r-i^

y-v.-'

<■-? -V

IM

^'■^

■^-^ ■

Return to
LIBRARY OF MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORftTORY

WOODS HOLE, MASS.

Loaned by American Museum of Natural History

»

THE

I

TERRESTRIAL

AIR-BEEATHING MOLLUSKS

OF

THE UNITED STATES, &c.

v_<

THE

TERRESTRIAL

AIE-BREATHING MOLLUSKS

OF

THE UNITED STATES

AND THE

ADJACENT TERRITORIES OF NORTH AMERICA:

DESCEIBED AND ILLUSTKATED BY

AMOS BINNEY.

EDITED BY

AUGUSTUS A. GOULD.
VOL. L

B OSTON:
CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN.

MDCCCLI.

■^

Au

Cambridge:
feinted by bolles and houghton.

TO THE

:2lcaiiemi) of J^'atural Bdtnas

OF PHILADELPHIA;

TO WHOSE FOUNDERS IS DUE THE FIKST EFFECTIVE IMPULSE GIVEN

TO THE STUDY OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES IN NORTH AMERICA,

AND WHOSE LABORS HAVE BEEN MAINLY INSTRUMENTAL IN

DEVELOPING THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY,

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY

THE AUTHOR.

EVERY SPECIES OF ANIMAL IS POSSESSED OF BEAUTIES PECITLIAK TO IT-
SELF. THE MORE MAN CONSIDERS THEM, THE MORE THEY EXCITE HIS
ADMIRATION, AND THE MORE THEY ENGAGE HIM TO ADORE THE AUTHOR
OF NATURE, WHO HAS MADE EVERY THING IN WISDOM, WHO HAS SUB-
JECTED EVERY THING TO HIS POWER, AND WHOSE GOODNESS GOVERNS THE

WHOLE. St. An^zistin.

IS NOT THE SMALLEST WORM THE WORK OF THE SUPREME BEING, AS
WELL AS THE MOST PERFECT ANIMAL? AND IF GOD HAS JUDGED IT NOT
BELOW HIM TO CREATE IT, WHY SHOULD IT BE THOUGHT A WEAKNESS IN A
REASONABLE MAN TO MAKE IT THE OBJECT OF HIS RESEARCH? LeSser.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

PAGE

Editor's notice, ix

Biographical memoir, xi

Alphabetical catalogue op authors whose

WORKS are referred TO IN THIS VOIiUME,

American authors, 9

Foreign authors, 13

Author's preface, 19

Introduction, 29

I. Op the rise of scientific zoologt in the united

states, with notices of naturalists, particularly

connected with the subject of this work, . . 31

II. Op the IGNOlliNCE AND NEGLECT OP AMERICAN LABORS

IN ZOOLOGY EXHIBITED BY EUROPEAN NATURALISTS, 56
III. Of SOME OP THE OBSTACLES IMPEDING THE STUDY OF

ZOOLOGY, AND THE MEANS OF OVERTHROWING THEM, 63

IV. Of classification, 84

V. Of THE geographical distribution of genera and

species, and the existing causes influencing it, 99
Geographical Features of the Countiy, . . .100

Climate, 110

Geological Structure, Il2

Vegetation, 113

Humidity and Dryness, 113

Elevation, 115

Sudden and Extreme Vicissitudes of Temperature, 1 27

Inundations of Rivers, 130

Fires, 131

Agriculture, 132

Destruction by Animals, 133

Proximity to the Sea, 135

Local Causes, 138

J

viii CONTENTS.

PAGE

VI. Of zoological foci, or points of oeigin whence

GENEKA AND SPECIES AEE DERIVED, . . . 141

VII. Of the introduction op foreign species into the

UNITED ^ATES, . 150

Table of Foreign Species recorded by Authors as
^ observed in the United States, . . . .159

\ Table of the Distribution of Species inhabiting the

United States, in other parts of America, . .162
) VIII. Of the distribution of genera and species in the

UNITED states, COMPARED WITH THAT IN EUROPE
AND SOUTH AMERICA, 163

IX. Geological relations, 176

X. Habits and faculties, 187

XI. Special anatomy of the terrestrial gasteropoda
of the united states, by JOSEPH leidy, m. d., of

PHILADELPHIA, 198

Introduction, 198

Chap. I. General Remarks upon the exterior form
and Structure of the Terrestrial naked Gastero-
poda, 199

Chap. II. General Remarks on the Terrestrial Tes-
taceous Gasteropoda,) 201

Chap. III. On the Tegumentary Covering of the
Terrestrial Gasteropoda, . . *' . . . 203

Chap IV. Of the Digestive Apparatus, . . 206

Chap. V. Observations on the Tissues of the Diges-
tive Apparatus, 216

Chap. VI. Of the Generative Apparatus, . . 217

Chap. VII. General Remarks upon the Junction of
different portions of the Generative Apparatus,
and the Structure of its Tissues, . . . 232

Chap. VIII. Of the Respiratory and Circulatory
Apparatus, 235

Chap. IX. On the Nervous Centres and the Distri-
bution of the Nerves, 239

Chap. X. On the Organs of Especial Sense, . 243
References to the plates, 249

NOTICE.

In the last "Will of Dr. Binney is the following clause :
" Having, for several years past, been collecting mate-
rials at my leisure for the publication of a -work concern-
ing the Terrestrial INIollusca of the United States of
America, a large portion of which is ready for the press,
and for wliich numerous engravings have been prepared,
my will is, that in case of my decease before the same
shall be published and distributed, my executors shall
employ some competent person or persons to prepare
the same for the press, and shall publish the same at the
expense of my estate."

At the request of the executors, I have endeavored to
fulfil the wish above expressed. The plan laid out by
him has been strictly followed, though in some in-
stances contrary to my own opinions, and it has been
departed from only where observations since his decease
have rendered it imperative. The consequence is, that
there are a few discrepancies between the first and
second volumes. The work was found to be less com-

VOL. I. B

X NOTICE.

plete than had been anticipated, very few descriptions
having been finished except in the genus Helix, and
none of the generic descriptions except those of the
Limacida3. Many new species have also been added
from the collections which he had caused to be made
in the South-western States and Texas, but which
his health had not permitted him to examine. The
passages for Avhich I am responsible are indicated
by the annexation of the letter " g." A number of the
plates also remained to be designed or engraved. It
was the intention to have had the work issued very soon
after the decease of Dr. Binney ; but the scattered state
of the materials, at various places in this country and in
Europe, and the difficulty of procuring suitable artists,
have caused most perplexing delays.

I cannot hope to have produced the work such as he
would have made it. My comparative ignorance of a
subject to which he had given so much of the attention of
a mind deeply in love with his subject, and thoroughly
prepared for a full and philosophical treatment of it,
would forbid this. Nor can I pride myself on possessing
that delicate artistical taste with which he was so well
endowed, and which is so necessary in the details of
such a publication. But so far as a general knowledge
of his design, together with a sincere wish to do justice
to the memory of a friend, could avail, they have been
given to the work.

A. A. GOULD.
BosTOX, 1850.

M E M 0 I E .

Amos Binney was born in Boston, October 18,
1803. At the age of ten years, he was sent to
the Academy at Hingham, where he received his
education preparatory to entering college. At
the age of fourteen, he entered Brown Univer-
sity, and was graduated in 1821. He then en-
gaged in the study of medicine, under Dr. George
C. Shattuck, of this city, and attended medical
lectures at Dartmouth College. At this time his
health failed him. He had urgent cough, pain
in the side, and other alarming pulmonary symp-
toms, and was obliged to suspend his studies.
By the advice of his medical attendants, he un-
dertook a journey on horseback, which he accom-
plished in the summer of 1823, proceeding in
this way to Cincinnati and home. At Cin-
cinnati he had an attack of fever which wellnigh
proved fatal. No relief was gained from this

xii MEMOIR.

journey ; and in the following May he fled, as it
were in despair, to Europe. He there visited
England, France, Italy, and Germany, directing
his attention principally to the Hospitals and to
the great collections of science and art, and re-
turned home in December, 1825, greatly relieved
of his disease; though he ever afterwards felt
the relics of it, and had one or two violent parox-
ysms of palpitation of the heart, threatening to
be fatal. He then resumed his medical studies,
and took the degree of Doctor in Medicine at
Harvard University, 1826.

Though intensely interested in the study of
medicine on account of its bearing upon natural
science, the practice of the profession he had cho-
sen was by no means congenial to his taste -, and
as he deemed the past history of his health ad-
verse to a professional life, and, still further, as
Providence seemed at that time to present to
him prospects of an advantageous connection in
business, he forthwith abandoned the medical
profession for mercantile pursuits. His earlier
enterprises in trade were not encouraging. The
consequence was, that he was led to direct his
attention to real estate and mining operations, in
which his father was also extensively engaged,

MEMOIR. jjjjj

and all of wliicli soon devoh^ed upon him by the
death of his father. In these operations he was
eminently successful, and rapidly accumulated a
fortune.

In the midst of his extensive business he was
never unmindful of science. This was his pas-
sion ; and all his leisure moments were devoted
to it, in preference to mingling in general society,
for which he had very little taste ; and he always
looked forward to the time when he should retire
from business, become a patron of science and art,
and make science his occupation. In the winter
of 1836-7, having accumulated what he re-
garded as a competence, and having invested it
profitably as he supposed, he counted that the
anticipated era had thus early arrived. But the
well-remembered business disasters of 1837 came;
and so far from being able to retire from business,
he was obliged to give himself exclusively to it,
and with redoubled zeal, for the next five years,
in order to meet the crisis and save his estates
from the general ruin. Having successfully ac-
complished this and much more, he again felt
that, with a competence before him, he could with-
draw from business cares, and devote himself
more especially to science and art; and, next

xiv MEMOIR.

after his own family, to make the Boston Society
of Natural History and the Boston Athenseum
the objects of his solicitude and bounty. But
alas ! his long-cherished anticipations were not to
be realized. His health soon began to decline.
Intermittent headache of a severe and unmanage-
able character, had already robbed him of half the
enjoyment of life ; and other difficulties now su-
pervened. He retired for relief to the country,
hoping that quiet would restore him. Finding
this unavailing, he resolved to try what had once
before proved so salutary to him, — the effect of a
sea voyage, and a visit to Europe, which he had
many years designed, for the purpose of becoming
acquainted with the scientific men and scientific
collections of the old world, and of purchasing a
well-appointed scientific library, — all of which
was to be subservient to the cause of science in
general, in America, rather than to his individual
gratification. With these ends in view, and with
every facility for accomplishing his scientific
designs, he sailed from New York for Havre in
October, 1846. He obtained no relief during the
voyage ; and after stopping a few days at Rouen
and a short time in Paris, during which his bodily
sufferings and his nervous irritability increased,

MEMOIR. Xy

he urged onward for Italy. He tarried a short
time at Florence, but became still more ill. In
passing the Apennines, the chilly and penetrat-
ing "mistral" which prevailed, and the bleak-
ness of the lodging-houses, were too much for
him, in his sensitive condition; and the conse-
quence was a violent attack of pleurisy. Con-
vinced that it would be certain death to remain
under such exposure, he made a desperate effort
to reach Rome ; and, though every jolt of the
carriage caused a groan, he arrived there on the
third day. The most energetic treatment was
here employed, and at first with marked relief;
but a relapse took place, and he suffered in-
tensely. Again the disease seemed to have been
subdued, and he was encouraged that he would
recover ; suddenly and unexpectedly, however,
he sunk, and died, February 18, 1847. His
earthly remains, in accordance with his wishes,
Avere brought home, and committed to their des-
tined resting place at Mount Auburn.

In person. Dr. Binney was above the middle
stature, erect, robust, and well-formed. His com-
plexion was dark, with very dark hair and eyes.
His features were full and well-formed. His dress
was elegant and scrupulously neat ; his manners

xvi MEMOIR.

were dignified, and bespoke the gentleman. His
voice was deep-toned, full, and melodious, and
his enunciation was remarkably distinct. His
imposing mien, and the grave and positive tones
of his voice, conveyed a first impression that he
was haughty and inaccessible. He was himself
at a loss to know why he had acquired this repu-
tation, inasmuch as he felt entirely unconscious
of indulging any thing corresponding to it in his
heart. In his opinions he was decided, but not
obstinate. Though naturally indolent, according
to his own confession, he was ever busy, as it is
evident he must have been to have accomplished
so much at so early an age. He was elegant and
refined in his tastes, and passionately fond of the
fine arts. His discrimination as a connoisseur is
well evinced by his numerous and well-selected
books, pictures, engravings, sculptures, and other
specimens of the fine arts. He was most happy
in his domestic relations ; an excellent father,
unspeakably anxious to train up his children,
both by example and precept, in all their duties
to God and man. An extract from his journal
will exhibit the burden of his mind on this point.
He says, "May my children especially imbibe
principles of honor and religion, and may it

MEMOIR. xvii

be their high aim to acquire and deserve the
name of christian gentlemen. May it be said of
my house, not that ^ all the sons "were brave and
all the daughters virtuous,' but that all the sons
were upright and honorable, and all the daugh-
ters good 1"

Dr. Binney loved the works of nature, not
as objects of scientific interest only, but as
the beautiful manifestations of Divine Wisdom,
adapted, at the same time, to afford the well-
disposed mind gratification of the purest and
deepest kind. As a lover of nature, he viewed
with delight the whole landscape ; as a natural-
ist, he loved to study the relations of individual
objects. And he loved art, because it is the
nearest material approach which man makes to-
wards the handiwork of the Creator. His love
for Natural History was early manifested. When
quite a child, his chamber was garnished with
stones, shells, strings of birds' eggs, and such other
objects as are likely to attract juvenile observa-
tion. He commenced a collection of shells while
in college. The interest of his father in mining
tended early to direct his attention to the study
of minerals ; but perhaps nothing contributed so
much to enkindle his interest in the wonders

VOL. I.

xviii MEMOIR.

of nature as his visit to Cincinnati, soon after
leaving college. The fossiliferoiis rocks of that
region could not but attract his attention ; and
during his stay there, he spent most of his hours,
so far as his strength admitted, in lying upon the
rocks, and in chiselling out the fossil remains.
Most of the Silurian fossils now belonging to the
Natural History Society, were obtained by him at
that time. His first visit to Europe contributed
greatly to foster and enlarge the taste already
formed for Natural Science ; and he availed him-
self of the opportunity to procure many shells
from the Mediterranean, and many valuable min-
erals.

In February, 1830, there was a meeting of
gentlemen, which resulted in the formation of the
Boston Society of Natural History. Dr. Binney
was one of the number, and was appointed one
of a committee of five to recommend measures
for its organization, and the best means of inter-
esting the public in its favor. In connection
with the late Simon E. Greene, Esq., he under-
took to call on gentlemen likely to be favorable
to the proposed objects of the Society, and
obtain their cooperation. At a subsequent
naeeting, he was appointed on the committee to

MEMOIR. ^

draft a Constitution; and it is understood to
have been mainly done by him. His name is one
of those mentioned in the act of incorporation.
At the first meeting for the choice of ofiicers he
was elected one of the Curators, and has held
some office in the Society ever since. He was
Treasurer, 1832-45 Corresponding Secretary,
1834-7; Vice President from 1837-43, when
he was elected President.

The nucleus of the Society's Museum was con-
tributed by him. In Juty, 1831, he gave two
hundred specimens of minerals, one hundred spe-
cimens of foreign organic remains, and two hun-
dred specimens of fossils from Ohio. He also
deposited his collection of shells, consisting of
about fifteen hundred species, and at that time
by far the most complete collection in this country.
In 1840, these shells were given to the Society,
together Avith about one hundred specimens of
mounted American birds, on certain conditions)
which were at once complied with.

The Journal of the Society had his special
regard. It was modelled by him ; and the first
paper printed, was written by him. Besides this,
which was upon the Fusus Aruanus of Chemnitz,
he contributed several others ; all of them upon

XX MEMOIR.

the Terrestrial Mollusks of the United States,
which he made a special study. As long ago
as 1835, he commenced a monograph of this
group of animals, and published it, from time to
time, in the Journal. Besides his papers pub-
lished in the Journal, he read others to the
Society, of no less interest and importance, on
various subjects, in which he displayed most just
and discriminating views of the claims of Natural
Science, and of the spirit and aim with which it
should be prosecuted.^

> The followiag are some of the papers found on his files : — '•

Report oa the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Vol. VII.
Part 2, 1837.

Remarks on the Reports on the Birds, Fishes, and Reptiles of Massachu-
setts. November, 1839.

Observations on the Appearance of the so-called Sea Serpent at Nahant,
as seen by himself, August, 1839, with sundry Documents.

Criticism on Schlegel's Notice of Dr. Holbrook's Herpetology, Vol. I.
September, 1840.

Remarks on two Paleontological Works of Michelotti. October, 1842.

Observations, during two successive summers at Nahant, on the Habits of
the short Sun-fish, ( Onhagoriscus mola.) December, 1842.

Remarlcs on the American Species of Pupa. April, 1843.

Remarks on the Descriptions of New Fresh Water and Land Shells, by
Isaac Lea.

On the Hydrarchos and the Mastodon, (published in the Daily Advertiser,
September, 1845.)

Remarks at the Annual Meetings of the Boston Society of Natural His-
tory. 1844 and 1845.

Remarks on the Fossils from the Strata of the Bluffs at Natchez, on the
Mississippi River. April, 1846.

MEMOIR. xxi

The great work, however, to which he chiefly
devoted himself, was the one which follows, being
an amplification of his Monograph on the Ter-
restrial Mollusks of the United States. It was
his intention to publish something that, in com-
pleteness and in the style of its mechanical ex-
ecution, should be unsurpassed by any similar
work. He therefore spared no pains and no
expense to render it as perfect as possible. He
obtained characteristic and living shells of every
species and variety ; he procured the best artists
to figure and engrave both the animal and the
shell J many of which were repeatedly drawn or
engraved before he was quite satisfied with the
result; — he had thorough and accurate dissec-
tions made of all their anatomical minutise, by
the skilful hands of Drs. Wyman and Leidy ; and
he kept most of the species in captivity for
months, that he niight be able to observe their
habits, the variations they exhibited, and the
changes they underwent by age, food, etc. To
carry out fully his design, he employed an expe-
rienced collector to spend one winter in Florida
and the adjacent Keys, and another in the South-
western States, including Texas ; and thus he was
prepared to give not only the descriptive charac-

Xxii MEMOIR.

ters of the whole group, but its geographical and
geological relations, and many other generaliza-
tions of much interest and importance. He car-
ried the manuscript with him to Europe, intend-
ing to have some of the unfinished plates exe-
cuted there. This most valuable work was left
so nearly complete that it may be regarded
as essentially his work.

His last and his greatest effort in behalf of
science was, to carry into effect a purpose, long
since formed, of obtaining, through the liberality
of the Boston public, a building for the Society
of Natural History, which should amply accom-
modate its present and prospective collections.
In his anniversary Address, in 1846, he set forth
in the most lucid and convincing manner, the
wants of the Society, the absolute uselessness of
adding to its collections in consequence of a
want of the means for their preservation and dis-
play, and the claims which the objects and labors
of the Society had upon the public. By a vote
of the Society, this address was afterwards
printed and circulated, as an appeal to an en-
lightened and liberal public; and it will ever
stand as an enduring memorial of his just
appreciation of the claims of science, of his

MEMOIR. ^^ili

clear and unafTectecl style of writing, and of
his devotedness to the interests of the Society.
Not only did he do this, but voluntarily under-
took to solicit the necessary subscriptions, in
which he had so far succeeded as to put his
final success beyond a doubt, when disease
arrested him.

