Iredale. — Suter's " Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca." 417 



Art. XL VII. — A Commentary on Suter's ''Manual of the New Zealand 



Mollusca." 



By Tom Iredale. 



Communicated by W. R. B. Oliver. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 16th December, 1914.'] 



The receipt of the long-looked-for " Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca " 

 has given me great pleasure, and I hasten to emphasize my appreciation 

 of Mr. Suter's work, and tender my congratulations to him upon the suc- 

 cessful completion of his task and upon the magnificent memorial he has 

 created to his name. I have elsewhere, in another connection, observed 

 the ease of destructive criticism as contrasted with constructive work, 

 and I once more appear in the unhappy role of a critic who could not have 

 compiled such a work as that subjected to analysis. The part is not a 

 pleasant one, as I well know the disadvantages under which Mr. Suter has 

 perpetually worked in the preparation of his splendid guide, for I once 

 worked at the study of the New Zealand Mollusca with no other aid than 

 the Manual compiled by Hutton in 1880. Since then I have enjoyed 

 the benefit of continual access to the unrivalled collections and literature 

 at the British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington, with also 

 daily intercourse with all the well-known British malacologists. Such a 

 contrast has enabled me to realize probably more fully than any other 

 malacologist the wonderful work Mr. Suter has completed. 



I have felt compelled to make the preceding remarks, as the following 

 long list of alterations and corrections of Mr. Suter's results might otherwise 

 be misunderstood. 



In the present paper the notes are such as I have jotted down while 

 engaged upon the determination of the collection made at the Kermadec 

 Islands during 1908, and also comparison with collections made at Lord 

 Howe Island and Norfolk Island by Mr. Roy Bell. 



At the present time I can only indulge in the study of museum col- 

 lections as regards Neozelanic shells, but the past days of collecting throw 

 many a gleam of light upon the darkness of museum comparisons and dull 

 book-handling. 



The majority of the succeeding notes are due to the latter causes, but 

 some field notes also occur. I anticipate, with such an easy guide as that 

 offered by Mr. Suter, a great revival of interest in the field in New Zealand, 

 as there is so much to do. I do know, in my own case, had such a manual 

 been available my own efforts would have been more vigorous and fruitful. 



Mr. Suter has omitted the Kermadec Mollusca, writing that the Kermadec 

 Islands " belong to a distinct province of the Australian subregion." I 

 am very gratified at this conclusion, which is quite justified, and in agree- 

 ment with my own results. I hope an account from the pen of my com- 

 panion, Mr. W. R. B. Oliver, dealing with the Kermadec Mollusca as a 

 whole, will succeed this article. Study of it in connection with the Manual 

 will fully confirm Mr. Suter's statement. 



Unfortunately, there is one blemish in the Manual, and that is the re- 

 jection of names unaccompanied by a figure in favour of later different 

 names proposed with the shell figured. To the systematic worker this is 

 a serious matter, as the International Rules are quite clear upon this point, 



14 — Trans. 



