PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 69 



a small Alpine lake, on Cromaglaun mountains, near Killarney, Limneus involutus 

 enjoyed itself in perfect safety, until our learned professor, Dr. Harvey, took away 

 the chiefest of them. Quick-flowing rivers are the favourite places for the Unio 

 margatiferus, Pisidium pulchellum, and others ; while on the green leaves of the 

 water-lily, or on the white petals of its flower, cling the local Ancylus oblongus ; 

 others live in thick mud, at the bottom of lakes and ponds, and hence, from this cir- 

 cumstance, have received their generic names, as Paludina and others. This enume- 

 ration of places where the mollusca are likely to be found would be incomplete did 

 we not mention those damp places near the vicinity of the sea, within reach of its 

 salt spray, where Conovolus bidentatus and Carychimum minimum are to be found. 

 These might come under the denomination of fluviatile shells. In conclusion, we have 

 the Cephalopoda ; and, as far as regards them, the collector must act the reverse of 

 Mahommed and the mountain, and, as he cannot go to them, he must wait until 

 they come to him. Free and unshackled, they live in the dark-blue waters of the 

 ocean, tied to no zone, peculiar to no country. 



The testaceous mollusca are easily preserved, as few things in nature are more 

 indestructible than shells, and we find them, after the lapse of many years, even 

 retaining some of their vivid colours, though imbedded in the coralline or red 

 crags. The naked mollusca and Tunicata are preserved in either spirits of wine 

 or Goadby's solution, and either will do for dissections of the testacese. To kill the 

 animals of the latter, they can be immersed in hot water ; but it should never be 

 boiling at the time, as it often spoils the colour of the shells. A crooked pin will 

 enable the collector to extract the body of the univalve, and by cutting the strong 

 muscle which keeps the bivalve shut, they will be easily cleaned out. The siphons 

 in the bivalves should be cleaned out, and neatly stuffed with a little fine cotton. 

 The Chitons when taken had better be allowed to settle themselves flat at the bottom 

 of the vessel in which they are carried home ; and I have always found them, when 

 once attached to the sides or bottom of my collecting- box, die in a few days per- 

 fectly flat ; however, if they once curl themselves up, they will have to be unrolled, 

 and a piece of string tied across them, and left for some time until they harden. 



In some of the minute Kissoa, Pupa, and others, it is better not to attempt to 

 take out the animal, as, even with the greatest caution, the mouth of the shell will 

 be injured ; and this is an important part in the discrimination of the species. 



Of the many ways of arranging collections, I think the following will be found 

 the most convenient i.e., for private collections to gum the shells on pieces of 

 paper, and these to be placed in card boxes. If gum tragacanth be used, the shell 

 can be at any time taken from the paper, by putting paper and shell into a basin of 

 warm water, and leaving them there for some time. Bivalves should always have 

 one specimen open to show the arrangement of the hinge and the impression of the 

 muscle and univalves, one turned so as to exhibit the mouth of the shell. 



In public collections the French method is now very generally adopted viz., 

 that of fixing the shells on thin pieces of wood, covered with a neutral- coloured 

 paper. These slips are made multiples of each other, so that they all fit in a cabinet, 

 without any interstices. A convenient size is for small shells, 2 by 3 inches ; 

 for larger size, 5 by 3 inches ; and for the largest, 5 by 6 inches. By this plan 

 any single species can be removed without disturbing the rest. The Tunicata, 

 naked mollusca, and Cephalopoda can be arranged in glass bottles over the cabinet. 



CATALOGUE OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 



[Those marked thus t are Irish.] 



The following catalogue of mollusca is compiled from Messrs. Forbes and Hanley's 

 splendid history, in four volumes, of the British mollusca. I thought it better 

 to give the whole of the British mollusca, and mark those that are Irish, than only 

 to give the latter, as it will show the difference between the faunas. 



Those marked with a dagger, are species which have been taken in Ireland ; and 

 I have great pleasure in returning thanks to Drs. Allman, Ball, Melville, and 

 Farran, and to Messrs. T. W. Warren, J. Grainger, W. W. Walpole, and A. R. 

 Hogan, for the assistance they have given me in determining these. I have also 

 had recourse to Mr. W. Thompson's list of Irish mollusca, and Messrs. Forbes 

 and Hanley's History. 



