128 



The Naturalist. 



Report on the Conchological Department. — The conchological portion of 

 the exhibition was, owing to the limited space at the disposal of the 

 section, not* so comprehensive as could have been desired ; as far as it 

 went it was, however, everything that could be wished. The exhibitors 

 were four in number, viz : W. Nelson of Leeds, Robert Scharff of 

 Bordeaux, J. W. Taylor of Leeds, and J. Wilcock of Wakefield. The 

 largest exhibitor was Mr. Nelson, who, in addition to his fine collection 

 of Limnoeadce (of which group he has made a brilliant speciality) showed 

 several drawers of Clausilice, Pupm, Helices, &c., which contained shells 

 of great interest to students of Yorkshire conchology, as Pupa sempronii, 

 P. secale, var. edentula, &c. The Limnseadse, which filled five large show 

 cases, are a family interesting for the subtle variation of their forms, and 

 their wide dispersal over the globe. The collection embraced specimens 

 of some of the rarest species, and several that are as yet undescribed. The 

 common Lmmcea peregra was represented by a large number of tablets 

 which clearly showed that this species, under different names, is found 

 throughout the world, the latest locality added being Tasmania, where it 

 was found and described as new, under the name of Limncea hohartonen- 

 sis, by the Rev. Teniso'^e Woods. Many of the variations of this species 

 described and named as distinct by foreign and British authors, were 

 also represented. The special feature of this magnificent collection is its 

 wealth of examples showing the variations of the group, not only in our 

 own country but throughout the globe. Mr. Scharflf's exhibit is a small 

 but beautiful collection of 38 species and varieties of the land and fresh- 

 water shells of the department of the Gironde, France — all collected by 

 himself in the environs of Bordeaux. The collection has many points of ! 

 interest, one of the most striking being the variations of our English species, 

 as Unio Bequienii, &c., the series of variations in Cyclostoma elegans and 

 Helix virgata are specially noteworthy. Mr. Taylor exhibited a portion 

 of his collection of Helices, formed mainly with the view of elucidating s 

 the affinities of the many forms that have been so prodigally described as < 

 new by foreign conchologists, and to illustrate variation as influenced by \ 

 geographical distribution and physical surroundings. The series of the » 

 various reputed species of Xerophila and Tachea were of considerable 

 interest. In the latter subgenus was a number of tablets of H. hortensis, j 

 var. hyhrida — a shell u^Don the identity of which a considerable amount 4 

 of error and misconce^Dticm exists amongst Yorkshire conchologists. Mr. t 

 Wilcock, who is so well and favourably known as a diligent and successful i 

 conchologist, exhibited his collection of the land and fresh-water shells of i 

 Yorkshire, many of the species having been found by himself in the I 

 neighbourhood of Wakefield. He also exhibited a collection of models of 

 their animals, made and coloured from nature by himself, to which 

 subject he has given considerable attention. The collection is well known 

 to most Yorkshire conchologists, and embraces several shells of consider- 

 able interest. 



