Clie Siilaiib JMalliiJjni nf ^niner.0rtfijiirr. 



BY TUE REV. A. M. NOUMAX, M.A. 



THE varied siirface, the great prevalence of the llme- 

 stonc formatlons, and the southern position of 

 Somersetsliire, must be considered the caiises of its great 

 productiveness in molhiscan life. The dense woods that 

 clothe the hüls; the deep clefts in their sides forming 

 rocky chasms, deep ravines, and damp mossy coombes ; and 

 the rieh intersecting Valleys, form productive breeding 

 places for the land specles : while the sluggish waters of 

 the weedy rhines, and the more rapid cun-ent of the wider 

 streams, afFord throughout the extensive moors an abundant 

 supply of füodj and secure breeding places for the water 

 specles. 



We ax'e only aware of two lists of Somersetshire mollusca 

 as yet published. The first of these is A List of the Fresh- 

 ivater and Land Shells occurring in the environs of Bristol, 

 with ohservations, by J. S. Miller, Esq., A.L.S., published in 

 the year 1822, in the third volunie of the new series of the 

 Annais of Philosophy. This list contained sixty species, 

 froni which nuiiiber threc, vi/., Planorbls nautileus, Turbo 



