THE NAUTILUS. 81 



ward. The determination of priority of names is a delicate matter 

 in many of our Unionidie, and it should be settled officially by a 

 Committee on lines of equity, rather than by an individual. The 

 same is true also, in discarding a so-called species, and in elevating 

 a synonym to take the first rank. 



We have so many species of Unionidoe in North America, that 

 extremists, both at home and abroad, look upon the list as one that 

 is over-loaded. A revision by Committee should command general 

 acquiescence. It is not true that our nomenclature is burdened like 

 that of Europe. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The address of Mr. John Ford will be in future Holmes Sfatio7i, 

 B. & 0. R. R., Delaware Co., Pa. 



Dr. W. S, Strode has removed from Bernadotte to Lewistown, 

 111., where he will hereafter be permanently located. 



Extracts from a letter to the Editor from Dr. Wm. H. Kush, 

 dated U. S. S. Yantic, Montevideo, Urugnay, March 11, 1892. — 

 " Since being here I have been able to do very little and have not 

 seen a native land shell. One trip out to the suburbs of Montevideo 

 only yielded some Helix lactea. At Buenos Ayres I found the 

 British Cemetery overloaded with Helix pomaiia. In the swamps 

 around Buenos Ayres I found an Ampullaria very common, which 

 is, I think, australis, and while up at Palermo Park I found another 

 which I took to be canaliculata. Further collecting around the 

 swamps led me to believe that they are the same species. The col- 

 oration of the animal varies from a very dark brown to a light 

 mahogany brown ; the coloring of the animal also leads to corre- 

 sponding variation in the color of the shell. Both forms are 

 banded. I saw many in the act of copulation, a light with a dark 

 individual, etc. I tried to preserve a lot of their eggs, but so far I 

 have not met with any success. Plaiiorbis perir/rinu-^ is also very 

 common ; also a species of Paliidestrina. While walking down the 

 Boca one Sunday afternoon I observed quite a crowd collected 

 around a man standing on the curbstone. Upon approaching I saw 

 that he was opening a bivalve which was being eaten by tlie ])eoj)le, 



