288 JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY, VOL. I4, NO. 9, JANUARY, I915. 



ture, to criticise the details of this work ; but such petty criticism as could be 

 offered would savor of hypercriticism and is therefore withheld. 



Fairly gauged, this work must be considered one of the most valuable contri- 

 butions to malacological literature of recent years, and it should be on the book- 

 shelf of every malacologist with more than parochial pretensions. The classification 

 followed is that presented by Pelseneer in his Treatise of MoUusca, and the present 

 writer, having made continual use of that system, would suggest that under the 

 present knowledge of molluscs, it seems the most suitable for general usage. Suter 

 has given keys to genera and species, and consequently the work is very easy to 

 use, and anyone can now name with a full degree of certainty their New Zealand 

 shells. An Atlas of Quarto Plates is promised and when that appears the certainty 

 should be made absolute. 



It must be observed that the treatment is rigidly scientific, and the nomencla- 

 ture quite up-to-date. The only blemish in the work is Suter's rejection of names 

 unaccompanied by a figure ; otherwise the nomenclature laws now in force have 

 been faithfully accepted, the Boltenian genera being utilised, though Suter has 

 expressed a personal disapproval of their use. T. Iredale. 



Large Arion ater var. rufa and Testacella scutulum at Stoke-on-Trent. — 



On 25lh February I was asked to examine a very large and brightly coloured slug 

 which had been found in a green-house at Stoke-on-Trent. It proved to be a very 

 fine example of Arion ater L. var. rtifa or rtibra; and when fully extended 

 measured ']\ inches. The colour of the body was a bright reddish-biown, tentacles 

 bluish-black, fringe a very bright red with narrow transverse black lines, foot-sole 

 yellowish-white. On making enquiries of the gardener I was pleased to learn that 

 a species of Testacella had frequented the garden for some years past. To assure me 

 of the fact he produced four living Testacella which he had obtained a day or two 

 before while digging up celery. I identified them as Testacella scutiihini Sowby. 

 In the kitchen garden we dug up four or five sticks of celery which still remained, 

 and I picked out from the upturned soil no fewer than eight specimens, all of which 

 proved to be Testacella scutulum. I kept these slugs in captivity for some time, 

 and had several opportunities of observing their method of seizing and devouring 

 earth-worms. They took on an average about seven minutes for each worm. — 

 B. Bryan {Read before the Society, May 13th, 1914). 



Helicella virgata m. sinistrorsum near Scarborough. — On Sept, 5th of 

 this year I found an example of this rarity on the Seamer roadside, three miles from 

 Scarborough, and another specimen was also taken by myself (;n Sept. 12th, 1914, 

 two miles out of town on the Filey road. Both specimens were of the var. albicans, 

 mature, well grown, and otherwise perfect. Four specimens have now been 

 recorded from the immediate neighbourhood of Scarborough, three of them taken 

 by myself, and all being found in the North Riding. —Walter Gyngell {Read 

 before the Society, Oct. 14th, 1914). 



