THE NAUTILUS. 141 
not been actuated by the same spirit of inquiry. With the excep- 
tion of some twenty species of fossils from the Tertiary beds of New 
Mexico, sent here for identification, and a few inquiries relative to 
exchanges, there is nothing outside of my own personal observations 
to report. It may be proper to state that the New Mexico speci- 
mens were collected and sent by a gentlemen not a member of our 
Association. 
The Chapter was instituted primarily to encourage the study of 
conchology, and commemorates the achievements of the honored in- 
dividual whose name it bears. 
My visits to the beach during the past year have been few, and 
the visits I made were for the purpose of delving into the raised 
beaches at San Pedro, or of excavating the rocks at Dead Man’s 
Island in search of buried treasures. Since my visits to these locali- 
ties, a few months ago, and especially since the heavy rains of the 
past few weeks, I found that the alluvial of the bluffs that overlie 
the reefs of shells has been loosened and have fallen in large masses, 
almost, and, in some localities quite, obscuring the collecting grounds, 
so that collecting is very much obstructed or entirely destroyed. I 
succeeded, however, in unearthing a few very fine specimens, mostly 
of recent species ; one specimen of Lunatia lewisii Conrad being five 
inches in diameter and as symmetrical and perfect as a living form. 
But it was at Dead Man’s Island, an older and more interesting 
formation, that I devoted most of my time and efforts. To one who 
has spent as many pleasant and profitable hours in this lonely spot, it 
cannot but cause an abiding sorrow to witness the devastation that is 
constantly and rapidly going on by the relentless waves. Within 
the recollection of the persons now living, the island has diminished 
one-half or more, and there are now living those who will see the 
tides sweeping over the spot where the receeding island now stands, 
unless some steps are taken to protect it. 
T have found nothing new or especially rare at this island during 
the past year, but the specimens are so perfect and life-like that it is 
always a pleasure to see them, and a desire to possess them is usually 
so strong that they are secured and added to one’s collection. The 
specimens which, to me, are the most interesting, are those found 
imbedded in the sand rocks that have fallen from a ledge near the 
top of the island. They are referred to the Pliocene period, and so 
perfectly are they preserved that when eroded from their matrix 
and mingled with the dead shells of the same species that are scat- 
