THE NAUTILUS. 123 
the most part, hold good; and the roughened, dull exterior, feeble 
rays, and lurid interior of U. ochraceus, and the shining epidermis 
and well defined posterior rays of U. cariosus are very constant. 
Unio cariosus, on the whole, approaches much closer to forms of U. 
occidens than it does to U. ochraceus. 
The latter ranges from the Connecticut River and the state of 
New York, south in the waters of the Atlantic drainage to Savannah, 
Ga. Two specimens from the latter locality have remarkably red 
interiors, and are a little peculiar, but are undoubtedly the species 
in question. Unio ecariosus is found in the vicinity of Quebec, 
Canada, according to Latchford, and it has been reported from west- 
ern New York. A doubtful specimen is in the Lea collection from 
Talledega,.Ala. It is in the same collection from Edgefield, S. C., 
Ogeechee River, Ga., and Columbus, Ga., and these are no doubt 
correctly named. Other shells in the Lea collection from Nas- 
hotch, Wis., and Ontonagon, Mich., are very probably forms of 
Unio occidens. 
NOTES ON THE REPORTED EXTINCTION OF THE GENUS ACHATINELLA 
AND MARVELOUS DEVELOPMENT OF A FLORIDA FASCIOLARIA. 
BY JOHN FORD. 
A most extraordinary account of a collection of shells, located 
somewhere in the interior of New York State, was handed me by a 
friend a few days ago. 
This purports to have been written by a correspondent of a 
Rochester newspaper, in the columns of which the article probably 
first saw thelight. The writer, it appears, does not claim any scien- 
tific knowledge of shells, nor can it positively be said that his bump of 
imagination is abnormally developed. Nevertheless, he has given to 
the paper alluded to, and consequently to the world, some very re- 
markable bits of information. Information, indeed, which, if true, 
shows how puny are the geographical and scientific acquirements of 
the general run of conchological students. Of course, for lack of 
space in your columns, reference can only be made to one or two of 
the marvelous statements embraced in the article. One of these re- 
fers to the genus Achatinella, of which the writer says, “ This shell 
is confined to the Sandwich Islands and its tenant feeds on the 
