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coveries to be made, and of course in the less known districts in the 

 northern and western portions of the Dominion there must be numbers 

 of species which will one day be brought to light by the industrious 

 naturalist. Moreover there are the life histories of the great majority 

 of our species still to be worked out. 



In many genera, too, the limits of variation of the various species 

 have yet to be defined. I do not suppose that any two conchologists 

 would be agreed as to the number of species, of such genera, for 

 instance as Limncea or Platiorbis or Spharium or Pupa or Succinea or 

 Be/a or Macoma, which should be entered upon our lists ; and the same 

 state of things obtains of course in many other genera. 



Our first desideratum is I think a larger number of obse? vers. The 

 area to be examined is so extensive that, until in Canada we can count 

 at least ten times as many conchologists as there are at present, we can- 

 not hope to have the field properly covered. 



Secondly, with a view to encourage or stimulate a rising generation 

 of students, I think we ought to try and secure a more complete 

 National collection of mollusca and their shells. 



If proper space could be given at Ottawa to such a collection I am 

 sure that it would be considered a pleasure and a privilege by Canadians 

 to be allowed to make the collection as perfect as might be. 



And thirdly, I think we need a geographical catalogue of the mollusca 

 of Canada showing the distribution of the species as at present known. 

 This might be on the same plan as Prof. Macoun's well known Cata- 

 logue of Plants, and I am sure that it would prove a very great help to 

 collectors and students. Such a catalogue could, I should fancy, be 

 prepared quite easily at the present time by the officers of the Geological 

 and Natural History Survey from the data already in their possession. 



And now in concluding this very hasty and imperfect survey of the 

 subject, I will ask the members of the club to do what they can 

 towards supplying tfie desiderata I have indicated. 



Try to send a few more students into the field. Try to impress 

 upon the officers of our National Museum the need of as complete a 

 representation of the recent, as there is already of our fossil, concholo- 

 gical fauna, and if you agree with me that the time has come when our 



