THE CONCHOLOGICAL MAGAZINE 



Vol. i. November, 1907. No. n. 



A CONCHOLOGICAL MUSEUM 



BY Y. Hi RASE. 



The Establishment of a Conchological Museum is another 

 question in Western countries, where there are many good muse- 

 ums in which equipments for the preservations of natural history 

 specimens and books of reference are complete. It is not so here 

 with us. Though Japan is an island Empire consisting of thou- 

 sands of large and small islands, where the abundance and vari- 

 eties of shells are known as the first in the world, and though 

 nature has given us this good situation, the study of Mollusca is 

 still in its infancy in this country. We regret no beneficial con- 

 tribution to the study of this branch has ever been done in this 

 land of natural deposit for shells. 



After having thought over the matter for years, I decided about 

 twenty years ago to devote my life to conchological work. No 

 one knows how hard it was for me to reach the present posi- 

 tion, though I am not content with this. No small amount of 

 money has been spent in sending collectors to different parts of 

 the Empire, — sometime I went out myself. 



Thus my explorations have extended from Hokkaido in the 

 north to Formosa in the south. Even very difficult places of 

 access, high mountains, dark valleys, deep forests, wide plains, 

 brooks and rivers, swamps and lakes, and many far away groups 

 of isles, such as the Loochoo, Izu groups, Ogasawara (Bonin is- 

 lands), Iwojima which are in the Pacific Ocean, very far south of 

 Bonin group, and also the island of Yonakuni which lies between 

 Formosa and Loochoo Islands, all these have not escaped from 

 the keen eye of our collectors; 



Up to the present time, I have collected over three thousand 

 species, among which about one thousand species and varieties 

 are newly found by myself or by those under my care. 



Last year, I extended my exploration to Korea and China. 

 Moreover, I started, this January, a monthly journal called the 

 Conchological Magazine, for the diffusion of conchological knowl- 



