124 
THE NAUTILUS. 
herbage of these islands. Since the islands have been pastured, the 
‘ variety ’ has almost entirely disappeared, and probably not more 
than a half dozen specimens could be found there to-day.” What 
a dire calamity! and how remarkable that these pretty little crea¬ 
tures should have “shuffled off their mortal coils” in the very sea¬ 
son that less regal robes slipped trom the shoulders of their Island 
Queen. 
A few flippant students may question this tale of starvation in the 
midst of green pastures, but it will perhaps be well for them to 
pickle their opinions, since the positive assertions of “ correspond¬ 
ents ” are not to be trifled with. The shell expert who can doubt 
this starvation story would quite as likely question the following 
narrative said to have been written by the “ experienced collector ” 
who forwarded the shell referred to, to the aforesaid unparalleled 
New York aggregation, viz.; “ The large Florida Fasciolaria father 
found one day by accident. 
“ While drifting about in Florida waters his boat suddenly 
touched what seemed to be a rock but it proved to be an immense 
specimen of the Fasciolaria (sic), alive and travelling.” “This speci¬ 
men weighs several hundred pounds.” 
A brief statement to be sure, but a graphic one, as the reader 
will admit. There is not a word, however, as to whether the boat 
was wrecked in its “ sudden ” contact with the limy mass “weighing 
several hundred pounds.” 
Nor is there any reference to the final disposition of that part of 
“ the Fasciolaria” which, when struck, was “ alive and travelling.” 
But this fact matters little, perhaps, since we are assured that the 
“several hundred pounds” Avere gotten safely to the shore, and 
finally into that collection of shells which (I quote again) “ is ex¬ 
pected to be in a short time the most complete and valuable one^ 
from a scientific standpoint, in the world.” 
Presumably this monster of “Florida AVaters” is known to 
Science as Fasciolaria gigantea, but alas ! how pitiable has been the 
ignorance of the scores of so-called conchological experts who have 
hitherto believed that this, the largest species of the genus, did not 
exceed a paltry ten pounds in weight. Think of it, ye academic 
plodders who for years have been gazing with wonder upon a petty 
eight pounder, imagining the while that Florida had utterly failed to 
produce anything larger in the same line. O, the pity of it! You 
that have given years of study and thought to the molluscan world. 
