158 
had not been seen to moye, as they would not do so in the 
light, preferring darkness during their peregrinations. 
Examples of apparent revival after death, or at least long 
continued dormancy of Mollusca were not very uncommon, 
but always of interest and worthy of record. 
The following paper was read, 
On Preparing and Preserving the Odontophores of Mollusca. 
By Pror. A. M. Epwarps. 
I have at this meeting exhibited the shell of a common 
European species of Helix, which however is not native to 
this country, and which I found alive upon the pavement of 
one of our city streets during the last summer. At the same 
time I showed an, Odontophore, or Lingual Ribbon, as these 
organs are frequently called, of the same creature cleaned, 
prepared and mounted upon a slip of glass in such a way as 
to constitute a microscopic object, showing its characteristics 
in a clear and elegant manner. As this subject is an impor- 
tant one to those who are engaged in studying the Mollusca, 
and as I have met with such decided success in the prepara- 
tion of these objects, I have thought it would be well to 
describe my method, so that others, if they desire, may profit 
by my experience, and receive as much pleasure as I have 
from the results. 
It is well known, that for a long time the characters which 
were made use of by naturalists in the classification of the 
Mollusea, were derived from the shells of these animals 
alone, and to such a degree was this extremely artificial 
method carried, that numbers of conchologists existed, who 
had never set eyes upon the animals, whose dead and dried 
skeletons they had collected and hoarded in costly cabinets. 
The natural result was the multiplication almost without 
end of so-called species; such groups not unfrequently being 
founded upon single specimens, possessed of some abnormal 
characters, due it might be to disease or peculiarity of 
surrounding in its place of growth. Of late years, however, 
