THE NAUTILUS. 



early as 1907, l and subsequently found it common in Mobile. Mr. 

 McNeill is interested in shells and had collected them with the late 

 Dr. Charles Mohr : he did not remember seeing this species in the 

 Mohr cabinet or elsewhere, and asked me for information. The 

 drawing, though he apologized for it, was so good as to leave little 

 doubt in my mind ; moreover, Mr. McNeill stated that the shells 

 were always decollate ; and, from their occurrence in the older or 

 French parts of the two cities, he believed them to be introduced. 



At my request he took the trouble to gather and forward more 

 than 100 living specimens; and a few days after, he sent some dead 

 but good shells which he had brought from New Orleans. These 

 are like Charleston or Bordeaux specimens. Mr. McNeill's notes 

 are so good that I gladly transcribe them : 



" The Mobile specimens were gathered at the S. E. corner of 

 Monroe and Royal Sts. Another location is the S. E. corner of St. 

 Emanuel and Canal Sts. Both are in the oldest parts of the town, 

 and the first on the site of old Fort Charlotte (Fort Conde of the 

 French ;) there were dozens of them crawling across the sidewalk, 

 it being a damp and cloudy day, and many had been crushed by 

 pedestrians. The shell is found over quite a large area of the city." 



With regard to the New Orleans specimens he writes : " I noticed 

 them first while putting up a building on the uptown side of Jackson 

 Ave., two doors towards the river from Prytania St., and afterwards 

 in other locations, including Girod and Claiborne Cemeteries. I 

 also saw a gardener destroying several of them, remarking that they 

 were a pest among the violets, which suggests that they are well 

 known all over the city." 



These exact locality notes are interesting. In Mobile, at least, 

 the snail appears to be common only in the older or French streets, 

 and probably that is why so large a species has been overlooked by 

 Mohr, Showalter and other good collectors. During a recent brief 

 visit, I collected in vacant lots where rubbish piles, stones, etc., gave 

 plenty of shelter : snails were much in evidence, but no Rumina 

 was seen. I was not looking for it, not knowing, at the time, that 

 it lived in the city ; but I could hardly have missed so large a species 

 had it been at all common. These lots were in newer parts of the 



1 After this was written and sent to press I learned that Mr. Ferriss collected 

 Rumina at New Orleans, some years ago. As far as I know the fact was not 

 published. 



