The Hon. E. Chitty on the StoastomidfE. 67 



Stoastomid(jey however, are not only wonderful for then* minuteness, 

 and from the knowledge that, however minute, they are part of an 

 animal, perfect in its anatomy as that of the largest shell ; but the 

 form and sculpture of each species are so marked, that the microscope 

 brings out in each, new beauties and new wonders, entitling them to 

 rank among the most wonderful works in animal creation. And to 

 say the least of these Stoastomidcey "They are shells, and beautiful 

 ones too, and are not only worthy, but musty — being known to exist, 

 — be in every cabinet that pretends to the smallest degree of perfec- 

 tion or completion/' 



To the second I shall reply by practical information which I think 

 will be valued. 



"Easily attained, little valued," may be taken as a good general 

 maxim. But my love for this family arose from a difficulty ; and as 

 it involves the history of Stoastoma, I may be permitted to relate it. 



In the winter of 1848-49 the late Prof. C. B. Adams paid 

 me a visit in Jamaica ; and looking over a limited collection, he ob- 

 served that which is now known as Stoastoma pisum. The singu- 

 larity of its semicircular mouth was noticed by him, as it had been 

 by me ; but it then stood alone, and he put it on one side to be de- 

 scribed as Helicina pisum, hesitating to give it generic importance. 

 He next visited Manchester parish, the principal habitat of St. 

 pisum ; and meanwhile I, in my own garden in St. Thomas in the 

 East parish, close to Yallahs Hill, found a minute shell with a some- 

 what similar mouth, about which I corresponded with him. This 

 turned out to be that wonderful and beautiful speck St. Wilkinson- 

 ceanum. He again in Manchester collected more specimens of S. 

 pisum and other species of the family, and, first under the proposed 

 generic name of " Hemicyclostomaj'* the species were finally placed 

 under the generic name of " Stoastoma " at the suggestion of Dr. 

 A. A. Gould. While Adams was still away from me, as I was exa- 

 mining my only specimen of S. Wilkinsonceanumy it dropped from 

 my hand — fortunately on to the floor-cloth, — and I did not recover 

 it till after a full hour's careful search. This showed me the folly 

 of being satisfied with the possession of one specimen only, where 

 others might be obtained ; and I determined to make a vigorous 

 search for more. I ransacked my garden and all round, in vain ; for, 

 as I now conclude, it had been brought there accidentally, per- 

 haps by a bird ; till at last I crossed a deep ravine, a streamlet at 

 the bottom of it, and got to one side of what we call " Little Yallahs* 

 Hill," which stands a good half-mile crow-fly distance from my 

 garden ; there I found a spot, a slope on the hill-side, with crumbling 

 fine dirt running, or sifting as it were, down it. There I first found 

 Geomelania Grey ana (described as Cylindrella Greyanay Contrib. 

 Conch, p. 82, till I made out the operculum of that genus). These 

 were so numerous, and many so broken, that I put handfuls of the 

 fine dirt into a small bag for home examination. The result was, 

 plenty of St. WilkinsonceanumySLnd other new species at the same time. 



The plan of collecting all minute shells, beyond this " bagging *' 

 of dirt, is, to have a small zinc or tin tray about 9 inches long and 

 3 wide, with sides turning up all round half an inch high. I put 



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