Quarterly Journal of Conchology. 397 



A higli mountain range traverses the centre of the Peninsula, 

 being a continuation of the Great Northern range — the back bone 

 of New Guinea — occasionally reaching an elevation of 17,000 feet. 

 Here a magnificent tropical verdure is ever present, in the deep 

 and extensive ravines and along the banks of the rivers and 

 streams that rush with great velocity through the rugged ranges. 

 The spurs of the hills that abut the mountains are generally 

 sharp and razor-backed, covered with high rank grasses and 

 straggling Eucalypti. On the brows of these the native tracks run, 

 and often in traversing these a single false step would precipitate 

 the unfortunate traveller over loo feet down into the gorge on 

 either hand. I need scarcely mention that the scenery is grand 

 in the extreme — high precipitous mountains, deep gorges and 

 rushing torrents — but one breathes a pestiferous air that soon 

 reduces the white man to a skeleton and the grave. This is the 

 home of the exquisite Bird of Paradise, Racquet-tailed Kingfishers, 

 Cassowary, the magnificent Goura Pigeon and many other forms 

 of the feathered tribe that have gained for New Guinea a repu- 

 tation par excellence for the beauty of its Natural productions. 

 But here again, the Land Shell collectors would meet with 

 disappointment, although every favourable condition exists Land 

 Shells are of extreme rarity both in variety and numbers. Never- 

 theless, what I did obtain were very interesting forms. One 

 species of Helix, H. Broadbenfi, has a very striking lesemblance 

 to the common 11. Fraseri, and the four other sorts of Helices that 

 I collected, resemble Phillipine Islands' forms to a very marked 

 degree. In these mountains I only got one specimen of an 

 operculate shell, and this is d(?fid. This I sent you for description 

 in the little lot by post. 



From this rough sketch it may be seen that although we 

 may expect, as further research proceeds, to have a great augmen- 

 tation to our knowledge of the Land Mollusca of South-east New 

 Guinea, we cannot expect it to produce anything like the rich 



