INTEOBUCTIOlSr. XXXI 



every part of India, even on so parched a rock as Aden. Hence 

 a few words on where and how to collect them may be of service 

 to a naturalist proceeding to the country. These mollusks are by 

 no means easy to find at first, and they are naturally much more 

 numerous in the rainy season, but with patient search they are to 

 be found at other times of the year. On limestone rocks they are 

 sometimes conspicuous by their abundance, old shells litter the 

 ground. In the forest-clad slopes of the mountains, particularly 

 the northern sunless ravines, they are generally plentiful. Owing 

 to the annual burning that takes place, very few are to be found 

 in the great grass-tracts of the plains. Their favourite resorts are 

 under large stones, old logs lying in the woods, under the decaying 

 bark of trees, on the wet lichen-clad bark, on the damp moss near 

 waterfalls, on walls, on the leaves of shrubs, the plantain and 

 bamboos, under decaying leaves, beneath the surface of the ground 

 in the worm-burrows, in the roots of plants, and in the exuvisB left 

 by floods on river-banks many shells are to be found washed off the 

 land. It is a good plan when collecting from shrubs and trees to 

 place an open, inverted umbrella beneath and to beat the shrubs 

 or boughs above, when the specimens dislodged will be caught in 

 the umbrella. In streams and lakes the surface of the water-plants 

 and the decaying stems of reeds and bulrushes should be looked 

 over. 



The animal is by no means difficult to dissect, patience and a 

 steady hand are all that is required ; to dissect, draw, and mount 

 the radula and other parts will take some hours of work, and a 

 a microscope is indispensable. In the field the preserving, the 

 accurate labelling (which is most important), with necessary notes 

 on external characters, colour, &c., are as much as the collector 

 can undertake. 



Some parts of India have been well worked, there are others 

 where nothing has yet been collected. Among the latter I may 

 mention Nepal up to the Kali Eiver; Bhutan east of longitude 89 

 up to the Dafla Country, eastward again the Miri and Mishmi 

 Hills ; south of the Brahmaputra E-iver, the Abor and Singpho 

 Hills ; south of Manipur, the Lushai and Tipperah Hills, and the 

 high range, the Chin Hills, southwards. The Shan States have 

 been partially collected in, but there is much to be done in many 

 parts of Eastern Burma. On the North-west Frontier, with the 

 exception of a species of Petrceus, I have never seen any land-shells 

 from either Swat, Dir, or Chitral. From the Kuram Valley a few 

 species have been received ; but since Captain Hutton, in 1842, 

 collected in the neighbourhood of the Bolan Pass, the land-shells 

 of the Suliman Range and hills to the south, lying west of the 

 Indus, have been disregarded. 



In conclusion, I must not forget to mention those who have 

 given much valuable assistance to Dr. W. T. Blanford while the 

 work was in preparation and those who have given similar 

 aid to myself : to all sincere thanks are due. Among them I 

 would particularly mention Mr. Edgar A. Smith, I.S.O., in charge 