He was a member of all the scientific bodies
in this country; — the American Philosophical
Society ; the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences ; the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia ; the New Yovk Lyceum ; the Na-
tural History Societies of Hartford, Salem, Port-
land, and many others.

He was also one of the prominent members of
the American Association of Geologists and Na-
turalists. He had read several very interesting
papers at its sessions, most of which were des-
tined to form a part of his work on the Terres-
trial Mollusks. When, at the session of the
Association in Boston, in 1844, it was proposed
by several of our most intelligent citizens, that
the valuable papers which had been read should
be printed, and liberal contributions were A'olun-
teered by them for the purpose. Dr. Binney
was made chairman of the publishing committee.

Xxiv MEMOIR.

In conformity to his wishes, the work was carried
out in a style far superior to what was contem-
plated, and proved also much more voluminous,
while the sales were very limited. The cost, of
course, far exceeded the means of publication;
and the residue, amounting to a large proportion
of the whole, was contributed by him.

At the session held in Boston in September,
1848, he was to have presided over that distin-
guished body, and expected much gratification
to himself on that occasion, in the anticipation
that the citizens of Boston would, by their hos-
pitality and energy, render it a profitable and
happy occasion to those who might favor them
with their presence.

It was not, however, for his direct, actual scien-
tific labors and acquirements that Dr. Binney
stood in his most important relations to science.
Others have, probably, labored more constantly,
more zealously, and have made more progress
than he. But he held a position which very few
occupy. He stood between science and the pub-
lic to whom it must look for countenance and
support. Fully alive to its claims, having a
clear, philosophical appreciation of the difference
between true and false science, and having him-

MEMOIR. XXV

self made respectable attainments in the funda-
mental principles of natural science, and even in
all its separate branches, he was at the same
time the man of business, the man of fortune, the
man of prospective leisure, and the man who had
consecrated that leisure to the interests of science
and art.

Not the least among the items for which science
is indebted to Dr. Binney, must we reckon his
superb library. It numbers many hundred vol-
umes, and at his death was undoubtedly the most
important library of works on zoology in America.
It was by no means the largest ; but it contained
more of the modern works, on those topics which
are essential to the study of natural history in its
present state, than any other one library in the
country. Many of the books are splendid, rare,
and very costly works; and all are in elegant
binding. These he granted free use of, to all
who desired it ; and indeed it had become indis-
pensable, in the investigation of any important
topic in zoology, to consult his library ; and for
this purpose it was visited by gentlemen from all
parts of the Union.

Having frequent occasion to travel, and thus
visiting every quarter of the Union, he formed

VOL. I. D

xxvi MEMOIR.

an acquaintance with almost every man who had
any pretensions to science ; and he did much to
encourage them, and to bring them in contact
with each other. At the same time, his eye was
always open, and on the watch for any thing that
might be of importance to the Museum or to the
Journal of the Natural History Society.

While a member of the Legislature, in 1836-7,
he used his endeavors to sustain the State Geo-
logical Survey, then in process by Prof Hitch-
cock, and was jorincipally instrumental in having
attached to it the Commission for the Zoological
Survey also, the results of which have been so
important. He also secured for the Natural His-
tory Society an appropriation from the Legisla-
ture, which, small as it was, was infinitely import-
ant at that time.

To the Natural History Society, he was, at the
same time, the patron, the fellow-laborer, the Pre-
sident. He stood with it, and yet with the world,
a link to bring them in contact. Having been
instrumental in its organization, having watched
and fostered it through its days of feebleness and
small things, and having passed through its vari-
ous offices till he had become its head, — his
name, his fame, his labors, and his fortune were

MEMOIR. ^^ii

identified with the Society ; and in its social rela-
tions he was in a position to render services which
no survivor has the power of rendering. He had
hoped that by his visit to Europe he should be
enabled to form acquaintances with scientific men,
and their modes and facilities for investigation ;
to learn the best arrangement for a cabinet, and
the best modes of preserving objects ; to negotiate
exchanges, and make large additions to his li-
brary; by which his future connection with the
Society, especially at the juncture when plans
for the permanent arrangement and preservation
of the Cabinet were likely to be needed, might
become of the greatest possible advantage.

Nor was he less qualified, or less disposed, to
promote the interests of art among us. Ill as lie
was in Europe, he never lost sight of the two
institutions which he had determined to foster ;
and he was daily seeking to obtain collections
for the one, and rare books and paintings for the
other. Several arrangements with this view had
been entered into, which were interrupted by his
illness, and more or less defeated by his death.

It is due both to him and to the history of
American Art to record, that with a view to the
encouragement of American Artists, he had pro-

xxviil MEMOIR.

posed to four of the most prominent painters of
his native country to execute for him two pictures
each, at generous prices. They were to choose
their own subjects, and not be limited for time ;
the only stipulations being, that the pictures
should be of certain dimensions, and the subject
of one of each was to be from history, either
American, or written by an American ; and they
were requested to produce such works as would
give to the world a pledge of their ability, and on
which they might hope to rest a reputation with
posterity. The four artists selected were Hunt-
ington, E-othermel, Leutze, and Terry. The fol-
lowing pictures have resulted; namely, "Henry
VHI. and Catherine Parr," by Huntington ;
"Noche Triste," from Prescott's Conquest of
Mexico, by Rothermel; "Spaniards storming a
Mexican Teocalli," also from Prescott's Mexico,
by Leutze ; and " I think," from Prescott's Fer-
dinand and Isabella, by Terry.

Similar propositions were made to the Ameri-
can sculptors. Powers and Crawford, and also to
other artists, for statuary in bronze.

Such was his life, his attainments, his aims.
And when, with his generation, the memory of
Dr. Binney, as a man, an enterprising citizen, a

MEMOIR.

XXIX

father, and a friend, shall have passed away, his
name must ever appear among the pioneers of
Science in America, as one of its most substantial
supporters, and as having contributed materially
to the enlargement of its boundaries.

"=— j-^^- "

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

ALPHABETICAL

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS

WHOSE WORKS ARE REFERRED TO IN THIS VOLUME.

WITH THE TITLE AND DATE OF PUBLICATION.

N. B. The leading words only of the title of each worlt, and those often abbreviated, are pVen in the
references in the text. When the author's name alone is given, it is to be understood to refer lo the single
work in this list.

AMERICAN AUTHORS.

Adams, C. B. Professor of Natural History in Middlebury Col-
lege, Vermont. Catalogue of the Mollusca of Middlebury,
Vt., and vicinity. American Journal of Science, Vol. xl.,
pp. 266— 277. April, 184L

Fresh-Water and Land Shells of Vermont, with figures, con-
tained in Thompson's History of Vermont ; also published
separately, pp. 20, 8vo. 1842.

Anthony, John G. Cincinnati, Ohio. Description of Bulimus
vermetus. On the cover of Haldeman's Monograph of the
Limniades, No. 3. July, 1831.

BiNNEY, Amos. Boston, Mass. A Monograph of the Helices
inhabiting the United States, with figures. Boston Journal
of Natural History, Vol. i. pp. 466 — 495. May, 1837.
Vol. iii. pp. 353 — 394, July, 1840, and pp. 405 — 438,
November, 1840.
Descriptions of some of the species of naked air-breathing Mol-
Itisca inhabiting the United States. Same Journal, Vol. iv.
pp. 163 — 175. Same in pamphlet form, January, 1842.

VOL. I. 2

10 CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

Description of a species of Helix newly discovered in the United
States. In the same Journal. Vol. iv. p. 241.

Conrad, Timothy A. Philadelphia, Penn. American Marine
Conchology, or descriptions and colored figures of the Shells
of the Atlantic coast of North America. 8vo. pp. 72, 16 plates.
Philadelphia, 1831.
New Fresh- Water Shells of the United States, with colored
illustrations, and a Monograph of the genus Anculotus of Say,
also a Synopsis of the American Naiades. 12mo. pp. 76,
8 plates. Philadelphia, 1834.

DeKay, James E., M. D. New York. A Report on the Zoology
of New York, containing a Catalogue of the Animals of that
State, being a part of the Annual Report on the Geological
Survey for 1840, pp. 7 — 36. Document of the Assembly of
New York, No. 50. Albany, January, 1840,

Zoology of Neio York ; or the New York Fauna. Part V. Mol-
lusca. 4to. pp. 270, 40 plates. Albany, 1843. Published by
order of the Legislature of New York.
Gould, Augustus A., M. D. Boston, Massachusetts. A Mon-
ograph of the species of Pupa found in the United States,
with figures. Boston Journal of Natural History, Vol. iii.
pp. 395 — 404. July, 1840, and Vol. iv. pp. 351 — 360.
Jan. 1841. Same in pamphlet form.

Results of an Examination of the Shells of Massachusetts, and
their Geographical Distribution. Same Journal. Vol. iii. pp.
483—494. November, 1840.

A Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts, comprising the
Mollusca, Crustacea, Annelida, and Radiata, pp. 373, 8vo.
with figures. Boston and Cambridge, 1841. Published by
order of the Legislature of Massachusetts.

Green, Jacob, M. D. Professor of Chemistry in Jefferson Col-
lege, Pennsylvania. Note annexed to a Memoir, containing
a description of Helix Pennsylvanica. Contributions of Mac-
lurian Lyceum, No. 1, p. S. Philadelphia. January, 1827.
Notes of a Naturalist. Doughty's Cabinet of Natural History,
Vol. ii. p. 291, and Vol. iii. p. 35. Philadelphia, 1833.

Haldeman, S. Stehman. Columbia, Pennsylvania. A Mono-
graph of the Limniades and other Fresh- Water Univalve Shells

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS. Jl

of North America. With colored figures, 8vo. Pliiladelphia,
1840 — 1843. Eiglit numbers have been published.
Enumeration of the fnsh-water MoUusca common to North
America and Europe, with Observations on Spccirs and their dis-
tribution. In the Boston Journal of Natural History, Vol.
iv. pp. 468 — 484. 1844.

KiRTLAND, J. p., M. D. Cleveland, Ohio. Report on the Zoology
of Ohio, contained in the Second Annual Report on the Geo-
logical Survey of the State of Ohio, pp. 157 — 200. 8vo.
Legislative Document. Columbus, Ohio, 1838.

Lea, Isaac. Philadelphia. Observations on the Naiades, and
Descriptions of new species of that and other Families : with
colored figures. Transactions of American Philosophical
Society, Philadelphia, Vol. iv. pp. 63 — 121. 1834; and
Vol. V. pp. 23 — 120. 1837.
Descriptions of new Fresh- Water and Land Shells. Same
Transactions, Vol. vi. pp. 1—111, vi^ith colored figures,
1838. Also Papers under the same title in the Proceedings
of the same Society, viz. : No. 13, October, 1840; No. 17,
March, 1841 ; No. 19, July, 1841.

LiNSLEY, Rev. James H. Stratford, Con. Catalogue of the Shells
of Connecticut, pp. 16. In American Journal of Science, Vol.
xlvii. No. 2. Same in pamphlet form. New Haven, 1844.

MiGHELs, J. W., M. D. Portland, Maine. Catalogue of the
Marine, Fluviatile and Terrestrial Shells of the Slate of Maine
and adjacent Ocean. Boston Journal of Natural History,
Vol. iv. pp. 308 — 345. April, 1843.

Phillips, John S. Philadelphia. Description of a neio Ameri-
can species of the genus Helix. Journal of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. viii. p. 182. Also in
Proceedings of the same, No. 3, June, 1841.

Plummer, John T., M. D. Scraps in Natural History. Shells
about Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana. In American
Journal of Science, Vol. xlviii. pp. 92, 94.

Say, Thomas. Philadelphia. Conchology. The Article under
that name in the American editions of Nicholson's Encyclo-
pedia. The references are to the 2d edition. Philadelphia.
1818. Vol. iv. With figures.

12 CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

Say, Thomas. Description of seven species of American Fresh-
Water and Land Shells not noticed in the Si/stems. Journal
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. i.
pp. 13 — 18. May, 1817.
. Descriptions of neio species of Land and Fresh-Water Shells.
Same Journal. Vol. i. pp. 123 — 125. October, 1817.

Account of tioo new Genera, and several new species of Fresh-
Water and Land Shells. Same Journal. Vol. i. pp. 276 —
284. May, 1818.

Descriptions of Univalve Shells of the United States. Same
Journal. Vol. ii. pp. 149 — 179. January, 1821.

Descriptions of Univalve terrestrial and fluviatile Shells of the
United States. Same Journal. Vol. ii. pp. 370 — 381. De-
cember, 1822.

Descriptions of some new species of Fresh-Water and Land
Shells. Same Journal. Vol. v. pp. 119 — 131. August,
1825.

Expedition to the Source of St. Peter^s River, Lake Winnepeck,
(Sfc, performed in the year 1823, by order of John C. Cal-
houn, Secretary of War, under the command of Stephen H.
Long, Major U. S. T. E. Appendix. Zoology. Vol. ii. pp.
253 — 378. With figures. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1824.

American Conchology, or Descriptions of the Shells of North
America, illustrated hy colored figures. Six numbers. 8vo.
New Harmony, Indiana. 1830 — 1834. A posthumous num-
ber has been published in Philadelphia, by Mrs. Say.

Descriptions of some new terrestrial and fluviatile Shells of North
America. Disseminator of Useful Knowledge. New Har-
mony, Ind. 1829 — 1831. And Transylvania Journal of
Medicine, vol. ii. 1832. Collected and published in pam-
phlet form, under the same title, pp. 26. 8vo. New Har-
mony, 1840.

Sager, Abm., M. D. Detroit, Michigan. Catalogue of Animals
observed in the State of Michigan. Contained in the Second
Annual Report of the State Geologist ; Document of the Sen-
ate of Michigan. No. 13. Detroit, Mich., Feb. 1839.

Transactions of Societies devoted wholly or in part to Natural
History, viz. :
Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, 4 vols.
8vo. 1823 to 1826.

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

13

Contributions of the Madurian Lyceum to the Arts and Sciences,

8vo. three numbers, Philadelphia, 1827 to 1829.
Journal of the Acadcmij of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,

8 vols. 8vo. 1817 to 1826. Proceedings of the same, 1843

to 1846.
Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History, 5 vols. 8vo.

1834 to 1846. Proceedings of the same, 1843 to 1846.
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society ; First Series,

6 vols. 4to ; Second Series, 8 vols. 4to. Proceedings of the

same.

Wyman, Jeffries, M. D. On the Anatomy of Tebcnnophorus
Caroliniensis. Journal of Boston Society of Natural History,
vol. iv. p. 410.
On the Anatomical Structure of Glandina truncata. Same Jour-
nal, vol. iv. p. 416.

FOREIGN AUTHORS.

Benson, W. H. Mollusca of Chusan, in Dr. Cantor's Fauna of
Chusan. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, vol. ix.
p. 485. 1842.

Bosc, L. A. G. Histoire Naturelle des Coquilles, contenant leur
Description, Ics Mceurs des Animaux qui les habitent, et leurs
Usages. Paris, 1802. 5 vols. 18mo. — Being a part of
Deterville's edition of Buffon's Works.

Blainville, H. M. Ducrotay de. Manuel de Malacologie et
de Conchyliologie. pp. 664. 87 plates. 8vo. Paris, 1825.

Bouchard-Chanteraux. Catalogue des Mollusques terrestres et
fuviatiles, observes jusqu'it ce jour, <i P^tat vivant, dans le
Departement du Pas de Calais. 8vo. pp. 94, one plate. Bou-
logne-sur-Mer, 1838.

BouiLLET, J. B. Catalogue des Especes et Varietes de Mollusques
terrestres et fluviatiles de la Haute et de la Basse-Auvcrgne,
8vo. pp. 166. Clermont-Ferrand, 1836.

14 CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

BRUGUiiiRE, J. G. Histoire Naturelle des Vers, torn. i. In the

Encyclop6die M6thodique, 4to. Paris, 1792.
CoLLARD DES Cherres. Catalogue des Testaces tcrrestres etfluvia-

tiles des enviroTis de Brest et Quimper, Departement du Finis-

terre. In the Bulletin d'Histoire Naturelle de la Societ6

Linn^enne de Bordeaux, vol. iv.
Deshayes, G. p. Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertebres

de Lamarck. Deuxieme idition revue et augmentie de Notes,

<5fc. 4"C. Svo. Paris. Les Mollusques. Tome vii. 1836,

tome viii. 1838.
Histoire Naturelle des Vers, dans V Encydopidie Methodique,

Continuee par Deshayes. 4to. tome ii. 1830, tome iii. 1832.
Histoire Naturelle Generale et Particuliere des Mollusques, <SfC.

<Sfc. de Ferussac. Continuee par G. P. Deshayes. 4to. 1839

— 1841. Several livraisons published ; unfinished.
Traife Elementaire de Conchyliologie, avec V application de cette

Science d, la Geognosie. Svo. Paris, 1839 — 1840. Seven

livraisons published.

Des Moulins, Ch. Notice sur la Repartition des Especes dans
les Genres Solen, Solecurte, Sanguinolaire, et Soletelline.
Actes de la Societe Linneenne de Bordeaux, tome v. p. 92.

DiLLvsTYN, Louis Weston. A descriptive Catalogue of Recent
Shells, arranged according to the Linnean Method. 2 vols.
Svo. London, 1817.

D'Orbigny, Alcide. Voyage dans VAmcrique Meridionale.
Execute dans le cours des annees 1826 ^ 1833. Les Mol-
lusques, 4to. Paris. Not complete.
Les Mollusques, dans U Histoire Physique, Politique, et Natu-
relle de risle de Cuba, de M. De La Sagra. 4to. Paris. Not
completed.

Draparnaud, Jaques Philippe Raymond. Histoire Naturelle
des Mollusques ierrestres et fluviatiles de la France. 4to
pp. 134. 13 plates. Paris, an 13. (1805.)

Ferussac, D'Audebard de. Histoire Naturelle Gltnerale et Par-
ticuliere des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles. 4to. Nu-
merous plates. 1819 — 1832. Unfinished.
Tableaux Systematiques des Animaux Mollusques classes en fa-

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS. ^^

millrs naturclks; — suivis d^un Prodrome General pour tous
Ics Mollusques tcrrestres oufluviatiles. 4to. Paris, Jane, 1822.

Forbes, Edward. Report on the Distrihution of Piilmoniferous
MoUusca in the British Isles. Report of British Association
for 1839, pp. 127—147. 8vo. London. 1840.

Grateloup, S. Tableau Melhodique des Mollusques tcrrestres et
Jluviatiles observes dans V Arrondissemcnt de Dax, Departe-
ment des Landes. In the Bulletin d'Histoire Naturelle de la
Societe Linneenne de Bordeaux. Vol. iii. 1829.

Gray, John Edward. Manual of the Land and Fresh-Water
Shells of the British Islands, by William Turton, M. D. A
new edition, thoroughly revised and much enlarged. l2mo.
pp. 324. Colored plates. London, 1840.

Humboldt et Bonpland. Rccueil d^ Observations de Zoologie et
d^ Anatomie Comparee. 4to. tome ii. Paris. 1833.

Lamarck, J. B. P. A. de, Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans
Vertebres. 7 vols. 8vo. tome vi., 2d part. Paris, April, 1822.
2d edit. 11 vols, 8vo.

Leuchs, J. C. Vollstdndige Naturgcschichte der Acker schnecJce.
8vo. pp. 288. Niirmburg, 1820.

LiNNE, Carolus a. Fauna Suecica, sistens Animalia Sueciee
Eegni, <Sfc. Editio altera auctior. pp. 578. 8vo. Holmise.
1761.
Systema Naturm. Editio duodecima reformata. 4 vols in 3. 8vo,
Holmiae, 1766 — 1768.

