43° 



(Proc 



making a collection of land and fresh-water shells of the Belfast 

 hills and Lagan valley. I need hardly say that I received at the 

 same time some good lessons in scientific method, and warnings 

 as to the great care necessary in recording the exact locality from 

 which any specimen was obtained. The name of the species, I 

 had pointed out to me, was not so important as the locality for 

 the former could be obtained at any time, while the latter if not 

 attached to the specimen rendered it almost useless for scientific 

 purposes. Later I found that he knew his marine shells even 

 better than the terrestrial species, and I had his assistance in 

 determining troublesome species up till the time he retired from 

 the curatorship of the Museum. In the early days of the Club — 

 the late sixties and early seventies especially — he seems to have 

 collected or noted the presence of land and fresh-water shells in 

 many localities of our district, and in old note-books of his which 

 he gave to Mr. Praeger many years ago, I find such records as 

 " took 8 specimens of Helix lamellata on one spot, Colin Glen, 

 24/5/69, 7 in August, and 10 on 17/9/69," Earlier than that he 

 seems to have been collecting records keenly, for, in June, 1866, in 

 another of the books he notes the Swan Mussel, Anodonta eygnea, 

 "common in the Lagan Canal near its junction with Lough Neagh." 

 This is the only record we have of its presence in the Canal 

 beyond Moira. Under same date he notes 7 other species, more 

 or less abundant in the Canal or lake adjacent. In September of 

 same year he gives a short but good list from the Lagan between 

 the 4th and 5th locks, mentioning that Ancylus lacustris was 

 common in that reach on various water plants, but most abundant 

 on the leaves of Butomus umbellatus. Again, in June, 1868, he 

 notes Pupa anglica with some common species abundant under 

 stones on shore of Lough Mourne ; and there are other notes 

 referring to species at Warrenpoint, Belfast hills and other localities. 

 All through these note-books, too, I find constant references to 

 articles on subjects which struck him in reading various magazines, 

 as, for instance, "Bos longifrons is only found associated with 



