TRANSPLANTATION OF BIVALVES. '^J 



from the nearest water, a pond in which Sphceria 

 were abundant : and, as Mr. Standen has recently told 

 me, two of these shells were found by Mr. Joseph 

 Henshall, in September, 1891, upon the toes of a newt 

 which was making its way across a field, and apparently 

 proceeding from one pond to another ; when discovered 

 it was nearly mid-way between two ponds, which are 

 about one hundred and fifty paces apart. The shells 

 were shown by Mr. Henshall at a meeting of the 

 Manchester Conchological Society in January, 1892. 



Birds. 



Near White-house landing, on the Pamunky River, 

 Virginia, it is said to be impossible to raise ducks on 

 account of the fresh-water mussels {Ufiio), which catch 

 the ducklings at low water, and hold them until 

 drowned by the rising tide,^ and it may perhaps be 

 assumed that the closure of bivalves upon the bills of 

 birds of various kinds (I presume the ducklings were 

 generally thus caught) is by no means an uncommon 

 occurrence — it will be remembered that in the case of 

 marine bivalves several instances have been observed — 

 but such accidents can have little actual bearing upon 

 dispersal : even a large and strong bird, in these circum- 

 stances, would hardly be likely to fly to any considerable 

 distance. 



In 1885, Lieut.-Col. Godwin- Austen published an 

 extract from a letter received from Mr. F. Tweedie, 

 respecting the finding of a small bird's claw between 



1 F. Mather, " Fresh-water mussels v. ducks," America?t 

 Naturalist^ xii. (1878), 695. 



