54. THE NAUTILUS. 
(—C. valentia Perry), C. leucodon Brod., C.- broderipi Gray, C. 
marginata, Conus gloria-maris and many of the beautiful Volutes ; 
and looking at those strange forms obtained by the “ Challenger” 
expedition: Guivillea alabastrina (Southern Ocean, 1600 fathoms), 
Provocator pulcher (105 fathoms off Kerguelen), Volutolithes abyssi- 
cola (150 fathoms off S. Africa, a genus so common in the Eocene), 
Columbarium pagodoides (410 fathoms off Sydney, Australia), Lyria 
lutea (275 fathoms off western New Zealand), Oocorys suleata, and 
others. A shell that interested me very much was Fulgur coarctatum 
Sowb., two specimens from the Gulf of Mexico. It is undoubtedly 
a dextral Fulgur perversum. It reminds one of F. rapwm from the 
pliocene of Florida, except that it has a prominent row of small, 
spine-like tubercles at the periphery. Like the few specimens of T. 
carica that are sinistral, we may only see such forms once in a life- 
time. To describe the beauty and extent of the collection of land 
shells space would not permit, even if I could. The groups from 
the Philippines seem to be perfect, while the collection of Amphi- 
dromus recently monographed by Mr. Hugh Fulton, and which now 
contains his types, is a grand sight; one can hardly imagine the ex- 
quisite coloring of some of the species. Equally fine are the groups 
representing the African, South American and West Indian faunas. 
The Nudibranchiata are shown by an elegant series of glass models, 
while throughout the entire collection are wax, glass or alcoholic 
representatives of the soft parts of many of the principal genera. 
But this is not the only collection of shells.“ The aleoves round 
the central hall, five on each side, are devoted to the Introductory 
or Elementary Morphological Collection, designed to teach the most 
important points in the structure of the principal types of animal 
and plant life, and the terms used in describing them, all of which 
should be known before the systematic portion of the collection can 
be studied to advantage. This has been called the ‘ Index Museum.’ ” 
The Mollusca are in aleove No. VII; here is arranged an elegant 
series of anatomical preparations, a large series illustrating the forms 
of shells, and other series showing ornamentation, specific variation, 
muscular impressions, the hinge-teeth, opercula, ete. 
The north end of the central hall is known as the Gallery of 
British Zoology. Here is a large collection of the Mollusca of the 
British Isles, occupying five of the horizontal and one upright case, 
the latter containing the large specimens. 
I cannot close this brief description of the collection of Mollusca 
in this great Museum without giving you some idea of the vast col- 