Menke, C. T. Synopsis methodica Molluscorum generum om-
nium et specierum earum qua in Museo Menkeano adservantur.
Editio altera, pp. 168. 8vo. Pyrmonti, 1830.

MicHAUD, A. L. G. Complement de V Histoire Naturelle des Mol-
lusques tcrrestres et fluviatiles de la France de J. P. R. Dra-
parnaud. 4to. pp. 116. 16 plates. Verdun, 1831.

MoRELET, M. A. Description des Mollusques tcrrestres et fluvia-
tiles du Portugal. 8vo. Paris. 1846.

MoRiCAND, Stefano. Note sur quelques Especes nouvelles de
Coejuilles tcrrestres. Memoires de la Societe dc Physique et
d'Histoire Naturelle de Geneve. Tom. vi. 1833, pp. 537 —
543.

IQ CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS.

MiJLLER, Otho F. Vcrmium terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu
Animalium infusoriorum, hclminthicorum et testaceorum, non
marinorum, succincta Historia. 2 vols. 4to. Havnias et
Lipsise, 1773 — 1774.

NiLSSON, S. Historia Mollusconim Succia terrestrium et fluvia-
tilium hreviter delineata, 8vo. London, 1822.

Pennant, Thomas. British Zoology. A new edition in 4 vols.
8vo. London, 1812.

Pfeiffer, Lud. Symhola, ad Historiam Heliceorum. 8vo. Casselis,
1841. Sectio altera, 1842.
Ahsicht der in Jan. Feb. und Marz, 1839, auf Cuba gesammelter
MoUuskcn. In Wiegmann's Archiv for 1839, p. 346, and
for 1840, p. 250.

Philippi, Rudolph A. Enumeratio Molluscorum Sicilim. 4to.
pp. 269. 12 plates. Berlin, 1836.
Ahbildungen und Beschreibungen ncuer oder wenig geJcannter
Conchylien. 4to. Cassel, 1842 — 1845.

PoRRO, Carlo. Malacologia terrestre et fluviale delta Provincia
Comasca. 8vo. pp. 132. 2 plates. Milano, 1838.

Rackett, Thomas. Description of some Shells found in Can-
ada. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Vol.
xiii. pp. 42 — 43. 1819.

Rafinesque, Constantine Schmaltz. Prodrome de soixante
nouvcaux Genres d'Animaux decouverts dans Pinterieur des
Etats Unis d'Amirique durant Vannee, 1818. Journal de
Physique. Tome Ixxxviii. p. 417. Paris, June, 1819.

Annals of Nature, or Annual Synopsis of new Genera and Species
of Animals, Plants, Sfc, discoi^ered in North America. First
Annual Number, for 1820. 8vo. pp. 16. Lexington, Kentucky.
1821.

Enumeration and Account of some remarkable Natural Objects in
the Cabinet of Professor Rafinesque. 8vo.pp. 8. Philadelphia,
1831.

Rang, Sander. Manuel de VHistoire Naturelle des Mollusques
et de leurs Coquilles. 18mo. pp. 390. Paris, 1829.

RoissY, F. DE. Histoire Naturelle des Mollusques. Vols. v. and
vi. of Louvini's edition of the vporks of BufFon. 8vo. Paris.

CATALOGUE OF AUTHORS. ^7

RossMASSLER, E. A. Icono graphic <Irr Land und Sussicas-
ser-MoUuskcn, mit vorzuglicher Beruchskhtigung der Euro-
pdischen noch nicht ahgeUldcten Artcn. 11 parts, 8vo. Dres-
den und Leipzig. 1835 — 1841.

SoWERBY, G. B., JuN. Thesaurus Conchjliorum, or Figures

and Descriptions of Recent Shells. Parts 1 to 5, royal 8vo.

London, 1842 — 1845.
Studer. System Verzeichniss der Schweizer-Conchylien. Bern,

1820. Gartner's Naturwis. Anzeiger, 3ter. Jahrgung, No.

11 und 12.
Terver, M. Catalogue des Mollusqucs terrestres et fluviatiles

observes dans les Possessions Frangaises au Nord de VAfrique.

8vo. pp. 40. 4 plates. Paris, 1839.
Thompson, W. Catalogue of the Land and Fresh-Water Molluscn

of Ireland. In the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Vol. vi. p. 16.

Wood, W. Index Testaceologicus, or a Catalogue of Shells,
British and Foreign, arranged according to the Linnean Sys-
tem. Illustrated with 2300 figures. 2d edition, 8vo. Lon-
don, 1828.

Supplement to the Index Testaceologicus. Illustrated with 480
figures. 8vo. London, 1828.

VOL. 1,

P EE F A C E.

The following pages, prepared during intervals
of leisure, have served to occupy the attention
of the author, and have constituted his amuse-
ment amid the active engagements of business.
He has esteemed himself fortunate in being able
to find, in the study of Natural History, a relief
to the over-burthened mind, a solace in trouble,
and a protection from the all-absorbing cares
"which are incidental to mercantile pursuits. If
to the healthful exercise of body and mind
which he has himself enjoyed in their prepara-
tion, he shall be able to add the approbation of
those who are engaged in similar investigations,
it will be as ample a recompense as he has ever
proposed to himself He offers them to the nat-
uralists of the United States without any other

20 PREFACE.

pretension than that of being actuated by a sin-
cere desire of rendering them accurate and faith-
ful, in every particular, and, so far, worthy of
acceptance.

In bringing together and reviewing the labors
of others in the same department of science, he
has endeavored to do strict justice to all, to ac-
knowledge his obligation for information received
from each, and to indicate the source from which
it is derived. If there are any omissions, in this
respect, they have arisen from inadvertence and
not from design. It will be noticed that in sev-
eral instances he differs in opinion from those
who have preceded him, and that he considers
several species, described by them, to be merely
varieties of, or even identical with, animals before
known. In thus exercising his own judgment
in opposition to that of persons for whose opinions
he entertains the highest respect, he trusts that
he has done it in a manner which cannot give
just ground of offence. He has no regard for
his own views, except so far as they shall be
found consistent with truth, and he expects
that they will be controverted by others with the
same freedom, whenever they are supposed to be
erroneous.

PREFACE. 21

The work contains descriptions of all the air-
breathing mollusks of the United States, living
upon the land, including both the aboriginal and
those foreign species which, having been from time
to time introduced, have now become naturalized
to the soil ; and of such species belonging to the
countries adjacent as are known to the author.
Our knowledge of these animals is brought down
to the date of publication ; and it is hoped that
the work will be found to be as complete as any
record of an actively progressive science can be.
In its preparation, all the American authorities
have been consulted, and for the benefit of Euro-
pean naturalists, some of whom appear to be
inexcusably ignorant or wilfully neglectful of
what has been done for Natural History in this
country, a catalogue of American authors, whose
works have been used in compiling these pages,
is given ; a catalogue of the foreign works,
referred to, is also added. A full synonomy of
the native species is attempted, and it will pro-
bably be found to be pretty complete ; but for
the introduced species a few references only to
well known works are given.

Great care has been taken to investigate the

22 PREFACE.

history of each species in order to designate it
hy the name applied to it by its first discoverer.
The rule adopted is to give priority to tJie fird
published description or to the first published name
accompanied by a recognisable figure, and to reject
all claims based upon the publication of a name
only, as these, if allowed, would inevitably lead
to doubt and inconvenience, and in the end
would afford opportunity for unfairness and
fraud. The date of the first publication of the
species is appended to the name of the work in
which it appeared. The operation of the rule
will restore to American authors many species
which were first described by them, but which
have long had a place in the works of MM.
Ferussac, Lamarck and Deshayes under the names
of foreigners who did not know them until after
they had been described in this country.

It is one of the aims of this work to point out
the errors, and to supply the omissions, of those
and other distinguished naturalists ; but although
the author hopes to make his own work more
useful thereby, he is far from presuming that it
can bear a favorable comparison with theirs in
any other respect than in giving a more fuU and

PREFACE. op,

correct account of the species belonging to liis
own country.

It is proper to state here, that when the work
was nearly ready for publication the annexation
of the republic of Texas to the United States
enlarged the area of the author's investigations,
by the addition of a region of many thousand
square miles in extent to the vast territory already
included in the field of his inquiry. He endeav-
ored to meet the exigency by employing a com-
petent naturalist to explore the accessible parts
of that State during the early part of 1846 ; l)ut
it cannot be expected that the results of that ex-
ploration can exhibit more than an incomplete
view of the species living there. A wide field
of investigation is left for the future naturalist,
both in Texas and in the whole extensive and
but partially-explored region west of the Missis-
sippi river.

The author takes pleasure in maldng this
public acknowledgment of his obligations to those
gentlemen who have kindly furnished him with
materials used in the preparation of the work.
To R. E. Grifiith, M. D., late of the University
of Virginia, a cotemporary of, and fellow-la])<)ror

24 PREFACE.

with Mr. Say, he is indebted for much valuable
information respecting this class of animals, which
has been the especial object of his attention. It
is a cause of regret that he should not have per-
severed in a design, conceived several years since,
of publishing a work on the same general plan
as the present, for the judicious execution of
which he is peculiarly well qualified, both by
study and observation. To Professor C. B. Ad-
ams, of Middlebury College, Vermont, he owes
the loan of his entire collection of his American
terrestrial mollusks, which have been of impor-
tant service in the comparison and diagnosis of
species, and for many facts concerning these ob-
served by him in Vermont. To S. S. Haldeman,
of Columbia, Penn., he is under obligations for
specimens collected by him during a journey
through the southern and south-western States,
and for much information respecting the distribu-
tion of species. To John G. Anthony, Esq., of
Cincinnati, Ohio, for valuable aid and many facts,
derived from his own observation, concerning the
species found in the neighborhood of that city.
To J. Hamilton Couper, Esq., of Hopeton, near
Darien, Georgia, for his obliging attention in

PREFACE 26

transmitting his observations on the habits of
Glandina, together with the living animal, and a
beautiful drawing of it ; and also for the species
common in the lower parts of Georgia. To Prof
Jeffries Wyman, for information on the anatomy
and habits of the animals ; and to Prof J. P.
Kirtland, of Cleveland, Ohio ; Dr. J. W. Mighels,
of Portland, Me. ; Dr. Edmund Ravenel and Prof
Lewis K Gibbes, of Charleston, S. C. ; Prof W. B.
Rogers, of the University of Virginia ; Isaac Lea,
Esq., of Philadelphia ; John C. Jay, Esq. and B.
W. Budd, M. D., of the city of New York ; Dr.
T. B. Ingalls, of Greenwich, N. Y. ; Dr. W. New-
comb, of Troy, N. Y. ; Prof G. W. Benedict, of
Burlington, Vt. ; and T. J. Whittemore, Esq., of
Cambridge, Mass., for their active kindness in
affording the opportunity of examining species
which, without their aid, would not have been
procurable.

To Dr. A. A. Gould, of Boston, he presents
his thanks, for frequent and various aid and ad-
vice, often asked for, and always bestowed with
alacrity and liberality ; and to John S. Phillips,
Esq., of Philadelphia, for his unremitting atten-
tions in superintending the preparation of the

VDL. I.

26 PREFACE.

plates, mostly engraved and colored in that city
— a labor of good will, •which has required
time and patience that no one except a gen-
tleman thoroughly imbued with a desire to pro-
mote the cause of Natural History could have
performed, and without which, the work could
not have appeared.

To the venerable Alexander Lawson, the en-
graver of the Birds of Wilson, the author's
acknowledgments are due for his efforts to ren-
der the illustrations, mostly engraved by him,
worthy of his own reputation as an accurate
zoological engraver, and worthy of the confidence
of naturalists.

The author is gratified in announcing that the
anatomical details of the species, together with
the dissections and drawings, are exclusively due
to the labors of Joseph Leidy, M. D., of Philadel-
phia. They constitute the most novel and impor-
tant accessions to science contained in the work,
and are an honorable evidence of a skill and
industry which entitle him to a high rank among
philosophical zoologists.

Before commencing the descriptive part of the
work, the author has found it convenient to enter

PKEFACE. 27

upon some general considerations connected with
the suhject, for the purpose of tracing the rela-
tions of the animals he is about to describe, but
more especially of recording those facts and ob-
servations, connected with the general subject,
which he has derived from the study of the spe-
cies belonging to this country. These are ar-
ranged under distinct heads, and are treated of
in the following chapters of the Introduction.

INTRODUCTION.

" NOTITIAM AUTEM NATURALItJM, TEER^ ALICUJTJS INDIGENAEUM, (ECONO-
MIC MELIORI EJUS INSXITUENDC NONNIHIL SUPPEDITARE, CEETUM EST."

O. Fabricius.

"MODO AD AUGMENTUM SCIENTLE NATURALIS QUCDAM NOTATU NON
INDIGNA, NEQUE LECTU INJUCUNDA, CONTULISSE DICAR."

OF THE RISE OF SCIENTIFIC ZOOLOGY IN THE UNITED
STATES, WITH NOTICES OF NATURALISTS PARTICU-
LARLY CONNECTED WITH THE SUBJECT OF THIS WORK.

The impulse given to the study of Natural History
in Europe, at the close of the last and the commence-
ment of the present century, by that emment school of
naturalists and philosophers which arose in France,
contemporaneously with its great political Kevolution,
imparted to the Natural Sciences an importance which
they never before possessed. A crowd of gifted and
ambitious minds, freed by that event from the shackles
of established opinion, and thus enabled to direct their
energies to such ends as suited their respective inclina-
tions, entered upon a new career of intellectual exer-
tion. With untu'ing perseverance, they investigated
the past and present conditions of all organized exist-
ences, and interrogating nature in the very recesses of
her temple, drew from her responses a philosophy which
swept away the received theories of that day, as com-
pletely as the new pohtical institutions took the place of
the anti(|uatcd government to which they succeeded.

32 INTRODUCTION.

The earth, which had been to man a sealed book, was open-
ed, and, read by the light of the new philosophy,, disclosed
tlie history of its own creation. The order of events,
in the production and succession of animal life upon its
surface, began to be understood. The relations of
different bemgs to each other were studied, and all
were seen to be mutually dependent. Order and sys-
tem were thus substituted for confusion, and philosophi-
cal zoology became one of the prominent subjects which
claimed the attention of the speculative and the learned.

The active interest in this science, originating in
France, gradually extended to such parts of the conti-
nent of Europe as were influenced by the French
language and hterature, or were occupied by her armies,
which were often attended by commissions of scientific
men, and sometimes numbered, among their officers,
naturalists of the highest merit. In England, when in
consequence of the wars growing out of the French
Revolution, and continmng imtil the dethronement of
Napoleon, a state of non-intercourse with France existed,
the new impulse was not felt until a later date. When
it was received, however, it produced a decided impres-
sion, and Avas soon followed by a rapid advance in this
department of knowledge. Its results have been the
training of a numerous body of scientific natiu-ahsts,
among whom are some of the most distinguished men of
the present age.

At the period first alluded to, the United States, then
not long emerged from colonial subjection, was engaged

INTRODITCTTON.

in organizing and estal)lishing new political institutions.
The people, tliinly spread over a vast territory, -were
busied in developing its resources, or were engrossed by
the excitements resulting from the unsettled condition of
pubhc affairs, and the frequent collisions mth foreign
powers, which disturbed the peace of the country for
twenty-five years, until the termination of the war with
England, in 1815. At the close of that conflict, which
finally established for the country a rank among nations,
and left it in repose, the movement which had sometime
before been communicated from Europe, began to pro-
duce sensible effects here.

The state of society was not, at that time, suited to
the favorable reception, much less to the rapid diffusion
of science. Wealth was so equally distributed, that few
were rich ; and, although a respectable degree of intel-
ligence was common, all the energies of the people
were spent in pursuits immediately connected with the
practical utilities of business. As a consequence of this
condition of things, few were willing to cultivate science
for its o-wTi sake, and most of these were persons who
had not yet become engaged in the serious labors of
life. It was by the young men of that period, therefore,
that the Zoology of the modern school was welcomed to
North America, and the earliest efforts made to promote
its study. Their exertions were at first of the most
unpretending character, but they sufficed to attract the
attention of those possessing similar tastes, and led to
the establishment of institutions in our principal cities.

34 INTRODUCTION.

between the years 1812 and 1820, devoted to the cul-
tivation of Natural History. Some of these could not
sustain themselves, and became extinct ; but others
were more successful, and have continued, with various
prosperity, to the present time. These, together with
societies estabhshed in the interval, have exercised, and
yet maintain, an important influence on the public mind.
Throvigh their efforts, scientific infonnation is no longer
confined to the professedly scientific, but has become
familiar to the intelligent part of the commmiity, and
leisure is found by many to cultivate its various branches.
The public, ceasing to condemn that, the immediate util-
ity of which it cannot understand, now cheers, with its
approbation and aid, undertakings of a purely scientific
character ; and the government extends to them, occa-
sionally, an imcertain and hesitating patronage.

The institutions referred to served as nuclei, around
which gathered those who were interested m zoological
studies ; and the investigation of the zoology of the
country, then but imperfectly known through the works
of Europeans, was soon commenced by the young
natiu-alists who composed them. Beyond their limits
there appears to have been but little enconragement for
such pursuits, and hence the names of nearly aU the
early natm-alists of the United States may be fomid
connected with the history of these associations. As
the materials collected by them acquired importance, it
became desirable to make them known, and the pubHca-
tion of their respective transactions was undertaken.

INTRODUCTION. 35

The Academy of Natural Sciences of riiiladolphia
issued the first number of its Journal in 1817. The'
Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History
appeared in 1823. The Contributions of the Maclurian
Lyceum in 1827, and the Journal of the Boston Society
of Natural History in 1834. Besides these, which arc
exclusively appropriated to Natural History, there are
others of a mLxed character, in which considerable
prominence has latterly been given to the same class of
su])jects ; such are the Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society, and the Memoirs of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. Several private Jour-
nals also in the same interest, have from time to time
appeared ; none of which, however, have obtauied a
permanent establishment, except the American Journal
of Science and Arts, edited by Professor Silliman,
which commenced its career in 1819, and yet enjoys a
vigorous existence. This work contains numerous and
valuable contributions to zoology, and has always exer-
cised a wholesome and effective influence in diffusing
correct ideas of the value of all the Natural Sciences.
It is in these publications alone, that we must look for
the great mass of original materials available in the
compilation of any work on the zoology of the United
States ; and they are the sources often resorted to in the
preparation of these volumes.

During the last ten years, however, several important
works of a different character have appeared. A gen-
eral and growing comiction, in the public mind, that the

36 INTRODUCTION.

application of scientific knowledge to the investigation
of the natural resources of the country woiild hasten
the discovery of new sources of prosperity, and disclose
the best and most economical mode of developing and
improving those already known, induced the Legislatures
of more than half the States of the Union, to establish
scientific Commissions for the examination of the Geology
and Mineralogy of those States respectively. In some
of them the Commissions Avere directed to collect infor-
mation respecting Zoology and Botany. In accordance
with this authority, extensive and elaborate works on the
Zoology of Massachusetts and of New York have been
given to the pubhc, at the expense of those States, and
catalogues of the species, with short notices of the
animals of other States, have also been prepared. These
have contributed much to elucidate the general subject,
and, especially, have added largely to what was before
known of the geographical distribution of species.

