4 THE NAUTILUS. 



most restful and the cheapest. I was determined to meet my old- 

 time correspondent, Mr. C. T. Simpson, and look over the little 

 earthly paradise he has created with his own hands, on a little plot of 

 15 acres bordering Biscayne Bay. He has one of the most interest- 

 ing arboretums in the country and one cannot help but admire the 

 artistic beauty of it all, reflecting, as it does, the genius and taste of 

 the owner. 



If you want to collect land shells in the West Indies, journey to 

 the nearest hills, cliifs, railroad cuts, etc., and you will find them in 

 all kinds of weather. There had been no rain in two months when I 

 was in Cuba last December and I expected to find collecting poor. I 

 I feel sure it was a poor time from a Cuban standpoint, but com- 

 paring it with the United States it was a veritable paradise. I 

 landed at my hotel in Havana at 11 a. m. All settled in two hours, 

 and started for one of the nearest likely points. A misty rain set in> 

 which lasted until 3.30, and in two hours, with the aid of a helper, 

 quietly picked up over one thousand perfect live specimens of as 

 handsome Urocoptis, of several species, Chondropoma, Oleacina, 

 Helicina, etc., as one would wish to see. 



The next day we visited a different locality, exploring some hol- 

 lows in stone walls, some good cactus patches near the old ocean, 

 where every bit of board end rubbish we turned over revealed from 6 

 to 15 fine Cerion, and our catch was nearly two thousand. Mostly 

 Chondropoma, Cerion, Cistula, etc. 



We then started for the mountains in the southwest part of the 

 island, Pinar del Rio province. For days we wandered among lime- 

 stone cliffs several hundred feet high, explored wild caves evidently 

 the hiding places of numerous bands of guerrilas during the eight- 

 year war, and each day was a repetition of the other. Every section 

 would contain new species different from the day before. We were 

 very successful with the Urocoptis, part of which were always found 

 on the sides of cliffs, usually within 15 feet of the ground, and about 

 an equal number of species were always found under stones and other 

 refuse. The Megalomastomas were about three inches deep in the 

 ground, and associated with them were numerous Chondropomas and 

 other operculates. The Oleacinas were always under the edges of 

 stones. Limestone fences well isolated from hills were good collecting, 

 as even some of the large Helix were hiding there, as well as Liguus. 

 One hollow tree was well coated with good things, and they were 

 hiding among the cactus as well. 



