1893.] ° Shell Heaps of Florida. 13 
list of shell heaps. This somewhat indefinite description 
would seem to indicate that his knowledge of the existence 
and location of Mt. Taylor was based upon information 
derived from others and not personally verified. 
Mt. Taylor, standing alone in the swamp, which ¿at high 
water is covered to a depth of 13 feet. rises abruptly on every 
side, the ascent of one portion being at an angle of 40°. The 
maximum height of the ridge is 27 feet, 2 inches; its length 
at base 500 feet, with a maximum breadth of base of 175 feet. 
An almost level plateau on the summit has a length of 266 
feet, with a maximum breadth of 80 feet. The mound is 
overgrown with palmettoes, palmetto scrub, live oaks and 
cedars. It lies longitudinally east and west, and is composed 
almost exclusively of Paludine of a smaller size than those 
of many of the later shell heaps. With the exception of a 
few fragments on the surface, no pottery was found in any por- 
tion of the heap, while implements of any description were of 
infrequent occurrence in the various excavations. As a rule, 
it may be said, the older the shell heap, the fewer relics are met 
with, though weapons of stone exist at all depths, even in 
mounds which contain no pottery, and in others below the 
level at which fragments of pottery are found. 
(1o be continued) 
