small  quantity  of  water  is  sufficient  to  cause 
tbe  liquefaction  of  the  crystals;  even  the  warmth  of  the 
hand  will  produce  the  same  effect. 

Carbolic  acid  is  largely  employed  as  an  antiseptic  agent. 
The  experinients  of  Lenjaire  prove  that  it  is  the  most  power- 
ful means  known  <if  arrcisting  tbe  spread  of  contagious  mala- 
dies, such  as  typhus,  cholera,  and  small-pox.  In  medicine,  its 
use  is  no  less  valuable,  especially  for  the  treatment  of  gun- 
shot wouuda  and  purulent  sores.  In  i*eference  to  the  services 
that  carbolic  acid  has  rendered  to  suiTf^ery,— J.  Lister,  Esq., 
F,R.a,  writes  as  follows  in  the  Lancet,  25th  Sept,  1867:  **The 
material  which  I  have  employed  is  carbolic  or  phenic  acid, 
a  volatile  organic  compound,  which  appears  to  exercise  a  pe- 
mliarly  dtMntdive  inftumm  ttpon  low  forms  of  life,  and  hence 
it  is  the  most  powerful  antiseptic  with  which  we  are  acquaint- 
ed*" A  detailed  account  of  its  value  as  a  remedial  agent  then 
follows.  In  his  '*  Report  on  the  application  of  disinfecianta 
in  arrestiiig  the  spread  of  the  cattle  plague,"  William  Crookes, 
Esq.,  F.R.S ,  enumerates  a  series  of  experiments,  with  a  view 
of  ascertaining  the  antiseptic  properties  of  carbolic  acid, 
from  which  it  appeara  that  1-lOOOth  and  even  l-1500th  part 
is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  decomposition  and  putrefaction  of 
blood,  glue  solution,  size,  flour-paste,  &c.,  &c. ;  whilst  its  va- 
pour alone  is  sufficient  to  preserve  meat,  in  confined  spaces, 
for  many  weeks.  In  reference  to  its  efficacy  as  an  antidote  to 
the  cattle  plague,  Mr.  Crookes  states, — "  I  have  not  yet  met 
with  a  single  instance  in  which  the  plague  has  spread  on  a 
farm,  where  the  acid  has  been  freely  used."  Experiments 
made  with  carbolic  acid  upon  the  lower  forms  of  life  show 
that  a  solution  containing  one  per  cent,  of  the  acid  is  instantly 
fatal  to  the  various  iiifusoria,  such  as  bacteria,  vibrian^,  vorti- 
cellcCy  and  others.  The  experiment  is  easily  made  by  adding 
a  drop  of  the  dilute  solution  to  the  warm  water  in  which  the 
vibriones  tritici  are  disporting  themselves  upon  a  glass  slide 
under  the  field  of  the  microscope.  If  the  experiment  be 
watched,  the  addition  of  the  dilute  solution  of  the  acid  will 
be  seen  to  be  instantly  fatal  to  the  animalculse,  and  arrest 
their  contortions  at  once.     Lemaire  states  that  carbolic  acid 


WITH  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THEIR  EXTERMINATION.        617 

• 

vapour  will  kill  flies,  ants  and  their  eggs,  acaii,  aphides,  wood- 
lice,  and  other  insects  of  this  size. 

I  have  said  enough  to  prove  how  powerful  is  the  action 
that  carbolic  acid  exerts  upon  the  minute  forms  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life.  Now  as  it  is  precisely  in  this  form  that 
the  blights,  with  which  the  agriculturist  has  to  contend, 
attack  his  crops,  it  follows  that  we  have  here  an  efficacious 
remedy,  and  one  which  is  inexpensive,  simple,  and  harmless 
in  its  application.  From  experiments  that  I  have  made, 
I  have  ascertained  that  a  solution  containing  from  two  to 
four  per  cent,  of  acid  will  suffice  to  destroy  the  sporules  of 
the  various  fungi  that  adhere  to  the  seed-corn,  without  affect- 
ing the  vitality  of  the  seed.  The  mode  of  employing  it  is 
as  follows : — the  seed-corn  having  been  placed  in  a  tub,  suf- 
ficient water  to  cover  it  is  poured  on  it,  to  which  pi-eviously 
carbolic  acid  has  been  added  in  the  proportion  of  a  wine- 
glass full  of  acid  to  a  gallon  of  water.  The  gmin  is  allowed 
to  soak  in  this  solution  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  and 
after  being  well  stirred  so  as  to  ensure  its  being  thoroughly 
wetted,  it  is  spread  out  upon  the  barn  floor  to  dry,  when  it  is 
ready  for  the  drill.  The  particular  preparation  of  carbolic 
acid  recommended  is  that  known  commercially  as  "Calvert's 
ordinary  quality,"  and  which  is  sold  in  bottles  containing  one 
pound,  at  a  shilling  a  bottle. 

It  is  not  asserted  that  the  use  of  the  steep-solution  that  I 
have  been  advocating  will  entirely  exterminate  the  various 
blights  to  which  our  corn-crops  are  liable :  some  of  the  fungi 
that  have  been  described  do  not  confine  their  ravages  to  ce- 
reals, but  affect  also  the  grasses  that  occur  in  our  hedge-rows 
and  waste  places,  and  consequently  an  abundant  supply  of 
the  sporules  of  these  fungi  will  always  be  kept  up  ;  neither 
can  any  steep-solution  for  the  seed  prove  a  specific  against 
the  attacks  of  rust,  of  mildew,  of  the  fungus  known  as  Kla- 
dosporium  Jierbarum,  whereby  the  ears,  especially  of  white 
varieties,  are  dusted  over  with  a  black  soot-like  fungus ;  nor 
will  it  avail  against  the  inroads  of  aphides,  or  of  the  wheat 
midge.  Experience  tends  to  show  that  these  different  blights 
occur  in  far  greater  abundance  on  land  that  is  under  inferior 
cultivation  ;  proper  drainage,  the  removal  of  superfluous 
hedge-rows,  and  the  extermination  of  noxious  weeds,  is  the 
only  palliative  we  at  present  possess  for  these  evils.  Yet  we 
may  feel  assured  that  precautionary  measures,  such  as  that 
which  I  have  been  advocating,  will  greatly  mitigate  an  evil 
which  cannot  wholly  be  avoided.  The  worst  forms  of  blights 
and  the  most  common,  are  those  known  as  bunt  aud  smut ; 


BIB  mrm  ok  thu  bliguts  of  cork, 

now,  aa  the  sporules  of  these  two  fuDgi  adht^re  to  the  seed,  and 
are  deposited  Id  the  ground  alonjr  with  it,  it  follows  that  the 
destruction  of  these  sporules  by  some  raodti  of  seed-dressing 
must  be  so  far  advantageous.  Let  us  hope  that  the  time  may 
not  be  far  distant,  when  the  natural  history  of  the  vaiious  forms 
of  blight  will  be  taught  iu  the  village  schools  of  our  agricul- 
tural districts ;  and,  when  once  famiiar  with  them,  intelligent 
boys  might  be  employed  to  walk  through  the  fields  of  grt>w- 
ing  corn,  and  remove  the  diseased  ears.  The  agricultumt 
would  then  be  led  to  see  the  advantage  nf  cultivating  soTjie 
particular  portion  of  his  farm  as  a  seed -nursery  ;  whilst  the 
benefits  that  w^ould  accrne  to  htm,  in  securing  sound  and  clean 
need,  would  more  thnn  repay  the  slight  additional  outlay  in- 
curred. It  is  to  the  careful  selection  of  ^ed,  that  the  horti- 
culturist looks  for  improvements  in  the  growth  and  beauty  of 
the  plant  that  he  raises  ;  if  the  agricultumt  would  follow 
his  example,  and  select  his  com  for  seed,  he  would  obtain  both 
H  more  healthy  and  abundant  crop, 

I  make  no  apology  for  bringing  this  subject  before  the 
Devonshire  Association  for  the  advancement  of  Science,  Lite- 
rature, and  All.  Its  national  importance  will  be  admitted  by 
eveiyone  who  looks  at  the  agricultural  retoms  for  the  pre^ 
Bent  year,  lately  put  forth  by  the  Board  of  Trade.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  summary  of  it,  so  far  as  refers  t-o  our  present  subject : 

EXTENT  OF  LAND  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN  UNDER 


Wheat. 

Barley. 

Oats. 

Acres. 

Acres. 

Acres. 

1866     . 

..     3,360,394     , 

..     2,237,329     . 

..     2,759,923 

1867     . 

..     3,367,876     . 

..     2,259,164     . 

..     2,756,487 

1868     ., 

..     3,640,260      . 

..     2,149,201      . 

..     2,753,240 

In  a  letter  to  the  Times,  dated  October  5th,  1868,  Mr.  Caird 
culculates,  that  at  four  quarters  an  acre,  the  wheat  crop  will 
yield  in  round  numbers  15,500,000  quarters.  This  single  item 
of  produce,  therefore,  at  50s.  per  quarter,  will  amount  to  nearly 
;£40,000,000  sterling.  Barley  and  oats  may  be  reckoned  at 
25,000,000  quarters,  and  will  represent  a  money-value  of 
£40.000,000. 

The  moral  to  be  drawn  from  these  statistics  is  simply  this  ; 
that  if,  in  the  words  of  Lord  Palmerston,  we  can  make  two 
blades  of  corn  grow  where  one  grows  now,  that  is  to  say,  if 
by  any  improved  process  it  is  possible  to  add,  even  in  so  small 
a  proportion  as  five  per  cent,  to  the  average  produce  of  our 
crops,  this  increase,  small  as  it  may  seem,  would  in  fact  be 
a  large  addition  to  our  national  wealth.  Assuming  the  above 
figures  to  be  correct,  and  supposing  the  increase  to  be  such 


THBIE  BARROWS  AT  BROAD  DOWN.  619 

as  I  have  8tated,-^a  supposition  by  no  means  exaggerated, 
when  it  is  remembered,  that  these  various  blights  impair  the 
quality  of  that  which  they  do  not  destroy, — we  should  by  this 
apparently  small  improvement  have  added  to  our  national 
income  about  ;£4,000,000  yearly. 


MEMOIR  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  THREE 

BARROWS  AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY, 

NEAR  HONITON. 

BY  THB  REV.   R.   KIRWAN,   M.A.,   RECTOR  OF  GimSHAM. 


In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the 
Council  of  the  Devonshire  Association,  I  propose  to  describe 
in  the  present  memoir  the  results  of  an  examination  of  three 
Tumuli,  situate  at  Broad  Down,  Farway,  near  Honiton,  and 
which  were  visited  by  the  members  of  the  Association  on 
31st  July,  1868, 

It  is  desirable  on  many  accounts  to  place  on  record  the 
leading  facts  connected  with  the  discovery  of  the  interesting 
pre-historic  relics  that  were  then  brought  to  light ;  partly  be- 
cause, whilst  the  disinterment  of  such  remains  connected  with 
primitive  deposits  has  been  of  common  occurrence  in  the  ad- 
joining counties  of  Cornwall  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Wiltshire 
and  Dorsetshire  on  the  other,  they  have  hitherto  been  of  very 
rare  occurrence  in  this  county.  I  have  a  further  inducement 
to  follow  this  course  by  the  occasion  it  affords  of  giving  illus- 
trations of  the  objects  thus  discovered,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  the  originals. 
In  addition  also  to  their  rarity,  a  further  interest  gathers  around 
these  sepulchralia,  from  the  fact  that  they  supply  a  link  in 
the  chain  of  the  pre-historic  archaeology  of  this  county.  The 
two  extremes  of  the  series,  which  have  been  worked  out  with 
much  ability,  may  be  stated  thus.  The  discoveries  made  at 
Brixham  Cavern  and  Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay,  carry  back 
the  existence  of  man  upon  the  soil  of  Devonshire  to  a  time 
cotemporaneous  with  the  cave-men  of  France  and  Germany. 
Very  diflTerent  conditions  of  climate,  of  coast-line,  of  relative 
land  and  sea-level  then  prevailed  ;  probably  the  rigour  of  the 
glacial  epoch  still  existed,  whilst  the  mammoth,  the  cave-bear, 
the  tichorine  rhinoceros,  and  other  extinct  animals  roamed 
over  the  district  which  now  forms  the  shoreB  of  Torfaay.     Wa 


620   MEMOtB  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  THRtE  BABKOWS 

start  then  with  this  fact,  that  when  man  existed  npon  the 

contioeut  of  Europe  in  the  glacial  period  (that  is  to  say,  at  the 
most  remote  period  of  hia  history  yet  disclosed),  he  also  ex- 
isted in  Devonshire.  Here  we  have  the  one  extreme  of  a 
series  of  which  the  other  is  limited  by  the  first  dawn  of  the 
historic  period.  Of  this  we  have  numerous  examples  in  Devon- 
shire ;  nor  need  I  refer  to  any  other  thun  that  of  the  Ronma 
Isea  (Exeter),  which  has  yielded  ahumiant  evidence  of  man 
possessing  a  knowledge  of  the  metals,  and  a  certain  amount  of 
civilization.  The  intermediate  period,  however,  so  far  as  re- 
gards this  county,  has  been  but  iniperfi:'ctly  worked  out ;  and 
yet  surely  it  is  not  from  want  of  materials.  The  cromlechs, 
sacred  circles,  dohnens,  maenhirs,  upright  stones  disposed  iu 
avenues,  and  other  antiquities  of  a  similar  character  on  Dart- 
moor, the  hill-fortresses  of  East  Devon,  and  the  antient  burial- 
mounds  which  are  to  t>e  found  dotting  the  summits  of  the 
higher  ground  in  this  and  other  parts  of  the  Cf^mnty,  are  so 
many  landmarks  of  the  history,  the  national  customs,  the  social 
habits,  and,  it  may  be  added,  testify  to  the  warlike  character  of 
the  prime vrI  inhabittmts  of  Devonshire.  So  abundantly  are 
these  time-honoured  remains  scattered  over  the  hill-tops  that 
fr?>wn  down  upon  the  vale  of  Honitou,  that  probably  no  dis- 
trict in  England  is  richer  in  them.  Almost  every  swelling 
prominence  has  its  intrenched  fortress,  and  of  these  some  are 
so  extensive  that  they  would  have  required  a  small  army  to 
defend  them  against  attack  on  all  sides.  I  may  cite  as  ex- 
amples Hembury  Fort,  three  miles  distant  from  Honiton :  it 
is  of  ovate  form,  and  measures  about  400  yards  in  length,  and 
130  yards  in  breadth  ;  within  a  mile  of  Broad  Down  is  Black- 
bury  Castle,  measuring  from  east  to  west  220  yards,  and  from 
north  to  south  115  yards.  The  same  district  also  abounds 
with  the  sepulchral  remains  of  its  early  inhabitants.  And  yet 
up  to  the  present  time,  these  memorials  of  a  people,  the  very 
name  of  whom  is  lost,  have  attracted  but  little  attention. 
Many  barrows  have  been  destroyed  by  the  advancing  plough 
of  the  agriculturist,  but  in  no  cases  have  the  cinerary  urns 
and  other  mortuary  remains  been  preserved.  Scarcely  even 
has  their  discovery  been  recorded,  or  any  relics  of  the  period 
been  figured.  And  yet,  time  was  when  these  grave-mounds 
were  regarded  with  far  different  feelings.  So  long  as  they 
were  held  to  be  the  receptacles  of  treasure,  a  royal  license 
must  be  obtained  before  their  exploration  was  permitted,  but 
no  sooner  is  tliat  illusion  dispelled  than  they  come  to  be  re- 
garded with  indifference.  The  following  curious  document 
occurs  in  the  Patent  KoUs  of  17th  Edward  II.     It  secures 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  621 

to  one  Robert  Beaiipel  the  privilege  of  excavating  six  barrows 
in  Devonshire,  on  condition  that  the  search  is  made  in  the 
open  day,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  sheriff  and  other  respon- 
sible officers.   The  instrument  is  as  follows  :  * 


De  terra  fodenda 
pro  thesuro  abscondito 
gucerendo 


"Rex  Vicecomiti  Devon,  et  omnibus  aliis 
ballivis,   miuistris,   et   iidelibus   suis   in 
eodem  comitatu,  tam  infra  libertates  quam 
extra  ad  quos,  &c.,  salutem. 

