PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
69 
a small Alpine lake, on Cromaglaun mountains, near Killarney, Limneus involutus 
enjoyed itself in perfect safety, until our learned professor, Dr. Harvey, took away 
the -chiefest of them. Quick-flowing rivers are the favourite places for the Unio 
margatiferus, Pisidium pulchellum, and others ; while on the green leaves of the 
water-lily, or on the white petals of its flower, cling the local Ancylus oblongus ; 
others live in thick mud, at the bottom of lakes and ponds, and hence, from this cir¬ 
cumstance, have received their generic names, as Paludina and others. This enume¬ 
ration of places where the mollusca are likely to be found would be incomplete did 
we not mention those damp places near the vicinity of the sea, within reach of its 
salt spray, where Conovolus bidentatus and Carychimum minimum are to be found. 
These might come under the denomination of fluviatile shells. In conclusion, we have 
the Cephalopoda; and, as far as regards them, the collector must act the reverse of 
Mahommed and the mountain, and, as he cannot go to them, he must wait until 
they come to him. Free and unshackled, they live in the dark-blue waters of the 
ocean, tied to no zone, peculiar to no country. 
The testaceous mollusca are easily preserved, as few things in nature are more 
indestructible than shells, and we find them, after the lapse of many years, even 
retaining some of their vivid colours, though imbedded in the coralline or red 
crags. The naked mollusca and Tunicata are preserved in either spirits of wine 
or Goad by’s solution, and either will do for dissections of the testaceae. To kill the 
animals of the latter, they can be immersed in hot water ; but it should never be 
boiling at the time, as it often spoils the colour of the shells. A crooked pin will 
enable the collector to extract the body of the univalve, and by cutting the strong 
muscle which keeps the bivalve shut, they will be easily cleaned out. The siphons 
in the bivalves should be cleaned out, and neatly stuffed with a little fine cotton. 
The Chitons when taken had better be allowed to settle themselves flat at the bottom 
of the vessel in which they are carried home; and I have always found them, when 
once attached to the sides or bottom of my collecting-box, die in a few days per¬ 
fectly flat; however, if they once curl themselves up, they will have to be unrolled, 
and a piece of string tied across them, and left for some time until they harden. 
In some of the minute Rissoa, Pupa, and others, it is better not to attempt to 
take out the animal, as, even with the greatest caution, the mouth of the shell will 
be injured; and this is an important part in the discrimination of the species. 
Of the many ways of arranging collections, I think the following will be found 
the most convenient— i.e ., for private collections—to gum the shells on pieces of 
paper, and these to be placed in card boxes. If gum tragacanth be used, the shell 
can be at any time taken from the paper, by putting paper and shell into a basin of 
warm water, and leaving them there for some time. Bivalves should always have 
one specimen open to show the arrangement of the hinge and the impression of the 
muscle and univalves, one turned so as to exhibit the mouth of the shell. 
In public collections the French method is now very generally adopted—viz., 
that of fixing the shells on thin pieces of wood, covered with a neutral-coloured 
paper. These slips are made multiples of each other, so that they all fit in a cabinet, 
without any interstices. A convenient size is—for small shells, 2^ by 3 inches ; 
for larger size, 5 by 3 inches ; and for the largest, 5 by 6 inches. By this plan 
any single species can be removed without disturbing the rest. The Tunicata, 
naked mollusca, and Cephalopoda can be arranged in glass bottles over the cabinet. 
CATALOGUE OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 
[Those marked thus f are Irish.] 
The following catalogue of mollusca is compiled from Messrs. Forbes and Hanley’s 
splendid history, in four volumes, of the British mollusca. I thought it better 
to give the whole of the British mollusca, and mark those that are Irish, than only 
to give the latter, as it will show the difference between the faunas. 
Those marked with a dagger, are species which have been taken in Ireland; and 
I have great pleasure in returning thanks to Drs. Allman, Ball, Melville, and 
Farran, and to Messrs. T. W. Warren, J. Grainger, W. W. Walpole, and A. R. 
Hogan, for the assistance they have given me in determining these. I have also 
had recourse to Mr. W. Thompson’s list of Irish mollusca, and Messrs. Forbes 
and Hanley’s History. 