The two classes of publications Avhich have been men-
tioned, are believed to comprise all the materials, of any
importance, relating to the particular department of
Zoology here treated of, except the article entitled Con-
cliology in the third American edition of Nicholson's
Encyclopedia, wliich bore the date of 1819, and con-
tained descriptions, by Mr. Say, of several native land-
shells. In this exception must also be included the
papers of Mr. Rafinesque, which Avill be presentl}'-
noticed, but which, for reasons hereafter given, are not
deemed worthy of any consideration. The next paper

INTRODUCTION. g-j'

succeeding the article on Conchology, also by Mr. Say,
published in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy,
is dated in January, 1821. These are the two earliest
pubhcations relatmg to this subject ; and, although their
date is so recent, they anticipated all foreign pubhca-
tions, and secured the priority of the descriptions and
names contauied in them. The same good fortune has
attended the later pubhcations here, so that it may be
said, that with a few exceptions, American species
have been first described by American naturalists. The
exceptions are, descriptions by MM. Mliller, Ferussac,
and others, of species common to the Antilles, and some
parts of the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as to
the United States ; and by ]Mr. Rackett, of a smgle
species from Canada, pubhshed in the Linngean Transac-
tions in 1822. It seems remarkable, considering the
frequent intercoui'se between this country and Europe,
and the activity that already prevailed among European
naturahsts in procuring new objects from foreign coun-
tries, that so few American species fell into their hands
previous to the time when the American publications
commenced. Indeed, they seem to have been better
known to JNIr. Lister in 1770, than to M. Lamarck in
1822, the former having given figures of nine or ten of
them, against descriptions of only five by the latter.

The titles of the various papers, memoirs, catalogues,
and more elaborate works, relatuig to the terrestrial
mollusks, may be found in the catalogue of American
authors contained m the preceding pages. On reference

38 iNTRODUcrrioN.

to it, it will be seen that the laborers in this branch of
Natural Ilistorj have been numerous, and that a respect-
able amount of materials has been accumulated. No
attempt has hitherto been made to combine these into
a work upon American Conchology, or upon the partic-
ular branch of it which is now presented. In bringing
together these materials for the first time, it would be
interesting and proper to give some history of them and
of their authors, and thus to trace the science from its
first dawnings in this country to the present time ; but
there are circumstances which render it inexpedient to
do so. It is only within a few years that any considera-
ble attention has been given to such subjects, and con-
sequently, these pubhcations are so recent, that with
few exceptions, their authors are yet upon the stage,
and have not yet passed the active period of life. Such
an account would almost necessarily partake of a critical
character, and would therefore place the author in the
position of a self-appointed judge of the labors of his
contemporaries and friends, an office which he would
not willmgly assume, and for which he is but \R qualified.
There are, however, two names, both connected with the
rise of Natural History in the United States, and both
having exercised an influence in its promotion, but with
far diflbrent results in usefulness to science, and in honor
to themselves, about wliich it is necessary to make some
remarks, and to which the objections above indicated do
not apply. These are the names of Thomas Say, and
of CoNSTANTiNE ScHMALTZ Rafinesque. The latter

LNTKODUCTION. ^q

indeed, not an American, but for a quarter of a ccnturj
a resident in the United States.

Mr. Sat, a native of Philadelphia, the son of a phy-
sician, but himself for some years a merchant, seems to
have been the earliest scientific naturalist, of the modem
school, which the country has produced. He possessed
a well-balanced mind, powers of accm-ate observation and
discruninating perception, and a facility of expressing his
thoughts in a brief and condensed style. He was trained
to habits of industry and perseverance ; his temper was
mild and equable ; and liis manners were so modest and
retirmg as to excite remark. His acquii-ements as a
naturahst were due to his private studies alone ; for at
the period when Ms character was foruung, there were
few or none engaged in kindred pursuits, — no associa-
tions of naturalists, in the bosom of which he could find
sympathy and support, and few libraries to which he
could resort for knowledge and assistance. The gi-eat
zoological names which have illustrated the nineteenth
century had not then appeared, or, in consequence of
the disturbed relations of this government with European
powers, their works were mostly unknown here. But,
notwithstanding the deficiency of his means and oppor-
tunities, he possessed himself of the learning and accom-
phshments of the day, in a much greater degree than
could have been expected in his position ; and was ready
and prepared, at the commencement of the new career
of science on which his country entered soon after the
termination of the European wars, to make that advance

40 INTRODUCTION.

in the branch of knowledge to Avhich he had devoted
hunself, which has forever associated his name with the
history of Zoology in the United States, and which ought
to entitle him to the honor of bemg styled its fomider.
His pubHshed works, commencing about the year 1817,
continue through a period of eighteen years untU liis
death in 1834 ; and embrace descriptions of a vast num-
ber of animals until then entirely imknown, or but
imperfectly miderstood. The invertebrated classes
received the greater part of liis attention, and his con-
tributions to their history must, necessarily, form an
important portion of the means of any writer who shall
seek more fully to elucidate them. The major part of
the subjects described in this volume were first described
by him ; and so fully had he occupied the groimd, that
the additions to our knowledge of species made during
the twelve years, since his decease, have not exceeded
the number contributed by him, although within that
time many new mquirers have commenced their investi-
gations, and large districts of country, which he never
examined, have been explored. His descriptions are for
the most part so accurate, and his observations so just,
that there is httle left to his successor except to brmg
them together in their proper order. Some obscuiity,
indeed, attends several of his species, in consequence of
his not having uniformly placed specimens in a pubhc
depository for reference ; for, when objects resemble each
other so closely as do several species of the genera Helix
and Pupa, it is very difficult to distinguish them T)y

INTRODUCTION.

41

description alone ; and differences of opinion will arise
as to -which, among analogous species, corresponds with
a particular description. As, however, American natu-
ralists have felt it to be a pleasure, as well as a duty, to
render full justice to the merits of Mr. Say, by verifying
and confiramig his discoveries, nearly all the species
described by liim, though some of them were for a time
lost, have been re-discovered and restored ; and with a
few exceptions only, they are retained as well defined
and authenticated. A particular account of the contri-
butions made by him, and also by other authors, to each
genus, will be given in the remarks on the respective
genera.

The character and career of M. Rafinesque, though
offering points of resemblance to those of Mr. Say, are
in most; respects strongly contrasted with them. He
was of French origin, but born in a suburb of Constan-
tinople, and bred to the mercantile profession. He early
imbibed a taste for the study of natural objects, which
grew with his years, and finally so far absorbed his
thoughts as to unfit liim for other pursuits. He visited
the United States on a tradmg voyage m 1803, and
remained untU 1805. He was known at that time as a
botanist, and made the acquaintance of the few botanists
and naturalists then existing in the coimtry. On return-
ing to Europe, he estabhshed himself as a merchant in
Sicily, Avhere he continued until his final departure for
the United States in 1815. During this interval, he
was industriously employed in mvestigatmg the natural

VOL. I. 5

42 INTKODUCTION.

history of that island, and pubHshed numerous works on
botany and various branches of zoology, the most impor-
tant of the latter relating to ichthyology. There is no
published evidence that he had at this time much ac-
quaintance with the mollusks, although by his own state-
ment, his collection of shells amounted at the period of
his embarkation from Sicily, to the mcredible number of
600,000 specimens ! On reaching the coast of the
United States he suffered shipAvreck, by which his col-
lections, manuscripts and library, the fruits of the labor
of years, were lost, and his property was so much im-
paired, that he never recovered from the blow, but sunk
into a state of poverty and even of destitution, in which
he continued until his death in 1840.

It is conceded on all hands, that the wi'itings of M.
Rafinesque, previous to liis departure from Sicily, indi-
cate the possession of considerable talent, and a degree
of sagacity which placed him in some respects m advance
of his contemporaries. It is stated indeed by one of his
partial friends, that he anticipated by ten years, a large
proportion of the generic and sub-generic ichthyological
distinctions which were subsequently taken up in the
Regne Animal.^ But it is at the same time evident,
that his judgment was even then unsound, his discrimi-
native perceptions of uncertain force, and that his mind
was too easily captivated by new and original views,
without sufficiently establishing the facts on which they

' Swainson. Cabinet Cyclopedia. Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles,
Vol. i. pp. 60 — 62.

INTRODUCTION. 43

were based. The leadmg fault of his character as a
naturahst was, a behef in the specific difference of all
natural objects which present any variations among them-
selves, even of the most unimportant characters ; and a
passion for combining mto new groups, according to real
and ob\'ious affinities, when such existed, or to fancied or
trifling ones in their absence, all the objects which came
witlun his observation. His gi-oups consequently were
of very mieqvial value ; and Avhile some of them were
combined according to their natural and fixed relations,
others were brought together by resemblances perceived
only by himself. He possessed, however, a peculiar
facility m the formation of the language of nomenclatm'e,
and liis generic and specific terms might, with advantage
to science, be imitated by some of the naturalists of the
present day. The adoption in one of his works of this
motto,

" De Linne le genie il a choisi pour guitle,"

shows that he imitated the brief and comprehensive style
of Linnajus ; but in his hands it often became obscure,
and rendered it difficult to recognise the subjects of his
descriptions.

M. Rafinesque appears to have been well received in
the United States. His claims to a standing as a natu-
ralist were at once admitted, and he immediately com-
menced taking an active part among the few who were
investigating its natural history. His name fre(piently
appears in the record of the early proceedings of the
Lyceum of Natural History in New York, and many

44 INTRODUCTION.

papers on botanical and zoological subjects were published
by him in the journals of the day. In 1818 he visited
the country west of the Alleghany mountauis, and was
soon after appointed Professor of Natural History in
Transylvania University, at Lexmgton, in Kentucky.
The residts of liis visit to the "West were exhibited in
several memoirs sent to Europe for publication, and in
others which appeared in tliis country. About this time
the faulty quaUties of his character began to increase,
and gradually overshadowed the more useful ones.* He

' His personal habits and manners were at this time very peculiar and
eccentric, and indicated that diseased state of the mind, which, at a later
period, became more marked and decided. Mr. Audubon, in one of those
graphic episodes which relieve the scientific monotony of the early volumes
of liis Ornithological Biograjihy, has given a very amusing account of a
\asit made to him by M. Rafiuesque, at his residence on the banks of the
Oliio river, in Kentucky. He entitles his episode, the "Eccentric Natu-
ralist," and mentions Mr. R. under the fictitious name of M. de T — . It
may be interesting to make a few extracts.

" ' What an odd-looking fellow ! ' said I to myself, as, wliile wallong by
the river, I observed a man landing from a boat, with what I thought a
bimdle of dried clover on his back. 'How the boatmen stare at him!
Surely he must be an original.' He ascended with rapid step, and, ap-
proacliing me, asked if I could pouat out tlie house in wliich Mx. Audubon
resided ? ' Why, I am the man,' said I, ' and will gladly lead you to my
dwelhng.' The traveller rubbed his hands together with dehght, and draw-
ing a letter from his pocket, handed it to me without any remark. I broke
the seal and read as follows : ' My dear Audubon — I send you an odd fish,
which you may prove to be imdescribed, and hope you will do so in your
next letter. Beheve me always yorn- friend, B.'

" With all the simphcity of a woodsman, I asked the bearer where the
odd fish was ; when M. de T. smiled, rubbed his eyes, and with tlie greatest
good humor said, ' I am that odd fish, I presume, Mr. Audubon.'

" Clean clothes were offered, bij.t he would not accept them, and it was

INTRODUCTION. 45

became entirely neglectful of what had been accomplished
by other naturalists, rarely mentioning their names or

with evident reluctance that he performed the lavations usual on such occa-
sioas, before he sat down to dinner."

"He chanced to turn over the drawing of a plant quite new to him.
After inspecting' it closely, he shook his head, and told me no such plant
existed in nature. I told my guest that the plant was common in the im-
mediate neighborhood, and that I would show it to liim on the morrow.
' And why to-morrow, Mr. Audubon ? Let us go now.' We did so ; and
on reacliing the bank of the river, I pointed to the plant. I thought M. de
T. had gone mad. He plucked the plants one after another, danced, hugged
me to his arms, and exultingly told me that he had got, ' not merely a new
species, but a new genus.'

" Wlien it waxed late, I showed him to the apartment intended for him
during liis stay, and endeavored to render him comfortable, leaving hun
writing materials in abimdance. I was indeed heartily glad to have a
naturahst under my roof We had all retired to rest. Every person I
imagined was in deep slmnber, save myself, when of a sudden I heard
a great uproar in the natvu-alist's room. I got up, reached the place ui-a
few moments, and opened the door, when, to my astonislunent, I saw my
guest running about the room naked, hokling the handle of my favorite
violin, the body of which he had battered to pieces against the walls in
attempting to kill the bats, which had entered by the open window, proba-
bly attracted by the insects flying around his candle. I stood amazed, but
he continued ruiming round and round, mitil he was fairly exhausted ;
when he begged me to procure one of the animals for liim, as he felt con-
vinced tliey belonged to a ' new species.'

" M. de T. remained with us for three weeks, and collected multitudes
of plants, shells, bats, and fishes." "We were perfectly reconciled to his
oddities, and finding him a most agreeable and intelligent companion, hoped
that Ills sojourn might be of long dm-ation. But one evening, when tea was
prepared, and we expected him to join the family, he was nowhere to be
foimd. His grasses and other valuables were all removed from liis room.
The night was spent in searching for him in the neighborhood. No eccen-
tric naturalist could be discovered. Whether he had perished in a swamp,
or had been devovu-ed by a bear or a gar-fi.sh, or had taken to his heels, were
matters of conjecture ; nor was it until some weeks after, that a letter from
him, thanking us for our attention, assured me of his safety."

46 INTRODUCTION.

quoting their works, and he treated every object which
he met with, even the most familiar and best known, as
if then for the first time discovered. His passion for
constituting new genera and species increased to a
confirmed monomania, under the influence of which, old
genera were divided and subdivided, the number of
species prodigiously enlarged, and new animals, never
seen except by himself, Avere announced. To provide
materials for liis creations, he relied not solely on his
o-\vn observation, but resorted to the vague accounts
of travellers, and the still more uncertain authority of
vulgar rumor, in both of which he credulously con-
fided ; and however extraordinary it may seem, some
of his species and even genera have no better foundation.
He adopted also, the practice of sending to naturalists
in Europe, with his own specific names appended, ob-
jects which had been already characterized here, and
were knoAvn and recently published by American natu-
rahsts. It was in tliis way, undoubtedly, that M. Fe-
russac was induced to apply M. Rafinesque's names to
several species of Helix previously described by Mr.
Say ; an unfortunate compliance with M. Rafinesque's
pretensions, which has caused much confusion.

These proceedings of M. Rafinesque very soon caused
other naturalists to withdraw their confidence, and,
sooner or later, to rehnquish all intercourse with him.
As his opinions no longer possessed authority, his writ-
ings, now become very numerous, were refused admis-
sion into the journals. The same reasons prevented

INTRODUCTION. 47

his success as a teacher. He rapidly lost the position
which he had held, and was thus compelled to retire into
obscurity. But, he was not the less devoted to his
favorite science, nor less industrious, and he poured
forth from his retreat a multitude of fl}ang leaves in
which, with harmless egotism, he magnified the impor-
tance of his o^^Ti discoveries. He ascribed his reverses
to the machinations of secret foes, and to the disposition
among mankind to " compel genius to slumber or to
crawl ; " and, to the end, considered himself to be a
most deserving, though unrequited laborer for the pro-
motion of human knowledge.'

1 The character and works of M. Rafiiiesque have been here considered
only as connected with zoology. His whole life might however be cited
as a continuous example of per\-erted talent, and would afford materials for
a very amusing- and interesting' biography. In his last years he became a
dreaming schemer, and projector of various joint-stock iinanciEd, mercan-
tile, and literary undertakings. Li his retu-ement he meditated gigantic
labors, and projected voluminous works in various, branches of hterature
and science, which he had neither the intellectual ability, nor other means
to accomplish. He appears to have been entirely satisfied with himself,
and characterizes the younger men, who were puttmg themselves in ad-
vance, and bearing away the honors of science, as a " crowd of yoimg, un-
skilled, inexperienced or incompetent candidates, who push forward and
are preferred to the modest and able men who have labored for years with
skill and zeal." He entertained hopes that some of the various State sur-
veys which were commenced about the time he pubhshed his autobiography,
would, as he expresses it, " call him to another field of utihty," but in this
he was again doomed to disappointment, and to find that he was entirely
forgotten. The closing paragraph of his Life of Travels is an amusing
in-stance of his vanity, and presents a summary view of his own acquire-
ments and powers as imderstood by himself. " Versatility of talents and
of professions is not imcommon in America," says he ; " but those which
I have exhibited in these few pages may appear to exceed belief; and yet

48 INTRODUCTION.

As, for reasons which may be gathered from the pre-
ceding remarks, the genera and species of the pneumo-
brancliiate mollusks proposed by M. Rafinesque, are
considered to be destitute of authority, and entirely
imworthy of notice, no mention will be made of them
in the text. But, to sliield the author from a charge,
from any quarter, of having designedly suppressed them,
a brief account of all of them known to him, is here
added. In a memoir published in the Journal de Phy-
sique, Paris, June, 1819, M. Rafinesque proposed no
less than seventy new genera of North American ani-
mals, among which eight were formed out of the genus
HelLx. These are founded, upon only slight variations
of the aperture of the shell, and so similar are some of
them to each other, that where he saw reasons to create
generic distinctions, others, at the present day, can see
only such diflFerences as belong to varieties of species.
The genera proposed by him at that time, were the
followmg : —

Odotropis. " Lip reflected, umbilicus covered, tooth upon
columella.

it is a positive fact, that in knowledge I have been a Botani-st, Natnrahst,
Geologist, Geographer, Historian, Poet, Pliilosopher, Philologist, Economist,
Pliilanthropist. — By profession a Traveller, Merchant, Manufacturer, Col-
lector, Improver, Professor, Teacher, Lawyer, Draftsman, Architect, En-
gineer, Pulnaist, Author, Editor, Bookseller, Librarian, Secretary, . . . and
I hardly know myself what I may not become as yet ; siiice whenever I
apply myself to anything ivJdch lUle, I never fail to succeed if depending
on me alone, unless impeded and prevented by lack of means, or tlie hos-
tility of the foes of manlcind."'

INTRODUCTION. 49

Mesomphix. " Umbilicus expanded, exhibiting the volu-
tions.

Tkiodopsis. "Umbilicus large, lip thick, aperture nar-
rowed by three teeth, one upon each lip and one upon
the columella.

XoLOTREMA. " Differs from the preceding by absence of
umbilicus ; or, it is small and covered by the reflected
lip ; aperture transversal, linear ; the inferior tooth a
lamellar carina.

Chimotrema. " Aperture transverse, extremely curved,
resembling a simple fissure.

ToxoTREMA. " Differs from the preceding by the emargi-
nate lip.

Stenotrema. " Differing from the two preceding by a
thick emarginate lip, and a second lip flattened to the
spire and uniting with the true lip ; a transversal carina
above.

Aplodon. " Aperture rounded, columella with a single
tooth; umbilicated.

In his Enumeration and Account of Remarhable
Objects in his cwn cabinet, published at Philadelphia in
1831, Toxotrema and Stenotrema were changed to Tox-
ostoma and Stenostoma; two new genera, Trophodon
and Odomphium, and one sub-genus, jMenomphis, were
indicated by name, and the two following genera were
characterized : —

Mesodon. " Differs from Helix by lower lip with a tooth.
Omphalina. " Differs from Helix by no lips, l)ut an
umbilicus.

VOL. I. 6

50 INTRODUCTION.

In tlie last-named papei-, M. Rafincsque describes
two species of Agatina, for such was the orthography
he adopted for Achatma.

^^ Agatina variegata. Baf. 1820. Six spires, smooth, yel-
lowish, variegated with brown spots near the sutures, first
spire with some narrow colored strias, concentric. Nearly
two inches ; from Louisiana.

" A -fuscata. Raf. 1822. Eight spires, smooth, reddish

brown, with broad longitudinal black bands on the spires,
of a lanceolate flexuose shape. Over two inches ; from
Texas."

