CONDUCTED BY WILFRED MARK WEBB, F.L.S. 
A New PutmMonate Genus.—Mr. Henry A. 
Vilsbry has communicated a paper to the Malaco- 
logical Society of London upon a new genus of dark- 
bearing Hlelicidae, which he calls JJefastracon, the 
members of which are slug-like. 
ITELIX ASPERSA var. EXALBIDA,—Mr. Carrington’s 
remarks under this heading (av/e, p. 181) have given 
rise to the two following notes, which do not exactly 
agree. The Rev. J. W. Horsley, writing from 
St. Peter's Rectory, Walworth, says :—‘ You need 
not have had any doubt as to the accuracy of 
Mr. L. Adam’s statement that the var. evalbida of 
Hf, aspersa was ‘not uncommon where it occurs, 
especially in Kent.’ Near Shepherdswell I have 
found dozens in one hedge, andin another near Alkham, 
they are numerous enough to cause, by breeding with 
var. sonata and var. grisea some pretty variations. 
In fact, in the latter place the typical asfersa is less 
frequent than its varieties and variations, especially 
the band formulas 10005 and 10305.” 
Mr. J. E. Cooper, of Highgate, writes :—‘‘ My 
experience does not quite coincide with Mr. 
Carrington’s as regards this variety. I have found 
fifteen or sixteen in one spot near Walmer; about 
half-a-dozen scattered over the hedges between 
Betchworth and Dorking ; two at Woolacombe Bay, 
North Devon ; and a single example on the sandhills 
near Sandwich. yramidula rotundata, var. alba, 
also usually occurs very sparingly, though I know one 
spot, near Ilfracombe, where the variety far out- 
numbers the type.” 
SNAILS AS HEALERS OF WouNps.—The silvery 
trails that mark the line of route taken by our land- 
snails and slugs in their journeyings, are familiar 
enough. A use has, however, been made of the 
mucous which the common snail (e/ix aspersa) 
leaves behind, that may have escaped record. Just 
twenty years ago when the writer was a small boy at 
St. Marylebone, All Souls’ Grammar School, in 
Baker Street, he saw in that road two funny old men. 
They carried under their arms cloth covered cases 
that closed up like some chess boards, and formed, 
when opened, two trays. In these were a fair 
number of snails actively crawling about, as was 
discovered shortly afterwards, when the old men 
came to a halt for the purposes of doing a little 
business. Their stock-in-trade included also some 
pieces of thick paper of a spongy character, in colour 
and texture very much resembling what is called 
straw-board. The complete performance was to 
allow a snail to crawl over a piece of the paper, and 
then to sell it for a penny to any person who had lost 
a fragment of skin, and who would pay the price. 
The prepared paper had, of course, to be applied to 
the damaged place, and according to the old men, 
would cause it to heal rapidly. So far as one can 
remember, there was not any great demand, 
though the very novelty of the idea brought a few 
customers. Whether the notion was an old one, 
the writer has not discovered.— Wilfred Mark Webs. 
SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 
to 
te 
wo 
BeLFast NATURALISTS’ Fietp Ciun.—The 
annual conversazione was held in the Public Library 
and Art Gallery on 1st November. There were 
numerous exhibits in the departments of geology, 
zoology, botany, ethnology, archaeology, microscopy, 
and photography, many being of exceptional interest. 
Mr. J. H. Davis showed freshly-gathered mosses in 
fruit, also dried specimens of Pea compressa from old 
mele at Lisburn ; Mr. Moore, of the Koyal Botanical 
Gardens, Dublin, a number of tropical yams; Mr. 
R. May, Irish elk remains; Mr. G. P. Farran, blind 
shrimps from Dublin pump wells; Mr. H. L. Orr, 
Irish land and freshwater shells; Mr. R. Welch, a 
fine series of freshwater shells from the Ulster lakes, 
and other Irish land and freshwater shells, with some 
from Lake Tanganyika, also ancestral types of recent 
marine shells. In the department of archaeology, 
Mr. F. J. Bigger, M.R.I.A., showed rubbings of 
armorial stones in County Antrim, and Mr. W. 
Swanston, }.G.S., some ancient maps of Ireland 
from the 16th to r8th centuri Altogether, including 
the President’s address, the conversazione was most 
successful. 
SELBORNE SocietTy.— The council of the Selborne 
Society have arranged a series of evening lectures 
to be given on the third Tuesday in each month 
during the winter. The first one took place at Morley 
Hall, Hanover Square, London, on the 21st Nov., 
at 8.30. Professor Henslow gave the inaugural 
lecture, his subject being, ‘‘ Plants and their Surround- 
ings.” The chair was occupied by Sir Robert 
Hunter. The remaining lectures of the series include 
Mr. Fred Enoch, Professor Boulger and, it is hoped, 
by Sir John Scott-Montague, and Sir John Lubbock, 
the Society’s President. In order to continue the good 
work of the Society’s Field Club, and to give its 
members a chance of seeing each other during the 
winter months, the two lady members of the council, 
Mrs. Myles and Mrs. Wilfred Durrant, have arranged 
a monthly meeting on the second Saturday in each 
winter month. The first one took place at the 
Natural History Museum, Kensington, on Saturday 
afternoon, the 11th November, under the guidance of 
Professor Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. The party in- 
spected the botanical examples and diagrams. —£. 7. 
Durrant. 
GEOLOGISTS’ AssOCIATION.—A_ conversazione of 
the Association was held at University College on 
the 3rd of November. There was an interesting 
exhibition of specimens. Dr. G. Abbott showed a 
variety of concretions in lime, iron, and silica, 
including coral-like forms from Fulwell, Durham ; 
Mr. A. E. Salter, erratic igneous rocks from the Lea 
Valley, Cromer, and other parts of East Anglia. 
Some fine chalk fossils were exhibited by Mr. G. E. 
Dibley, amongst them being a specimen of 
Hippurites from near Rochester, and Govizaster in 
calcite, imbedded in a flint. The Rev. Prof. T. G 
Bonney showed ‘‘Dreikanten” (wind-worn stones) 
from Egypt and New Zealand, and schistose Jurassic 
rocks with minerals mistaken for garnets and stauro- 
lites, etc., from the Alp. 
