MOSS : OfilTUARY NOTICE — kOBERT CAIRNS. 29I 



great harvest of other species, but although we worked very hard, our 

 efforts to record Acme liiieata were all in vain. One day we had a 

 visit from our mutual friend, Mr. Fred. Taylor, of Oldham, who was 

 then staying in Douglas. "Come with us to Whitestrand Bay," we 

 said ; " we are sure Acme lineata is in the valley, but we cannot find 

 it." We went to the valley, and immediately got to work. In about 

 ten minutes or less Mr. Fred. Taylor called out '■^Acme"\ In less than 

 another ten minutes, both Mr. Cairns and the writer had found 

 specimens ; and that is the story of the record of Acme liiieata for the 

 Isle of Man. 



Undoubtedly Mr. Cairns was at his best in the field. A Vertigo 

 had no more chance of escaping his eye than one of the larger 

 HelicidcE. On land or in water it was all the same. In our early 

 field work, we once discovered in a pond near home a large colony 

 of white Planorbis corneus, and the exchanges we were able to effect 

 by means of these very fine specimens of their kind introduced us to 

 a large circle of conchologists, with many of whom he kept in touch 

 for most of his life. But the find did more than this — it introduced 

 us to a then budding conchologist, Fred. Taylor, of Oldham, 

 whom we found hunting for white PIa?wrbis in what we considered 

 to be, except to ourselves, an unknown preserve. This was the 

 beginning of a friendship, close and continuous, between Mr. F. 

 Taylor, Mr. Cairns, and the writer, which never faltered, and the 

 faithful visits of this old friend during the last months of Mr. Cairns' 

 illness greatly helped to soothe and comfort him, and were looked 

 forward to with the keenest anticipation. It is only fair to mention 

 that during this time the loss by Mr. Taylor of one of his own child- 

 ren had clouded his own home. 



Apart from field work, Mr. Cairns conducted a very extensive 

 exchange, and by this and other means accumulated a very large 

 collection of foreign shells, mostly land and freshwater, in addition 

 to British species, but including a few marine species, more especially 

 Cyprcea, in which group he ultimately specialized very extensively, 

 forming a large and fine collection. 



In his early days he was somewhat of a botanist, and he also col- 

 lected birds' eggs. When the writer made his acquaintance, probably 

 geology had the strongest attraction for him. There were at that time 

 in the neighbourhood of Ashton-under-Lyne numerous collieries in 

 active work, and the shale heaps at these coUieries and in the neigh- 

 bouring area of Oldham were a never-ending attraction, and large 

 collections of fossils were made from the coal measures. On the 

 banks of the River Tame, more especially on the Cheshire side near 

 the Dukinfield railway station, most interesting strata were exposed, 



