3360 Mollusks. 



As a living specimen is not to be obtained every day for experiments, I thought that 

 perhaps these remarks might have some interest. — George Guyon ; V minor, Isle of 

 Wight, January 21, 1852. 



Notes on the Marine Mollusca of Weymouth. 

 By William F. Templer, Esq. 



The following Notes give the results of my collecting during the 

 years 1849 and 1850. The dredge has always been considered the 

 best method for procuring shells, and by many has been the only plan 

 adopted for obtaining these beautiful and interesting objects, but how 

 few of the numerous frequenters of the sea-side are able to incur the 

 expense of dredging, apart from (what I conclude it would be to ma- 

 ny) the discomfort of the sea ! 



There are three methods by which the inhabitants of the sea may 

 be procured, varying according to the localities in which they reside. 



The Mollusca inhabiting the laminarian and littoral zones, may be 

 obtained by minute and careful examination of the rocks, stones, and 

 sea- weeds, turning back and examining the smaller stones, in the 

 crevices of the lower surface of which many of the smaller kinds, as 

 Rissose, Chemnitziae, Odostomiae, &c, may be found. A few small 

 pill-boxes will be useful in collecting these minims of creation, as 

 well as a small pair of forceps ; a geological hammer and a pick-axe 

 will also be serviceable for disentombing the stone-boring Mollusca, 

 as Pholas, Saxicava, and Venerupis. Tn examining the laminarian 

 zone, the spring tides should be selected, as it is only then that the 

 larger Laminariae are uncovered. On sandy beaches may be found 

 the burying mollusks, as Solens and Mactras. 



The second and most abundant source is the dredge. 



And thirdly, the examination of sandy beaches after heavy seas. 



It is the first and third methods that offer the greatest facilities to 

 the collector, as requiring little or no expense, a very important con- 

 sideration in the study of Natural History. 



Gastrochama modiolina and Saxicava arctica may be obtained by 

 breaking up large stones, which are not unfrequently brought up by 

 the trawlers in the nets. 



Kellia suborbicularis may likewise be found in similar situations 

 with the above. 



Venerupis Irus. Imbedded in the soft rock beneath Sandsfoot 