"Quia  datum  est  nobis  intelligi  quod  in  sex  Collibus,  et 
aliis  locis  diversis  in  comitatu  predicto,  thesaurus  in  terra 
absconditus  existit.  Nos,  super  hoc  plenius  certiorari  volen- 
tes,  assignavimus  dilectum  et  fidelem  nostrum  Robertum 
Beaupel  juniorem  ad  quoerendum  in  sex  Collibus  et  locis 
prsedictis  hujusmodi  thesaurum  sic  absconditum.  Ita  quod 
pro  eodem  negotio  possit  terram  fodere,  et  etiam  lapides  et 
ligna  evertere  suis  sumptibus,  pleno  die  et  in  probsentia  tua 
praefate  Vicecomes,et  decenarii,  ac  aliorum  proborum  hominum 
de  partibus,  praedictis,  qui  inde  veritatem  valeant  testificare. 
Et  ideo  nobis  mandamus  quod  eidem  Roberto  in  prsemissis 
et  ea  tangentibus,  intendentes  sitis  consulentes  et  auxili- 
antes  quotiens  et  quando  per  ipsum  Robertum  ex  parte  nos- 
tra super  hoc  fueritis  pra&muniti.  Proviso  quod  si  thesaurus 
ibidem  inventus  fuerit  sub  sigillo  prsedicti  Roberti  et  sigillo 
tuo  prsefate  Vicecomes,  ac  sigillis.  aliorum  fide  dignorum 
custodiatur,  quousque  nos  inde  certiorati  aliud  super  hoc 
duxerimus  ordinandum.     In  cujus,  &c. 

"  Teste  Rege  apud  Westmonasterium,  prime  die  Junii." 
Leaving  the  town  of  Honiton  by  the  Sidmouth  road,  the 
ground  quickly  rises,  and  attains  an  elevation  of  about 
eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level.  At  a  distance  of 
three  miles  from  the  town,  at  a  point  where  four  roads 
meet,  known  as  Hunter's  Lodge,  is  a  large  flat  stone  which 
tradition  says  was  once  used  as  an  altar  for  human  sacrifices. 
It  appears  to  be  unhewn,  presenting  no  marks  of  a  tool  on  it^ 
and  may  possibly  have  formed  the  cap-stone  of  a  dolmen. 
Local  tradition  further  states  that  the  stone  descends  the  hill 
every  night,  bathes  in  the  stream  for  the  purpose  of  wasliing 
out  the  stain  of  human  blood  which  is  still  upon  it,  and  that 
before  morning  it  returns  to  its  original  position. 

"  They  say  blood  wiU  have  blood, 
Btones  have  been  known  to  move,  and  trees  to  speak, 
Augiin  and  understood  relations  have 
B  V  magot  pies,  and  choughs,  and  rooks,  brought  forth 
The  secret' st  man  of  blood."  Macbsth. 

•  Quoted  in  fTame't  CeUic  Tumuli  of  DormUhir$^  p.  2S. 


622      XTESfOlR  OF  THE  iXAJimATION  OF  THREE   BAMOWS 

If  we  now  take  the  Seatoti  road  (which  iB  a  branch  of"  the 
old  British  and  Roman  Tkeneld  way,  that  passing  from  Coly- 
fovd  over  Farway  Hill,  through  the  towia  of  Ottery  St,  Mary, 
joins  the  main  road  at  Fair  Milii)  we  observe  at  once,  on  the 
left,  a  circular  mound  crowned  with  trees.  Other  mounds  of 
a  aimilar  character,  though  somewhat  smaller  in  size,  occur 
at  irregular  intervals*,  these  are  the  first  evidences  of  tho 
cemetery  of  an  extensive  tribe — the  outlyers  of  the  Necro- 
polia  that  we  are  now  about  to  enter.  As  the  eye  travels 
over  the  undulating  surface  of  the  ridge  that  constitutes  the 
boundary  line  of  the  coombes  on  either  side,  it  detects  here 
and  there  the  swelling  outlines  of  the  tumuli  which  are  the 
sepulchral  remains  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  district. 
Invariably  they  crown  tlie  summits  of  the  ridge,  and  com- 
mand a  glorious  panomma,  presenting  the  finest  combinationB 
of  scenery.  Looking  inwards  you  note  the  alternations  of  hill 
and  valley*  of  wood  and  water^  of  heathy  upland  gradually 
merging  into  sunny  pasture,  and  stretching  oat  as  tar  as  the 
eye  can  reach  j  whilst  if  you  view  the  prospect  eea-wards  it 
will  be  found  to  embrace  the  whole  range  of  the  great  bay  of 
Dorset  and  Devon,  extending  from  Portland  on  the  east  to 
Berry  Head  on  the  west,  and  bounded  on  either  side  by  coast 
scenery  of  tlie  finest  chai'acter  An  inspection  of  the  site  of 
these  tuumli  serves  to  show  that  the  position  selected  for  them 
is  not  accidental  1  have  nientioaed  the  fact  that  they  crown 
the  swelling  summits  of  the  hill,  whilst  again  they  are  absent 
in  the  gentle  hollows  that  occur  between  the  undulations;  and 
we  can  scarcely  avoid  the  inference  either  that  the  brave 
warrior  was  buried  on  that  spot  which  was  within  sight  of  the 
scene  of  his  deeds  of  prowess,  in  order  that  his  companions 
in  arms,  as  they  looked  upon  his  memorial,  might  be  incited 
to  emulate  his  valour ;  or  else,  that  the  mighty  hunter  was 
laid  to  sleep  in  that  resting-place,  from  which  his  friends 
fondly  hoped  that  his  spirit  would  still  look  down  upon  the 
wooded  slopes  of  the  vale  beneath,  where  perhaps  the  wild 
red-deer  had  often  yielded  to  his  skill  in  the  chace. 

In  his  description  of  the  antient  barrows  of  Denmark 
Worsae  says  :  * — "  The  barrows  of  this  (the  bronze)  period 
were  placed,  wherever  it  was  possible,  on  heights  which  com- 
manded an  extensive  prospect  of  the  country,  and  from  which 
in  particular  the  sea  could  be  distinguished.  The  principal 
object  of  this  appears  to  have  been  to  bestow  on  the  mighty 
dead  a  tomb  so  remarkable,  that  it  might  constantly  recall  his 
memory  to  those  living  near ;  while,  probably,  the  fondness 

•  Worsae's  Primeval  Antiquities  of  Denmark^  p.  97. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FABWAY,  NEAH  HOKITOK.  623 

for  reposing  after  death  on  high  and  open  places  may  have 
been  founded  more  deeply  in  the  character  of  the  peopla" 
A  similar  peculiarity  appears  to  have  distinguished  the 
pimeval  burial -houses  of  Scandinavia.* 

As  we  proceed  on  our  journey  eastwards  we  reach  the  sum- 
mit of  Farway  Hill,  where,  at  a  short  distance  to  the  left  of 
the  road,  there  is  a  circular  entrenchment,  known  as  Farway 
Castle.  It  is  about  200  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  suiTOunded 
by  an  agger  of  low  elevation,  with  a  shallow  fosse  on  the  out- 
side. We  have  here,  probably,  the  remains  of  the  enclosure 
within  which  resided  the  tribe  whose  sepulchralia  we  are  about 
to  examine,  and  who  held  this  fortified  position  as  a  defensive 
place  of  refuge  in  case  of  a  sudden  raid  by  an  enemy.  En- 
circling this  castle  is  a  group  of  ten  or  twelve  barrows  formed 
of  circular  bowl-shaped  mounds,  rising  gradually  from  the  level 
of  the  ground  towards  the  centre ;  they  vary  from  40  feet  to 
80  feet  in  diameter,  and  attain  a  perpendicular  height,  which 
ranges  from  four  or  five  to  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Some  mem- 
bers of  this  group  of  barrows  were  partially  destroyed  when 
the  high  road  across  the  hill  was  made  at  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century,  (for  up  to  that  time  a  trackway  only 
had  existed,)  and  at  the  same  time,  tradition  says,  that  sepul- 
chral urns  were  discovered,  none  of  which,  however,  were  pre- 
served. A  glance  at  the  surrounding  district  suffices  to  show 
that  the  advances  of  agriculture,  as  it  has  made  its  way  up 
the  hill  sloped,  has  promoted  a  wholesale  destruction  of  these 
grave-mounds.  Here  and  there  a  field  may  be  observed  which 
has  been  reclaimed  from  the  moor-land  waste,  the  level  surface 
of  which  bears  no  evidence  of  sepulchral  monuments ;  whilst 
immediately  contiguous  to  the  hedges  that  bound  the  field 
tumuli  are  numerous ;  the  conclusion  seems  irresistible  that 
others  were  destroyed,  and  all  traces  of  them  obliterated,  when 
the  field  was  enclosed.  Wherever  the  once  verdant  surface  of 
the  down  has  disappeared  beneath  the  ravages  of  the  plough, 
there  have  barrows  been  levelled,  and  the  vestiges  of  the 
antient  inhabitants  ruthlessly  destroyed. 

Continuing  our  journey  in  the  same  direction,  we  arrive  at 
that  part  of  the  hill  known  as  Broad  Down,  where,  by  the 
kind  permission  of  Sir  Edmund  S.  Prideaux,  Bart.,  it  was  re- 
solved that  excavations  should  be  made  in  the  presence  of  the 
members  of  the  Association. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  describe  three  barrows  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  examined. 

•Nilsson's  Primitive  InhaUtoHU  of  Scandinavia ;  translated  by  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  Bart,  p.  18. 


624      MEMOIR  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  THREE  BAEROWS 

The  first  [A]  was  situated  in  a  field  to  the  east  of  the  high 
toad,  overlooking  the  beautiful  vale  known  as  Roncombe 
Ourt;  it  measured  eight  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  and 
ninety-four  feet  iu  diameter;  arouod  it  there  appeared  to  be 
traces  of  a  shallow  ditch  or  fosse.  The  action  of  the  plough 
had  gradually  worn  down  the  surface  of  this  barrow,  so  that 
its  height  liad  been  reduced  by  some  two  or  three  feet,  and  the 
fossa  had  become  well-nigh  obliterated,  although  the  monnd 
still  retained  its  circular  form  and  symmetrical  curvature. 
Since  the  excavations  were  made,  I  have  observed  that  the 
lemaifis  of  a  circle  of  large  boulders  may  still  be  traced 
around  a  neighbouriug  baiTOW  ;  these  stones  are  firmly  Ivedded 
in  the  tongh  peaty  soil,  and  are  partially  overgrown  with 
heather  and  furze.  They  resemble  in  character  the  stones 
that  are  still  to  be  met  with  in  the  neighbourhood,  though 
probably  collected  fram  diifeivnt  places,  there  being  grey 
weathered  smooth  stones  from  the  surface  of  the  moor,  and 
which  had  once  been  exposed  to  the  eroding  intiuence  of  the 
atmosphere,  whilst  again  there  are  angular  masses  of  flint  or 
chert  which  had  been  quarried  in  the  neighbouring  hill-sidejs. 
It  appears  probable  tiiat  at  least  all  the  larger  oietnl>ers  of  this 
group  of  grave- mounds  wtire  once  protected  by  a  circle  of 
bouldei*s  placed  at  regular  intervals  around  the  base  of  them, 
a  peculiarity  that  assimilates  them  to  some  tumuli  in  Nof^ 
thumberland  that  ha%^e  been  lately  explored  *  In  most  cases 
these  stones  have  long  since  been  carried  away  to  be  used  for 
building  purposes,  or  to  be  broken  up  for  the  repair  of  the 
roads. 

Operations  were  commenced  by  cutting  a  trench  four  feet 
wide  thi-ough  the  centre,  from  south-east  to  north-west.  The 
mound  proved  to  be  formed  of  alternate  layers  of  peat  and 
blue  clay,  which  the  workmen  said  did  not  belong  to  the 
locality.  It  appeared  never  to  have  been  previously  disturbed. 
No  indications  of  a  deposit  became  apparent  until  the  natural 
surface  of  the  ground  was  reached  at  the  centre  of  the  bar- 
row ;  a  layer  of  charcoal,  apparently  the  burnt  remains  of 
small  sticks,  or  brushwood,  such  as  the  surrounding  furze  and 
heather  would  supply,  yielded  the  first  intimation  of  an  ap- 
proaching ''find''  Interspersed  with  the  charcoal  were  nodules 
of  ruddle  ;t  beneath  it  was  a  thin  ferruginous  seam,  perfectly 

♦  See  an  article  entitled  Descriptioux  of  Cairns^  CromlecH^  Kistvaens^  and 
other  Critic  Monuments.  By  Captain  Meadows  Taylor.  Tran.^actions  of  the 
Jiot/fil  Irish  Artuhmf/y  vol.  xxiv. 

t  Rod  ochre  or  red  Hoematite.  A  stratum  of  th»8  ore  oceiire  at  Peak  Hill, 
near  Sidraouth,  about  six  miles  distant  from  Broad  Down.     Mr.  Batcman 


PLATE  J. 


FlO,   1,— flKCTION  THROUGH  THE  CKNTII*  OF  [A]   BAKEOW, 
H.   PrtTemcnt  of  flint  et*im*  t.  I^er  of  mtoltted  bwwa. 


¥lQ.    2.— SKtTTKlJf  TUROUOU  THK  CKKTHE  OP  [B]  BAKHOW, 


a.   De|>T«ltof  dtnncoftl. 

&.    Lflyer  of  cttlciunl  bcmfts- 

6.    Bod  [rf  dtir  and  wrtli. 


<l,   Bamt  eortb  and  cbarcoiit 
t.    Lfiyot  qI  Btoues  capping  tbo  mouud. 
Frubabl(}  positlou  nl  iHDoiiAv  cm|i. 


Fig.  3.— section  tiieouc^jii  the  cKsriiK  op^  [C]  B\itBow. 


ft.   a.   Cin-Iu  of  large  Injuldon^ 
6.   Cut™  of  f  luU, 

f.     UfTL 


m. 


(/.  Dritiklng  Cup, 

/.    CoTotttig  or  fturidfie  aarth. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  625 

solid,  and  hard  like  stone,  which  possibly  might  be  the  result 
of  heat.  In  this,  and  the  two  tumuli  to  be  hereafter  described, 
iron  ore  occurred  abundantly,  either  in  the  form  of  a  thin 
baud,  or  in  the  shape  of  nodules  of  iron  pyrites*  The  latter 
mineral  is  of  common  occurrence  on  the  surface  of  the  hill, 
but  it  is  present  in  these  barrows  in  such  abundance  as  to 
suggest  the  probability  of  its  having  been  placed  there  de- 
signedly *  Possibly  it  was  then,  as  now,  regarded  as  a  'thun- 
derbolt,' and  belonged  to  the  class  of  objects  that  was 
supposed  to  have  a  talismanic  virtue.  Beneath  the  bed  of 
charcoal  just  mentioned  was  a  layer  of  flint  stones,  placed 
with  some  regard  to  order  side  by  side,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of 
pavement  13  feet  by  9  feet.t  The  interstices  between  the 
stones  were  filled  up  with  blue  clay,  which  in  some  instances 
had  become  baked  by  the  action  of  the  fire  when  the  funeral 
pyre  was  kindled ;  from  the  same  cause  the  surface  of  the 
stones,  when  not  protected  by  the  clay,  had  been  partially 
vitrified.  Beneath  this  layer  of  stones  was  the  natural 
surface  of  the  ground,  which  appeared  to  have  been  pared 
down  to  the  depth  of  a  few  inches,  as  if  to  afford  an  even 
surface.  The  general  features  in  connection  with  this 
barrow  will  be  best  understood  by  reference  to  the  diagram. 
(See  Plate  i.  fig.  1.)  Increased  care  was  now  used  as  we  pro- 
ceeded with  the  investigation;  and  the  excavations  were 
steadily  carried  on  until  we  reached  the  original  surface  of 
the  ground,  exactly  below  the  centre  of  the  mound,  where  we 
discovered  the  interment.  It  consisted  of  a  simple  deposit  of 
calcined  bones  resting  upon  the  charcoal,  which  spread  out 
from  the  bones  for  some  distance,  and  covered  the  layer  of 
flint  stones  which  formed  the  hypocaust.  Immediately  con- 
tiguous to  this  deposit,  raised  slightly  above  it,  and  a  few 
inches  to  the  east,  a  drinking- cup  was  uncovered.  Fortu- 
nately it  was  removed  in  a  state  of  complete  preservation,  with 
the  exception  only  of  a  slight  indentation  on  the  rim,  which 
the  workman  made  with  his  pick-axe.  On  the  removal  of 
this  cup  it  was  taken  to  a  neighbouring  cottage,  and  as  it  be- 

Buggests  in  Ten  Years'  Diggings^  p.  179,  that  ruddle  was  probably  used  as  a 
war-paint  by  the  Antient  Britons.  He  mentions  the  occurrence  of  a  nodule 
in  a  barrow  at  Castem,  **  which,  from  its  abraded  appearance,  must  have 
been  in  much  request  for  colouring  the  skin  of  its  owner." 

