Translated by Philip H. Nickliti. 105 



dent by your own plate, that the shells are exactly the same. I 

 did specially point to your excellent anatomical researches on the 

 animals of Naiades, and to that valuable Synoptical Table, on 

 which you must have toiled so long and so hard, to enubilate the 

 tremendous synonomy of those poor shells. Lastly, after some 

 other analytical details, I ended my report as follows : 



'• Tel est Messieurs, le bel ouvrage dont votre bibliotheque 

 vient d'etre enrichie par la generosite d'un des plus laborieux de 

 vos ccJirespondans. Favorise par toutes les circonstances qui fa- 

 cilitent et encouragent les travaux du naturaliste, Mr. Lea vous 

 donne I'espoir de voir les siens se multiplier chaque annee, ainsi 

 que ses titres a la reconnaissance des savans. Temoignez-lui la 

 votre, Messieurs, par I'organe de M. le Secretaire General, car 

 elle est bien meritee, et je le demande comme justice, a la Soci- 

 ete Linneenne, en terminant ce rapport." 



The paper of Mr. Des Moulins, though critical, is highly hon- 

 orable to the labors of our countrymen, shewing that they are 

 casting their mites into the general treasury of the world's know- 

 ledge. The tribe of the Naiades is one of the most interesting of 

 Nature's families, dwelling in cells of pearl, adorned within, with 

 all the hues of flowers and brilliant rainbow dyes, inhabiting ev- 

 ery crystal lake and running stream of this terraqueous globe. 

 Man doth press with wandering foot no river bank, nor margin 

 of translucent lake, but there a lovely Nais doth wait and woo 

 his admiration ; 



— " Candida NaTs 

 Pallentes violas et summa papavera" ferens. — Virg. Ed. 2, 1. 46. 



This is more abundantly the case in our own youthful country, 

 which, as Mr. Des Moulins justly observes, is " evidemment la 

 patrie privilegiee des Unios et des Anodontes ;" it is therefore 

 not surprising that our young naturalists should have directed 

 their researches with great enthusiasm towards that interesting 

 branch of natural history, in the beautiful subjects of which our 

 country abounds so much more than all other parts of the world. 

 Mr. Des Moulins arrives at a just conclusion, when he says, " II 

 vaut probablement mieux lacher encore les renes, pendant quel- 



genus, and to use Lamarck's name Iridina for the suhgemis, in which are arranged 

 all the species which conform to his generic description. It would not have been 

 expedient to make two genera, because the animals oi Iridina and Spatha are sup- 

 posed to be nearly identical. — Translator's Note. 

 Vol. xLi, No. 1.— April-June, 1841. 14 