Persons acquamted with our Hehces, will readily
distinguish nearly all the species on which M. Rafin-
esque founded the above genera, for it is apparent that
he had actually before him American specimens, and
did not depend upon liis memory or imagination. It is
singular, however, that with his fondness for publisliing
species with the contraction " i^a/." appended, he
nowhere described these Helices. Descriptions may,
indeed, exist unnoticed in some of the loose fragments
which heralded his pretended discoveries ; but this is
not hkely. The probable explanation of the fact is, that
he became acquainted with most of the species in Phila-
delpliia, (m the Aviuter of 1818 and 1819, after his
return from his first visit to the West,) where they had
already been announced by Mr. Say: a supposition
which is supported by the fact, that in two letters from
him to the New York Lyceum, pubhshed in the Ameri-
can Monthly Magazine and Critical Review, in Septem-

IXTRODUCTION. §]_

bcr ancT October, 1818, -wliicli were intended as a sort
of prodi'omus of his discoveries in the West, he nowhere
speaks of havmg collected land shells, although the flu-
viatile species, divided as usual into several genera and
sub-genera, occupy considerable space. As he could
not, without a- gross infraction of that comity practised
among natui-ahsts, which secures to each his own discov-
eries, and which even he was not prepared, at that time,
entirely to disregard, openly assume the species described
or made known by Mr. Say, he could publicly gratify
his mania for genera-makuig only by the construction of
these new genera. But, he gave to the specimens in
his own cabinet, specific names wliich he thought more
appropriate than those of Mr. Say, and they gradually
found their way to his correspondents abroad, and par-
ticularly to M. Ferussac, with these names attached.

In his Annals of Nature for 1820, M. Rafinesque
proposed three new genera and several species, viz. : —

GENUS PHILOMYCUS.

Philomycus. " Differs from Limax by no visible mantle,
the longer pair of tentacula terminal and club-shaped,
the shorter tentacula lateral and oblong. The name
means, friend of fungi, on which they feed.

" Philomycus quadrilus. Gray, back smooth, with four longi-
tudinal rows of black spots, long tentacula black and ap-
proximated; rather attenuated behind, tail obtuse. On the
banks of the Hudson, length over half an inch.

((

((

52 INTRODUCTION.

"P . oxurus. Fulvous gray, slender, back wrinkled

longitudinally ; tentacula brown, the lateral ones very small ;
tail acute, carinated above. Length two thirds of an inch,
in New York.

P . fuscus. Entirely brown, tentacula thick, back

smooth, tail compressed, acute. In Ohio, length one fourth
of an inch.

P .fiexuolaris. Fulvous, back variegated, with flexu-

ose brown lines, slightly wrinkled transversely ; attenuated
behind, tail obtuse. Length from one to two inches, it
may change its shape. Found on the Catskill mountains.
There are many other species of this genus in the United
States.

GENUS EUMELUS.

EiTMELTJS. " Differs from Limax by no visible mantle, the
four tentacula almost in one row in front and cylindrical,
nearly equal, the smallest pair between the larger ones.
Name mythological.

" Eumelus nehulosus. Body nearly cylindrical, rounded at both
ends ; back smooth, crowded with gray and fulvous spots
intermixed of the same tinge, without spots beneath ; tenta-
cula brown. Length about one inch, in Ohio and Kentucky,

" E . lividus. Livid brown above, grayish beneath, anten-
nae black, obtuse beliind, back smooth and convex. Length
one inch, in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

GENUS HEMILOMA.

Hemiloma. (Univalve Land Shell.) " Spire raised and
smooth : opening obliqual elliptic, with an anterior raised
half margin on the inside lip, a little twisted ; columella

INTRODUCTION.

53

dccurrent on the whorl obliquely and with a very small
umbilicus. The name means half margin.

"Hemiloma ovata. Ovate, very obtuse, smooth, six spires,
breadth two thirds of the length. Found near Lexington
in a nearly fossil state ; whitish, length three sixteenths of
an inch.

In the same paper lie also describes a species of
Limax, viz. :

"Limax gracilis. Body slender, head and lower tentacula
fulvous, neck gray, upper tentacula brownish, mantle dark
fulvous, back smooth brown, beneath dirty white ; tail brown,
obtuse above, mucronate and acute beneath ; probably a real
Limax. Yet it has the two long tentacula inserted above the
neck, while the small ones are terminal and all slightly club-
shaped. It may, perhaps, form a sub-genus Deroceras.
Length over one inch. Kentucky, in the woods.

The shell upon which the genus Hemilonia was found-
ed has not been recognized ; it was probably a fossil.
There is reason to beheve, that Philomycus and Eumelus
origmated in the defective and careless observation of
M. Rafinesque. Certain it is, that no other observer
has yet found naked slugs with the four tentacles in one
row and nearly equal, with the two long ones inserted
above the neck, or without a more or less developed
mantle. A hasty examination of small individuals of
the animal, which in this work is included in a genus for
which the author has proposed the name of Tebennopho-
rus, might readily deceive any one who did not suspect
their peculiar characteristics, as the mantle is often so

54 INTRODUCTION.

closely pressed to the body, that the line of separation
is not visible. Such an error would account for the
principal characteristic of these two genera. But,
"whether M. Rafinesque was deceived in this way or not,
it is apprehended that under the circumstances, these
genera cannot be received, although endorsed by the
adoption of M. Fdrussac. Whenever animals with the
characteristics which he records, shall be discovered, it
will be time enough to renew his names. ^

Havmg thus briefly reviewed the character of these
two authors, and criticized the works of one of them, it
remains only to repeat, that the result of the labors of
each, upon tliis branch of natural history at least, has

' M. Rafinesque seems to have been conscious, that he might be ob-
noxious to tlie charge of pubhsliing, as his own, discoveries that were
already well knov^m, and he pleads liis defence, in anticipation. He says, " The
ditficulty of ascertaining sometimes, whether my discoveries are totally
new, will not prevent me from offering those which I consider such. If a
few shall afterwards prove otherwise, the blame, if any, must lay with those
European compilers who give us now and then, theii' buUcy, costly, and
learned Cyclopedias, Dictionaries of Natm-al History, and Systems, without
following the wise linnean plan of detailing all the former discoveries." " In
such a state of science I shall not be prevented from pubhsliing my new
species, because it may happen that one out of fifty may be pre\aously
noticed in some costly and inaccessible work." Having thus easily disem-
barrassed liimself of one of the chief obligations of a zoological writer, to
wit, that of fully investigating the works of his predecessors, he thus defines
the principles which guided lumself. " The priuciples of these tracts shall
belong to the true linnean school of improvement. I shall follow all the im-
provements that the worthy Linnaeus would have adopted, if he had lived
in tliis age ; but I shall carefully avoid any deviation from the fundamental,
rational and everlasting niles of nomenclature, and descriptive liistory."
Aiuicds of Nature.

INTRODUCTION. 55

been very different. The one has left a favorable record
of liimself throughout ; -vvhilc of the other, only traces
enough rem am, to mark his errors.

The other principal contributors to the elucidation of
this branch of zoology mil be named in the general
remarks on the respective genera, and a particular
account of their contributions to the history of the genus
will be given.

II.

OF THE IGNORANCE AND NEGLECT OF AMERICAN LABORS
IN ZOOLOGY EXHIBITED BY EUROPEAN NATURALISTS.

The discovery and description of animals before
unknown, is one of the evidences of the zeal and in-
dustry of a naturalist ; and to be known among the
few persons engaged in tliis branch of science as pos-
sessing these qualifications, is unfortunately, in tliis
country at least, his only reward. To perpetuate tliis
evidence, the right of naming the species has been
conceded to the discoverer by common consent; and
in all systematic and descriptive works on Natural
History, his name is, by universal practice, appended to
that of the species, and in this manner becomes as
extensively known as the animal itself. He who omits
the name of the discoverer, and still more, he who
substitutes the name of another in its place, does the
former a manifest injustice, as it deprives him of a right
which is the only recompense of his labor. He also
does an injury to science by adding a new name to an
object already named, thus increasing the multitude of

INTRODUCTION. g-y

temis, and enlarging a synonymy wliich is already bur-
thensome and inconvenient. Some of the most dis-
tinguished European concliyliologists are obnoxious to
the charge of forgetting these wholesome rules, and
not only of neglecting the rights of American naturalists,
but of taking from them, and transferring to others, the
little credit they might derive from a just appreciation of
their efforts. To show that tliis assertion is not without
foundation, and that the labors of our naturalists in this
department have been so frequently overlooked as to
indicate a design to neglect them, or an indifference to
their rights, and then to prove that there is good reason.
for complaint, it will be sufficient to review the species
of Helix which were first described by ]\Ir. Say, and
which were published by him antecedent to the appear-
ance of the works of jMM. Lamarck and Fdrussac. Mr.
Say published, in the Journal of the Academy of Phila-
delphia, previously to, and in the month of, January,

1821, descriptions of twenty-three well-ascertained spe-
cies. In 1822, M. Ferussac published his Tableau Sys-
tematique de la Famille des Limacons, in which he indi-
cated by name only, without descriptions or figures,
seventeen of the same species ; of these, ten appeared
under Mr. Say's names, two under new names ascribed
to M. Rafinesque, and five were assumed by M. Ferus-
sac himself, and his own names appended. In April,

1822, appeared the second part of the sixth volume of
the Ayiimaux sans Vertebres of M. Lamarck. This
work was, in point of fact, published before the above-

VOL. I. 7

58 INTRODUCTION.

named work of M. Ferussac, and its author referred to
the contents of that work in anticipation of its actual
appearance. In it, jive onlj, out of the twenty-three
species are described, and all of them under names dif-
ferent from INIr. Say's, two of them being adopted from
M. Ferussac, and three altered arbitrarily from Mr.
Say's names, which M. Lamarck's own references proved
that he should have been acquainted with. In 1830,
M. Deshayes pubUshed a continuation of Bruguiere's
JSistoire Naturelle des Vers, in the Encyclojjedie Me-
thodique. Here, under the article HeHx, ten of the
same species are described. For three of them only,
Mr. Say's names are retained, (one of these being
ascribed to M. Ferussac, and another to M. Rafinesque,)
two appear imder names of M. Ferussac, two under
those of M. Lamarck, and one under that of M. Rafin-
esque ; one name is changed arbitrarily, and one is
given as a new species, under a new name. In 1838, in
the second edition of the Animaux sans Vertebres,
M. Deshayes noticed twelve of the same species, five of
which are under Mr. Say's names and ascribed to him,
three under those of M. Lamarck, three under those of
M. Ferussac, and one under that of M. Rafinesque.
The annexed table will exhibit, at one view, the species
described by ]Mr. Say, and the names applied to them
by the other authors referred to.

INTRODUCTION.

59

TABLE OF TWENTY-THREE SPECIES OF HELIX,

DESCRIBED BY THOMAS SAY, ANTERIOR TO, AND DURING THE EARLY

PART OF THE YEAR 1821,

SHOWING THE SYNONYMS SUBSEQUENTLY APPLIED TO THEM BY
EUROPEAN AUTHORS.

No.
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Mr. Say.

Specific names.

1821.

M. Ferussac.

Prodrome Geu.

1822.

M. Lamarck.

Anim, sans. Vert.

1822.

M. Deshayes.

Encyc. Method.

1830.

M. Desliayes.

Lamarck, 2d cdil.

1838.

HELIX.

albolabris.

tridentata.

altemata.

thyroidus.

labyriutliica.

liirsuta.

perspectiva.

lineata.

auriculata.

septemvolva.

multiliiieata.

appressa.

palliata.

inflecta.

clausa.

elevata.

interna.

chersina.

gularis.

hgera.

solitaria.

concava.

profmida.

HELIX.

albolabris.

tridentata.

altemata.

thyroidus.

labyriiithica.

liirsuta.

perspectiva.

lineata.

auriculata.

septemvolva.

HELIX.

bonplandi ?

HELIX.

HELIX.

bonplandi ?
tridentata.
scabra.
thyroidus.

tridentata.

scabra.

thyroidus.

scabra.

lursiita.
nafiila

liirsuta.
perspectiva.

auriculata.
planorbula.

planorbula.

planorbiila.

linguifera.

denotata.

clau.sa.

linguifera.

lin^fera.

linguifera.

denotata.

clausa.

clausa.

luioxviUina.

1

ratinesquea.

planorboides.
richardi.

richardi.

richardi.

richardi.

It would be wrong to impute to either of the distm-
guished gentlemen who have been named, any inten-
tional injustice to Mr. Say. M. Ferussac indeed, as-
cribed to him all the species whose descriptions he had
seen, previous to the publication of his own work, and
those only, although it was in Ids power to have pro-
cured all of them. M. Lamarck had no definite no-

GO INTRODUCTION.

tion of the wrong he was doing, and his practice was
in tliis particular very loose. M. Deshayes, in the
Encydoijedle^ seems to have been careless in looking
up his authorities, and had not awakened to the impor-
tance of reforming the nomenclature bj restoring origi-
nal names, for which he has since proved himself to be
an able and zealous advocate. But it may be said,
without justly incurring reproach, that neither of them
seems to have considered it to be necessary, to pro-
vide himself with the means of makins; such references
to American authors, as was proper and essential in
order to render his own works more accurate, and to
guard against injustice to others. Indeed, so late as
1839, M. Deshayes, in liis continuation of M. F^rus-
sac's work, in giving the synonymy of Helix septem-
volva ascribes the specific name to M. Ferussac, over-
looking entirely the fact that Mr. Say had pubhshed
the species four years in advance of M. Ferussac, as
plainly appeared from the dates of the respective works
to which M. Deshayes referred in his own description.
It may be said, in excuse, that the writings of Ameri-
can naturalists, scattered as they are through various
periodical pubhcations, are procured with difficulty in
Europe. This is probably true, to a considerable ex-
tent, but it is no more true than that similar European
publications can hardly be obtained here. They can
be obtained by those who deem them sufficiently im-
portant to warrant some trouble in procuring them ;
and the author who undertakes a general work, like

INTRODUCTION.

61

those named, -without having the means of knowing
what progress has been made in the science in every
country, is but ill prepared for his task. His work
cannot be either accurate, or complete, and must be
destitute of that full authority, which a thorough in-
vestigation of aU existing information on the same sub-
ject alone can give. In this way the utility of the
works of MM. Ferussac, Lamarck, and Deshayes is
very much impaired ; all of them being exceedingly
incomplete and unsatisfactory in American species.

Besides the species which were published by Mr.
Say at the distant period before mentioned, numerous
others have, in the interval of twenty years, been
estabhshed by him and other American authors, very
few of which, it is believed, have found a place in any
foreign systematic work. The result of this omission
has been what might be expected ; insulated natural-
ists in various parts of Europe, obtaining from time to
time, through travellers and friends, some of the com-
mon moUusks of this country, and finding them to be
unnoticed in the standard works of reference, have
considered them to be miknoAni. It seems never to
have occurred to them, that these shells might have
been described on the spot where they exist, or, in-
deed, that there could be native naturahsts to describe
them. They have therefore pubhshed the species, with
as httle apprehension of having been anticipated, as
if they had been brought from the most remote and
uncivilized countries. In this manner, well-kno-wii spe-

62 INTRODUCTION.

cies have been named anew, varieties have been erected
into species, and localities which have been carefully
explored for twenty years, and whose productions are
as well known as those of the neighborhood of London,
have been considered as fertile of novelties as a
newly discovered land. The errors which have thus
arisen are so nutnerous, that it would be impossible,
and useless if it were possible, to notice them all ;
but the writings of MM. Rossmassler, Menke, and Des
Moulins, where treating of American species, afford in-
stances sufficient to confirm the remark. This iimorance
of American authorities appears to have continued to the
present time. M. Pfeiffer, in his Symholce, pubHshed
at Cassel in 1841 and 1842, gives descriptions of about
twenty of Mr. Say's species, some of them, as he
seems to suppose, for the first time. They were origin-
ally described in this country twenty-five years ago, and
of nearly all of them several other descriptions, with
figures, have been pubHshed from time to time. This
evil is hkely to increase, until a systematic effort is made
on the part of American naturalists to correct it. The
remedy is, to rely more upon themselves, and less
upon the savans of other countries ; to assume that
they are as likely to understand the things before and
around them as those who are so far removed ; and
to claun the same notice and respect for what is done
in the United States, as is accorded to the labors of nat-
urahsts in Europe. If these volumes should aid in excit-
ing tliis spirit they -will not have been entirely useless.

in.

OF SOME OF THE OBSTACLES BIPEDING THE STUDY OF
ZOOLOGY, AND THE LIEANS OF OVERCOMING THEM.

One of the opprobria of zoology, at the present day,
is the great number of nommal species, of almost
every class of animals which have been described and
published, and which have been brought forward with-
out sufficient attention to the relative importance of the
characters on which specific distinctions should be based.
Hence it happens that, ra approaching the study of this
science, we are compelled to possess ourselves, at the
outset, of a mass of useless and cumbersome learning,
which, under the name of syno7iymy, consists of Utile
else than the accumulated misapprehensions of preced-
ing writers as to the value of specific difierences, and
the record of the errors which they have thereby been
induced to coromit. We cannot pass this shapeless mass
without notice, for its very bulk challenges attention ;
nor can we avoid it, for it obtrudes itself at every point.
The very necessity that exists, of investigating the
errors of others, m order to render our o^vn labors more

64 INTRODUCTION.

correct, condemns us to examine thoroughly all they
have done ; and the more carelessness and haste then*
works exhibit, the more imperious in this respect is our
duty. The unwelcome and growing burden of synon-
ymy is thus imposed upon Natural History, there
to remain, until it shall be cast off by some much
needed reform in the artificial arrangements of the
present system. Perhaps there is no branch of zoo-
logy in which this evil has already become so un-
manageable as in that of the testaceous moUusks ;
and for this reason, we have thought that a few
remarks on the subject, tending to explain the causes
which have led to its existence, and pointing out
the manner in which they may be avoided, might,
in some degree, prevent its increase in this partic-
ular department, and among the naturalists of the
United States.

We do not intend to discuss the question, what con-
stitutes a species ? for that would lead us too far from
the end we propose ; but, in common with most natu-
ralists, we shall take it for granted, that certain indi-
viduals, possessing a common organization and simi-
lar external characters, derived from a common and
similarly endowed source, and propagating other indi-
viduals identical in structure with themselves, do now
exist, and will continue to exhibit the same characters
until they and their posterity become extinct. It is to
these individuals, considered collectively, that we apply
the name of species. Every species may be considered

INl'RODUCTION.

