24 JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY, VOL. 9, NO. I, JAN., 189s. 



Papers Read : 



" Observations on the pairing of Limax maximus L.," by L. E. Adams. 

 "The land and freshwater mollusca of the district between Ashton-under-Lyne 

 and Oldham," by F. Taylor. 



" Testacella haliotidea in North Staffordshire," by J. R. B. Masefield. 

 " Palndestrina (Hydrobia) jenkinsi Smith," in Ireland," by L. E. Adams. 

 " Sense of smell in Limax maximus L. ," by L. E. Adams. 

 " British snails as human food," by Peter Lawson. 



Exhibits : 



By Mr. F. Taylor : Land and freshwater shells of the Ashton-under-Lyne dis- 

 trict, to illustrate his paper. 



By Miss Helen Taylor : A set of marine shells from Vancouver, British Columbia. 



By Mr. Lionel E. Adams : Drawings to illustrate his paper on the pairing of 

 Limax maximus. 



By the Manchester Museum : A collection of 150 species of marine mollusca and 

 Brachiopoda, from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, B.C. This collection, which has 

 recently been presented to the Museum, was made by Mr. Walter Harvey, and con- 

 tains fine specimens, all dredged, and in excellent condition, of Panopaa generosa, 

 Tresus uuttalli, Spisula falcata, Cerostoma foliata, Chrysodomus tabulates, Pur- . 

 pura crispata, Volutharpa ampullacea, Tritonium oregonense, &c. 



Sense of Smell in Limax maximus. — At Clifton, Derby, Aug. 22nd, 1897, 

 at 10 p.m., on a dark, rainy and windy night, while out in the garden with a lantern, 

 I observed a full-grown Litnax maximus making a " bee-line " across the lawn 

 towards a plate about six feet distant, which contained bones and beans — the remains 

 of the dog's dinner. Remembering Mr. J. W. Taylor's mention of Moquin-Tandon's 

 experience (" Monograph," p. 299), I watched to see if the slug was actually making 

 its way purposely towards the plate, and I found this to be the case. When the 

 animal had reached the plate, T removed the plate another six feet away, and im- 

 mediately the slug directed its course straight towards it. When about four feet had 

 been traversed, I again moved the plate in another direction (making the distance 

 from slug to plate eight feet), and again the animal changed its course and started 

 direct for the plate. A third time I moved the plate in another direction to a dis- 

 tance of eight feet, and again the animal changed its course, with no apparent 

 hesitation, and glided straight towards the plate. The point to notice is that while 

 Moquin-Tandon's experience was in the day-time, mine was in the dark, showing 

 that the perception of direction was not due to the sense of sight, and even if it 

 were possible for these creatures to see in the dark, the grass standing up higher 

 than the animal for a distance of many feet would preclude this possibility. — 

 Lionel E. Adams, Stafford. (Read before the Society, Dec. 8th, 1897). 



