The Nautilus. 



Vol. III. FEBRUARY, 1890. No. 10. 



COLLECTING LAND SHELLS IN EASTERN NEW YORK. 



BY W. S. TE.\TON. 



Near the east shore of the Hudson, midway between Tivoli and 

 Barrytown, in Duchess Co., New York, is Cruger's Island. It has 

 an area of seventy-five acres, and is so richly endowed with beauties 

 and attractions — nature's gifts, which the owners have carefully 

 fostered — that to the visitor it seems a place of enchantment. The 

 scenery is especially fine ; an almost undisturbed view for miles up 

 and down the " Rhine of America, " with the majestic Catskills some 

 ten miles distant to the west, a beautiful background to the picture; 

 while from its many winding paths are ever-changing vistas of water,, 

 mountain and sky. 



At the northeast a large stream, the White Clay Kill, rushes down 

 the rocks through a romantic glen and has its outlet. South of 

 this, for a long distance, fringing the east shore of the cave, and hav- 

 ing a width varying from an eighth to a half mile, is an extent of 

 heavily-wooded land of perhaps two hundred acres, part of a park- 

 like domain of Revolutionary days called " Almont." The soil is of 

 decided clayey character, and there are a half dozen little rivulets 

 coming from the hills at the east running through to the river. 

 With their numerous tributary branches they have cut their way 

 down through the plastic earth making quite an intricate succession 

 of deep gullies. 



Here are hundreds of grand, massive white oaks, beeches, and 

 hickories, growing so thickly as to almost shut out a glimpse of the 