•  In  a  list  of  the  Vestiges  of  the  Antiquities  of  Lerbyshirej  tabulated  by 
Sir  John  Lubbock  in  his  work  on  Prehistoric  Times,  several  instances  are 
mentioned  in  which  nodules  of  iron  pvrites  were  found  in  barrows. 

t  A  barrow  opened  at  Tenby,  and  described  as  paved  with  stones,  is  men- 
tioned in  Areh,  Joum,  vol.  x.  p.  76.  See  also  Wame's  Celtic  Tumuli  of  Dorset, 
p.  41,  wherein  ihe  author,  in  describing  the  excavation  of  a  barrow,  says, 
**A  portion  of  the  base  of  this  mound  was  rudely  paved." 


626      MEMOm  OF  THE  EXAMOfATlON  OF  THREE  BAKK0W3 

gao  to  cmck  and  warp  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  it  was 
immersed  in  water.  This  very  rai-e  and  curious  relic  measurea 
3|  inches  in  height,  and  attains  at  its  greatest  diameter,  which 
is  at  the  mouth,  a  width  of  3  indies;  its  capacity  is  about  a 
gilL  (See  Phite  ii.  fig  1,)  The  form  of  the  bowl  is  ovate  or  bell- 
shaped,  tapering  downwards  from  the  rim,  and  temiinatiog  in  a 
cone;  originally  the  periphery  was  circular,  but  it  has  become 
in  a  alight  degiee  distorted  by  the  post- mortuary  pressure  of  the 
earth  beneath  w^hich  it  lay.  The  ornamentation  eorisists  exter- 
nally of  four  series  of  liooj>-like  rings  that  encircle  the  bowl 
in  a  plane  parallel  to  the  rim  ;  of  these  the  tinst,  consisting  of 
thre«  rings,  occurs  immediately  beneath  the  lip ;  a  second 
course,  consisting  of  four  rings,  is  found  round  the  centre  of 
the  bowl,  which  thereby  is  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower 
section ;  a  third  course,  consisting  of  three  incised  lines,  is 
situate  at  about  the  centre  of  the  lower  section  of  the  bowl, 
whilst  at  the  apex  of  the  cone  is  a  terminal  ornament  of  three 
concentric  circles.  (See  Plate  ii.  fig.  2.)  The  border  of  the 
cup  is  ornamented  along  its  interior  mai^n  by  a  simple  pat- 
tern of  two  parallel  chevrouy  dgzags,  that  run  beneath  a  sin- 
gle horizontal  incised  line.  The  handle,  which  is  of  one  piece 
with  the  bowl,  is  too  small  to  admit  of  the  insertion  of  a  fia- 
ger,  and  was  probably  intended  to  be  used  for  a  atring-hole,  as 
a  means  of  suspendiig  the  cup  from  the  shoulder  or  waist  of 
its  owner  It  measures  l|  inches  in  length,  attains  a  meatt 
breath  of  J  inch,  and  is  about  a  ^  inch  in  thickness;  its  or- 
namentation consists  of  two  upright  bands,  each  of  which  is 
formed  of  two  parallel  lines  that  are  continued  along  either 
edge  upon  its  exterior  surface. 

A  curious  and  interesting  question  arises  as  to  whether  this 
cup  is  hand-made  or  lathe-made.*  The  difficulty  of  forming 
such  a  vessel  on  the  lathe,  so  as  to  leave  the  projecting  handle 
(which,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  of  one  piece  with  the  bowl) 
would  at  first  sight  appear  to  be  almost  insurmountable,  and 
would  suggest  that  it  is  hand-made.  And  yet,  upon  a  close 
examination  of  the  bowl  of  the  cup,  the  incised  lines  that 
form  its  ornamentation  occur  with  such  regularity  as  almost 
to  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  having  been  carved  by 
hand ;  moreover  also,  marks  similar  to  those  which  a  rotating 
tool  would  produce  may,  I  think,  be  traced  within  the  interior 

•  In  Wilde's  Catalogue  of  the  MuHeum  of  the  Roijal  Irish  Academy y  pp.  217 
and  «y.,  there  occurs  a  deecription  of  several  antient  wooden  methers  or 
circular  drinking-cups ;  they  are  mentioned  as  "  of  a  single  piece,  most  of 
which  are  turned  on  a  pole-lathe,  and  of  various  sizes  from  those  capable  of 
holding  about  a  quart  of  fluid  measure,  to  others  not  larger  than  a  wine- 
glass." 


PLATE  II. 


l*'.!;-    1.  — DllINKlNO-CUP,    FOUND   IN   A    BAllROW  AT   HROAD   1)0WX,    FAUWAY, 

NEAK   HONITON. 

(Orig.  size.    Albert  MeraorLil  Museum,  Exeter.) 


Fig.    2.— BOTTOM  OF  TUB  CUP,   SHOWING  THE  TEUMINAL  ORNAMENT. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NBAB   HONITON.  627 

of  the  vessel.  This  latter  opinion  is  confirmed  by  that  of  a 
skilful  practical  turner*  to  whom  I  took  an  opportunity  of 
submitting  the  cup.  He  expressed  himself  satisfied  that  it 
had  been  made  on  a  pole-lathe,  and  added  that  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  turning  the  upper  part  so  as  to  leave  a 
projection  that  would  admit  of  being  atterwards  fashioned  by 
the  chisel,  and  cut  through  into  a  handle.* 

The  excavations  had  reached  this  point  when  the  members 
of  the  Association  arrived  on  the  morning  of  31st  July. 
Naturally,  the  cup  was  an  object  of  great  interest,  and  specu- 
lation was  rife  as  to  the  material  of  which  it  was  composed. 
At  first  it  was  thought  to  be  made  of  pottery  ;  when  it  had 
become  dry  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  it  presented  the 
appearance  of  wood  or  of  bog-oak.  On  testing  with  nitric 
acid,  a  very  small  fragment  that  had  become  detached  from 
the  cup,  it  was  observed  to  blacken  in  the  presence  of  the 
acid ;  this  was  a  proof  that  carbon  entered  largely  into  the 
combination  of  the  material,  and  that  it  had  an  organic  origin. 
A  few  days  after  its  disinterment,  I  availed  myself  of  an  op- 
portunity that  offered  of  sending  the  cup  to  London  with  a 
view  to  obtaining  from  the  authorities  at  the  British  Museum 
an  opinion  as  to  its  material.  It  was  submitted  to  the  in- 
spection of  Doctor  Birch  and  Mr.  Franks,  by  both  of  whom 
it  was  considered  to  be  formed  of  Kimmeridge  shale.  Sub- 
sequently it  was  exhibited  at  the  International  Congress  of 
pre-historic  Archaeology,  by  the  members  of  which  it  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  quite  unique  of  its  kind,  although  some  doubts 
were  expressed  as  to  the  material  of  which  it  was  made.  After- 
wards it  was  submitted  to  Professor  Tennant,  and  also  to  Mr. 
Etheridge,  one  of  the  curators  of  the  Museum  of  Economic 
Geology  in  Jermyn  Street,  by  both  of  whom  an  opinion  was 
expressed  to  the  effect  that  it  was  formed  from  a  lump  of 
Bovey  Tracey  lignite.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  referred 
the  question  to  W.  Pengelly,  Esq.,  F.B.8.,  of  Torquay,  who 
has  devoted  much  attention  to  the  beds  of  Bovey  lignite,  and 
who  contributed  a  monograph  thereon  to  the  transactions  of 
the  Royal  Society.  Mr.  Pengelly  writes  as  follows : — "  I  was 
present  when  the  Broad  Down  tumuli  were  opened  in  July 
last,  and  saw  the  vase  in  question  very  soon  after  it  was  found. 
I  confess  that  I  am  very  sceptical  about  its  being  formed  of 
Bovey  lignite ;  and  this,  partly  because  of  my  recollection  of 
the  vase,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  provoking  tendency  of 
the  lignite  to  crack  and  break  into  pieces  on  exposure  to  the 

*  The  history  of  the  lathe  in  pre-historic  times  is  an  interesting  sabject 
for  research. 


G28      MEMOlfi  OF  THE  EXAMJNATIOtf  OF  THBBE  B.VRROWS 

ftir.  Tins,  however,  I  hope  to  test  very  soon,  by  getting  a  ves- 
sel turned  of  Hgiiite,  if  possibla"  The  opiDion  thus  expressed 
by  Mr.  Pengelly  h  confirmed  by  that  of  John  Divett,  T?gq^^ 
proprietor  of  the  Bovey  lignite  beda.  He  writes  as  follows ; — 
*'  With  regard  to  the  little  vase  that  you  mention,  I  do  not  for 
a  moment  believe  that  it  was  turned  from  Bovey  coal.  That 
the  Bovey  coal  is  '  tonw  ramie '  I  doubt  not ;  but  I  know  nut 
the  conditions  uader  which  a  vessel  turned  out  of  Bovey  coal 
could  hold  together  for  many  years.  I  have  seen  a  piece,  well 
varnished,  remain  in  shape  for  some  time,  but  even  that  pro- 
tection does  not  last  long." 

It  may  not  seem  irrelavent  to  the  subject  under  considera- 
tion to  notice  the  singular  little  cup  described  as  of  oak, 
found  in  17G7  in  the  King  Barrow,  Stowborongh,  near  Ware- 
ham,  Dorset  The  interment  was  in  this  instance  in  a  large 
hollow  trunk  of  an  oak  ;  several  human  bones,  uuburnt^  lay 
in  this  depository,  wrapped  in  deer-skin.  No  weapon  or 
tt^ces  of  metal  were  found,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
portion  (as  stated)  of  gold  lace.  The  cup  measured  about  t 
inches  in  depth ;  the  mouth  was  elliptical  in  form*  the  major 
axis  measuring  3  inches,  and  the  minor  2  inches ;  it  was 
ovate  or  bowl-shaped,  and  had  probably  been  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  corpse ;  the  exterior  surface  was  engraved  with 
horizontal  and  oblique  Hues.  Although  described  by  Mr.  _^J 
Hutchins  as  formed  of  oak,  it  is  more  probable,  as  suggested  ^H[ 
by  Dr.  Wake  Smart,  that  it  may  have  been  of  the  Kimmeridge 
shale  of  the  district.*  Worsaet  describes  an  interment  very 
similar  in  character,  that  occurred  in  a  barrow  in  Denmark : 
it  was  laid  in  the  stem  of  an  oak  that  was  very  thick,  about 
ten  feet  in  length,  and  split  in  two ;  several  remains  of  gar- 
ments were  found,  a  lock  of  brown  human  hair,  a  bronze  dag- 
ger, palstave,  &c.,  and  "  a  small  round  wooden  vessel,  with  two 
handles  at  the  sides,  in  which  was  found  something  which  had 
the  appearance  of  ashes." 

In  a  paper  entitled  "  The  Kimirieridge  Goal-money*'  con- 
tributed to  the  Purbeck  Society  in  1857,  by  the  Rev.  John  H. 
Austen,  there  occurs  a  description  of  vessels  composed  of 
Kimmeridge  coal  or  shale  that  have  been  already  discovered. 
The  author  inserts  an  extract  from  a  communication  made  by 

*  This  cup  is  figured  in  Hut<;hins's  Uitft.  Dorset,  vol.  i.  p.  26,  first  edition, 
1774;  Camden's  Britannia,  vol  i.  plate  11,  p.  76,  edit.  Gough.  See  also 
the  account  by  Mr.  Hi  tchius,  Gent.  Mag.^  vol.  xxxvii.  p.  63 ;  Wame's  Celtic 
Tumuli  of  Dorset :  Tumuli  opened  at  various  periods,  p.  4.  This  remarkable 
relic  came  into  the  possession  of  Gough ;  it  is  not  known  whether  it  still 
exists. 

t  Worsae's  Primeval  Antiquities  of  Denmark^  p.  96. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,   FAHWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  629 

fthe  late)  Professor  Henslow  to  the  Cambridge  Antiquarian 
Society  in  the  ye^r  1846,  on  the  materials  of  two  sepulchral 
vessels  which  were  found  at  Warden,  in  Bedfordshire.  He 
says,  "  Upon  looking  over  some  fwigments  of  Romano-British 
pottery  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Colchester,  I  met  what 
appears  to  have  been  part  of  a  large  patera,  or  at  least  some 
vessel  with  a  flat  surface  and  a  shallow  projecting  rim.  This 
fmgment  is  of  the  same  material  as  the  Kimmeridge  *  Coal- 
money;*  and  beara  the  impression  of  a  fossil  ammonite  (?) 
distinctly  marked  upon  its  surface.  Upon  drying,  it  has 
become  cracked  and  warped,  precisely  in  the  same  manner  as 
we  see  specimens  of  the  'Coal-money.'"*  The  same  author 
describes  two  vessels  which  were  found  at  Warden,  in  Bed- 
fordshire, now  in  the  possession  of  the  Cambridge  Anti- 
quarian Society,  and  which,  he  says,  are  "composed  of  a 
bituminous  shale,  in  all  respects  similar  to  that  which  occurs 
in  the  Kimmeridge  clay,  and  from  which  the  coal-money  has 
been  turned." 

An  account  of  the  discovery  of  two  other  vessels  formed 
of  Kimmeridge  coal  is  thus  given  by  Albert  Way,  Esq.,  F.aA.: 
"  In  December  1856  two  remarkable  vessels,  formed  of  Kim- 
meridge coal  or  shale,  were  discovered  in  immediate  proximity 
to  Roman  remains  at  Great  Chesterford,  Essex,  and  are  now 
preserved  in  the  museum  at  Audley  End.  The  vessels  are  so 
perfect,  and  the  condition  of  the  material  so  compact,  that 
they  were  for  some  time  concluded  to  be  of  wood.  By  ex- 
posure to  the  air  the  coal  has  cracked  and  exfoliated,  precisely 
as  the  *  Coal-money'  usually  does.  No  doubt  can  exist  of 
the  identity  of  the  material.  The  vessels  have  been  carefully 
compared,  by  many  persons  who  have  seen  them,  with  the 
'  Coal-money,*  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Austen.    The 

material  is  precisely  the  same The 

vessels  of  shale  ai*e  remarkable  as  having  been  turned  out  of 
blocks  of  such  large  dimensions,  whereas  the  vases  found 
at  Warden,  in  Bedfordshire,  were  formed  of  several  pieces 
rabbeted  together."! 

