108 THE NAUTILUS. 



The Matansas fauna was studied and described by Pfeiffer. Dr. 

 L. Pfeiffer came to Cuba from Germany with Dr. Juan Gundlach, 

 the ornithologist, and Edward Otto, the botanist, in 1839. Pfeiffer 

 and Otto left after a residence of two months, but Gundlach re- 

 mained, and for more than fifty years he devoted his talents to the 

 exploration of Cuba's Natural History, becoming a worthy co-laborer 

 of Poey. 



(To be concluded.} 



NOTES. 



Dr. Pilsbry will sail from San Francisco Jan. 7th, for the 

 Hawaiian Islands, where he will spend several months in studying 

 Achatinellida for the Manual of Conchology. Articles and notes 

 for publication in THE NAUTILUS should be sent, up to April 1st, 

 to Mr. Johnson. 



FEEDING HABITS OF ARIOLIMAX Dr. C. Hart Merriam who 

 has been summering in the redwood forest of Marin County 

 California sends some interesting notes about the feeding habits of 

 Ariolimax columbianus. He observed it taking the fallen drupes 

 of the California laurel ( Umbellularia) which have a tough skin 

 covering a layer of pulp outside of a hard kernel. The snail took 

 the fruit by the end which had been attached to the stem and was 

 able, by protruding the buccal mass, to eat out the pulp between 

 skin and kernel for about half the surface of the fruit without break- 

 ing the rind. Subsequently it was observed to gnaw off the base of 

 a toadstool about 3 inches in height with a stem a quarter of an 

 inch in diameter, and make a meal of the stem. It is probable not- 

 withstanding its "carnivorous" dentition that these slugs live 

 chiefly on such vegetable matter. W. H. DALL. 



MUSSELS IN A WATEH MAIN. The London Metropolitan Water 

 Board officials have just made an extraordinary discovery. Re- 

 cently it was found that a 3G-in. water main at Hampton-on-Thames 

 was showing signs of becoming choked. It was opened, and 90 tons 

 of fresh-water mussels were taken out of a quarter of a mile of the 

 main. The mussels were so tightly massed that the bore was 

 reduced from 36 in. to 9 in. Popular Mechanics, Nov. 1912. 



