76 THE NAUTILUS. 



American Slugs," which is, in all respects, a most valuable and 

 timely production. 



As might be supposed, the authors find it necessary to criticise 

 their predecessors in the study just as, no doubt, their successors 

 will criticise them. But whatever criticism may be offered, it will 

 always be recognized that they put our slugs on a sounder basis than 

 before, supposing that they finish the work so well begun. 



Nevertheless, if they are not careful, they are liable to be trou- 

 bled by the the shades of the departed ; and they have, in fact, 

 woke out of his malacological grave the present writer, who has a 

 few posthumous observations to make herewith. 



Ariolimax californicus. 



In Nov., 1889, Mr. H. F. Wickham sent me two examples of this 

 species, which he found at Los Gatos, California. I have before me 

 the drawings I then made of their internal anatomy, which agree 

 with those of Messrs. Pilsbry and Vanatta, except that the epiphal- 

 lus is less swollen and the retractor penis is not so broad. The epi- 

 phallus is clearly shown running to the end of the so-called "flagel- 

 lum " of the penis ; so that this point in the anatomy, which our 

 authors seem to think they were the first to observe, was known to 

 me long ago. Of course they could not be supposed to know any- 

 thing about an unpublished observation, but had they carefully 

 examined the literature, they would have read Simroth's statement : 

 " Herr Cockerell fand, nach brieflicher Mittheilung, dass em echtes 

 Flagellum nicht vorhanden ist, sondern dass das vas deferens sich 

 bis su dessen bliuden Ende verfolgen lasst." (Malak. Bl., N. F., 

 XI, p. 114). They might also have observed fig. H, pi. V, of W. 

 G. Binney's 3d Suppt., which, though rather rough, is practically 

 correct. Binney himself says the vas deferens " enters the penis at 

 the end of the flagellum below the bulb," (Man. Amer. Land Shells, 

 p. 100), which cannot be considered far wrong. Simroth's figure in 

 Mai. Bl. is, however, unquestionably wrong as to this matter, sup- 

 posing that he had real californicus before him. 



Our authors assume that californicus f. maculatus is really colum- 

 bianus, on the wholly insufficient grounds that they have never seen 

 spotted californicus. Yet they may be correct, as I never had a 

 spotted californicus I could dissect. My notes on the British Mu- 

 seum specimens are as follows : 



" Ariolimax californicus, from W. G. Binney. Big spot on mantle. 

 45 mm. long. 



