392 General Notes. [ May, 
In both of the works quoted the distribution of Succinea aurea 
Lea, is limited to the State of Ohio. It is remarked by Mr. Bin- 
ney, “a species of the interior region, but restricted as far as yet 
known to Ohio.” There are, in my collection, specimens of this 
beautiful species from three separate localities in that State. But 
there are also specimens from the interior of New York, collected 
by me at Richfield Springs, Otsego county, in July, 1877. In the 
Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences for August, 
1874, is printed a paper on “ Land and Fresh Water Shells of the 
State of New York,” by the late Dr. James Lewis. On p. 133, he 
quotes S. aurea from Staten Island on the authority of S. Hub- 
bard, but quotes it with a question mark, and in parenthesis, says, 
“ Probably not authentic.” He also quotes the species, on the au- 
thority of himself, from Little Lakes, with the remark, “ Proba- 
bly not clearly identified.” The locality last named is but a few 
miles from Richfield Springs, and is in the same county. Bu 
beyond a doubt, S. aurea does occur at both of those localities. 
The specimens collected by me thoroughly satisfied Dr. Lewis 
that aurea really belonged to the New York fauna. He so labeled 
some I gave him; and a recent very careful comparison with 
typical forms from Ohio affords conclusive proof of specific ac- 
curacy. The geographical limits of this last named species must, 
therefore, be greatly extended, and made to include Western and 
Central New York. 
It might also be added to these new localities for well known 
shells, another locality for Unio pressus Lea. It was collected 
last. This species, therefore, ranges from Whitehall, in New 
York, to Fremont county, Iowa, and may be discovered yet 
farther west.—R. Ellsworth Call, Des Moines, Towa. 
Tue Encuisu Sparrow IN Itttnois.—In relation to the curious 
habit of the English sparrow reported by Mr. Gillman, in the 
February number of the Natura ist, attention is called to the 
following statement, translated from a little book on native Get- 
man mammals and birds: 
“ To begin with the spring, we must give especial prominence 
to the fact that the sparrow, at the very time when it engratiates 
itself with the gardener as a protector of his fruit trees, also en- 
rages him by wantonly biting off the buds of the leaves and the 
blossoms. This mischief appears to us to be done chiefly a5 # 
pastime, for the bird carries the plucked bud for a long time 
here and there in its beak, and finally lets it fall. 
“Whether the discovery of a worm in a bu * Se 
not also, in many instances, induce the sparrow to extend its 
1 Die einheimischen Saéugethiere und Vigel, nach thren Nutsen und Schaden in der 
Land und Forstwirthschaft. Von ApoLr und Kart MULLER. Leipzig, 1873- 