65

to possess two kinds of characters, one essential and
depending upon organization, the other contingent, and
modified bj the external cu-cumstances under the influ-
ence of which it exists ; and while the type of the
species, or the unity resulting from the totality of its
characters, remams constantly the same, nature permits
a great amount of variation in the subordinate par-
ticulars, which radiate, as it were, in every du'cction,
and at greater or less distance, from the specific cen-
tre. If we consider the physical condition of the ter-
restrial mollusks, we are prepared to find in them the
maximum development of such variations ; for, owing
to their limited locomotive powers, individuals are con-
fined to a very narrow range, and during their whole
lives, and often during a succession of generations, are
subjected to absolutely the same influences. Yet, in the
course of time, they have spread to gi-eat distances from
each other, and now occupy very different localities.
Hence, while one set of individuals is exposed to the con-
tinued action of one agent, other sets, occupying other
localities, may be acted upon by other and very different
ones, and in each locality a considerable but different
modification of the specific character may consequently
take place. We have only to suppose the existence
of a certain number of localities, each distinguished by
the presence of different causes, operating through a
period of some duration on the species occupying it,
and the result Avill almost necessarily be the production
of as many well-marked varieties. Such is in fact

VOL. I. 8

6(3 INTRODUCTION.

our experience in respect to many of our native spe-
cies ; for individuals from various and distant localities,
especially from those differing in climate, soil, or geo-
logical structure, are rarely identical in external char-
acter, but almost always present striking differences in
the size, thickness, or weight of the shell ; the eleva-
tion or depression of the spire ; the smoothness or rough-
ness of the epidermis ; the prominence and number
of the striae of increase ; the diameter of the open axis
of the shell, known as the umbihcus ; and in the number
and magnitude of the tubercles, folds, and other tes-
taceous deposits wliich are often formed in the aperture,
and upon the columella of the shell. These modifica-
tions are so constant, in some species, that the practised
eye can thereby distinguish the stations, or rather the
section of country, from which individuals exhibiting them
are respectively derived. The same remark is true
as regards the marine moUusks used for food. The
dealers recognize the localities of some of them hy
variations which often escape the naturalist ; and they
sometimes know that distinctions wliich he considers
structural and constant, are due only to physical influ-
ences. It is well known that there is a tendency in
nature to continue, to successive generations, those mod-
ifications of form which have, in the first place, been
introduced by accidental causes, and thus to continue,
for a time, what have been called permanent varieties.
But these, it is behoved, return, sooner or later, to their
original type.

INTRODUCTION.

67

Now the ricaturalist, occupying perhaps an msiilated
position, and familiar Avith a given species only as it
exists in a single section, where its characters are uni-
formly the same, cannot a 'priori suppose it to assume
other appearances elsewhere ; and when a strongly-
marked variety is presented to him, he of course con-
siders it to be a new species, closely allied indeed to
the one with which he is acquainted, but yet distinct.
He hastens to make it known by publication, and thus
falls into an error similar to those which have given
occasion for these remarks. It is the local naturahst
especially, who is most likely to commit this kmd of
mistake ; for in the paucity of materials for comparison
usually at his command, he cannot have the means of
arriving at a more correct judgment.

These remarks lead to certain inferences, which, if
well founded, are worthy of serious attention, and which,
combined with other considerations, ought to govern
the conduct of naturahsts. In the first place, we see
that the diagnosis of species wliich rests exclusively upon
external characters is, from their mere uncertamty, not
wholly to be rehed upon. The sheU is an extraneous
product of the animal, a svibstance foreign to it in
some respects, and formed only for shelter in times of
danger, and the protection of the soft parts from ex-
ternal injuries. It possesses no vitaUty, and its charac-
ters are, therefore, as we have seen, subject to change
and even to obliteration, to a degree that never happens
to organs partaking of the vitahty of the animal. Sci-

(58 INTRODUCTION.

entific certainty and exactness require characters which
are not liable to change, and which we can seek only
in the organization of the animal. This alone remains
always the same ; for notwithstanding the speculations
of M. Lamarck and his followers, there is not a shadow
of evidence tending to prove the slightest permanent
change, in the structure of a single animal, since the
creation of the world. Species, genera, and even whole
groups of animals have been created, and have be-
come extinct ; but, so far as we know, the organization of
the most insignificant species has undergone no change.
The permanent characters drawn from this source,
combined with those of the shell, wiU enable us success-
fully to discriminate between species, and we may ob-
tain collateral aid from the observation of their struc-
tural functions, their uistincts, and their habits ; and
thus, while seeking to exliibit their distinctions alone,
may do much towards completing their natural history.
The requirements of science can no longer be satisfied
by a single Linngean phrase ; the characteristics of the
whole organized being are needed ; and the description
of the shell alone, ought never to be admitted, except
when that of the animal itself cannot be obtained. The
naturalist who has it in his power to acquire a know-
ledge of the animal, as well as of the shell, should be
held in every case so to do, and to make both known
together.

Conchology, considered as the study of the imper-
ishable portions of a class of animals, has been, and

INTRODUCTION. gg

will continue to be, a most important auxiliary to the
elucidation of geology ; but without the reform we have
indicated, it cannot be much longer considered as a
branch of zoology. It must give way to the more philo-
sophical investigation of the mollusks as living beings,
whose organization and relations must occupy the atten-
tion which has hitherto been given to minute and com-
paratively unimportant particulars of the shell alone. A
pursuit which, under the name of a science, has often
served to give dignity to trifles, and which has caused
a false estimate of the character and importance of
all zoological studies, in the minds of many, will thus
fall to its proper level, and take its rank as one of
the scientific nugse which, in times past, have amused
the minds and occupied the learned leisure of its adepts.
Our successors will look back with astonishment to
the period when persons, busied with the collection,
arrangement, and classification of these external envel-
opes, often without the ability of distinguishing the
animal of one genus from that of another, and some of
whom, in a long career, never saw a single one of the
animals whose products they were so famiUar with,
were considered to be naturalists, when they were in
fact mere collectors.

There is one excuse, however, which may be urged
for the very general reliance which has been placed
upon characteristics foimded on variations of the shell,
and that is, the prevalent idea, sanctioned by some
leading names, that every difference in the shell is

70 INTRODUCTION.

necessarilj produced by a corresponding difference in
the structure of the animal. This principle, which
is exceedingly plausible at first sight, ought, if true, to
be followed by another axiom which depends upon it,
namely, that great diversities of the animal structure
are attended by great differences in the shell ; and both
ought to be confirmed by well-known facts. But, in
truth, neither of these principles is practically of
much value in the diagnosis of species, and every one
famihar with shells, knows, that very considerable dif-
ferences occur in all the particulars we have named,
while the animal remains unchanged ; and on the other
hand, it is equally well understood that considerable
modifications of the animal structure may exist, without
anything hke a corresponding amount of variation in
the shell. A remarkable instance of this occurs in the
marine genera Lottia and Patella, in which the shells
resemble each other very nearly, but in which a separa-
tion of the two genera has been justified by important
differences in the animal structure alone. In the branch
which we are considering, though not particularly among
the species of this country, the naturahst can find no
differences of animal structure to sustain the generic
distinctions which, if he relied upon variations of the
shell, he often would found upon these external char-
acters.

The second remark which we make, as resulting
from the preceding observations, is, that no one is in
a position to estabUsh species with confidence, even

INTRODUCTION 71

as now practised on external characters alone, until he
has thoroughly investigated each of them under all its
different aspects. In order to do this, he Avho pro-
poses additions to the hst of our species should pos-
sess, or have the opportunity of examining, complete
series of specimens embracing those of every age, from
the egg to maturity, and from every section of the
comitry in which they occur. He should ascertain to
what circumstances they are subjected m different lo-
calities, and be able to mark the different modifica-
tions which correspond to differences of temperature,
soil, elevation, humidity, and to the kind and quantity
of food. He should be acquainted with their retreats,
and their habits, so far as these are likely to affect
their external characters. It is only after he shall have
made a careful comparison of aU the variations which
he notices, that he will be able fully to vmderstand the
species, and to decide definitively and correctly upon
its varieties. If he finds the characters of his proposed
species melting gradually mto those of one already well
estabhshed ; or, in other words, if the interval between
them is filled up step by step, by variations which,
though differing but little from each other, serve to con-
nect the extremes, he ought to consider the two to be
specifically identical ; for if any other practice should be
adopted, there would be absolutely no hmit to the num-
ber of species, and every department of zoology would
consist only of the history of well-marked individuals.
And besides all this labor, he should furthermore be

72 INTllODUCTION.

able to refer to the works treating of American species,
so that he may ascertain whether his results have not
been anticipated bj others. And, if he would be worthy
of entire confidence, he must not confine his observation
to the cabinet. One who knows species only as they
appear in his own drawers, can have but an imperfect
idea of the innumerable deviations, from every type,
that nature permits. Specimens in cabinets are usually
selected for their size, beauty, and perfection, or for
some remarkable peculiarity about them, — those whose
characters are strong and well defined, being always
preferred, while the intermediate forms, a thousand
times more numerous than the others, but presenting
nothing notable, are neglected. The tendency to order
and classification, which the study of Natural History
creates, induces the in-door collector to separate and
arrange his specimens according to their resemblances.
With Ms materials he finds that distinctions are easily
established, that the bounds of species and varieties are
well defined, and that groups are marked by determinate
and fixed characters. The limits of each division seem to
him to be constant and not to encroach upon each other.
As it is in his cabinet, so he supposes it to be in nature*
He accordingly speculates, refines, and generalizes, and
ends by estabhshing a system wliich, because consistent
with his own experience, he thinks equally supported
throughout. When the same person changes the scene
of his observation from his own cabinet to the field and
the forest, and becomes acquainted with numerous

IjMTKODUCTION. 73

living individuals, he soon perceives that the divisions
are much less abrupt than he had supposed. He finds
that the changes of type are gradual and almost insensi-
ble, and that some of the forms that had appeared to
him definite and fixed, blend by degrees with others
■which he had considered to be distinct. He necessarily
abandons many of his preconceived views as to spe-
cific distuictions, and is obliged to modify all of them
more or less by his new experience. Every naturahst
should therefore test his opmions by an intimate ac-
quaintance "v\ith livmg species existing m their natural
conditions. It is true that but few of our naturalists
could heretofore comply with these prehminary requisi-
tions, and perhaps the most complete collections in the
country, public or private, have not been sufiiciently
ample to afibrd the means of making so thorough a
comparison as we consider to be necessary ; yet the
rules we lay down are good ones, and, if observed so
far as circumstances will permit, will be of great ser-
vice to science. K our naturalists had been guided
by them during the short career of American zoology,
we should now be free from an amomit of error in re-
spect to our own species, which, in the period of twenty-
five years, has created a synonymy well nigh as con-
fused as that which in Europe has been accumulating
more than t^vice that length of time. The excuse for
error which formerly existed, in the want of means for
learning what is correct, can no longer be received, for
the facihties arising from ample collections of shells and

VOL. I. 9

74 INTRODUCTION.

books, and from intercourse with a numerous and well-
informed body of naturalists, are now nearly as great
in this comitry as in Europe.

There are, however, other causes tending to the
continual introduction of spurious species, independent
of the selection of a secondary class of characters
on which to establish them, and these arise from the
usages of the science itself, and from opinions which
are held by some of its authors. We shall briefly
mention two of them. The custom of appending the
name of the carhest describer of a species to that of
the species itself, although it is, in the present state of
zoology, necessary and proper, has in this connection
inconvenient results. It is certainly a standing evidence
of progress, but the working zoologist is apt to attach
too much importance to it, and to imagine that his
own dihgence, and perhaps his scientific reputation,
are measured by the number of species which he dis-
covers and describes. At the present time, when
every subject of science is attracting the attention of
many minds, and the competition is particularly active
in zoology, he is justified in supposing that delay may
deprive him of the priority of his discovery. Influ-
enced at once by a praiseworthy desire of estabhshing
his own claims, and by the fear of being anticipated,
he hastens to bring forward his description, often with-
out giving himself sufiicient time to verify the certainty
of his discovery. The result in such a case is fre-
quently a supposititious species. The proper correctioa

INTRODUCTION. ^5

of this procedure must arise from the reflection, that
an ill-estabhshed species cannot stand, that sooner or
later the error must be discovered, and that a false
judgment in this respect will be held to betray inac-
curacj, or insufficient powers of discrimination. He
should furthermore be encoui'aged to keep back his
discoveries until he is fully satisfied of their accuracy,
by the assurance that, in the final opinion which is to
fix his reputation, a single species well estabhshed,
with its place and relations ascertained, will redound
more to his honor than a thousand erroneous ones.
These remarks are intended only for the ingenuous
and well-meaning naturalist, but it is greatly to be
feared that there have been others ayIio, for the sake of
a little temporary reputation, have thrust themselves
without qualification among the laborers of Natural
History, and have deluded themselves with the idea,
that because they could write nobis after false species,
others would be blmd to their demerits. The career
of such persons must always be short ; they are the
false coin of science, and will sooner or later be
stamped as uncurrent. The other of the causes alluded
to is, the hypothesis, held by some persons, that the ani-
mals of the respective continents, however near their
affinities may be, are in every case specifically distinct
from each other ; and hence, as there are animals of cer-
tain famiUes on both continents which cannot be dis-
tinguished from each other by any well-marked char-
acters, it has resulted, that species possessing apparent

76 INTRODUCTION.

identity of external form and of organization, have
been recorded as different animals. As every rational
basis for the distinction of living beings is thus taken
away, the advocates of this theory have been driven
to seek extra-zoological foundations on which to es-
tabhsh it. In one instance the tone of voice has been
considered sufficient to separate the well-known bird
Corvus Corone of the United States from the same bird
in Great Britain. In a zoological family intimately
allied to that of which we treat, to wit, the air-breath-
ing fresh-water mollusks, or Lim7ieadce, much difficulty
has arisen from this source. In this family, both ge-
neric and specific forms seem to be almost entirely
independent of climatal and other common influences,
and the amount of variation among the species is so
small that many forms, occurring on both continents,
present an uniformity of characters, that would cause
them to be considered identical, if confined to one
continent only. Hence different names have been im-
posed on what we cannot but consider to be the same
thing. The terrestrial genus Suceinea, bearing in many
respects a strong resemblance to the Limneadoe, is, like
them, everywhere very uniform in its external charac-
ters, and it is almost impossible to define from them
alone, in what our species differ from those of Europe.
The question of the identity of these closely allied spe-
cies must eventually be decided by their anatomy, but
in the mean time we believe it to be perfectly safe to
adopt this axiom, that species, whencesoever derived,

INTRODUCTION. 77

possessing the same cliaractcrs, are identical. We view
tliis to be a more rational course than to consider them
to be the analocjues of each other, a convenient but
indefinite mode of expression, which may be used to
cover everj degree of similitude from a general analogy
to a close affinity hardly admitting of distinction.

Closely connected with this subject is that of a pro-
per selection of specific terms for new objects ; for next
in importance to a good description and figure, is an
appropriate and characteristic name. The use of spe-
cific names was adopted as a substitute for the charac-
teristic phrase, consistmg often of many words, which,
before the time of Limii^us, naturahsts were obliged
to cite whenever they alluded to a species. As one
word thus took the place of an entire sentence, it was
desirable to select one that expressed some prominent
trait of the object named, and, if possible, that trait
by which it was distinguished from all others of the
same genus. Such a word aids the memory by re-
calling the characters of the species, and being in the
Latin language, conveys its meaning in every coun-
try where that language is understood. This practice,
so obviously consistent with good taste, good sense,
and utility, was received with general approbation,
and almost immediately adopted among the rules of
nomenclature. In process of time, however, iimova-
tion commenced, and distinguished natui'alists were oc-
casionally complimented by the attachment of their names
to particular species. There seemed at first to be no

78 INTRODUCTION.

impropriety in this usage ; for the naturahst who had
labored for years in elucidating the history of a particu-
lar class of animals, without any other reward than
that arising from the gratification which the pursuit
itself furnished, might well deserve to have his name
connected with that department of knowledge which
he had promoted. Indeed, there was acknowledged
to be a beautiful propriety in distinguishing a genus
of plants by the name of Lmnteus, the great reformer
of botany, or a species of birds by that of Wilson,
their eloquent and graceful historian ; and in other
similar examples. Names derived from persons even
of much less celebrity as naturalists might not be pro-
ductive of any practical inconvenience, and the custom
was therefore so far sanctioned as to be admitted as an
occasional exception to a general rule.* It was, how-
ever, a great error to permit any departure from the
original rule, and its infraction has been followed by
consequences very much to be regretted. In our
own country, where there is but little of that con-
servative feehng which tends to the preservation of
those usages and principles which past experience has
proved to be wise and useful, and where innovations
of all kinds are entered upon rashly, and often, as it
would seem, from a mere love of change, and where
the influence of the personal example of the most

' The exception is thus stated by Mr. Swainson, in his System of No-
menclature : " Species may be occasionally named after persons, provided
they have been distinguished in that branch of zoology."

INTRODUCTION. 79

distlngmshcd leaders of science is very feeble, the
■wholesome restraints of zoological nomenclature have
been broken down, and naturalists have created rules
for themselves. A multitude of barbarous terms, de-
rived from the names of persons and places, have been
introduced, outraging in their composition both pro-
priety and good taste, inconsistent with the object pro-
posed by the establishment of specific names, and sub-
versive of the best interests of science. Among the
names selected for this distmction are those of some
of our most able zoologists, who are worthy of this or
of any other honor, but there are many more of col-
lectors and amateurs, and of persons totally uncon-
nected "with any branch of zoology, who have no claims,
except that of the partiahty of friends, to be placed
in such association. The temple has even been dese-
crated by the money-changers, and the names of shell-
dealers and petty hucksters have been admitted to the
same honors as those of Wilson and of Say. The
indiscrimmate use of these names defeats the intentions
of those who apply them. An honor which is so com-
mon as to be borne by every one, ceases to be an honor,
and persons of general celebrity as naturahsts, can-
not feel themselves flattered by being classed in the
same rank with the numerous unloiown persons with
whom they are thus associated. Besides, to give the
intended compliment any value, the reader must be told
to whom the author intends to offer it ; and thus spe-
cific descriptions, besides comprising the characters

80 INTRODUCTION.

of the object described, must be burtliened by an ad-
ditional clause establishing the identity of the person
commemorated.

Another evil, of a still more grave character, in-
asmuch as it aifects the reputation of those concern-
ed, has resulted ; the motive of these friendly compU-
ments has been questioned, and they have been sup-
posed to arise more from a desire to gratify a certain
small vanity than from any expectation of promoting
thereby the advance of zoology. We do not ourselves
coincide in this last opinion, because we know too
well the honorable sentiments of some who have fallen
into the practice which we condemn, to suppose that
they are actuated by motives so unworthy. We be-
lieve, on the contrary, that they have adopted it from
an amiable wish to gratify their friends, without hav-
ing sufficiently reflected upon the abuses of which it is
susceptible, or upon the serious objections to which it
is hable. But we cannot approve the practice or pass
it by without reprehension, because the motives of
those who have adopted it are correct. We are con-
vinced that it is itself erroneous ; we know that its
abuses have become intolerable, and we think that
they ought forthwith to be abated.^ To effect this,

1 We do not wish to be understood to imply, that American zoologists
alone are obnoxious to tliis charge, but only that tliis reprehensible custom
has been adopted in a more wholesale manner in this coimtry than in
Europe. In proof of this we will mention some of the most remarkable
examples. In a series of memoirs by one author, pubLshed in the 5th,

INTRODUCTION. 3j^

the practice itself must be ivholly abandoned. We
invoke the attention of zoologists to the subject, and
ask their aid in endeavorin"; to eflfect a chan2:e.

Havmg spoken thus freely of some of the evils
which impede the progress of zoology, alluded to
their causes, and suggested such remedies as are
practicable in the department "which we have under-
taken,— having, moreover, condemned certain prac-
tices -which prominent zoologists of the time receive
with favor, — we are quite prepared to be subjected
to the test of our own rules. It may be, that we have
not been governed by the prmciples which we recom-
mend to others. Of this we leave others to judge.
If it should be so, however, it will not detract from
their utility, but only show that we have erred with
the best intentions, and that instances often arise in
which not only ourselves, but the best-informed zoolo-
gists may form incorrect conclusions. We do not

6th, 7tli, and Sth vol mines of the Transactions of the American Philosoplii-
cal Society, more than one hundred instances occur of the use of specific
terms derived from the names of the author's friends and correspondents,
and these mostly applied to the species of one family of mollusks. In a
memoir in the seventh volume of the Journal of the Pliiladelphia Academy
of Natural Sciences, the name of an English botanist is applied in the
same manner no less than twelve tunes in as many different genera of
shells. The geologists, we fear, have been seduced by these bad exam-
ples, for one of the most distinguished of them, in a memoir in the Trans-
actions of the American Geological Association, having occa.sion to pro-
pose five new species, has " dedicated " four of them to other geologists.
Names derived from countries, moimtams, rivers, &c., which are also
objectionable, are used with great freedom, and numerous examples of
them occur in the same memoirs.
VOL. 1. 10

82 INTRODUCTION.

expect to cause a reform, but we hope that, among
the numerous young zoologists who are now coming
forward, there may be some who may concur in the
justice of our opinions, and whose career may be,
either through conviction or unconsciously, influenced
thereby ; and we shall be happy if in a single mstance
we shall prevent a repetition of the evils which we
have mentioned.

