North American Helicidce. 61 



similar to those figured by Dr. Binney, considering them to be 

 variety of that species; but the figures by no means agree 

 with, and indeed I doubt whether he ever saw the rare form 

 described by Say. There is no example of it in the cabinet of 

 Dr. Binney, now in the possession of Mr. W. G. Binney. 

 Through his kindness I have specimens from that cabinet of 

 the 11. avara Binney, which are not only mature shells, but 

 entirely distinct from Say's species. 



Dr. Binney's statement that he had the mature R. auricu- 

 lata smaller than any H. avara he had seen, and the latter as 

 large as the former in its mature state, is totally unintelligible. 

 I can only interpret it by assuming that he did not know 

 H. a'dara Say, and confounded a small variety of ^. uvulifera 

 Shuttl., and the two forms, both in fact mature shells, figured 

 in the Terr. Moll., PI. XL. figs. 1 (right hand) and 2, with 

 H. auriculata. 



To European authors II. avara seems to have been almost 

 entirely unknown, — the figures in Reeve and in Chemnitz do 

 not represent it; indeed the only figure which does so approxi- 

 mately is that of Ferussac. 



I find from the first letter written to Ferussac by Say, a copy 

 of which, without date, is now before me, in his own hand- 

 writing,* that he sent to Ferussac specimens of P. auriculata 

 and P. avara. In the reply, dated Paris, 15th July, 1820, are 

 the following notes : — 



" 14. P. auricidata, precieuse espece que je n'avais pas, 

 nouvelle." 



" 15. P. avara, celle-ci est presque aussi curicuse, nouvelle 

 pour moi." 



Deshayes (Fer. Hist. I. p. IS) writes as to H. avara, referring 

 to Ferussac's figure, PI. 50, fig. 2 : — " Avant d'avoir vu cette 



* I am indebted to Mrs. Say for an opportunity of examining miich of the 

 con-espondence of Mr. Say with Baron Ferussac and others, and would acknow- 

 ledge gratefully the interest which she manifests in my endeavors to identify the 

 species described by Mr. Say. 