Mr.  Way  also  informed  me  that  in  the  museum  at  Boulogne 
is  a  covered  box,  of  about  four  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter, 
which  he  believes  to  be  made  of  Kimmeridge  coal,  from  the 
exact  identity  of  material  with  that  of  the  vessels  found  at 
Great  Chesterford. 

By  the  friendly  assistance  of  the  same  excellent  authority, 
who  speaks  ex  cathedra  on  this  and  kindred  subjects,  I  am 

*  Papers  read  he/ore  the  Furbeek  Society,  by  the  Rev.  John  H.  Austen,  p.  93. 
t  Arehaoiogieal  Journal,  voL  xiv. 
VOL.   II.  T  T 


630      MEMOIR  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  THttEE   BAimoWB 

enabled  to  supplement  thfa  list  of  veBsela  formed  of  Kim- 
m*^ridge  shale  by  other  examples,  tliat  may  afford  the  me^na 
of  augge.^tive  coniparisan  with  the  cup  before  iia.  In  drain- 
ing a  withy-bed  at  HempstoD,  near  Corfe  Castle,  in  the  year 
1845,  the  workmen  came  upon  a  deposit  of  Kiiiimeridge  coal- 
inoney  (flo  called)  that  occurred  beneath  a  bed  of  peat ;  and 
with  it  was  a  vessel,  described  as  "like  the  bawl  of  a  lar^je 
glass  or  rLimmer,  and  with  the  bottom  or  stand  broken  oftV" 
Here  we  have  an  unrecorded  instance  of  a  cup,  similar  to 
that  found  at  Broad  Down,  indubitably  of  Kimmeridge  shala 
Now  as  the  'Coal-money'  with  which  this  cup  was  associated 
16  an  undeniable  proof  of  turning  cmft,*  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  cu[>  here  alluded  to  was  an  imperfect  or 
damaged  object,  thrown  aside  witti  the  refuse  of  the  lathe. 
The  remark  that  "the  stand  was  broken  off"  may  probably 
refer  to  the  portion  of  the  shale  that  pivoted  on  the  lathe, 
and  which  would  have  been  turned  o%  or  cleared  away 
smooth,  had  the  vessel  not  been  rejected  as  a  failure  l>efore 
its  completion.  In  explanation  of  the  use  of  this  material  in 
the  manufacture  of  cnps,  paiaw,  and  personal  ornaments,  for 
which  it  appears  to  pi^sent  no  peculiar  aiivantages,  Mr.  Austen 
sugflfests  that  possibly  a  superstitions  value  attached  to  it. 
This  opinion  is  based  on  the  fact  that  amulets  of  Kiromeridge 
coal,  armiilm,  beads  and  other  such  ornaments  have  been  fre- 
quently found  on  the  floor  of  barrows.t  A  large  slab  of  this 
material  has  occasionally  occurred  as  the  covering  of  aa 
interment  in  a  tumulus :  and  the  same  writer  quotes  the 
authority  of  Pliny,  who  mentions  that  the  gagates  of  Britain, 
a  mineral  to  which  the  lignites  and  shales  of  the  Dorsetshire 
coast  and  of  Devon  bear  a  certain  family  resemblance,  pos- 
sess amongst  other  medicinal  or  magic  virtues,  that  of  driving 
away  serpents,  t 

In  noticing  other  objects  which  appear  to  present  features 
of  analogy  with  the  drinking  cup  found  at  Broad  Down,  and 
that  by  comparison  may  assist  us  in  arriving  at  a  knowledge 
of  the  relative  date  to  which  it  should  be  referred,  I  may 
allude  to  the  remarkable  discovery  of  a  cup  of  gold  that  was 
disinterred  from  a  barrow  at  Killaton,  in  Cornwall,  in  the 

♦  Kimmeridp^e  Coal-money  is  now  known  to  be  the  central  part  that  waa 
turned  out  of  rings,  amulets,  annilU^  and  other  circular  ornaments  that  were 
lathe-made.     It  was  thrown  away  as  refuse. — Rev.  J   H.  Austen,  Ar.,  p.  92. 

t  Some  of  these  ornaments  are  figured  in  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Antient  Wilts^ 
vol.  i.  plate  34.  See  also  Transactions  of  the  Archrfoloffical  Association^  1846, 
in  which  occurs  a  description  of  two  ornaments  of  Kimmeiidge  coal  found  in 
a  barrow  on  Alsop  Moor,  and  which,  the  author  su«rjrest8,  "  were  attached  to 
the  dagger  as  charms."  X  Pliny.  Nat.  Hist.  lib.  xxxvi.  cap.  19. 


i 


^  i  I  Actual  Jiixtf.    Now  |»o*iotf ed  «|  Ontjcimti.) 


Ylii.    2. — ndTTnM    OF  THE  CLTf,    BMOWJNfi   THE  TEFIMINAL   rORHrflATrf^NS, 

Exhiblte^l  lij"  pcrtDisfliori  of  tb*  Queen,  Rtidflf  tho  PritiR*  of  ^nlfti,  At  a  raootitij^  of  tfee  R^ijil 
ArcliB-'ulogiciil  InttittLtfi.    June  7.  1867. 

neprodticod  tiy  ^nniJnlOD  of  tlie  Cettlral  Gatdmltt^e  of  tlj*  Boynl  ArchnnotfigtcAl  fu*tjtu|«. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,   FARWAY,  NEAR   HONITON.  631 

year  1837.  It  is  thus  described  by  E.  Smirke,  Esq.,  Vice- 
warden  of  the  Stannaries:* — **The  mound  or  barrow  was 
about  thirty  yards  in  diameter.  After  removing  part  of  the 
superincumbent  earth  and  stones,  they  (some  labourers  in 
search  of  stone  for  building)  came  upon  a  vault  or  cist  of 
rough  masonry,  forming  an  oblong  four-sided  cavity,  con- 
sisting^ of  thi-ee  vertical  stones  on  each  of  the  longer  sides,  of 
one  stone  at  each  end,  a  large  flat  one  below,  and  a  large  flat 

covering  stone  above Within  the  vault,  and  about 

3. J  feet  from  the  north  end  were  fomid  two  vessels  lying  near 
each  other,  one  being  of  earthenware,  the  other  and  smaller 

being  the  gold  cup  before  us This  highly  curious  cup, 

— so  far  as  I  am  aware,  unique — measures  in  height  3J  in. ; 
diameter  at  the  mouth  3f  in.;  at  the  widest  part  of  the  bowl 
3|^in.  The  handle  measures  l^in.  by  {in.,  greatest  width. 
The  weight  of  the  cup  is  2  oz.  10  dwts. ;  its  bullion  value 
about  iilO.  The  handle,  which  has  been  a  little  crushed,  is 
attached  by  six  rivets,  three  at  the  top  and  three  at  the  bot- 
tom, secured  by  small  lozenge-shaped  nuts  or  collars.  This 
appendage,  it  should  be  observed,  seems,  at  least  in  its  pre- 
sent state,  fit  only  for  means  of  suspension,  barely  affording 
sutBcient  space  for  the  smallest  finger  to  be  passed  through 
it.  Indeed,  the  cup  does  not  stand  firmly  on  its  base,  and  I 
have  doubts  whether  it  was  intended  to  do  so.  On  the  bottom 
of  the  cup  there  are  concentric  rings  or  corrugations,  like 
those  on  the  rest  of  it,  around  a  little  central  knob  about 
J  in.  diameter." 

By  the  courteous  permission  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
I  am  enabled  to  append  an  illustration  of  the  gold  cup  found 
at  Rillaton  (Plate  iii.  fig.  1),  and  also  a  figure  of  the  bottom  of 
the  cup  showing  the  terminal  corrugations.  (Plate  iii.  tig.  2.) 
Many  points  of  resemblance  between  this  cup  and  that  of 
Broad  Down  will  be  readily  observed ;  as,  for  instance,  the 
general  outline,  which  in  both  cases  is  ovate  or  conical ;  the 
rounded  base,  and  also  the  character  of  the  ornamentation; 
these  and  other  pecularities  which  will  be  suggested  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  illustrations  are  indicative  of  a  certain  general 
resemblance  between  the  two  examples  before  us. 

In  searching  for  other  examples  of  cups  or  vessels  which 
in  character  are  not  dissimilar,  we  must  not  fail  to  notice 
the  amber  cup  that  was  found  in  a  barrow  at  Hove  near 
Brighton,  in  the  year  1856.  (See  Plate  iv.  fig.  1.)  It  is  thus 
described  by  Barclay  Phillips,  Esq. :  t  "  On  reaching  the  centre 

•  Journal  of  the  Royal  Institution  of  ComwaU,  No.  ix.,  1868. 
t  ArehcBological  Joumaly  voL  xiii  p.  183. 
T  T   2 


6S2      MEMOIR  OF  THE  KXAMIKATIOK   OF  TUKKE  BAJmOWS 

of  the  tumulus,  about  6  feet  east  of  the  road  to  Hove  station, 
and  about  9  feet  below  the  surface,  in  stiff  clay,  the  labcmrers 
struck  upon  a  rude  wuodeii  coffin,  G  or  7  feet  in  length,  depo- 
sited  east  and  west,  and  formed  with  boards  apparently  rudely 
shaped  with  the  axe.  The  wood  soon  crumbled  to  dust;  a 
knot,  however,  or  gnarled  knob  was  preserved,  and  ascertained 
to  be  of  oak.  In  the  earth  with  which  the  coffin  was  filled 
many  fragments  of  bone  were  found,  seemingly  charred. 
About  the  centre  the  following  objects  were  discovered : — 

"(L)  A  cup  or  bowl,  supposed  to  be  of  amber,  with  one 
small  handle  near  the  lim,  sutficiently  large  to  pass  a  finger 
through  it  A  band  of  five  lines  runs  round  the  rim,  inter- 
rupted by  the  handle.  The  height  of  the  cup  is  2^  inches, 
diameter  3 J  inches,  average  tljickness  I  inch.  The  interior 
surface  is  smooth,  and  the  appeamnce  would  indicate  that  the 
cup  had  been  formed  on  a  lathe,  which,  however,  seenia 
scarcely  possible  when  the  position  of  the  handle  is  considerei 
The  cup  would  hold  rather  more  than  half  a  pint. 

**(2.)  A  stone  axe  perforated  for  the  haft.  It  is  of  an 
unusual  type,  and  is  wraugtit  with  much  skill;  the  length  of 
it  is  5  inches. 

"  (3.)  A  small  hone  (?)  of  stone,  measuring  2/^  inches  in 
length,  perforated  at  one  end. 

**(4.)  A  bronze  blade  of  a  type  which  has  frequently  occurred 
in  Wiltshire,  and  in  other  pfirts  of  Engluntl  The  labourers 
state  that  the  coffin  rested  on  the  natural  soil^stilf  yellow 
clay,  whilst  the  barrow  seemed  to  have  been  formed  of  the 
surface  mould  of  the  locality  and  rubbish  heaped  together, 
with  considerable  quantities  of  charred  wood." 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  Plate  iv.  fig.  1,*  which  represents 
this  amber  cup,  and  also  to  fig.  2,  which  represents  its  handle, 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  we  have  here  again  a  certain  con- 
structive resemblance  with  the  treasure  trove  of  Broad  Down. 
The  rounded  base,  the  ovate  form,  the  smallness  of  the  handle, 
and  the  character  of  ornamentation,  all  concur  in  pointing  to 
a  general  approximation  of  type. 

Among  other  relics  that  claim  notice  in  connection  with 
the  subject  before  us  two  small  urns,  of  a  shape  that  has  been 
regarded  as  peculiarly  Irish,  deserve  attention,  as  presenting 
certain  features  of  analogy  with  the  peculiar  cup  found  at 
Broad  Down,  and  also  with  other  vessels  that  have  been 
mentioned.  These  Irish  fidilia  are  formed  with  a  pointed 
base,   so  that,  like  the  antique  rhythnn,  or  the  fox's  head 

♦  Conti-ibuted  through  the  kindness  of  the  Ilev.  T.  PoweU,  Honorary  Sec- 
letnry  of  the  Siissox  Archaeological  Society. 


PLATE  IV. 


Fl(,.    1.— AMBKR  CUP,   FOUND  IN   A   BAUROW   AT  HOVE,   NEAR  BRIGHTON, 
(i  ^«^fr  «ize.    Brighton  Museum.) 


FlO.  2.  — FRONT  VIEW  OF  THE  HANDLE  OF  THE  CUP. 
Repit)duccd  by  permiaaion  of  iho  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Sua^ox  ArchR^ological  Society. 


1 


K 


r  ; 

\-  1 

i  I' 


Dill 


AT  BROAD   DOWN,   FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  633 

drinking-cup  of  modern  times,  they  could  not  stand  erect  A 
similar  fashion  appears  in  some  drinking  vessels  of  glass  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  period.  Of  one  of  the  little  vessels  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made  a  representation  is  given  by  kind 
permission  of  the  Archaeological  Institute.*  (Plate  iv.  fig.  3.) 
It  was  found  near  Castlecomor,  Kilkenny,  in  quarrying  stones; 
it  had  been  deposited  in  a  small  circular  cist  formed  of 
stones,  resting  upon  a  slab  about  2  feet  square  ;  another  slab 
covered  the  top.  Within  this  cist  there  was  an  earthen 
cylinder,  described  as  without  a  bottom ;  this  part  may  pos- 
sibly have  perished,  or  have  been  broken  away.  This  urn 
was  rudely  scored  with  a  chevrony  pattern,  and  within  it  had 
been  placed  the  small  vessel  that  rested  on  its  mouth.  It  is 
of  hard  gray  or  ash-coloured  ware,  and  even  in  its  present 
broken  state  shows  considerable  elegance  in  form.  The  lip  is 
unusually  broad,  and  projects  so  as  to  render  the  little  vase 
apparently  ill-suited  for  the  purpose  of  a  drinking-cup.  There 
is  no  handle.  The  lower  part,  ribbed  like  a  melon,  tapers  to 
a  point  at  its  base.  Around  it  and  within  the  cylinder  there 
were  many  calcined  fragments  of  bones,  of  which  also  a 
quantity  were  found  outside  the  cist.  The  Rev.  James  Graves, 
Secretary  of  the  Kilkenny  Archaeological  Society,  by  whom 
this  discovery  was  made  known  to  the  Institute  in  London, 
observed  that  this  specimen  bears  close  resemblance  in  size 
and  shape  to  that  found  near  Bagnalstown,  county  of  Carlow, 
a  figure  of  which  was  published  by  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.j 
This  object  is  now  in  their  Museum.  Air.  Graves  remarked 
that  the  small  funeral  vases  of  this  type  seem  intended  to 
have  been  placed  inverted,  perhaps  over  the  ashes  of  the 
heart,  and  within  larger  vessels  containing  the  other  relics  of 
the  body.  The  fragments  of  the  large  urn  are  of  red  im- 
perfectly-baked ware ;  tlie  bones  enclosed  within  it  comprised 
fragments  of  the  rib  of  an  adult,  with  the  phalangial  bones 
of  an  adult ;  the  whole  had  been  exposed  to  cremation.  This 
little  urn  may  have  measured  in  its  perfect  state  about  3 
inches  in  height. 

The  vessel  referred  to  by  Mr.  Graves  as  having  been  dis- 
covered at  Bagnalstown  is  thus  described  by  Sir  R.  Wilde : 
*'  When  reversed,  the  bowl  (which  is  rounded  at  the  base)  pre- 
sents, both  in  shape  and  ornamentation,  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  Echinus,  so  strongly  marked  that  one  is  led  to  believe 
the  artist  took  the  shell  of  that  animal  for  his  model 


*  Reproduced  from  the  Journal  Arch.  Institutef  vol.  viii.  p.  2(M). 
t  Proceeding*^  vol.  iv.  p.  36. 