As to the application of our own principles to the
species treated of in this work, we would remark, that
among our generally acknowledged species, there are
some which seem to us to be separated from others
on insuflicient grounds, and that our inclination is
in every such case to reunite them. In some of these
instances our opinion is confirmed by the opinion of
gentlemen whom we consider to be better qualified
than ourselves to decide ; in such, of course, there is
no doubt. In others, that sanction is wanting or doubt-
fully yielded ; yet our own convictions are too strong
to permit us to hesitate. But in another class of
cases, we are opposed by the unanimous opinion of
all those zoologists who are familiar with the subject.
Here, we yield our own belief to the common senti-
ment. We do it the more willingly, because time
cannot fail to develop further facts which will estab-
lish the truth ; and because multiplied observations on
the characters and habits of species are necessary,
and investigations must be made in some unexplored
parts of our country before we shall possess the ma-

INTIIODUCTION.

83

terials for funning a final opinion on all doubtful points.
\Ye sliaU express our own opinion on these species,
■when treating of the different genera, and shall give
a list of those nearly alhed, Avhich seem to us to
need further examination.

IV.

OF CLASSIFICATION.

The Animal Kingdom, a term intended to embrace
tlie infinite multitude of living beings that people and
animate the globe, that fill the air, the earth, and the
waters Tvith life, is, by the original laws of its organi-
zation, separated into several distinct divisions. In
each of these, there prevails a common principle of
structure, or unity of composition, variously modified
and complicated, wliich pervades all the animals con-
tamed within it, and which is independent of, and distinct
from, that which governs the composition of the others.
The limits and boundaries of the different divisions have
not been so thoroughly investigated, as to determine
the exact relations wliich obtain among them, or their
comparative rank according to the perfection of their
organization and functions. Indeed of many of the lower
animals very httle is yet known ; but, the constant acces-
sions which are daily made to our knowledge of their
intimate structure render it certain, that very import-
ant modifications of the received opinions in regard to

CLASSIFICATION. gg

some of them, m\\ hereafter be adopted. Two primary
divisions have been, for half a century, generally recog-
nized by naturahsts, viz.

1. Tliat including the Vertebrate Animals, or those
endowed with an internal bony skeleton, the con-
stant feature of wliich, is the vertebral column ; and
possessing a brain, spinal marrow, and a system of
nerves connected with them.

2. That including the Invertebrate Animals, or
those destitute of the structure belonging to the pre-
ceding ; the nervous system being only cjmiglionary.

These great primary divisions are founded, essen-
tially, upon differences in the conformation of the ner-
vous system, and separate the animals possessing a com-
mon sensorium or brain, and cerebral nerves, together
with a ganglionary system, from those wliich possess a
ganglionary system only. The first is characterized
in the most definite manner, and the animals included
in it, are constituted on the same general plan of organ-
ization. It has usually been subdivided into four
great classes. Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes.
But there are indications from the recent investigations
into the structure of the Marsupial animals, which may
lead to their establishment as a class between the Mam-
mals and Birds ; and there are not wanting reasons
for the division of the Reptiles mto two independent
classes. But whatever changes may take place in the
grouping of the component parts of the division, the
division itself must be retained with nearly its present

86 ESriRODUCTION.

limits. The second division is cliaractemed in a much
less positive manner. It embraces beings of very vari-
ous structure, possessing but few characteristics in com-
mon, and created on plans of organization so widely
different, that nothing brings them together in the same
group except the negative quality of wanting those
properties which distinguish the first. In some of
them, the nervous system remains undiscovered, and
if it exists, is less developed than in the ganglionary
animals. This classification, wliich is not altogether
philosophical, is therefore liable to be re-modelled, as
the progress of knowledge shall require it, and may be
said to be, at present, in a rather unsettled state.
Various propositions have been made by different
naturalists, each influenced by his peculiar theoretical
views, for its subdivision into natural classes, but none
of these have met with general acceptation. It is
certain, however, that the Invertehrata vrill be recognized
to contain several distinct divisions, each holding a rank
equally as independent as the vertebrate animals, dis-
tinguished by a principle of conformation equally definite,
and removed to a greater or less distance from them,
according to the perfection of the structure and func-
tions of the animals contained in it.

The order and system impressed by the Divine Will
on all created thuigs, indicated to the early philosophers,
as clearly as to those of our own time, that some princi-
ple of arrangement must prevail in the constitution of
animated beings ; and hence their attention was given

CLASSIFICATION. g^

to its investigation. Guided hj only a very limited
knowledge of their structure, and observing, -what is
very obvious, that there is a superior and an infe-
rior extreme in their organization, and a gradation
from the one point to the other, it was inferred that
they are all arranged in a regularly descending series,
and constitute an unbroken chain from the highest to
the lowest. It was seen after a time, however, that
this is true only in a very general sense, and that it
regards the great classes rather than inferior gi'oups,
the degrees of the scale being very irregular, and the
intervals between some of them of vast extent. Such
a hiatus occurs between the two great divisions we have
just named, the distance between the animals lowest in
rank in the vertebral classes, and the most highly or-
ganized invertebral animals being almost infinite. In
passing from one to the other the transition is immediate
from beings possessing a brain and highly developed nerv-
ous system, distinct organs of sense, an internal bony
skeleton which is a part of the hving structure, renewed,
from time to time, like the other tissues of the body,
and extensive powers of locomotion, and endowed, more-
over, with intelligence, to those in which there is neither
a brain nor cerebral nerves, where the organs of sense
are for the most part wanting or singly or doubtfully
developed, the body composed of a soft and flaccid sub-
stance protected in some classes by an external cover-
ing of hard and dense structure, but distinguished from
bone by its want of vitality, and the power of locomo-

88 INTRODUCTION.

tion restricted commonly within very narrow limits, and
in Avliicli intelligence is replaced by instinct.

The impossibility of arranging animals in an unin-
terrupted Linnean series being now acknowledged, and
every practical attempt to construct such an one having
failed, the attention of naturalists has been turned in
another direction, and much time has been given to the
investigation of the structural and functional relations
of the several groups and species to each other, with a
view of deducing from them the true principle of natu-
ral arrangement. For tliis purpose their affinities and
analogies have been studied, their external appearance
and nnnute internal anatomy have been examined, and
the whole economy of their lives has been sought out.
A comparison of these, aided by acute observation and
ingenious reasoning, has resulted in the promulgation of
several hypotheses which have been put forth, each as
illustrating the plan followed by nature in the creation
of living beings, and which should therefore be adopted
as the basis of zoological classification. The authors of
some of these, though admitting a generally descenduig
series, have supposed that there are collateral lines,
more or less numerous, diverging from the maui series,
but continuing parallel to, and after an interval of
greater or less extent, merging again with it.

Others, and the most numerous class, have conceived
that, at whatever point we commence, we shall, by
tracing the gradations of organization and the connect-
ing affinities of groups, arrive at the same pomt again ;

CLASSIFICATION. 89

that the natural arrangement therefore is represented
bj a series of circles, constituting together a net-work,
of which the meshes or subordinate circles touch at
their circumference other circles, having near relations
with them ; the whole uniting to form a great circle.
According to this idea, the animal kingdom consists of a
certain number of grand divisions arranged in a cir-
cular form, each of these circles consisting again of the
same number of classes forming another circular series
within the preceding. These again are divided and sub-
divided into others representmg orders, families and
genera. The number of parts constituting each of
these circles is supposed to be the same. Thus, for
instance, in one of these systems five genera are
included in each famUj, five families in each order, and
so on to the grand divisions, which are also five. The
authors and advocates of the systems are by no means
agreed as to the governing number adopted by nature,
three, four, five, and seven, having been respectively
proposed. They are all known as circular systems, and
receive their peculiar designation from the number pro-
posed, as ternary, quinary, &c.

It cannot be denied that every animal has other
animals clustered around it by various relations, and
that any system of grouping founded on these relations,
tends apparently to a circular arrangement. But it is
equally true that every attempt to discover the governing
principle which presides in the arrangement has been
hitherto unsuccessful. Notwithstanding that much learn-

VOL. I. 11

90 INTRODUCTION.

ing and ability have been devoted to tbe subject, the
analogies relied on, in all these systems, are of very
unequal value, being oftentimes remote and almost
imperceptible, and not infrequently fanciful and absurd.
The reasoning is fallacious, sometimes transcendental,
and in the main unsatisfactory, and the general opinion
of naturahsts is adverse to the theories themselves.

Of the animals composing the great invertebrate
division, those known by the name of Mollusca,^ the
mollusks, or soft-bodied animals, decidedly out-rank the
others by the perfection of their respiratory, circulatory,
assimilating, and reproductive functions, while the func-
tions of animal life, excepting those of locomotion,
are as liighly developed as in either of the other
departments. They have consequently been usually
placed, in the order of arrangement, next after the verte-
brate animals, and they are formed according to a pecu-
liar type or system of organization.

From the time of ]M. Cuvier, who was the first to
demonstrate the leading modifications of structure pre-
vailing among the Mollusks, and to found thereon a
truly philosophical classification, showing their several
distinctions and relations, many other methods have
been brought forward by distinguished naturahsts.
Some of these display great learning and mgenuity,
in the formation of the terms apphed to the various
subdivisions, and if mere words could become a substi-

' The word is derived from the Latin moUuscus, signilying soft.

CLASSIFICATION. 9;|_

tutc for knowledge, might eclipse tlic claims of tliat
great man. But, when analyzed, they are found to be,
in their general outlines, essentially the same as the
method proposed by him, the new one being merely a
new nomenclature, with changes in the arrangement
of the subordinate parts, and such new grouping of
genera, as more recent anatomical investigations have
rendered necessary.^ Some difference there is, also,
in the opinions held concerning the comparative rank
and value of the different sections, and the limits of
the division itself, some authors including among the
Mollusks one or more classes of animals which are
excluded by others, and elevating to the rank of dis-
tinct classes groups which, by others, are placed in the
subordinate position of orders and families. AVith these
changes and limitations, the primary subdivisions re-
main as proposed by M. Cuvier in 1798, the minor
parts having been from time to time modified by the
labor of himself and other authors who have treated of
these animals as a class.

It is not intended, here, to give a particular account
of the classification of the Mollusks as at present re-
ceived, but it is essential to the correct understanding
of our subject, so far to exhibit it, as to show the
position which the animals described in this work
hold, the peculiarities which characterize them as a
body, and the relations which they bear to each other,
and to the other famihes of the same type of organi-
zation. No method of classification hitherto published,

92 INTRODUCTION.

indicates correctly in all its details, the present state
of this science, and hence, no one of them is followed
in full, in this work ; but, such of the views of dif-
ferent authors as are acceptable to us, are with some
alteration adopted here. The Mollusks are thus de-
fined by M. de BlamvOle :

MoLLUSCA. Animals with two> equal, symmetrieal
halves; the body with its appendages soft, not articu-
lated, enveloped in a shin or muscular membrane
(mantle) of various form, upon or within which is de-
veloped a calcareous shell of one or more pieces. Cir-
culation complete, with white blood; heart essentially
aortic and above the intestinal canal. Respiration
aquatic, or aerial. Nervous system composed of a cere-
Iriform ganglion above the oesophagus, communicat-
ing with the ganglia of the different functions, those
of locomotion being lateral.

They were divided by M. Cuvier into three Classes.

Class I. Cephalopoda. In which the locomotive organs are

attached to the head.
Class II. Gasteropoda. In which locomotion is performed

by an expansion of the ventral disk forming a

sort of foot.
Class III. AcEPHALA. In which a distinct head is wanting.

The second class, which includes the animals herein
described, is characterized by M. Rang, as follows ;

CLASSIFICATION 93

CLASS II.
GASTEROPODA.

Animal. Body free, without Umhs to aid progres-
sion; hut with an abdominal expansion or foot
suitable for craivling, and in a small number for
swimming ; head distinct, bearing commonly one
or more pairs of tentacles, and almost always eyes
variously situated upon or near the tentacles ; res-
piratory organs branchial, very variable in their
form and position.

Shell. External, internal, or wanting, almost al-
ways a single piece, conical or spiral when exter-
nal, and more or less rudimentary when internal,
sometimes operculated. Inhabiting the sea, fresh
water, and land.

The subdivisions of tHs class, or the Orders, have,
in nearly all the methods, been founded upon differ-
ences in the structure of the respiratory apparatus, and
the genera are grouped into them, according to their
supposed relations ia this particular, and without ref-
erence to their other characters. But, the arrange-
ment of the genera is not the same in any two of
them, and the same terms being used by different au-

94 INTRODUCTION.

thors "with a different practical application, considera-
ble confusion prevails in this part of tlie classification.
Many of them being imperfectly known, their places
must remain uncertain and subject to change, until
more accurate knowledge of their structure shall be
obtained; and it wUl not be until all of them have
been investigated, that any system can be proposed,
which, so far as these sub-divisions are concerned, wiU
have any chance of permanence. The following ar-
rangement, used in the sense of the authors whose
names are appended, is therefore to be considered as
merely a provisional one, to be varied from time to
time, and possibly to be entirely abandoned, by sub-
stituting another founded upon a different organ or
organs, and expressing, perhaps, more correctly, their
natural relations. Recent observations render it cer-
tain, indeed, that much error prevails relative to the
mode of respiration, and to the organs by which it is
performed in tliis class. The number of orders might
be, even now, reduced by combining two or more
together.

ORDERS.

1. Pneumobranchiata. Lamarck, and Gray. Organs of res-
piration consisting of branchial vessels spread like a net-
work over the internal parietes of a cavity in the anterior
part of the body, communicating with the air by a small
orifice on the right side. Respiring air.

CLASSIFICATION.

95

2. Cervicobranchiata. Blainville. Organs of respiration
situated in a large cavity above the neck, opening largely
forwards.

3. SiPHoNOBRANCHiATA. Blainville. Organs of respiration
consisting of one or two pectiniform branchiae, contained in
a cavity in the anterior part of the back, and communicating
with the surrounding medium by a tubular canal attached
to the columella.

4. AsiPHONOBRANCHiATA. Blainville and Deshayes. Organs
of respiration the same as in the preceding, except that
they are not prolonged into a tube, but have sometimes an
appendix or inferior lobe performing the same office.

5. ScuTiBRANCHiATA. Blainville. Organs of respiration pro-
tected by a sub-spiral or simply covering shell.

6. Inferobranchiata. Cuvier. Organs of respiration in form
of lamellae or folds, under the projecting border of the
mantle.

7. Cirrhobranchiata. Blainville. Organs of respiration in
form of numerous long filaments borne by two radical lobes
above the neck.

8. Monopleurobranchiata. Blainville. Organs of respira-
tion on one side only.

9. NuDiBRANCHiATA. Cuvier. Organs of respiration consist-
ing of naked arborescent tufts arranged symmetrically on
the side and back.

10. NucLEOBRANCHiATA. Blainville. Organs of respiration in
form of symmetrical tufts grouped with the digestive or-
gans into a mass or nucleus on the upper and posterior
part of the back.

11. Cryptobranchiata. Deshayes. Organs of respiration
often not apparent.

9G

INTRODUCTION.

This classification is better exLibitecl in tlie following
tabular form :

TYPE.

CLASSES.

r I-

Cephalopoda . . <

OKDEES.

f
[

Pneumobranchiata.
Cerv'icobrancliiata .
Siphonobranchiata.
Asiphonobrancliiata.

11.

Scutibranchiata.

MOT.r-USCA. ^

Gasteropoda . . <

m.

Iiiferobrancliiata.
Cirrhobrancliiata.
Monopleurobrancliiata.
Nudibranchiata.
Nucloobranchiata.
^ Cryptobranchiata.

r

ACEPHALA . . . <

L

As the immediate subjects of this work are com-
prised within one section of the pneumo-branchiate
mollusks, namely, that contauiing the species living
upon the land, it will not be necessary to give any ac-
count of the order as a whole, beyond that contained
in the preceding definition, except to indicate such of
our native genera, as are by the best authorities ad-
mitted into it, and their natural groupings into fami-
lies. Tliis is done in the following tabular view. It
is proper, however, to notice, that there is much reason
to doubt whether the family of Auriculadce is truly
pneumo-brancliiate, and that the characters of the

CLASSIFICATION.

97

genus Ancylus have not been dctcrmmcd by anatomi-
cal investigation. The other genera are well kno"\yn,
with the exception of one proposed by the author.

FAMILIES.

GENERA.

r

Vaginulus.

Limacidae . <

Tebennophoru-s.
Arioa.

Limax.

SECT. I.

Terrestrial. ,
Living upon
the land.

Helicidte <

■ Vitrina.
Suceinea.
HelLx.
Bulimus.
Glandina.

Pneumobranchiate
Mollasca.

Pupadae . . <

' Cylindrella.
Pupa,

Vertigo.

Helicinadce .

Helicina.
Cyclostoma.

r

' Limnea.

SECT. II.

Aquatic. ^
Inhabiting

Limneadae . ,

Planorbis.
Physa.

Ancylus.

the waters.

Auriculadae .

Auricula.

The characters by which the families are distinguish-
ed, differ in importance, but the genera contained in
them respectively, are so nearly allied by a common
peculiarity as to afford obvious and convenient di-
\isions.

The impossibility of arranging animals in an unin-
terrupted Linnean series, descending from the most per-
fect to those of the simplest organization, has long smce
been acknowledged, and every practical attempt to

VOL. I.

12

98 INTRODUCTION.

construct such a series has been a faikire. Of late
years, the attention of naturahsts has been turned in
another direction, and much time has been given
to the investigation of the structural and functional
relations of the several groups and species to each
other, with a view of deducing from them the true prin-
ciple of natural arrangement. For this purpose their
affinities and analogies have been studied ; their exter-
nal appearances and their minute internal anatomy have
been examined ; and the whole economy of their hves has
been sought out. A comparison of these, aided by
acute observation and ingenious reasoning, has resulted
in the promulgation of several hypotheses, which are
put forth, each as the true plan or system followed
by nature in the creation of hving beings, and which
should therefore be adopted as the basis of zoological
classification. The authors of some of these, though
admitting a generally descending series, have supposed
that there are collateral lines, more or less numerous,
diverging from the main series, but continuing par-
allel to it, and, after an interval of greater or less extent,
merging again with it.

OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND
SPECIES, AND THE EXISTING CAUSES INFLUENCING
IT.

The causes affecting, and the laws regulating the
distribution of species upon the earth, together with
the modifications of character produced by their influ-
ence, have been much discussed of late ; but the facts
hitherto recorded are too few in number, and the field
of observation is too restricted, to permit any except
very general inferences to be dra^vn from them. In
the United States especially, it would be premature to
attempt to define even the hmits of species, so long as
extensive portions of the country remain unexplored
by natui'alists, and so little attention is given to this
subject; .but, a few remarks based upon the present
state of our information may be hazarded, although at
the risk of bemg proved to be m part erroneous by fu-
ture investigation. We proceed, therefore, to mention
various causes which have been supposed to exercise
an influence upon the diffusion of genera and spe-
cies, and upon the multiplication and perfection of

100 INTRODUCTION.

individuals ; and to consider their respective impor-
tance, as shown by their effects upon the mdigenous
species of land mollusks. It is necessary to pre-
mise, however, that our remarks on these causes are
derived solely from observation in this country, and
relate only to their influence on the species existing
here.

