RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



79 



have found in large numbers in Rhode Island 

 but onlj' in one place. It was named Lim- 

 naea ehalybea by Gould in Silh'man's Jour- 

 nal, XXXIII., i96, 1840. 



Limnfea columella as found here, resem- 

 bles a succinea in color, shape, and size, 

 although quite large ones are found in the 

 pond at Lonsdale, near the railroad, nearly 

 an inch in length. It is a delicate, fragile 

 shell, almost transparent, with an aperture 

 four-fifths the entire length of the shell, so that 

 the whole body of the animal can be seen by 

 looking in at the aperture. It attains the 

 growth early in the spring. The animal is 

 dark with small whitish spots, the tentacles 

 are broad, pyramidal, compressed, and the 

 eyes are small, black, and situated at the 

 inner base of the tentacles. 



The variety called ehalybea is covered 

 with a bluish-black epidermis and the inte- 

 rior of the shell is the same color of a little 

 lighter shade. The shell is as thin as the 

 typical columella, but is not so brittle and 

 rings like hard burnt crockery. The spire 

 is more pointed, the aperture more expand- 

 ed and the fold on the inner lip more con- 

 spicuous. The locality for this variety is on 

 the left side of the cross road from Lons- 

 dale to the Diamond Hill road. It is an ex- 

 cavation containing more or less water the 

 year round — a very dirty, stagnant pool 

 containing all sorts of rubbish. Collectors 

 who are susceptible to poison had better 

 keep away from this place, as a dog wood 

 tree grows over it, and the water in it being 

 supplied only by the rain, and is being con- 

 stantly evaporated by the sun, the pool is 

 simply a concentrated infusion of dogwood 

 leaves. How the raoUusks stand it is a mys- 

 tery, but personal experience has taught me 

 to " keep in the middle of the road" when 

 passing that locality. 



122. LiMNJiA (Limnophysa) capeuata, Say. 



"Shell sub-oval, yellowish horn color; 

 spire half the length of the mouth ; apex 

 acute ; whorls slightl3' wrinkled across, with 

 very numerous elevated, minute revolving 

 lines ; suture not very deeply impressed ; 

 aperture rather dilated ; fold of the labium 

 not profound. Inhabits Indiana" (Say). 



"This species is found in the British pos- 

 sessions as far north as Hudson's Bay and 

 through the northern tier of states from 

 New England to Lake Superior" (W. G. 



Binney) . Found in Rhode Island, so far as 

 I know, only at Harris Lime Rock in Smith- 

 field. 



Professor Adams described in 1840 a new 

 species of Limufea which he called umbili- 

 cata, found in New Bedford, Mass. It has 

 a large umbilicus for so small a shell, 

 about a quarter of an inch long, while cape- 

 rata has none. Mr. W. G. Binney follows 

 Haldeman and Kuster in calling it a syno- 

 nym of Limuifia caperata,but I am satisfied 

 that it is neither a synonym nor a variety of 

 caperata, but rather of Limnsea humilis, 

 Sav. My reason for this will be explained 

 under the description of L. humilis. 



123. LiMNii:A (Limnophysa) desidiosa Say. 



This species was first found by Mr. Au- 

 gustus Jessup, in Cayuga Lake and de- 

 scribed by Say in Journ. Acad. Nat. /ScL, 

 Fhila., li., 169, 1821, as follows: "Shell 

 oblong, sub-conic ; whorls five, very convex, 

 the fourth and fifth very small, the second 

 rather larger ; aperture a little longer than 

 the spire ; suture deeply indented ; labium, 

 calcareous deposit copious, not perfectly 

 appressed at the base, but leaving a very 

 small umbilical aperture." 



It has been found from New England to 

 Kansas, but is not common in Rhode Island. 

 Its habitat is on the margins of pools and 

 muddy ponds, but it may be seen on stones 

 in the river, under the bridge at Olneyville. 

 Its length is from one-half to seven-tenths 

 of an inch. I have never found any in 

 Rhode Island to exceed four-tenths of an 

 inch. 



(To be continued.) 



Tennessee Warbler in Rhode Island. 

 — On the morning of Saturday, September 

 18, Mr. Walter Angell captured in an or- 

 chard at Centredale, Johnston, a fine speci- 

 men of the Tennessee Warbler, {Helmin 

 thophila peregrma) . It was a single speci- 

 men in company with a flock of Pine Warb- 

 lers, {Dendroica vkjorsii). I think the 

 species has not previously been reported 

 for this state. 



Purple Gallinijle. — {lonornis martin- 

 ica). A specimen was captured alive in 

 Warwick, R. I., about the middle of Au- 

 gust. The second occurrence reported for 

 Rhode Island. 