SM      MEMDIH  OF  THE  KXAKIKATION  OF  THEEE  BAKROWS 

It  possessea  the  rare  addition  of  a  handle*  which  has  be^n 
tonled  over  like  the  rest  of  the  vessel.  This  beautiful  little 
urn  stands  but  2|  inches  in  height,  and  is  3|  inches  acmss 
the  outer  margin  o\'  the  lip,  which  is  the  widest  portion.  Its 
decoration  consists  of  nine  sets  f>f  upright  marks,  each  con- 
taining thi^ee  cro3s-barred  elevations,  narrowing  towards  the 
base  which  is  slightly  huUowed ;  the  intervals  between  the-S^i 
ai-e  filled  with  more  elaborately  worked  and  minutes  impres- 
sions, each  alternate  space  being  further  ornamented  by  a 
different  pattern,  A  rope-like  ornameiit,  svinnonnted  by  an 
accurately-cut  chevron,  surrounds  the  neck.  The  lip,  which  is 
nearly  tlat,  is  one  of  the  most  beautifiiUy  ornamented  portions 
of  the  whole  ;  a  number  of  small  curved  spaces,  such  as  might 
be  made  by  the  point  of  the  nail  of  the  forefinger,  snrmund 
the  outer  edge,  and  al^o  form  a  similar  decoration  on  the  inner 
margin ;  ujion  the  tlat  space  between  these,  somewhat  more 
than  half  an  inch  broad,  mdtate  a  number  of  very  delicately 
cut  Iines."f 

Such  then  are  the  particulates  that  I  have  been  enabled  to 
collect  eoncernim>  cups  or  vessels  assi^ciated  with  antient  in- 
terments, and  which  afford  materials  for  useful  comparison 
with  the  specimen  from  Broad  Down.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  memoir  1  will  briefly  summarise  these  facts,  and  point  ovit 
the  inferences  as  to  the  relative  age  of  this  ban*ow  and  ita 
contents  which  these  notices  tend  to  establisli. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  tumulus  from  which  this 
cup  was  taken  was  entirely  barren  of  any  further  results. 
Subsequently  we  extended  laterally  the  trench  that  had  been 
originally  cut  through  the  barrow,  and  also  carried  out  a  care- 
ful examination  for  a  considerable  distance  around  the  centre, 
but  without  finding  another  deposit.  Not  a  vestige  of  pottery, 
no  flint  flake,  worked  flint,  or  weapon  of  any  kind  was  dis- 
covered, which  could  afford  a  further  clue  to  the  people  by 
whom  this  tumulus  was  built,  or  to  the  relative  age  in  which 
they  lived. 

We  next  proceeded  to  examine  a  barrow  [B],  which  lay 
about  one  hundred  yards  to  the  south-west  of  that  which  we 
have  just  described.  It  was  about  ninety  feet  in  diameter,  had 
been  originally  surrounded  by  a  shallow  fosse,  and  was  eight 
feet  in  perpendicular  height  at  the  apex  of  the  mound.  Owing 
to  the  land  being  under  cultivation,  the  height  of  this  tumulus 

•  Tbiti  id  small  and  agrees  in  typical  character  with  that  of  many  of  the 
etip«  ftlrott4>'  deacribod. 

t  C^ttLhifm  of  the  Muncum  of  Antiquities  of  the  Royal  Irish  Aeadrmt/, 
p,  179. 


PLATE  V. 


Fig.  1.— small  ovate  vessel,  found  in  a  cist  at  castle  comer,  Kilkenny, 

AND   a   fragment   OF   A   rYLINDKIOAL  URN,    IN   WHICH    IT  WAS   ENCLOSED. 

(OHpr.  sizo  ) 


l'i<;.   2.-- iNt  r.\>i.  Ml',    i.iiM.   i\    \   !i.\i:i;"\\    \i    i'.i:<»\ii  h..\vN.   fahway,    Nr.\i: 

llnM  |..\. 
(Ori^'.  si/0.     AlKcrt  Mciij..ri.il   Mu^-'un.  Kx.t.-r  ) 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FAEWAY,  NEAK  HONITON.  635 

was  much  reduced.  As  in  the  former  barrow  [A],  we  com- 
menced by  cutting  a  section  three  feet  wide  from  the  south 
towards  the  north  through  the  centre,  and  afterwards  extended 
it  towards  the  east  and  west,  for  two  feet  on  each  side  of  our 
first  section,  so  as  to  make  the  trench  seven  feet  wide.  As 
the  mound  was  explored,  we  came  upon  signs  of  burning,  at 
first  slight,  but  gradually  increasing  in  abundance,  until  at  the 
centre  burnt  earth  and  charcoal,  with  a  few  calcined  flints  at 
intervals,  formed  almost  the  entire  mass,  and  presented  a 
beautiful  section.  After  passing  beyond  the  centre,  when  we 
approached  the  periphery  towards  the  north,  we  again  came 
upon  the  surface  earth  with  which  the  barrow  had  originally 
been  capped.  We  also  observed  a  layer  of  large  flat  stones 
overlying  the  burnt  materials  of  the  mound.  For  further 
particulars  concerning  the  structure  of  this  barrow,  the  reader 
is  refeiTed  to  the  diagram,  Plate  i.  fig.  2. 

Thus  far  the  preliminary  exploration  had  been  made  when 
the  members  of  the  Association  visited  the  tumulus,  and  up 
to  this  time  the  excavations  were  barren  of  result ;  no  trace 
of  interment  either  by  cremation  or  inhumation,  no  imple- 
ment of  any  kind  had  been  found  in  this  barrow.  However, 
whilst  one  of  the  visitors,  Mr.  Blackmore,  of  Torquay,  was 
walking  around  the  tumulus  inspecting  the  works  in  opera- 
tion, he  discovered  amongst  the  (Ubris  thrown  out  by  the  work- 
men from  the  trench  a  very  perfect  example  of  the  so-called 
"incense-cup."  It  is  2  inches  high,  3  inches  wide  at  the 
mouth,  and  averages  in  thickness  about  ^  an  inch.  In  colour 
it  is  pale  brown,  formed  of  finer  and  better  clay  than  any  of 
the  other  fictilia  to  be  hereafter  described,  and,  though  hand- 
made, shows  a  certain  degree  of  skill  in  the  ceramic  art,  and 
in  some  measure  approaches  the  lioraan  terra-cotta.  (Plato 
V.  fig.  1.)  On  the  external  surface  it  is  decorated  with  straight 
lines  arranged  in  a  pattern.  The  ornamentation  is  divided  into 
compartments  by  incised  perpendicular  lines,  between  which 
there  occasionally  occur  herring-bone  markings,  made  by  some 
narrow  tool,  perhaps  a  pointed  flint,  or  bone,  which  has  been 
pressed  into  the  soft  clay.  The  perpendicular  lines  are  ter- 
minated by  a  horizontal  band,  encircling  the  vessel  above  and 
below,  parallel  to  the  rim ;  the  irregularity  of  these  hoops 
points  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  not  formed  on  the 
whei'l.  This  is  well  represented  in  the  illustration,  Plato  v. 
fig.  1.  The  rim  is  ornamented  by  a  single  row  of  incised 
angular  markings  arranged  herring-bone  fashion.  Additional 
interest  attaches  to  this  beautiful  specimen  of  early  British 
mortuary  vessels,  from  the  fact  that  the  under  surface  of  it 


630      MEMOIR  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  TllItEE  BARROWS 

is  curiously  wrauglit  with  inciaed  lines,  arranged  in  four 
qtiadmnts  of  the  circle,  which  again  are  formed  by  lines 
TOdiatiug  from  the  centre  towards  the  circumference,  and 
constitute  an  imperfect  cruciform  ornament. 

Attention  has  lately  been  called  by  Mn  Way'  to  the  fact 
that  the-se  mysterious  little  iiepulchral  vessels,  when  found 
at  all,  which  is  rare,  are  occasionally  ornauiented  on  the 
under  surface  with  a  decoration  that  is  chameterised  by  the 
crnciform  type.t  Such  is  the  ease  with  the  sijecinien  from 
Broad  Down  now  under  consideration.  By  reference  to  Plat-e 
vi.  fig.  1,  which  gives  an  illustration  of  the  under  side  of  this 
"  incense-cup/'  it  will  be  observed,  that  of  the  radiating  lines 
with  which  it  ia  scored,  the  four  prineipal  lines  meeting  in 
the  centre  form  a  crnciform  ornament.  It  should  be  added 
that  on  one  side  of  this  vessel  are  two  small  perforations. 
(Plate  vi.  Kg.  2.)  This  peculiarity  is  common  with  ves-sels  of 
this  particular  type;  in  most  cases  they  occur  on  one  side 
only*  although  iti  many  examples  they  ai-e  found  on  both  sides. 

The  question  ha??  often  been  asked  as  to  what  use  the  '*  iti- 
cense-cup"  was  put  It  was  suggested  by  Sir  R.  Hoare  that 
it  was  intended  to  contain  perfume.'^  or  unguents  suspended 
over  the  futieml  pyre  at  the  time  of  crt^mation,  so  as  to  dis- 
guise  the  disagreeable  odour  of  the  burning  corpae.t  From 
the  circumstance  that  vessels  of  this  partieular  type  are  gene- 
rally provided  with  sinj^'le  or  doubk^  late  ml  perforations,  and 
also  that  they  are  more  or  less  elaborately  ornamented  on  the 
under  surface — a  peculiarity  shared,  I  believe,  by  scarcely  any 
sepulchral  pottery  of  other  classes,  it  appears  very  probable 
that  they  were  intended  to  be  suspended  above  the  leyel  of 
the  line  of  sight,  possibly  at  the  funer&l  rites  and  feasts  that 
accompanied  the  cremation  of  the  body  upon  the  pyro.  But 
that  they  served  the  purpose  of  "  thuribles"  or  "  unguentaries" 
appears  to  be  more  than  doubtful ;  for  where,  it  may  be  asked, 
could  our  forefathers  have  obtained  a  perfume  sufficiently 
powerful  that,  if  concentrated  within  a  vessel  so  small  as  the 
incense-cup,  would  have  served  the  purpose  intended  ?  No 
one  claims  for  these  cups  that  they  were  ''Assyria  nurdo  nncti/* 

•  Arch(Boloffi(e  CamhretniSy  third  series,  vol.  xiv. 

t  For  further  particulars  concerning  these  vessels  the  reader  is  refeiTed  to 
an  article  on  ''^TheAntifni  Interments  and  iSepnlehral  Urns  found  in  Anfjlesea  and 
North  Wales,"'  by  the  Hon.  W.  Stanley,  m.p.;  with  additional  observations 
by  Albert  Way,  m.a  ,  f.s  a.,  ArchtBol.  Journal,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  22,  See  also  iSir 
R.  C.  Hoare's  Antient  Wilta,  vol.  i.  plates  2 1  and  2.5 ;  also  Arch.  Journ.  vol. 
▼i  p.  319.     Warue's  Celtic  Twnuli,  plates  I  and  3 ;  Intellect.  Obs.  vol.  xii.  p. 

Aiti^t  Wiltfy  vol.  i.  p.  209. 


PLATE  VI. 


FlO.    1. — INCISED   ORNAMENT  ON  THE  BOTTOM   OF  AN  INCENSE  CUP,    FOUND   IN 
A    BARUOW   AT   BROAD   DOWN. 

(Orig.  size.) 


FlO.    2. — KBPRE8ENTING  THE  TWO   PERFORATIONS  ON  TlIE  SIDE  OF  THE 
INCENSE  CUP. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  637 

and  yet  surely  the  jlora  of  Broad  Down  must  have  greatly 
degenerated,  if  it  were  possible,  in  those  far  oflf  days  when 
cremation  was  practised,  and  war-paint  was  the  only  personal 
decoration,  to  distil  a  "  nardi  onyx''  from  the  vegetation  of  the 
moor.  At  present  heather,  furze,  and  bracken  are  its  staple 
products ; — 

"  Vix  humiles  apibus  casias  roremquc  ministrat/' 

To  revert,  however,  to  the  particular  example  of  the  *'  incense- 
cup"  before  us.  In  this  case  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture  the 
use  to  which  it  may  have  been  placed,  inasmuch  as  when  it 
was  discovered  it  was  partially  filled  with  calcined  bones. 
These  were  so  closely  compacted  together,  that  it  were  idle  to 
conjecture  that  they  became  located  in  their  present  receptacle 
by  accident.  Apparently — almost  certainly — they  are  the 
calcined  bones  of  an  infant,  which  possibly  was  buried  along 
with  its  mother,  that  it  might  follow  her  to  that  land  to  which 
she  was  gone  befoi-e,  and  there  enjoy  that  maternal  care  of 
which  it  was  deprived  here. 

Mr.  Bateman  observes  "  that  the  critical  examination  of  all 
deposits  of  burnt  bones  would  lead  to  much  curious  informa- 
tion respecting  the  statistics  of  suttee  and  infanticide,  both 
which  abominations  we  are  unwillingly  compelled  by  accu- 
mulated evidence  to  believe  were  practised  in  Pagan  Britain." 
In  reference  to  this  quotation.  Sir  J.  Lubbock  observes,*  "From 
the  numerous  cases  in  which  the  bones  of  an  infant  and  a 
woman  have  been  found  together  in  one  grave,  it  seems  pro- 
bable that,  if  any  woman  died  in  childbirth  or  while  nursing, 
the  baby  was  buried  alive  with  her,  as  is  still  the  practice 
among  some  of  the  Esquimaux  tribes." 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  this  "incense-cup,"  it  was 
suggested  that  the  bones  were  probably  not  human,  but  were 
rather  those  of  some  small  animal  which  had  been  sacrificed 
at  the  time  of  the  cremation  of  the  corpse.  Unless  the  bones 
were  removed  from  their  receptacle —which  cannot  be  thought 
of — it  is  scarcely  possible  to  determine  their  character  with 
certainty.  It  is  true  that  many  instances  occur  in  which  the 
bones  of  animals  are  found  mingled  with  human  bones 
amongst  the  contents  of  tumuli  In  a  work,  before  quoted, 
entitled  Ten  Years*  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Grave-hills, 
the  author  gives  the  results  of  the  opening  of  no  less  than  237 
barrows ;  and  although  the  remains  of  animals  very  commonly 
occurred,  including  those  of  the  mole,  wolf,  dog,  fox,  polecat, 
stoat,  weasel,  badger,  wild  boar,  horse,  fallow-deer,  rat,  goat, 

♦  Pre-historic  TimeSf  p.  116. 


6a8      MEMOIE  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OP  THHEB  BAfiEOWS 

6li6€p,  and  oow,  yet  I  find  but  one  iastane^  in  which  it  ia  stated 
that  these  remains  were  burnt ;  nor  can  I  find  any  iostiince, 
either  in  the  work  quoted  or  in  any  other  work  bearing  upon 
this  snbjttct,  io  which  the  remains  of  atiimals  after  bt^ing  burnt 
were  preserved  in  sepulchral  urna.*  What  SchoDlcmft  aaya  of 
the  North  American  Indiana  is  true  of  our  Keltic  forefathers: — 
"  Nothing  that  the  dead  poasessed  was  deemed  too  valuable  to 
be  interred  with  thti  body.  The  most  costly  dress,  arms,  orna- 
ments and  implements  are  deposited  in  the  grave,  which  is 
always  placed  in  the  choicest  scenic  situations^jn  some 
crowning  hill,  or  gentle  eminence  in  a  secluded  valley/'  They 
imagined  a  future  world  not  altogether  unlike  the  present,  and 
in  token  of  their  affection  for  the  dead*  they  laid  by  their  side 
those  things  which  in  life  they  had  valued  most.  The  same 
pious  feelings  prompted  them  to  place  f<jud  within  the  gi-ave, 
and  also  to  sacrifice  those  animals  which  had  been  their  com- 
panions here,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  accijmpany  their 
owners,  and  be  of  use  to  them  in  the  life  which  they  were 
thought  to  continue  after  death. 

