THE MUSEUM. 



25 



_™ej^useunil_ 



A Monthly Magazine devoted to Ornithology, 



Oology, Mollusca, Echinodermata, 



Mineralogy and Allied 



Sciences. 



Walter F. Webb, Editor and Manager 

 Albion, N. Y. 



Correspondence and items of Interest on al>ove top- 

 ics, as well as notes on the various Museums of the 

 World— views from same, discoveries relative to the 

 handling and keeping of Natural History material, 

 descriptive bablts of various species, are solicited 

 from all. 



Make articles as brief as possible and as free from 

 technical terms as the subjects will allow. All letters 

 will be promptly answered. 



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NOTES. 



The Shell Collection: of Dr. James 

 Lewis of Mohawk, N. Y. 



Having since the issue of the last 

 Museum bought the large collection of 

 shells made by Dr. James Lewis, a 

 few remarks as to the life and work 

 of this well known conchologist may 

 be of interest to our readers, From 

 the Aiitiiicttii A'a/«/-<j//i/of June, 18S1 

 we quote as follows: 



"Dr. James Lewis, the well-known 

 conchologist, died of apoplexy, at his 

 home at Mohawk, N. Y. , February 

 23, 1 88 1. He was born at Schuyler's 

 Lake, Otsego Co., New York, in July, 

 1S22. He was, therefore, nearly 59 

 years of age at the time of his death. 



Like many another wlio has become 

 distinguished in natural science, his 

 earlier education was confined chiefly 

 to the common school. At the age of 

 twenty-four he began to read medicine, 

 and prosecuted his studies for some 

 three years, when he became interest- 



ed in dentistry, and abandoned the 

 broad field of general medicine, de- 

 voted himself to this special branch of 

 medical science. For this he was 

 eminentl\- fitted by his great mechan- 

 ical skill, and to the implements em- 

 ployed in his art he contributed many 

 permanently valuable improvements. 

 It is as a naturalist that we have to 

 consider Dr. Lewis. He became in- 

 terested in nature in his childhood, and 

 that interest deepened with years into 

 admiration, and admiration into love, 

 which led him to intelligent, untiring 

 pursuit. It was while he resided in 

 Boston, Massachusetts, from 1849 to 

 "1851 that he became interested in his 

 favorite science and formed the nucleus 

 of what was to become one of the 

 most valuable private collections of 

 American land and fresh-water shells 

 extant. From that time until a year 

 or two previous to his death, he was a 

 most devote student and untiring en- 

 thusiastic collector. He is widely 

 known to the authorities in the science 

 he cultivated by a very extensive cor- 

 respondence, of which art Dr. Lewis 

 was certainly a master. Within the 

 scope of his acquaintance are embraced 

 all the living names familiar to the 

 young naturalists, and many others 

 who have passed away. His publish- 

 ed works, when the magnitude of his 

 labors and the opportunities they have 

 presented are considered, have not 

 been many, but all published possess 

 permanent value. They date from 

 1854. and number some eleven titles. 

 The first consists of notes on "A/trs 

 (^Marg) inarginata," published in 

 1854. In 1856 he published three 

 papers, two in the Proc. Bos. Soc. 

 Nat. Hist, and one in the Proc. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci., all relating to the Mollusca 

 of the State of New York, and two of 

 them are local lists, with notes. In 

 1857 he publishad a single paper "On 

 Erosion of Uniones, " in Proc. Bos. 

 Soc. Nat. Hist. In i860, two papers, 

 one on "Colors of Unionidfe," and the 

 other a local list, both of which ap- 

 peared in the Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 



