roebuck: conchological locality-records. 139 



published lists from various reasons, one of the most common 

 being the imperfect determination of the species, and another 

 being the reliance of some writers on their memory. Both 

 these sources of error are obviated by the insisting on the 

 fundamental rule that a specimen accompany the record, such 

 specimen becoming the property of the Club, and, in the case of 

 the Botanical Record Club, eventually passing into the custody 

 of the National Herbarium at Kew. 



Members are desired to forward records from time to time, 

 and, when duly authenticated and passed by the referees, under 

 whose scrutiny all critical species pass, are published — the 

 practice of the Botanical Club being to let such accumulate till 

 a list of 50 or more is readj^ This power is unnecessary, and 

 records may be printed as they come in. 



A necessary consequence, and indispensable accompaniment 

 of the voucher-specimen principle, is the appointment of skiUed 

 and competent referees — in the Botanical Club these posts are 

 filled by the best Botanical specialists of the day, and if such a 

 scheme were adopted for Conchology it would be necessary to 

 invite the best Conchologists of the time to act as referees for 

 their own special groups. I would, therefore, make the following 

 suggestions : — 



I- — That it is desirable that the Conchological Society 

 should commence a system of recording the localities of British 

 mollusca. 



2. — That it be an indispensable requirement that every 

 record be accompanied by a voucher-specimen, or specimens, 

 sufficiently good to permit of the safe identification of the 

 species. 



3- — That the best Conchologists of the day be invited to 

 act as Referees — each in his own special branch or group. 



4.— That Mr. H. C. Watson's map of the British Isles and 

 his division into 18 provinces and 112 counties be adopted as 

 the basis on which to frame county lists— this suggestion being 

 intended to facilitate subsequent tabulation of results. 