The  author  of  The  PnmiUve  InJwbitantB  of  Scamiitiaina 
informs  us  that  the  missionary  Cranz  nientions  that  the 
Greenland ers,  even  in  his  day,  used  to  lay  the  heM  of  a  dog 
beside  the  grave  of  a  child,  in  onler  that  the  soul  of  the  do*^ 
which  can  always  find  its  way  home,  may  show  the  helplesa 
child  the  road  to  the  country  of  souls.  Whether  this  beau* 
tiful  idea  belonged  to  the  Esquimaux  or  to  the  missionary  is 
not  stated ;  but,  the  author  adds,  it  is  at  all  events  certain 
that  the  skulls  of  dogs  have  been  found  in  Esquimaux  graves, 
and  also  in  other  places.  "  The  rude  child  of  nature  has  a 
kind  of  presentiment,  although  dim  and  confused,  of  a  con- 
tinuation of  life  after  death.  But  unable  to  soar  to  a  purer 
and  nobler  conception  thereof,  he  believes  that  the  departed 
are  destined  to  continue  after  death  the  same  activity  which 
marked  their  life  in  this  world.  Therefore  he  builds  the  same 
kind  of  dwelling  for  the  dead  as  for  the  living ;  therefore  he 
places  them  in  the  gmve,  in  the  same  position  which  they 
were  wont  to  take  while  alive  in  their  hut,  and  therefore  he 
hangs  up  or  places  beside  them  the  implements  of  daily 
use."  t 

Whilst  the  experience  gathered  froui  the  exploration   of 

•  "Wo  have  numerous  instances  where  a  horse,  ox,  deer,  boar,  or  dog,  has 
been  buried  with  a  man." — Xoticcs  of  the  Examiuatimi  of  Antient  Gran-hi/h  in 
the  North  Biding  of  Yorkshire,  by  the  Rev.  Canon  GreenweU.  Arch.  Journ., 
vol.  xxiii.  p.  110. 

t  Sven  NilBSon,  l,c.  p.  142. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  639 

sepulchral  mounds  in  all  parts  of  the  world  would  thus  lead 
to  the  expectation  that  the  bones  of  animals  may  be  expected 
to  occur,  associated  in  the  tomb  with  those  of  men,  yet  the 
instances  upon  record  of  animal  bones  having  been  sub- 
jected to  cremation  are  rare,  and  I  can  find  no  instance  in 
which  such  bones  were  deposited  in  sepulchral  vessels ;  these 
I  believe  were  devoted  exclusively  to  human  i^emains.  Of 
the  few  instances  in  which  these  "  incense-cups "  have  been 
discovered  containing  bones,  in  each  case  it  is  suggested  that 
the  contents  are  the  ashes  of  an  infant. 

Mr.  Stanley  describes  an  interment  that  was  accidentally 
brought  to  light,  on  the  sea-shore  at  Forth  Dafarch,  Holyhead 
Island.  Beneath  a  large  stone  situate  upon  a  hillock,  an  urn, 
described  as  resembling  a  bee-hive,  was  exposed  to  view ; 
this  unfortunately  cnimbled  to  pieces.  Associated  with  it 
was  a  small  vessel  of  the  incense-cup  type  which  contained 
ashes,  and  was  fortunately  preserved.  The  contents  of  this 
vessel  were  submitted  to  the  late  Mr.  Queckett,  the  eminent 
microscopist,  by  whom  they  were  unhesitatingly  pronounced 
to  be  portions  of  the  skeleton  of  a  very  young  infant.* 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  small  Irish  cup  (p. 
633)  as  presenting  points  of  analogy  with  the  drinking  cup 
found  in  barrow  [A].  Its  diminutive  size  approximates  it  to 
the  "incense-cup"  type;  and  that  it  was  a  mortuary  vessel  ap- 
pears from  the  circumstance  that  it  contained  bones,  which 
are  described  as  being  those  "  of  an  infant  or  very  young 
child.  It  was  embedded  in  a  much  larger  and  ruder  urn, 
filled  with  fragments  of  adult  human  bones :  possibly  they 
may  have  been  the  remains  of  mother  and  child." t 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  this  incense-cup  was  thrown 
out  by  the  workmen  from  the  trench  in  which  they  were 
excavating  without  being  noticed  by  them,  and  that  it  was 
afterwards  accidentally  recovered  from  among  the  cUWis, 
These  little  cups  are  usually  found  associated  with  or  enclosed 
within  larger  sepulchral  vessels ;  search  was  therefore  made 
for  the  containing  urn,  but  without  avail.  It  was  unlikely 
that  80  large  an  object  as  an  urn  should  have  escaped  the 
notice  of  the  workmen,  and  had  it  been  accidentally  broken 
by  them  the  pieces  would  have  remained.  Two  or  three  small 
fragments  of  pottery  were  afterwards  found,  but  as  they  bore 
no  signs  of  recent  fracture  we  concluded  that  they  were 
shards  thrown  in  upon  the  grave  at  the  time  of  burial.t 

♦  Arch.  Camb  f  vol.  xiv. 

t  Wilde,  le.  p.  180.     See  also  Intellect,  Obs.,  voL  xii.  p.  266. 

X  Compare  on  this  subject  Arch,  Joum.,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  117. 


*     640  -JtEHOIft  Of  TUE  EXAMINATION  OF  TUBEE  BABBOWS 

From  the  position  in  which  the  iocensenjap  occurred  I  infer 
that  it  was  originally  de|x>sited,  along  with  its  eontaimDg-unv 
upon  one  siJe  of  the  tumulus,  far  away  from  the  centre,  and 
prubably  at  an  inconsiderable  depth  tilow  the  surface     On 
the  conversion  of  the  Down  from  pasture  into  arable,  the 
altitude  of  tlie  barrow  was  greatly  reduced  by  the  actioD  of 
the   plough ;    thereby  the  nro,  being  thus   exposed  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  atmosphere,  and  to  the  alti'mations  of 
droughty  damp,  and  frost,  would  soon  become  disiutegnitett 
even  if  it  escaped  deBtructiou  by  the  ploughshare;  whilst  the 
little  treasure  that  was  placed  within  it,  being  smaller,  and 
also  compacted  of  better  material,  was  preserv^ed,  althou*^U 
its  more  bulky  pn>tector  entirely  perished-  On  a  consideration 
of  the  facts  hei^  narrated,  I  was  led  to  conchide  that  this 
interment,  buried  near  the  surface,  far  away  fmni  the  centre 
of  the  mound,  and  paHially  destroyed  by  cultivation,  was  of 
a  later  date,  and  eonistitnted  a  secondary  interment ;    and 
although  we  had  estcavated  the  presumed  centre  of  the  barrow 
down  to  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground,  yet  that  we  had 
not  discovered  the  priujary  interment.     We  therefore  com- 
menced our  excavations  anew  by  removing  all  t!je  soil  that 
lay  on  the  north-east  side  of  the  centre  of  the  mound.    Much 
time  and  an  immensity  of  labour  was  necessarily  expended 
in  the  execution  of  the  work,  but  at  length,  after  many  days, 
we  had  tlie  f^ati start irni  of  discovering  upon  tli"»  natural  and 
undisturbed  surface  of  the  ground,  a  deposit  of  charcoal  so 
abundant  as  to  form  a  layer  several  inches  thick,  and  more 
than  three  feet  in  diameter ;  fragments  of  charred  oak  were 
plainly  discernible,  the  grain  of  the  wood  perfectly  retaining 
its  specific  character;    there  also  occurred  a  few  pieces  of 
ruddle  mixed  with  fragments  of  calcined  flint  and  chert,  in 
many   cases   reduced  to  powder  by  the  action  of  the  fire. 
Resting  upon  this  was  a  compact  mass  of  incinerated  bones, 
forming  a  deposit  about  18  inches  in  diameter  and  an  inch  in 
thickness.    Careful  search  was  made,  but  no  weapon  of  stone 
or  metal,  no  fragment  of  pottery  occurred — nothing,  in  fact, 
was  found  to  reward  us  for  our  labour.     A  few  flints  and 
flint-flukes  were  brought  to  light,  but  I  considered  that  none 
of  them  bore  unequivocal  marks  of  having  been  wrought  or 
used  by  the  hand  of  man.     However,  we  had  the  satisfaction 
of   knowing   that  we  had  at  last  solved  the  enigma,  and 
arrived  at  the  original  interment.     Doubtless  it  was  intended 
be  in  the  centre  of  the  barrow ;  that,  however,  had  been 
ing  up  so  large  a  mass  of  material,  and  hence  our 
section  through  the  mound  had  missed  the  interment 


^^^^^^p  be  in  th( 
^I^^^HHILhi  heap 
^^^^^^■pa  Bed 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,   NEAR   HONITON.  641 

and  proved  barren  of  result.  The  conclusion  seems  also  per- 
fectly obvious,  that  this  tumulus  covered  at  least  two  distinct 
burials ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  primary  interment  was  entirely 
destitute  of  pottery,  whilst  the  secondary  interment  had  this 
accompaniment,  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  long  interval  may 
have  elapsed  between  the  two  burials,  and  that  this  mound 
may  have  been  a  time-honoured  monument  of  antiquity  when 
the  secondary  interment  took  place. 

Our  researches  were  once  more  resumed,  when  we  dis- 
covered at  a  distance  of  about  six  feet  south  of  the  centre  of  the 
mound,  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface,  and  resting  upon 
the  layer  of  capping-stones,  two  large  fragments  of  pottery. 
As  they  were  devoid  of  ornamentation,  we  regarded  them  as 
portions  of  an  urn — perhaps  that  within  which  the  incense- 
cup  was  originally  placed. 

Here  ended  our  exploration  of  tumulus  B. 

We  now  proceeded  with  the  examination  of  a  third  tumulus 
[C],  forming  one  of  a  group  of  nine,  situate  at  a  distance  of 
about  two  hundred  yards  to  the  east  of  those  already-described, 
and  occupying  a  part  of  the  moor  that  has  not  yet  been 
brought  under  cultivation.  It  is  70  feet  in  diameter  and  6 
feet  high.  On  taking  a  careful  survey  of  the  gi'ound,  and 
preparing  for  operations,  our  attention  was  directed  by  the 
workmen  to  the  fact  that  the  summit  of  the  mound  appeared 
to  "  sound  hollow."  We  therefore  commenced  by  cutting  a 
trench  four  feet  wide  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the  men, 
who  worked  with  great  energy  in  the  expectation  that  their 
long-deferred  hopes  were  about  to  be  realized,  and  that  the 
"crock  of  gold"  with  which  these  barrows  are  universally 
associated  in  the  rustic  mind  was  at  length  within  their  grasp. 
The  periphery  of  the  barrow  proved  to  be  formed  of  burnt 
earth,  extending  to  a  distance  of  about  6  feet  laterally,  and 
which,  being  soft  and  friable,  allowed  of  rapid  progress  in  the 
work  of  excavation.  There  occurred  in  it  a  few  amorphous 
fragments  of  pottery  which  appeared  not  to  have  formed  a 
part  of  any  fictile  vessel.  We  then  came  in  contact  with  a 
central  mass  or  cairn  of  flints,  which  rendered  the  work  of 
examination  most  laborious,  and  the  day  being  now  far 
advanced,  operations  were  soon  afterwards  discontinued.  An 
early  opportunity  was  taken  of  resuming  the  work,  when  we 
carried  our  trench  through  the  central  part  of  the  mound, 
whereby  we  arrived  at  a  knowledge  of  the  plan  on  which  it 
was  constructed.  (See  Plate  i.  fig.  3.)  The  spot  to  be  occupied 
by  the  tumulus  was  marked  out  by  a  circle  of  large  boulders 
that  apparently  had  been  brought  from  the  bed  of  the  stream 


MEMOIR  OF  THI  MAMINATION  OF  THREE  BABR0W8 

which  flows  throngh  the  neighbouring  valley  of  Farway. 
These  boulders,  (some  of  them  90  lai-ge  that  they  were  com- 
puted to  wei^h  half  a  ton)  wei^e  placed  at  intervda  about 
three  feet  apart.  Within  this  enclosure  the  interments  were 
deposited,  and  a  nia^s  of  atones  was  loosely  piled  iipou  them 
until  the  nii>uud  reached  the  required  height;  the  whole  was 
then  covered  with  burnt  earth  to  the  depth  of  about  a  foot 
on  the  aumntit,  and  more  abundantly  on  the  sides,  and  was 
finally  capped  with  a  layer  of  surface  earth »  so  as  to  give  to 
the  barrow  a  rounded  outline,  and  conceal  iit)m  view  the 
cairn  of  stones  beneath.  The  material  thus  employed  in  the 
construction  nf  tlie  barmw  rendered  its  exploratioa  both 
difficult  and  dangerous.  Owing  to  the  loose  manner  in  which 
the  stones  were  aggregated  it  was  necessary  to  remove  them 
by  hand,  one  at  a  time,  and  much  care  had  to  be  used  lest  the 
sides  should  fall  in  and  crush  those  engaged  in  the  work- 
in  this  instance  again  a  great  expenditure  of  time  and  labi>tir 
occuri'ed.  As  we  appi-oached  the  middle  of  the  caini  indi- 
cations of  a  ''find.**  became  apparettt  Some  large  flakes  of 
charcoal  were  observed  between  the  interstices  of  the  stones, 
and  l>y  proceeding  cautiously  with  their  displacement  we 
came  upon  tlie  fragments  of  an  urn  that  had  been  crushed 
by  the  weight  of  the  superincundient  mass.  Probably  this 
occurred  at  the  time  of  the  original  deposition  of  the  uru, 
for  no  provision  had  been  niade  for  its  preservation  ;  the 
surrounding  stones  had  been  heaped  together  witliout  any 
regard  to  oixier,  and  were  too  small  to  admit  of  their  being 
built  into  a  protecting  arch  or  cist.  Around  the  urn  were 
fragments  of  charcoal  and  patches  of  black  unctuous  mould, 
whilst  underneath  it  was  a  deposit  of  burnt  bones,  free  from 
ashes  or  any  extraneous  matter.  Much  care  seemed  to  have 
been  exercised  in  separating  the  human  remains  from  the 
d^hris  of  the  funeral  pyre.  But  although  the  um  was  thus 
mutilated  when  disentombed  from  its  long  hiding-place,  yet 
sufficient  remained  to  indicate  its  shape,  size,  and  ornamen- 
tation. The  fragments  admitted  of  being  put  together  so  as 
to  form  a  vessel  that  would  be,  if  complete,  7  inches  high, 
6  inches  wide  at  the  month,  and  7  inches  wide  at  the  base  of 
the  rim,  which  is  overhanging,  and  is  f  inch  wide.  The 
overhanging  rim  is  characteristic  of  Keltic  urns.  (See  Plate 
vil  fig.  1.)  Below  the  rim  the  vessel  swells  out  for  2  inches, 
and  here  it  is  nearly  8  inches  in  diameter ;  it  then  contracts 
towards  the  base,  which  is  3  inches  in  diameter.  The  oma- 
nieiitation  of  the  urn— if  that  term  is  admissible — is  of  the 
.^aracter ;  the  exterior  is  quite  plain  with  the  excep- 


PLATE  VII. 


?IO.    1.— CINERARY  URN   (RESTORED),    FOUND  IN  A  BARROW  AT  BROAD  DOWN, 
(i  Orig.  size.    Albert  Memorial  MuBeum,  Exeter. 


Fig.  2.— fragment  of  urn,  showing  the  ornamentation  of  tue  rim. 

