XXX ii PROCEEDINGS, OCTOBER. 



lation from the Royal Society of Tasmania to Her Majesty on the 

 occasion of the 50th anniversary of Her reign, was duly laid at the foot 

 of the throne, and that Her Majesty has commanded us to convey 

 Her thanks for the dutiful and loyal sentiments expressed in the address. 

 The Secretary of State reports that owing to an oversight the 

 acknowledgment of this address has been delayed." 



The Secretary, Mr. Morton, read a letter from the curator of the 

 Technological Museum, Sydney, respectiua a cutting from the Pharma' 

 ceutical Journal to the effect that a M. CJuilmeth had discovered in 

 Tasmania a mammoth deposit of honey, the work of native bees, and 

 asking for information as to the probabilities of the atory contained in 

 the paraerapli, which spoke of M. (iuilmeth having come upon a grove 

 of gigantic Eucalyptus trees, from '260ft. to oOOft. higli. The largest 

 individual store of honey weighed as much as ll,0001b. (The tale, 

 which is utterly without foundation, was published in the columns 

 of The Jlcrcury some IS months ago.) The writer stated that he 

 had received a small quantity of the honey from I'aris and had analysed 

 it, proving it to be an artifical compound of common honey with 

 20 per cent, of Eucalyptus oil. 



AQUATIC SHELLS OK TASMANIA. 



The Secretary, in the absence of Mr. W. F. I'etterd, F.Z S., read 

 a paper entitled "Contributions for a systematic ca*a'i>^iie of 

 the aquatic shells of Tasmania, in which the author expressed his 

 intention, in a series of papers, of revising the somewhat large 

 amount of work already done, recording omissions and describing 

 newly discovered species and varieties of the fresh water shell- 

 bearing moUusca of the island, preparatory to the compilation of a 

 systematic catalogue in which the groups would be defined, the 

 specific characteristics explained, and geographical distinction 

 recorded. Such a catalogue, carefully criticised witli the necessary 

 bibliography, would in his opinion supply a desideratum much 

 required by the general collector, and might also bo of service to the 

 more philosophical student. It was now a well established truth 

 that examination of shell coverings was an almost infallible guide for 

 the determination of species, so that it was necessary to undertake 

 an extensive series of comparisons from as many localities as were 

 accessible, before a systematic catalogue could be so worked out as to 

 become of ecicntitic value and service. The primary reason for his 

 recent investigations was to endeavour to discover the correct genus 

 in the system of classification in whicii to place tiie many species of 

 minute ])aludinou8 aquatic shells so abundant in streams and pools. 

 AVith this end in view he had selected the most abundant widely 

 dispersed and characteristic form for special examination. Tiic' older 

 conchological writers were satisfied in placing those in what, to our 

 modern eyes, mixed genus /'alm/iini, which then included a 

 heterogeneous assortment of small shells of a conical form, without 

 reference to their habitat being iluviatile or marine. More recent 

 scientists had annexed them to a numerous variety of genera of 

 more or less staple definition, but unfortunately almost all writers 

 simply devoted their attention to the outline of the shell, and 

 structure of the operculum, few, if any, devoting the amount of 

 attention to the malacological characters that the more irodcrn and 

 elaborate system of classification demands. After further reinarks 

 on the system of classification, the writer said his investigations had 

 led him to place without any hesitation our moat prominent species in 

 a genus quite new to Tasmania or even Australia — that of 

 Potamoj'i/rriin, established by Dr. Stimpson in a volume of the 

 American journal of Conchology for the analogous minute aquatic 

 pulmonatc mollusca of New Zealand. The paper then went on to 



