EAST COAST MARINE SHELLS 



9 



known. When such a work appears gradually 

 over a period of years the result Is that 

 upon completion the earlier portion becomes 

 antiquated. There is no single work ex- 

 tant which describes all mollusks, or even 

 all from a given region. 



There are a number of elementary 

 books available to the beginner, some of 

 them excellent. Edward Step's "Shell Life" 

 although covering British mollusks is 

 recommended for its lucid style and copious 

 illustrations. Augusta Foote Arnold's "Sea 

 Beach at Ebb Tide" published by the Cen- 

 tury Company in 1903 is about the only pop- 

 ular book which includes east coast shells. 

 It was reprinted in 1935. 



Professor Josiah Keep's books, 

 covering west coast shells, have been pop- 

 ular for many years in California. His last 

 work "West American Shells" was recently 

 revised by Joshua L. Baily, Jr., of San 

 Diego, California and published by Stan- 

 ford University under the title "West Coast 

 Shells." It is very accurate. 



Julia Roger's "Shell Book" has been 

 a popular one in the Nature Library pub- 

 lished by Doubleday Doran and Company. It 

 treats of shells from various parts of the 

 world. Only a small number of American 

 species are included. 



The volume entitled "Mollusks" be- 

 longing to the Cambridge (England) Natural 

 History series will be found extremely val- 

 uable and interesting, especially in con- 

 nection with the geographical distribution 

 of land shells. Although out of print it 

 may easily be obtained through a dealer in 

 used books. The author. Rev. A. H. Cooke, 

 presents information obtained from many 

 sources together with excellent figures and 

 valuable regional maps. 



Pelseneer's Volume V of the Oxford 

 Natural History is also commended. 



Woodward's "Manual of the Mollusca" 

 another British publication, easily ob- 

 tained through similar channels, will be 

 found accurate, and comprehensive. One of 

 the later editions should be chosen, pref- 

 erably the reprint of the fourth edition 

 (1880) which appeared in 1890. 



More difficult to obtain is the 

 French work by Fischer and known as the 

 Manual de Conchyliologie. This appeared in 

 1887 and is an excellent work. The illus- 

 trations are exceptionally fine. 



Dr. Henry A. Pilsbry, of the Phila- 

 delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, is 



the present author of the "Manual of Con- 

 chology," begun by George W. Tryon and now 

 being published by the Academy. It is sold 

 by subscription and in the various volumes 

 every species, in the groups covered, is 

 described and illustrated. The purchaser 

 may select black and white or colored il- 

 lustrations. 



The late Dr. William Healy Dall, of 

 the D. S. National Museum, was the greatest 

 authority on American marine shel'' s and 

 from his pen appeared some of the most bril- 

 liant, scholarly, and valuable treatises 

 pertaining to his favorite subjects. His 

 check list of East Coast Mollusks, "A Pre- 

 liminary Catalog," Bulletin 37 of the U. S. 

 National Museum and published in 1889 sup- 

 plied a long-felt need. Although there are 

 no descriptions the more than one thousand 

 figures and tables showing range in depth, 

 distribution and measurements add much to 

 its usefulness. 



Plates 60-74, in this work, have 

 been taken from Bulletin 37. 



Dr. Dall also reported upon the 

 "Blake" expeditions into southeastern wa- 

 ters and these findings are well covered in 

 the Bulletins of the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology at Harvard, during the years 1886- 

 1889. 



In 1934 the Boston Society of Natu- 

 ral History published Charles W. Johnson's 

 "List of Marine Mollusca of the Atlantic 

 Coast from Labrador to Texas." This excel- 

 lent list has been a pattern for the ar- 

 rangement of the various families in the 

 present volxime. It is intended that the 

 two shall be used together, each one to sup- 

 plement the other. 



The reader should subscribe to "The 

 Nautilus," the only regular periodical, 

 published in this country, devoted to mol- 

 lusks. Its pages are replete with good ar- 

 ticles, scientific but frequently presented 

 in popular form. The early volumes of this 

 publication are among the writer's most 

 cherished possessions. A complete digest, 

 to date of its issuance, has appeared and 

 another is in prospect. With these keys to 

 "The Nautilus" a veritable treasure-chest 

 becomes available to shell enthusiasts. 



In addition to the foregoing there 

 are several foreign periodicals. Of most 

 interest might be mentioned the Proceedings 

 distributed to members of the Malacological 

 Society of London and also those of the 

 Conchological Society of Great Britain. The 