(Orig.  (die.) 
RKirwin^doL 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  643 

tion  of  a  single  horizontal  line  of  impressed  cord  or  thong, 
which  encircles  it  at  that  point  where  it  attains  its  greatest 
diameter ;  the  surface  of  the  rim  is  filled  in  with  diagonal 
and  horizontal  lines,  that  form  an  approach  to  the  zig-zag 
pattern  so  common  in  the  earlier  examples  of  British  mortuary 
pottery.  (Plate  vii.  fig.  2.)  The  exterior  edge  of  the  rim  iff 
punctured  by  large  dots  or  indentations  at  irregular  distances, 
which  appear  to  have  been  made  with  the  point  of  a  stick. 
The  material  of  this  vessel  is  in  harmony  with  the  rude 
character  of  its  decorations.  The  paste  of  which  it  is  com- 
pacted consists  of  red  friable  clay,  without  any  intermixture 
of  coarse  sand  or  gravel,  and  is  very  imperfectly  baked.*  The 
fragments  are  brown  or  light  red  externally,  and  black  within. 
The  walls  are  rough  and  clumsy,  whilst  the  base  of  it  is 
nearly  an  inch  in  thickness.  The  irregularity  of  the  form  of 
the  vesafel  would  also  betoken  that  it  is  hand-made,  and  was 
not  moulded  on  the  potter's  wheel.  Scattered  among  the 
materials  of  this  barrow  we  afterwards  found  several  other 
fragments  of  pottery,  which  exhibited  a  remarkable  diversity 
in  quality  of  workmanship ;  for  whilst  some  were  as  rude 
and  clumsy  as  the  vessel  just  described,  others  were  thinner, 
well  tempered,  and  of  fine  texture.  Some  pieces  of  these 
were  rough  upon  the  surface,  and  of  a  dark  brown  colour ; 
others  were  of  a  dingy  black  hue,  as  if  begrimed  with  the 
smoke  and  soot  of  the  funeral  pyre ;  others  again  were  of 
reddish  hue,  and  were  well  baked,  being  almost  as  thin  and 
light  as  modern  pottery.  In  many  cases  the  edges  of  the 
fragments  exhibit  numerous  small  pebbles  or  dark-coloured 
gravel,  which  was  mixed  with  the  clay  to  give  it  consistency. 
Some  particles  are  still  adherent  to  the  surface  in  different 
places.  In  almost  all  cases  the  interior  of  the  material,  as 
shown  by  the  fractured  portions,  is  black.t  Our  work  now 
proceeded  for  some  days  without  interruption  until  the  mass 
of  stones  was  removed  from  the  whole  of  the  interior  of  the 
mound,  so  as  to  form  a  clear  space  about  20  feet  in  diameter. 
No  indications  of  a  further  deposit  were  arrived  at  until,  on 
the   east   side  of  the   barrow,  near  the  edge  of  the  cairn, 

*  It  18  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  pottery  which  wo  find  in  antient 
g^ve-mounds  is  under  any  circumstances  tun-baked.  Unless  the  clay  is  pre- 
yiously  hardened  by  exposure  to  the  action  of  fire  it  would  soon  revert  to  its 
original  unctuousnees. 

t  "  The  paste  (of  which  the  cinerary  urns  found  in  Keltic  barrows  is 
compacted)  consists  of  the  clay  found  on  the  spot,  prepared  without  irrigation, 
consequently  coarse,  and  sometimes  mixed  with  small  pebbles,  which  appear 
to  have  been  added  to  mould  it  compactly  together.*' — Bireh**  Antimt  Fottery^ 
vol.  ii.  p.  379. 


644      MEMOIR  OF  THE  EX^\MINAT10K  OF  THREE  BARROWS 


about  18  feet  distant  from  the  ceuttie,  and  as  we  approached 

the  circle  of  boulders  the  presence  of  an  iutermeut  was  again 
indicated  in  the  shape  of  a  kyer  of  burnt  bones*  renting  upoa 
the  timtSj  two  feet  above  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground,  and| 
unaccompauied  bj  ashes  or  any  foreign  raaterial  At  a  sbor^ 
distance  to  the  east  of  the  bones,  and  protected  by  a  x-udB 
dome  of  flints,  was  an  earthen  vessel  beiooging  to  the  claai 
known  m  "food-vessels/*  and  apparently  almost  perfect  in 
form*  Aware  of  the  destructive  influence  that  a  sudden 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere  exeila  upon  these  ill -baked 
vessels,  and  knowing  tlie  difficulties  that  would  attend  th^ 
endeavour  to  remove  the  example  before  us,  I  proceeded  al) 
once  to  take  nieasureinents,  and  to  make  a  sketch  of  it  as  if 
lay  in  miit.  Nor  were  our  precautions  in  vain ;  for  in  thl( 
coulee  of  a  few  minutes,  before  we  had  even  time  eompleteljj 
to  uncover  the  vessel,  we  had  the  mortification  of  observing 
it  crumble  into  fragments.  The  geneml  character  of  thi^ 
vessel  may  be  ascertained  by  reference  to  Plate  viii.  fig.  1^ 
whilst  a  fragment  of  it  exhibiting  the  style  of  ornanientatiott 
is  represented  in  Plate  viii,  fig.  2.  It  seems  to  have  measure<| 
about  7i  inches  in  height,  is  4i  inche^s  in  diameter  at  tb^ 
mouth,  and  5  inches  in  diameter  at  the  part  where  it  bulgei 
out ;  it  is  of  a  pale  red  colour,  compacted  of  a  paste  that  is  ol| 
a  closer  texture  than  that  of  the  urn,  and  ha^  some  approacb 
to  gmcefulne^s  of  form  and  contour.  The  edge  of  the  lip  of 
this  vessel  is  sli^jhtly  bevelled  on  the  outside,  and  is  orna- 
mented with  a  single  row  of  incised  perpendicular  markings 
or  notches  at  regular  intervals.  (Plate  viii.  fig,  2.)  The  style 
of  ornament  peculiar  to  this  example  of  the  "  food -vessel"  ia 
Tery  simple,  consisting  of  horizontal  rings  or  bands  parallel 
to  the  nni,  and  encircling  the  vessel  at  regular  intervals  like 
a  series  of  hoops.  Tliese  markings  appear  to  have  been 
incised  upon  the  clay  whilst  it  was  soft,  and  were  wrought 
by  some  narrow  gi-ooved  instrumentj  probably  of  wood ;  the 
scoring  is  uneven.  In  se^'eral  instances  the  two  ends  of  the 
encircling  hoop  overlap  one  another  without  quite  com- 
pleting the  circle,  whence  we  may  infer  that  the  ornamen- 
tation is  the  handiwork  of  an  artist  who  had  not  the  assistance 
of  a  potter's  wheel.  I  have  termed  this  a  ''food  vessel" 
mther  than  an  urn,  both  because  it  contained  no  calcined  re- 
mains, and  also  because  the  projecting  rim,  which  has  been 
mentioned  as  characteristic  of  the  urn  that  contains  burnt 
remains,  was  absent  in  the  case  of  this  vessel.     Another  dis- 

*  See  Bateman's  classification  of  vessels  exhumed  from  Keltic  tumuli  in 
Ten  Tears   Di)/fft/i(/t<,  appendix,  p.  281. 


PLATE  VIII. 


FlO.    1.— FOOD- VESSEL  (RESTOEED),    FOUND   IN  A  BARROW  AT  BROAD  DOWN, 
(i  Orig.  siM.    Albert  Memorial  Museum,  Exeter.) 


.<^^^i^W 


FlO.    2.— FRAGMENT  OF  FOOD  VESSETi^   SHOWING  THE  ClIARACTER  OF  THE 
ORNAMENTATION. 

(Orlg.  sise.) 
R  Klrwan,  doL 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FARWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  645 

tinction  between  the  "food- vessel"  and  the  urn  may  also  be 
pointed  out ;  namely,  that  whilst  the  ornamentation  of  the 
urn  is  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the  rim,  that  of  the 
"  food- vessel "  extends  over  its  entire  exterior  surface.  We 
continued  our  researches  to  the  extremity  of  the  stone  cairn, 
and  also  removed  some  of  the  larger  boulders  that  have  been 
mentioned  as  forming  its  periphery,  but  nothing  further  was 
found. 

Such,  then,  are  the  particulars  of  the  exploration  of  the 
three  tumuli  at  Broad  Down  that  have  come  under  observa- 
tion, the  narration  of  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  compress 
within  the  narrowest  limits  that  a  faithful  description  would 
admit  of.  One  or  two  questions  arising  out  of  the  facts  that 
were  then  observed  naturally  suggest  themselves,  and  to  these 
I  propose  now  to  endeavour  to  furnish  a  reply.  Where,  how- 
ever, opinion  amounts  to  little  more  than  conjecture,  based 
as  it  is  upon  negative  evidence  in  part,  or  upon  fact«  that 
are  obscure  and  of  doubtful  interpretation,  I  shall  express 
that  opinion  with  diffidence  and  reluctance. 

The  question  of  primary  importance  is  this: — To  what 
people,  and  belonging  to  what  period,  are  these  barrows  to 
be  ascribed?  This  is  a  question,  the  solution  of  which  is 
attended  with  difficulty.  In  seeking  to  furnish  a  reply  to  it, 
there  are  several  points  which  require  consideration.  The 
first  of  these  which  may  be  mentioned  is  the  mode  of  inter- 
ment. We  find  at  Broad  Down  remains  bearing  the  marks 
of  unquestionable  antiquity,  and  which  have  certainly  been 
exposed  to  cremation.  Now  barrow-burial,  with  its  accom- 
paniments, appears  always  to  have  held  a  prominent  position 
amongst  the  funeral  rites  of  a  pagan  people;  but  as  soon 
as  that  people  embrace  Christianity,  their  long -established 
customs,  repugnant  rather  to  Christian  sentiment  than  to 
Christian  doctrine,  do  not  long  survive  their  conversion  ; 
the  old  methods  of  interment  are  gradually  modified,  and 
cremation  yields  to  inhumation.  If  the  correctness  of  this 
inference  be  allowed,  we  shall  at  once  be  able  to  refer  these 
remains  to  a  period  antecedent  to  the  first  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  this  island  in  the  second  or  third  century 
under  the  Romans.  This  inference  is  confirmed  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  mode  of  burial  with  which  we  are  here 
familiarised  with  that  in  common  use  among  the  Saxons. 
Occasionally  indeed  cremation  appears  to  have  been  practised 
by  that  people;  but  by  far  the  more  usual  custom  among 
them  was  to  dig  a  grave  or  cist  into  the  ground  to  the  depth 

VOL.  II.  U  U 


MBMOIE  OF  THE  EXAiUNATlON  OF  THREE  EAKKOWS 


of  several  feet,  and  to  raise  a  mound  of  low  altitude  over  it, 

The  Saxon  graves,  too,  iustead  of  \mng  comparatively  barren 
of  relics,  as  are  the  tumuli  of  Broad  Down,  abound  with 
traces  of  human  art;  they  form,  in  fact,  an  architologicai 
mine,  from  which  are  dug  out  weapons  and  personal  omi-j 
ments  of  all  kinds,  including  articles  of  leather  elaborately 
ornamented  with  silver  or  enamel,  helmets,  spears,  shield^ 
swords,  daggers,  and  other  weapons;  beads  of  amber,  glas^ 
and  porcelain;  whilst  brooches,  rings,  eanings,  and  braceleta 
of  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  form  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
catalogue.*  Once  mure,  the  entire  absence  of  coins,  jx)ttery, 
or  weapons  that  bear  the  impress  of  Eoman  art,  such  as  ai« 
constantly  found  in  Eoman  tombs,  tends  so  far  to  prove  tha^ 
these  tumuli  were  not  raised  by  that  people,  who,  indeed 
seldom  commemorated  their  dead  by  so  ambitious  a  memorial 
as  the  barrow.  I 

On  the  other  hand,  the  antiquities  associated  with  th| 
tumuli  that  have  been  described  agree  in  all  respects  with  th| 
characteristics  presented  by  the  renjuins  found  in  other  baisj 
rows  that  have  been  explored  in  different  parts  of  the  kinm 
dom,  and  which  are  generally  accepted  as  of  Keltic  origin. 

The  shape  and  size  of  the  mounds,  the  mode  of  thei 
formation,  the  creniation  of  the  interments,  the  form,  the 
quality,  and  the  style  of  ornamentation  of  the  acconipanyin| 
pottery,  all  point  to  the  conclusion  that  these  barmws  are  the 
sepulchral  remains  of  a  puople  tlint  inhabited  this  spot  many 
ages  before  the  time  of  the  lionian  invasion.  One  more  link 
in  the  chain  of  evidence  is  supplied  by  a  comparison  of  th^ 
drinking-cup  found  in  tumulus  [A],  Plate  ii.  fig.  1,  with  the 
gold  cup  found  at  Killalon,  Plate  iii,  fig.  1,  and  the  ambei 
cup  found  at  Hove,  near  Brighton,  Plate  iv,  tig.  L  The 
general  style  and  character  of  these  three  cups,  their  simi- 
larity in  regard  to  form  and  size,  the  ovat^  form  of  the  bowl 
wdiich  is  shared  in  some  degree  by  them  all,  the  small ness  oi 
the  handle  intended  rather  for  susjiension  than  the  inssertion 
of  the  finger,  the  ornamental  parallel  lines  that  encircle  the 
bowl,  and  the  perpendicular  lines  that  edge  the  handle  in 
each  case  of  tliese  rnre  ami  interesting  relics,— all  these 
peculiarities  imply  a  certain  constructive  analogy,  and  point 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  belon;^ed  to  members  of  one  and 
the  same  people,  or  of  tribes  tlsat  were  cotemporaneous,  and 
who  lived  under  nmch  the  same  omditiona.  Now  we  know 
that  the   Cornish  treasure -trove,   as   well    as  the    Brighton 

by  Xi.  Jowitt,  F.fi.A.,  liitdlftt.  0**.,  vol,  xii.  p.  450* 


WINGED   CELT  OK   PAATJvTAVB  OF   URO^Zl^    FOUNP   IN  A    DAPHOW   AT   tO^  K- 
UAYHEj    KEAIt   BfiOAD   BOWK,  AftUUT  A.U.    1/60. 


AT  BROAD  DOWN,  FAEWAY,  NEAR  HONITON.  647 

treasure -trove,  were  associated  in  the  burial-place  with  a 
weapon  of  bronze;  so  that  in  the  case  of  these  two  relics  we 
cannot  err  if  we  attribute  them  to  the  "  Bronze  age."  More- 
over, the  absence  of  pottery  along  with  the  burial  with  which 
the  Broad  Down  cup  was  found  also  leads  us  to  assign  that 
relic  to  a  remote  period;*  whilst  upon  the  other  hand  the 
absence  of  bronze  in  that  tumulus  by  no  means  implies  that 
this  metal  was  unknown  when  the  interment  took  place. 
Bronze  articles  with  burials  are  extremely  rare.t  For  a  long 
period  after  its  introduction,  this  metal  appears  to  have  been 
employed  only  for  more  important  articles.  Being  of  neces- 
sity expensive,  and  probably  imported  from  abroad,!  thQ 
poorer  classes  would  continue  for  a  long  series  of  yeara  to 
employ  stone  as  their  material  in  the  constructive  art;  and 
probably  the  rich,  in  addition  to  their  bronze  implements, 
frequently  used  others  of  stone,  and  especially  in  cases  that 
would  have  consumed  a  large  quantity  of  material  in  their 
fabrication.  Thus  the  absence  of  bmnze,  in  the  case  of  the 
tumuli  under  consideration,  may  be  accounted  for,  both  by 
its  liability  to  decay,  and  also  by  the  fact  of  its  intrinsic 
worth,  which  would  render  it  too  valuable  to  be  hid  away  in 
a  grave-mound  along  with  the  dead.  However,  we  have 
evidence  that  bronze  has  been  found  associated  with  burials 
in  barrows  belonging  to  this  group,  and  in  immediate  prox- 
imity to  those  that  we  have  lately  examined.  About  a 
hundred  years  ago  a  "  stone  barrow,"  the  mode  of  construc- 
tion of  which  appears  to  have  been  identical  with  that 
represented  in  Plate  i.  f\g.  3,  was  destroyed,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  collection  of  "  bronze  spear-heads,  amounting  to  half 
a  wheel-barrow  full,  was  discovered."§  By  far  the  larger 
portion  of  these  were  carried  into  the  neighbouring  town  of 
Honiton,  and  were  there  sold  as  old  metal.  At  present  one 
only  is  known  to  be  in  existence ;  it  is  in  the  possession  of 
Doctor  Snook,  of  Colyton.  It  is  of  a  common  type,  known 
as  the  palstave,  and  is  figured  in  Plate  ix.  figs.  1  and  2. 

