166 A NATURE WOOING. 



and about Ormond. One or more darkies have been 

 carting away the shells almost every day that I have 

 visited the mound. Their excavations, added to what 

 I have done myself, have furnished a good oppor- 

 tunity for studying the materials of which it is com- 

 posed. At the deepest point of excavation the layers 

 of coquina shells (the Donax mentioned) alternate 

 with layers of mold or a mixture of decaying vegeta- 

 tion and sand; there being six layers of shells vary- 

 ing from five inches to three feet in thickness, and 

 five of mold from two to twelve inches in thickness. 

 Intermingled with all the layers of shells are pieces of 

 broken pottery, fragments of bones of mammals, tur- 

 tles and fish ; pieces of charcoal, ashes, etc. The 

 larger shells, as those of the oyster and round clam, 

 occur only in the two uppermost shell layers. The 

 other shells are scattered irregularly through the 

 mass of Donax. In a number of places many cubic 

 yards of the Donax were exposed, as clean and un- 

 broken as though they had been dumped but yes- 

 terday. 



The greatest thickness of the mound, about 125 

 feet from the south end; was found to be nine feet, 

 eight inches. A section at this point showed the pres- 

 ence of the following layers : 



