6S Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. [No. ], 
2. From Captain E. C. 8. Willams, Under-Secretary to the 
Government of India, Public Works Department, copy of a report by 
Major General Cunningham, Archzological Surveyor, on his research- 
es up to March last, and a statement of his operations during last 
November. 
3. From Babi Gopinath Sein, abstracts of the results of the 
Hourly Meteorological observations taken at the Surveyor General’s 
Office in November last. 
The President then called on Mr. H. F. Blanford to read a paper 
on the Distribution of the land Gasteropoda of India and Burmah, 
by Mr. W. Theobald, Junior, of the Geological Survey, who was 
absent on duty. 
The author commenced by expressing his dissent from Mr. Dar- 
win’s theory, and from certain views communicated in a paper by the 
Messrs. Blanford as to the mode of distribution of the Mollusca 
faunas of the isolated hill groups of Southern India. The observed 
fact having been that there is a remarkable similarity and in many 
eases identity between the land shells of the Nilgerries, Puchaniallies, 
Shevaroys, &c. while those of the intervening plains are very differ- 
ent ; it had been suggested that at a former period, when (as indicated 
by geological investigation) a large part of India was submerged 
beneath the sea, an interchange of species had taken place between 
the hill groups in question by floating timber, &c., or else that these 
species had emigrated across the plains when partially up-heaved and 
covered with adamp forest such as is requisite for the existence of 
these Mollusca. Mr. Theobald demurred to these views, on the ground 
that the transport of shells on floating timber must be so rare an 
eceurrence as to be inapplicable to the case, and that there is no 
migratory instinct in snails similar to that of birds to impel them to 
extend their area of habitat as suggested. On the contrary, Mr. 
Theobald held that species were of sporadic origin, instancing in sup- 
port of this view, the acknowledged ethnic centres of the human race. 
Moreover, he held, in opposition to Mr. Darwin, that species were 
incapable of variation to an unlimited extent. He pointed out that 
the land Mollusea of India were, as a rule, confined to definite pro- 
vinces and at the conclusion of his paper gave a list of those pro- 
vinees and of the land Mollusca peculiar to each. 
Mr. H. F. Blanford in reply to Mr, Theobald’s remarks, pointed out 
