HOF BEI STEIN.--A little below the bridge which crosses the outlet of the Rhine at Stein there is a shallow part of the river known as "Auf dem Hof," which on rare occasions, when the water is low, becomes exposed. This was the case on two occasions within the memory of persons now living, viz. in 1858 and 1883. On the last of these dates Mr. B. Schenk, naturalist, of Stein, discovered that it contained the remains of a pile-dwelling buried in the mud. The piles in this structure were strong and firmly fixed, and among them were some transverse beams, and others slantingly placed, as if to protect the structure against the stream. Notwithstanding the difficulty of working here, Mr. Schenk collected a large number of the industrial remains of its inhabitants, such as flint implements, about 150 stone axes (three of which were of nephrite), and a perforated stone disc like a large spindle-whorl, measuring 2¾ inches in diameter, and 1½ inches thick. Perforated stone axes were rare, but some of them are of interest, especially a portion of one made of basalt. There were also worked objects of horn and bone, remains of linen cloth, thread, and a woven fabric made of bast. Noteworthy among bone objects is the scapula of a deer perforated with a round hole, and having its central ridge rubbed off, so as to make it into a polishing implement. An urn-shaped vessel 12 inches high is preserved in the Zürich Museum. A few metal objects are also recorded, viz. a small copper celt 2¾ inches long, also a bronze ring and a bronze hatchet. Bones representing the ox, pig, stag, roe, bear, and beaver. (B. 462; _Antiqua_, 1883, p. 68.) [Illustration: Plan of Lake Dwellings in BODENSEE]