THE ORMOND SHELL MOUND. 165 



Here there is a mixture of marine and fresh water 

 shells, with the former, however, largely predominat- 

 ing. Oyster shells Jorm but a minute proportion of 

 the bulk of the mound; fully 90 percent, of the 

 shells present being those of the small marine bivalve, 

 Don ax variabilis Say. 



The mound at Ormond is about one mile north of 

 the center of the village. It is in the form of a long, 

 low ridge extending north and south parallel to the 

 west bank of the Halifax River. Though its sides 

 are sloping, its limits are sharply denned, as one can 

 readily ascertain by digging, as well as by the char- 

 acter of the vegetation, the latter changing where 

 the shells wholly cease and the level plain of sand be- 

 gins. The total length of the mound is 1,136 feet, 

 or more than one-fifth of a mile. One-third of the 

 distance from the north end it is 213 feet in width, 

 and its eastern side reaches to within 50 feet of the 

 edge of the water in the river. At its middle the 

 width is 144 feet, and its eastern edge is 120 feet dis- 

 tant from the water. One-third the distance from the 

 south end the width is 362 feet, and the eastern slope 

 extends to within 20 feet of the water. This south- 

 ern third embraces the main portion of the mound, as 

 it is here much thicker than elsewhere. 



About 50 feet from the south end an excavation 

 has been made, 128 feet long and 64 feet wide, from 

 which the shells have been hauled for fifteen or more 

 years for use in making sidewalks and bicycle paths in 