I  am  indebted  to  a  friend  for  the  following  extract  from 
the  diary  of  the  late  Matthew  Lee,  Esq,:— "July,  1763.  The 
labourers  on   Lovehayne   Farm,   Colyton,   near  Southleigh, 

•  I  may  here  cite  the  authority  of  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  who  says  that  "  simple 
cremation  was  probably  the  primitive  custom.  The  funeral  urn  in  which 
the  ashes  of  the  dead  were  secured  was  the  refinement  of  a  later  age." 

t  "Articles  such  as  swords,  spear-heads,  and  celts,  which  were  of  bronze, 
appear  only  on  the  rarest  occasions  to  have  been  interred  with  their  owners." 
Canon  GreenweU  in  Areh.  Jount.y  vol.  xxii.  p.  2-36. 

X  Britanni  lere  utuntur  importato.     Ctcsar  Bell.  Gall.  v.  12. 

}  David.^n'8  NoteM  on  the  Antiquities  of  Devou^  p.  73. 


648      MBMOIB  OF  THE  EXAMINATFOH  0¥  THREE  BABHOWS 

destroyed  a  stone-barrow  in  order  to  procure  a  supply  of 
stones  for  the  new  turnpike-road.  Upon  one  aide  of  the 
barrow  they  found  about  a  hundmd  Roman  chiseU  for  cut- 
ting atooea,  of  a  metal  between  a  copper  and  brass  colour, 
rough,  and  unhardened."  It  is  possible  that,  as  has  often 
occurred,  there  were  spear-heads  mixed  with  the  objects 
familiarly  called  "celts"  or  "chisels,"  These  latter  bronze 
relics  are  quite  distinct  from  "spear-heads/'  They  are  pro- 
perly to  be  described  as  ''  palstaves/'  of  the  type  without  any 
side -loops.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  this  was 
one  of  those  remarkable  hoards  or  deposits  buried  by  somo 
itinerant  manufacturer  of  bronze  weapons  and  implenienta. 
The  single  specimen  preserved  agrees  well  with  the  descrip- 
tion given  in  Mr,  Lee's  diary,  being  a  somewhat  defective 
and  unfinished  pieca  The  rough  seams  at  the  side,  left  by 
the  divisions  of  the  mould,  have  not  been  trimmed  off. 

Here  then  we  have  evidence  which  will  enable  us  to  arrive 
at  an  approximate  data  for  these  barraws.  Upon  a  survey  of 
theae  fticts  I  iee  no  difficulty  in  assigning  a  high  antiquity  to 
the  relics  that  have  been  lately  brought  to  lif?ht,  or  in  con- 
sidering them  as  the  remains  of  a  people  who  flourished  long 
before  the  advent  of  any  historic  race.  Taking  all  the  cir- 
cumstances into  consideratioti  we  must  assign  them  to  a 
period  antecedent  to  the  Koman  invasion  of  Britain,  and 
probably  we  shall  not  err  if  we  refer  them  to  a  period  far 
more  remote,  when  bronze,  whilst  known,  was  scarce,  and 
when  its  use  was  confined  to  the  more  powerful  part  of  the 
population. 

I  have  ventured  to  put  forth  these  conjectures,  at  the  same 
time  that  I  have  stated  the  reasons  on  which  they  are  based, 
because  it  would  appear  as  if  some  degree  of  theorizing  is 
required  in  order  to  reconcile  and  explain  isolated  facts ;  and 
whilst  I  do  not  claim  universal  acceptance  for  the  conclusions 
at  which  I  have  arrived,  yet  they  will  be  so  far  useful  if  they 
provoke  discussion,  which  is  the  road  to  truth,  that  ought  to 
be  the  object  of  all  investigation.  I  am  fully  aware  that 
before  we  can  pronounce  with  confidence,  upon  any  of  the 
important  points  that  have  been  raised  in  these  pages,  more 
extensive  researches  must  be  carried  out.  Up  to  the  present 
time  no  cranium  has  been  discovered  to  supply  a  cephalic 
index,  whereby  a  knowledge  of  the  general  type  of  race  to 
which  these  people  belonged  may  be  arrived  at.  It  is  worth 
any  pains,  however,  to  establish  such  a  fact  if  possible ;  for 
the  determination  of  the  cranial  type  would  enable  us  to 
draw  trustworthy  conclusions,  and  is  exactly  that  which  is 


AT  BROAD   DOWN,   FARWAY,   NEAR  HONITON.  649 

required  to  dispel  the  mists  that  still  enshroud  the  pre-historic 
period  of  East  Devon  archaeology. 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  expressing  my  thanks  to  Mr. 
Albert  Way,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  suggestions. 
It  is  through  the  kindness  of  the  same  friend  that  Plates  ii., 
v.,  and  ix.  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal  for  the  illustration 
of  this  memoir  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries ;  and  also  Plate 
iv.  by  the  Sussex  Archaeological  Society. 

I  may  also  add  that  Sir  Edmund  S.  Prideaux,  Bart,  has 
expressed  his  intention  of  presenting  to  the  Albert-Memorial 
Museum  in  Exeter  the  various  relics  that  have  been  exca- 
vated from  the  barrows  at  Broad  Down.  It  is  hoped  that 
tliey  may  constitute  the  nucleus  of  a  collection  illustrative 
of  the  prehistoric  archaeology  of  this  county. 


INDEX 

TO  SECOND  YOLUKE  OF  THE  TRAKSAGTIOKS  OF  TEH  DEVOKSHIAS  ASSOCIAHOK 
FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE  LITERATUBS  AND  ART. 


Befermoe  to  TranaafOtioiiB  1867,  Barnstaple  Meeting,  marked  yi. 
1868,  Honiton  Meeting,  maiked  rii. 


Air  compressing  Ap^»aratu8,  vii.  329. 

America,    Colonization    of,    by    N. 
Devon,  vi.  279. 

AnneUds,  The,  of  Devon,  &c.;  E. 
Parfitt,  vi.  203. 

Antiquity  of  Han  in  S.W.  of  Eng- 
land, vi.  129. 

Appleton,  E.,  Sanatory  Notes.  Sewer 
Yentilationy  vii.  699. 

Artavia,  Site  of,  vi.  64. 

Barnstaple  Meeting,  Proceedings  at, 
vi. 

Barrow,  Ancient  Britiah,  at  Hont- 
shaw,  vi.  187. 

Barrows  on  Broad  Down,  Examina- 
tion of^  vii.  619. 

Bate,  C.  S.,  On  a  Cornish  Ejokken- 
mbdding,  vi.  283. 

Beaches,  Shifting,  vi.  186;  Baised, 
vii.  416. 

Bikkers,  Dr.  A.  V.  W.,  The  Philoso- 
phy of  Verbal  Monopoly,  vii  523. 

Black  Hock,  Falmouth,  vL  146. 

Blights  of  Com,  &a;  Rev.  B.  Kir- 
wan,  vii.  610. 

Bones  in  Submerged  Forest,  vi.  162. 

Borough  Island,  vL  149. 

Boulder  of  Pink  Granite,  vi.  47,  50, 
54. 

Bovey  Lignite  and  Clay  Beds,  vi.  22. 

Bowring,  Sir  J.,  Devonian  Folk-lore 
illustrated,  vi.  70. 

Bowring,  Sir  J.,  Moral  and  Pecuniary 
results  of  Pxison  Labour,  vii.  531. 

Brachiopoda,    Distribution    of,    in 
Devon  and  Cornwall,  vi.  170. 

Brixham  Cavern,  vi.  129. 

BuUer,  W.  W.,on  Predictive  Meteor- 
ology, vii.  364. 
VOL.   II.  X 


Bye-Laws,  vi.  xi. ;  vii.  xiii. 
Capital?  What  is;  W.  B.  Hodgwn, 

LL.D.,  vii.  550. 
Camon,  Geological  section  at,  vL  188. 
Castle  Wood,  vii  873. 
Caverns,  vi  27. 
Caverns,  Brixham,  vi  29. 
Celt  or  Palstave,  in  bronse,  vii  647. 
Chanter,  J.  B.,  North  Devon  Customs 

and  Superstitions,  vi  88. 
Chanter,  J.  B.,  North  Devon  Early 

Historv  and  Aborgines,  vi.  57. 
Chapel  dlose,  vii.  881.  • 

Chess,  On  the  Game  of;  J.  Jerwood, 

vii.  462. 
Chess,  Blindfold  play,  vii  467. 
Chudleigh  Cave,  vii.  488. 
Cimbri,  vi.  60. 
Clouds,  Floatation  o(  and  Fall  of 

Rain,  vi.  262. 
aoveUy  Dykes,  vi  100. 
Coleridge,    Sir  J.  D.,  Presidential 

Address  of  (1868),  vii.  285. 
Colonizing  America ;  R  W.  Cotton, 

vi.  279. 
Contents,  vi  iii. ;  vii.  iii. 
Coochill  and  Honeyditches,  vii.  380. 
Cooper,  B.  H.,  The  Antiquity  of  tiie 

use  of  Metals,  &c.,  vii.  886. 
Com,  Blights  of,  vii.  610. 
Cotton,  R»  W.,  Colonizing  America, 

&c.,  vi.  279. 
Cretaceoua  system,  Devon,  vi.  22. 
Culmiferous  -Rocks,  Devon,    vi.  6, 

15. 
Cups,  Eimmeridge  Coal,  from  bar- 
row, vii  626. 
Cups,  Gold,  vii.  630. 
Cups,  Amber,  vii.  631. 
X 


652 


INDEX. 


Dttubcny,  C*t  Oil  thoTempenitiiro  of  [ 
tho  Ajjcbnt  World,  vL  207. 

DeposiiH  ill  ihv  Yalley  Ifetwwn  the 
firiiddqtii  and  Waldon  HilU,  Tor- 

Dovoti,  North,  Cuatoms  and  Supflt- 

rtitioiM;  J   R.  Chftater,  vi,  3B. 
^roti.   Norths  Early   KUtory  and 

AborigintsB  ^    J-   It*   ChaiitaTt    vi* 

67. 
Devoiimn  Folk-LoT©  illustrated^  vL 

70. 
Davonian  Eocke,  HlBtory  of  Foeml 

Fiah  in.  rii.  423. 
Drilling  Machinery;   O.  Nounmnn, 

TJL  328. 
Ptunpdan,  Andciit  Oomp,  irii.  S72. 
Difrploy  Cafltle,  Shehboar,  vi,  104. 
SirtAworka  noar  Thre@  HorseehoeBh 

vii.  351. 
Ecc«t]I.Tidty  of   the   Earth*a   orbits 

Table,  VI.  276. 
ISIiH,  H.  8^f  MammAliAn  Bo^es  in 

auknot-gpd  Forrat  at  NorUniTn,  vi. 

1fl2, 
Fur  war  Ciwtle^  vii.  023. 
Flint  fmploTOcnts,  vi.  31, 
Flinta,  thoir  provaloEic^  on  tho  OooitB 

of  Devon,  vi  l$B. 
Food  Vwaol  ftt>iii  Barrow  on  Broad 

Down,  Tii.  644. 
FortilieutiiinBg  AntuiLmt,  noax  Bido- 

ford,  vi.  m, 
Fofcwil  Fltjm,  TMo,  vi.  278. 
Fowl*>rp  H.p  Ancient  Briti^b  Barrow 

at  Utintdmw,  vi.  IflJ^ 
Goolf>gieAl  fluccftsjiion   of    EockH  in 

Devon,  vi.  3,  33. 
Glacml  action  in  Devon,  Evidences 

of,  vii.  357- 
Glacial  Period*  i    Dr.  Danbeny,  vi. 

275,  276. 
Gold  King,  inscriptions  and  Happhii^ 

vi.  94. 
Granitea:  aga^  varif^ies,  &c.,  vi  16. 
GravcrlingB— young:  Salmon,  vii.  31 4^ 

316. 
Grecittfiand,  8pon|?os  in,  vii,  444. 
Omvstonc,  A:c,,  vii.  374. 
Gulph  Stmani ;  E.  Vivian,  vii.  360. 
Jltill,  T,  M  ,  Naica  on  the  Priory  of 

f^t.  Mflrv  at  I'ilton,  vi.  93. 
Hall.  T.  M,,  On  thi>  Mineral  localities 

of  Dovonahirtu  vii.  332. 
Hawkfiiio^'n     Hill     Castlo;     P.    O. 

Hutrhinpon,  vii.  378. 
Henbun'  Fort,  West  of  Torrington, 

vi.  Ita 
np|>pT— vouni,'  Salmon,  vii.  3!4»316. 
High  TideB,  vi.  15?, 


Hill  FortreeH^^  ftc,  tn  3.K.  Devon, 

vii.  373. 
History  J  Scienoo  of;  J.  E.  Eiak,  vii. 

347. 
Hodgson,   W.    B.p  i,L.l>.,   What    i* 

Capital  f  viin  £50. 
Hon«yditche«,  vii.  379. 
Honiton   Meeting,   Prooeedinga   at, 

rii. 
Utu-lsri,  The,  vii.  IfiS. 
Hutohinaon,  P.  O.,  Hill  Foiires8oe„ 

&0,,  in  S.E.  Devon,  vii.  372. 
Iktia,  St  IkOchad'fl  Mount,  diaputed, 

vi.  US. 
Incense  Cup  from  Borrow  on  Broad 

Down,  vii.  036. 
Iron,  Mtitooricp  vii.  403. 
Imn  i'ittt,  vii*  382. 
irerw<K>d,  J.,  Longitude  of  PlAcea  and 

Electric  Telegraph,  vi.  106. 
Jar  wood,  J.,  On  the  Game  of  Cheaa, 

vii  462. 
Jcrwood,  J.>  On  the  appHca^tion  of 

the   Culoulufl   <pf    Probuhilitifc*  to 

Legal  and  Judicial  Stibjeiita,  vU. 

67&. 
Johnston,  C*  St.  Anne's  Chiippl.  The 

Qmmmar  School,  Barnstaplei,  vi. 

114. 
Kent's  Cavern,  vi.  27  ;  vii,  36 S. 
Kt'tit's  Gavom,  Ktalagmito  in,  viL 

36D. 
Kent's  CaTom,  Bon«s,  condition  of 

fi^inu  fuund  in,  vii.  407. 
Kent's  Cavom,  Tjiteratore  of;   W. 

Pongt'lJy,  vii.  469. 
Kenl'»Cavem,  Description  bvMaton, 

1797,  vii. +70. 
Kont'fi  Cav(?rn,  D<»cripiion  hy  Pol- 

whele,  17t^7,  vii.  47L 
Kont*sCa  vem,  Df^iription  byAnony* 

moua  Author,  vii.  474. 
Kcnt*a  Cavern,  Description  by  OoL 

Mont*Lgue,  1805,  vii.  476. 
Kent's  Cavern,  Description  by  Sir  H. 

d(?lA  Bi^o,  1827,  vii,  476. 
Kent's  Cave^m,   Description  hy   0. 

Blowitt,  1832,  vii.  477. 
Kent's  Cavom,   Description  by  T. 

Northmore,  1832,  rii.  479. 
Kent's  Ctkvern,    Description    by  J. 

Pbillim  1832,  vii,  496. 
Kenf  s  Cavern,  Description  by  God- 

win*AuiJton»  1840,  vii,  496. 
Kent's  Cavern,   Description  hy   11, 

Owen,  1846,  vii  502, 
Ki^nt's   Cavern,   Dc^ription  by   E. 

Vivian,  ISJ^,  Hi.  617. 
Kent'**  Cavern,  DoBcription  by  Dr. 

Mantell,  1850,  vii.  6i!0. 


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