92 THE NAUTILUS. 



from Gabb, who stated that Mr. J. Rowell, well known as a concholo- 

 gist, found them in Clear Lake, California. Specimens are in the 

 collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Smithsonian 

 Institution labeled as from this place ; and Binney (Land and Fresh- 

 water Shells of N. A., part iii, p. 73) gives no other information. 

 So far as I know, no other writer on Californian shells has noticed 

 the species. Its status as a member of our fauna has rested for forty 

 years only upon the information given by Gabb. 



In the collection of the Academy there are also specimens of the 

 same species from Panama, received from the late Dr. Wesley New- 

 comb. The other described species of the genus Cochliopa, some 

 four in number, are from Central America. 



As the occurrence of the genus in California waters is a matter of 

 some importance from a zoogeographic standpoint, we would ask all 

 collectors in Central California to give what information they can 

 upon it, whether relating to the original finding of the snail or to its 

 present distribution. The experience of any who have collected in 

 Clear Lake will be of interest, whether the species in question has 

 been found or not. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



SHELLS OF PORTLAND AND VICINITY. This is the title of an 

 article by J. W. Mighels, which appeared in the Portland Tribune, 

 1841, page 64. The exact date of publication is not given on the 

 clipping, which was found by Mr. Owen Bryant in an old book pur- 

 chased in Boston. It probably represents the first catalogue ever 

 published of the shells of Maine. A few remarks commending the 

 study of concliology, and soliciting exchanges, is followed by a list, 

 without notes, containing about 154 species, exclusive of the barna- 

 cles, etc., arranged according to the Lamarckian system. C. W. J. 



THE OYSTER. A popular summary of a scientific study. By 

 Wm. K. Brooks, Ph. D. (The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore.) 

 One of the most interesting and readable books pertaining to the 

 mollusca that has ever been published. It points out clearly the 

 possibilities of oyster culture, the anatomy and development of the 

 oyster ; artificial cultivation ; the cause of the decline of the oyster 

 industry and the remedy. C. W. J. 



