Census of Scottish Land and Fresh- Water Molhisca. 439 



county, and there was not at the end of 1889 a single Scottish 

 comital area which (in our liecord-Books) had then attained 

 to what was the general English average. 



During the present year (1890), however, a marked change 

 has been effected, thanks to the energy and perseverance 

 which my friend Mr William Evans, the hon. secretary of the 

 Itoyal Physical Society, has shown in collecting (and causing 

 to be collected) shells in various parts of Scotland for the 

 express purpose of rendering this paper more complete before 

 printing. The records which I owe to him have increased 

 the comital average for Scotland from 21 species (at which it 

 stood in our Eecord-Books at the end of 1889) to 33 species 

 per county. Through his endeavours too, the number seen for 

 Edinburghshire has reached 72 species, for Haddington 6G, 

 and for Fife with Kinross 65. I am also indebted to Mr L. 

 Hinxman of the Geological Survey of Scotland, to Mr Thomas 

 Scott, F.L.S., of Edinburgh, Mr Alex. Shaw of Glasgow, 

 and others, for assistance in this regard during the year 

 1890. In fact, Scottish naturalists generally have shown a 

 hearty interest in the work of verification and record, and I 

 have to express my heartiest gratification and best thanks 

 for the assistance we have received. Whilst the report was 

 actually passing through the press, I was placed under great 

 obligation to the veteran naturalist, Eev. Dr Gordon, for the 

 privilege of inspecting the shells placed in the Elgin Museum, 

 and which are of peculiar interest as being illustrative of the 

 Moray list which he published in the Zoologist in 1854. 

 I have also to express my sincere thanks to my friend ^Ir 

 Charles Ashford, for assistance in the determination of the 

 specimens. The great majority of the specimens have been 

 verified by Mr Taylor, but Mr Ashford has laid us under 

 deep obligation for assistance rendered at a critical period of 

 over-pressure of work. [This paragraph was written in 

 >s^vember 1890.] 



As for the remarks upon geographical distribution which 

 the Scottish records suggest, they are more of a negative than 

 of a positive character. Scotland cannot, like Ireland, lay 

 claim to the possession of species not found in England, 

 while, on the other hand, the number of species whose range 



