LINNEAN SOCIETY OP LONDOIS", xlill 



reminiscences before the older Fellows of the Society, died on 

 Easter Sunday, in the 84th year of his age, universally beloved 

 and esteemed. He was the eldest of a family of sons and daughters 

 distinguished for their varied talents, and amongst whom will 

 never here be forgotten our late lamented colleague Mr, Eichard 

 Taylor, 



Mr. John Taylor was born at Norwich, on the 22nd of August 

 1779. He was brought up as a land-surveyor and civil engineer, 

 a profession in which he made such rapid progress that in the 

 year 1798, when but nineteen, he was invited to undertake the 

 management of the "Wheal Friendship Mine, near Tavistock, 

 which, under his judicious care, became a very profitable under- 

 taking. His connexion with this mine was a source of much gra- 

 tification to Mr. Taylor for the rest of his life. In 1803 he pro- 

 jected and commenced the Tavistock Canal, an undertaking at that 

 time one of no little difiiculty, seeing that about three miles of it 

 is tunnelled through hard granitic and other rocks. The excava- 

 tions for this canal led to the discovery of the mines of Wheal 

 Crowndale and Wheal Crebor, both of which have produced large 

 quantities of copper and yielded considerable profits. The success 

 of these and other mining operations in other parts of the king- 

 dom brought Mr. Taylor into great repute as a mining engineer ; 

 whilst his solicitous care for the health and comfort of the miners 

 made him extremely popular among them, as was publicly mani- 

 fested on several occasions, particularly on his leaving Tavistock 

 for London in the year 1812. Amongst the mines which Mr. 

 Taylor had under his management at an early period were those of 

 the Duke of Devonshire, in Stafibrdshire and Yorkshire, and others 

 in Cumberland belonging to G-reenwich Hospital. He was at one 

 time, also, managing partner in some chemical works at Stratford, 

 for which he was eminently qualified by his knowledge of metal- 

 lurgical chemistry. 



In the year 1824 Mr. Taylor's reputation as a practical miner 

 was at its height. He was consequently applied to from various 

 quarters ia questions where mining operations on a large and im- 

 portant scale were concerned. Amongst these at the time were 

 several Mexican undertakings, which were started at the period 

 when the Spanish colonies threw off their allegiance to the mother 

 country. Of all the companies, however, then formed for working 

 mines in Mexico, the United Mexican is the only one now in active 

 existence. The Real del Monte and Bolafios Companies, at one 

 time names of power, and with which Mr. Taylor was more imme- 



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