8 THE - CONCHOLOGISTS’ - EXCHANGE 
On the eastern embankment of the Phila- 
delphia and Reading Railroad, about 200 yards 
below Belmont Landing, the remains of an old 
spring house may be seen with the water still 
bubbling up among its ruins,across which rests 
the trunk of a fast decaying tulip poplar. Here 
among the stones and scoria deposited by the 
railroad company, flourish large numbers of //. 
ligera, H. alternata, H.buccutenta and A. hir- 
swta with occasionally a lone specimen of £7. szs/f- 
asus. By digging a few inches into the scoria 
immediately south of the western end of the 
ruins, the careful hunter may also find some 
eood #7. concava, a species which is, doubtless, 
quite rare in the Park; this being the only place 
in which the writer has found it. On the north 
side of the ruins, just under the leaves, I se- 
cured one day last November, more than a 
score of the finest 4/7. dmceulenta that I have 
seen anywhere. 
‘It should be remembered, however, that the 
beauty and perfection of this and of most other 
species depend as much upon certain phases 
of the weather, as upon the prevalence of suit- 
able food. A dry season not only retards the 
srowth of the animal but often causes an ero- 
sion of the shell which makes it unfit for cab- 
inet purposes. Nevertheless some good speci- 
mens may be collected here at any time be- 
tween April and October. 
Still further south, along the embankment, a 
few specimens of //, trzdentafa may be secured 
by searching under the old rail-road ties seat- 
tered about. At this point also, a few A. ar- 
éorea may be obtained, though these have 
always been more plentiful among the old logs 
fronting Landsdowne Mansion. Here, in De- 
cember, 1885, I found a colony literally en- 
cased in the ice which filled a small crevice in 
a log; and I was not a little surprised after 
melting them out, to find the tiny fellows as 
lively as though they had experienced no un- 
usual hardship. As already stated several of 
the species referred to, occur in various other 
parts of the Park, especially upon the hill-sides 
bordering the Wissahickon Creek and about 
the wooded flats between the stream and car- 
riage way just east of Ridge Avenue. They 
are, however, far less abundant than in the 
localities specially mentioned. 
f/. minuta, the only species that remains to 
be noticed, is probably,in this region the rarest 
of them all. I have never found it here except 
at a point near the Connecting Railroad, one- 
third of a mile above Columbia avenue. About 
50 specimens were secured on that occasion, 
all taken from the bottom of an old “tie” 
which laid in a wet, grassy meadow. The 
shell, as its name implies, is very small, but its 
recurved bell-like lip, and pearly lustre make 
it an object easily observed. Two days later 
I visited the locality again but the ‘tie’’ as 
well its fellows had been changed to ashes 
and smoke. 
ON COLLECTING AND PRESERV- 
ING CHITONS. 
RY GEO. W. MICHAEL, JR., MORRO, CALA, 
N the May numberof the ‘Conchologists’ 
Exchange” I note Prof. Keep’s directions 
for preserving Chitons. IT have had much 
experience with Chitons,and find it is awkward — 
while collecting to carry along boards and 
candle wicking and tie down every specimen 
as you find it, for if you collect two specimens 
at a time, one will curl up while you are tying 
the other. I carry along a ean with a tight 
lid. Tusea gallon milk can. As fast as I 
find the Chitons I drop them into the can 
which I keep filled with sea water. If they 
curl up they soon open and attach themselves 
to the can and will remain there until you 
reach home or camp, when you can remove 
them at your leisure and tie them down to 
boards. For this I use narrow strips of ‘cot- 
ton rag, which I find better than candle 
wicking. On my last trip I had 50 or 60 
Chitons in the can, and nearly every one was 
in fine condition on the following morning, 
after being driven over ten miles of rough 
roads. h 