Greograpldcal features of the country. The effect
of the combined influences which determine the range
of these animals is, to confine each species to a cer-
tain natural station or habitation ; in other words, to
restrict it witliin geographical Hmits more or less defi-
nite, beyond which it never extends ; and hence their
range ap])ears to be very closely dependent upon the
geographical character of the country. It is proper
therefore to inquire in the first place, how far they are
in reality restrained by merely geographical causes,
and whether the geographical features of the country
exercise of themselves a positive influence on their
distribution; and in order to a correct understanding
of the subject it seems to be necessary to give a brief
sketch of the principal geographical outlines of the
region to wliich our notice is Hmited.

The territory of the United States is bounded on
the north by the Great Lakes and British America, on
the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the
Gulf of ]\Iexico and the Eepublic of IMexico, and on
the west by that State and the Pacific Ocean. It
extends from 67° W. to 125° W. from Greenwich,

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. IQ\

tlirough fifty-eiglit degrees of longitude ; and on the
Atlantic coast from 25° N. to 45° N. tlirough twenty
degrees of latitude, and on tlie Pacific coast from 42°
N. to 49° N. through seven degrees of latitude. The
distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, through
this tract, is estimated at 2500 miles, and between
the extreme north and south points at 1400 miles.
It has a maritime frontier of more than 4000 miles,
and a lake coast of 1200 miles. Its superficial con-
tents are supposed to exceed 2,200,000 square miles,
only one half of which is included within the bounda-
ries of the organized State and Territorial govern-
ments. The whole country east of the IMississippi,
and for a considerable distance west of that river
was, with the exception of an inconsiderable portion
of prau-ie, originally covered with a dense forest ; and
the labors of two hundred years have cleared and
opened for cultivation probably less than one-eighth
part of it. The magnitude of the whole area will be
more fully realized by reflecting that it is eleven times
greater than the kingdom of France, and considerably
exceeds that of the whole of Europe, with the excep-
tion of the Russian empire.'

Its great geographical features are derived from two
principal systems of mountams which traverse it, and
divide it into three distmct regions. The first system

' For details respecting the physical features of the country, the author is
indebted to a valuable work on the Climate of tJie United States, by
Samud Forty, M. D., 8vo. New York, 1842.

102 INTRODUCTION.

consists of the ranges known as the Rocky Mountains,
running nearly parallel with the coast of the Pacific
Ocean, of various elevation, but the highest peaks
rising beyond the limits of perpetual frost and snow.
These separate the waters running into the Pacific
Ocean from those flowing into the Mississippi River,
and Gulf of Mexico. The second system consists of
the Appalachian ranges, which rise from an elevated
table-land that makes up nearly half of their whole
elevation, the summits occasionally reaching an altitude
of six thousand, or even six thousand five hundred feet
above the sea, but presenting a mean height of from
two thousand to two thousand five hundred feet. They
extend in a north-east and south-west direction from near
the St. Lawrence river to Alabama, and form a barrier
between the waters that flow westward to the Missis-
sippi river and the Gulf of Mexico, and those that
flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean. At their south-
ern extremity they incline towards the south-west, and
terminate before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, thus
permitting the low alluvial lands of the southern Atlan-
tic coast to unite with the lands of the same character,
which form the southern part of the valley of the
Mississippi. The great regions formed by these par-
allel systems are the followmg :

1. The Pacific Region, extending between the
coast of the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Moun-
tains. Of this, as well as of the elevated plat-
form or table-land from which these mountains

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ^QS

rise, but little zoological information has been
received.

2. The Central Region, or vast plain extending from
the Rocky ISIountams on the -west, to the Appala-
chian Mountains on the east. Bemg watered by
the JSIississippi River and its tributary streams, it
is commonly known as the great valley or basin of
the Mississippi. It is for the most part underlaid
"with horizontal strata of secondary limestone, and
in its eastern and northern parts contains coal
formations of great extent. Its rivers are of great
volume and length, and the Mississippi River, rismg
near the western extremity of Lake Superior, and
running southwards to the Gulf of Mexico, divides
it into two parts.

3. The Atlantic Region, extending from the Appa-
lachian chain on the west, to the Atlantic Ocean.
This is for the most part a gently sloping plain, ex-
tending from the base of the mountains to the
ocean. The northwestern, or more elevated portion,
is based principally on primary strata, while the
division nearer the sea is underlaid by horizontal
cretaceous and tertiary, composed of marls, cal-
careous clays, and sand.

As the physical characteristics which we have indi-
cated, rather than described, are very marked, and dis-
tinguish a country of very great extent, they probably
afford as many facts tending to show the influence of
this class of causes, as are to be found elsewhere ; and

104 INTRODUCTION.

hence we may look upon any inference Avliich may be
properly drawn from tliem here, as one of general
application.

Mountain ranges, and particularly systems of moun-
tains, are of course among the most effective natural
barriers to the extension of animals on the surface of
the globe ; but the completeness of the effect is in pro-
portion to their height and continuity, and is modified
by the respective locomotive powers of the species
"which they restrain. A low range of mountains which
would completely intercept the progress of fishes, and
other animals inhabiting the waters separated by them,
would hardly place an obstacle in the way of quad-
rupeds or birds, which have the means of surmounting
them. A higher range, which would yet not impede the
birds, would begin to limit the quadrupeds. It would
define the range of the smaller species, and those of
feeble locomotive powers, which are confined by their
habits to the immediate neighborhood in which they
are born ; while the larger and more powerful species,
accustomed to roam over extensive tracts of country La
search of food or for change of climate, would scarcely
be checked in their migrations. It does not appear,
from any circumstance noticed in the condition of the
terrestrial moUusks, that any height of mountains which
could be surmounted by quadrupeds, would oppose an
insuperable boundary to them, or that there is anytliing
in their organization to prevent their compassing the
highest elevations, provided the other circumstances are

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTIUBUTION. ^Qr^

sucli as are consistent "with their economy. For, al-
though their poAvers of progression are of a very low
order, they are not by their instincts restricted to a
particular local habitation, nor have they any regular
places of breeding or of shelter, but on the contrary,
seek such as may happen to suit their purposes, and be
near when needed. Hence, although no individual
animal can be supposed to have made any considera-
ble progress, yet, as every one has receded further and
further from the point of departure, it may be con-
ceived that, in the course of the countless generations
which have existed, they may have extended to vast
distances from the original focus of the species, if indeed
there was but one focus, a fact which is hkely to remain
undetermmed. We might expect then, a very wide and
almost unlimited distribution of these animals, if there
were no other counteracting circumstances to restrict it ;
and, if such did not exist, our expectations would proba-
bly be realized. But, as wich the elevation of the ranges
of mountains the atmospheric temperature is reduced,
the character of the vegetation changes, and the geo-
logical structm-e almost always assumes a new form, the
conditions of life on high levels become very different
from those existing below, and the influences resolve
themselves mainly into those of climate. These operate
in a very different manner from the obstacles we have
before spoken of, and affect directly the means of
procuring food, the power of reproduction, and the
ability of sustaining life itself; and hence they are of

VOL. I. 13

106 INTRODUCTION.

the utmost importance in the consideration of this sub-
ject. The facts, in relation to the zoological influence
of the two systems of mountains within the United
States, accord fully with these views. The Rocky
Mountains, rising through the level of vegetable bar-
renness to that of perpetual snow, are, at their highest
elevations, unsuitable to the existence and support of
animal life ; and constitute a barrier impenetrable to
nearly every class of animals. The country w^estward
of those mountains is therefore separated zoologically,
as well as geographically, from that eastward of them ;
the species common in the more eastern divisions are
there replaced by other and different forms ; and it is
thus a distinct zoological region. The Appalachian
ranges on the other hand, of moderate elevation, cov-
ered for the most part to their summits with forests,
and presenting no limit to the support of animal life,
are easily penetrated at many points through their de-
files, and present but few obstacles to the extension of
species. They constitute no zoological barrier to the
land-mollusks, although they do to some other animals ;
and if, owing to their altitude and the consequent di-
minution of temperature, individuals are less numerous
upon their summits than in the valleys, this effect is
climatic alone. Of the native species inhabiting the
Atlantic Region, with the exception of those of the ter-
tiary section in the south and south-eastern parts of it,
nearly all have been noticed in the Central Region ;
and, so far as observation extends, both species and

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. JQJ

individuals are quite as numerous in the insulated val-
leys among the mountains, and upon their slopes, as in
the country on either side of them. This remark can-
not of course apply to the introduced species, Avhich to
this time, with one or t>yo exceptions, are confined to the
Atlantic Region alone. There are, however, in the
Central Region, several species which hitherto have not
been detected in the Atlantic Region ; but this obser-
vation, if it should continue to hold good after more
extended investigation, may probably be explained by
other than geographical causes. And there is at least
one species, which, in its progress from the west east-
ward, seems barely to have reached the confines of the
Eastern Region. This is Helix prvfimda, common in
the Central Region, but hitherto only found eastward
of the Alleghany Mountains in a smgle locality, on the
Juniata River, in Pennsylvania. Neither do our rivers
and lakes appear to present any positive obstacle to the
extension of species, for we do not know an instance
where the two banks of a river exhibit any considerable
difference in this respect, both species and individuals
being in general equally numerous upon both sides of
them. Even the Mssissippi River, separating the coun-
try into eastern and western sections, and nearly insulat-
ing the eastern section lying between the Great Lakes
and the Gulf of Mexico, has no restraining effect, and
the Great Lakes themselves have not prevented many,
and perhaps all, of the species common to the country on
their southern border from extending to their northern

108 INTRODUCTION.

shores ; they being nearly as abundant in some parts
of Canada as in the United States.

Leaving out of consideration the ocean, which of
course confines whole tribes and orders of animals
■within one area, it would seem necessarily to result, from
the preceding facts and observations, that merely geo-
grajthical features do not much affect the distribution of
species ; and that their territorial range, under simi-
lar and favorable conditions, is, irrespective of geo-
graphical limits, very wide. The vast area between the
Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean may, for
these animals, be considered as one zoological district ;
and it may be assumed that they are diffused through-
out the whole of it, except where they are restrained by
climate, or by other general or local causes.

The followinGT tabular view exhibits the distribution
of the species mentioned in this work, according to
the geographical divisions before defined, so far as un-
derstood at this time. The species believed to have
been introduced from other countries are printed in
italic letters.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

109

TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES IN THE SEVERAL
GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS.

Species noticed in
the Pacific Region S
only.

Species noticed in

the Central Region ■■

only.

Species noticed in i

the Atlantic Region "^

only.

Species noticed in

both Central and At- <

lantic Regions.

Succinca nuttalliana, ru-sticana.

Helix calilbrnienMs, colunibiana, labiosa, loricata,
nickliiiiana, nuttalliana, sportella, .strigosa, towns-
endiana, tudiculata, vancouverensis.

Succinca luteola.

Helix albocnicta, berlanderiana, buffoniana, clausa,
cuniberlandiana, deniis><a, elevata, exoleta, gula-
ris, interna, la.smodon, leporina, limatula, niaxil-
lata, nuiltilincata, pennsylvanica, rotula, saxicola,
solitaria, spinosa, sub-plana, texasiana.

Buliiuus dealbatus, superastrus.

Glandina vanuxemensis.

Vertigo decora.

Helicina occulta, chrysocheila.

Vaginulus floridanus.

Arion horlensis.

Liniax agrestis, variegatus.

Succinea campestris.

Helix aspersa, cellaria, hortensis, jejuna, lucida,

multidentata, ottonis, rhodocheila, f-elenina.
Buliinu.? decoUatus, undatus, lasciatus, subula, vir-

gulatus.
Cyclo.stoma dentatum.
Pupa incana, modica, pontifica.
Cylindrclla campanulata, jejuna, lactaria.
Achatina graciiliraa, pellucida.

Tebennophorus caroliniensis.

Limax campestris.

Vitrina pellucida.

Succinea avara, aurea, ovalis, obliqua, putris.

Helix albolabri-s, ahernata, appressa, arborea, auri-
culata, chersina, concava, dentifera, electrina,
fatigiata, fuliginosa, hirsuta, inflecta, indentata^
inornata, intertexta, labyrinthica, ligera, lineata,
lucubrata, major, minu.-scula, mobiliana, mono-
don, palliata, perspectiva, profunda, pulchella,
pustula, sayi, septemvolva, striatella, suppressa,
thyroidus, tridentata.

Bulinius lubricus, exiguus, fallax, harpa.

Glandina truncata.

Pupa armifera, badia, contracta, corticaria, nipicola.

Vertigo gouldii, milium, ovata, pentodon.

Helicina orbiculata.

110

INTRODUCTION.

Climate. In a territory so extensive as that em-
braced -witliin the United States, there is ample oppor-
tunity to test the eflfect of climate ; and the topograph-
ical character of the country aids in defining the
bounds of this influence, and in enabling us the more
readily to appreciate its amount. It may be said, in
general, that the country presents a great diversity of
climate, varying from that of the northern district,
Avhere frost and snow prevail nearly six months in the
year, and the alternations of temperatui-e are rapid and
excessive, the extreme range of the thermometer ex-
ceeding 130° of Fahrenlieit, to that of peninsular Florida,
■where the seasons blend imperceptibly with each other,
vegetation is never dormant, and flowers succeed each
other without interval.

The mean summer and Avinter temperature of the two
most northern and the two most southern military posts,
the last of these being an insular one, together with that
of the most south-western post, taken from Dr. Ferry's
w^ork, Avill illustrate the subject, and show that we have
■within our limits a range of climate as excessive in its
extremes as those of Moscow and of Cairo.

PLACES.

N.
lat.

w.

Ion.

IVtEAN TEMPEEATUEE.

Extremes

.Annual
Range.

Annual.

Summer.

Winter.

-leg. m.
21 07

Difference.

Mini-
mum.

deg.

87

.vii 1-
nium.

deg.

-23

Fort Brady, "Wis.

ileg. tn.

46 29

dej. m. cleg. m.

81 52 41 39

ileg. m.

63 lb

deg. m.

42 11

deg.
110

Houlton, Me.

46 10 67 50

41 21

62 93

16 74

49 16

9

-24

118

Tampa Bay, E. F.

27 57!S2 35

73 42

81 25

64 76

16 49

92

35

57

Key West, £. F.

24 33 81 52

76 09

81 39

70 05

11 34

89

52

37

Fori Jessup, La.

31 30 93 47

68 03

82 48

67 99

29 29

96

19

77

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. l\l

The general effect of climate, irrespective of other
influences, is imdoubtecUj a reduction of the number,
both of genera and species, towards the north ; and a
manifest diminution of the number, size, and perfection
of individuals. Thus, while in the northern sections
Criandina, Ilelicina, Cyclostoma^ and the poljgyral forms
of Helix entirely disappear, and only one of the native
species of true Bulimus remains, the single genus Vitrina
begins to be observed. At the same time, although in
the southern sections the genera are more numerous,
and only two northern genera, TehenjiojjJiorus and Vi-
trina, are knoA\Ti to disappear, yet, the great genus
Helix becomes less numerous in species, thus indicating
that its focus is in the more temperate portion of the
central region. This result however, is affected b}-
elevation and other causes as well as latitude, species
being continued on the Appalachian table lands, as far
south as Georgia and Alabama, when they have already
disappeared on either side in the same latitude. And
while the northern species show a tendency gradually
to run out, towards the south, their places are supplied
to some extent by other forms. Thus, the poh/c/p'al
Selices, which form a very distinct division of this
genus, and by some have been thought to possess char-
acters sufficiently marked to constitute a genus by them-
selves, occurring but rarely in the latitude of the Ohio
river, become more common towards the south, until, on
the borders of the Gulf of Mexico, they exist in vast
numbers, to the exclusion of nearly all tlio species.

112 INTRODUCTION.

"which further north occupy the country. Helix fallax,
if it be considered a legitimate species, is another simi-
lar instance. It appears first, sparingly, north of the
Ohio, where it can hardly be distmguished from the
analogous Helix tridentata ; but in the sandy parts of
the south it is greatly multiplied, and entirely takes the
place of the latter species.

But, although distribution is mainly influenced by
climate, there are many other minor causes which
gi-eatly modify its effect, and determine the number,
both of genera and species, in particular localities, and
even over large tracts of country. Among these are
the following.

Crcological Structure. The influence of this cause
is very important, and admits of no doubt. The soils
formed from the debris of calcareous strata are those
which support the terrestrial mollusks in the greatest
numbers, and on which individuals attain the greatest
size and beauty. It would seem, therefore, that the
calcareous matter of the soil is in some way essential
to the perfection of the shell. Soils formed from pri-
mary rocks, on the other hand, are those on which they
are least numerous, and where the shell is in general
smaller and less ponderous. We doubt not that indi-
viduals brought from primitive and from calcareous
regions may be respectively distinguished by the greater
or less development of, and the amount of calcareous
matter in, the shell. As to the other geological form-

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. W^

ations, we have not been able to perceive any ap-
preciable differences in the influence which they exert,
but from all of them it is less favorable. The coal
formations have been said to be nearly as favorable to
their multiplication as calcareous strata. "We are not
prepared to deny this entirely, but certainly, in every
part of the coal-field of the eastern part of Ohio which
we have visited where limestone is wanting, these ani-
mals are not more numerous than in the primary region
of Vermont, other circumstances in both being appar-
ently equal. The only inference therefore which seems
to be justified is, that the presence of calcareous matter
in the soil produces a positively favorable effect on the
increase of the terrestrial mollusks ; the effect of the
other geological formations being only negative, and, so
far as observation goes in this country, not definite.

Vegetation. A vegetation composed entirely of coni-
ferous trees produces a positively unfavorable influence.
Hence, in our pine forests, these animals are always
comparatively rare, and in the northern primary sections
may be said to be entirely wanting. In the Southern
States, where extensive pine forests prevail, but with a
favorable climate and a calcareous soil, neither species
nor mdividuals are numerous, and the latter are reduced
in size. It seems necessary, indeed, that deciduous
trees and plants should predominate, in order to their
considerable multiplication and extension.

Humidity and Dryness. Humidity is one of the
conditions necessary to their existence, and therefore it

VOL. I. 14

114 INTRODUCTION.

is that they are more numerous in humid localities
than elsewhere. For the same reason, they prefer the
bottom of ravines, and the damp and shady recesses of
the forest, and choose for their places of shelter strata
of wet and decaying leaves, and the lower surfaces of
wood and stones in contact with the soil, or even bury
themselves in the soil. For though they have the ability
to retire into their shells and of hermetically closing the
aperture, yet this power seems to be provided as a de-
fence against occasional or accidental changes, and not
against constant or long-continued eifects. Hence, they
are rarely found to occupy positions that are perma-
nently arid ; and in regions subject to long-continued
drought, and upon soils which easily give up their mois-
ture, they are not met with except ia low situations,
near the margins of streams, ponds and swamps. For
the same reason they are not common on soils which
become hard and impenetrable on drying, and are want-
ing in sun-burnt wastes and in sandy deserts. The vicin-
ity of waterfalls, within the influence of the spray and
mist arising from them, is a favorite locality of many
species. Excessive moisture, on the other hand, is very
prejudicial, for they cannot exist in swamps, or upon
grounds subject to be overflowed with water, and they
are destroyed by inundations. The genera, however, and
even the species, diSbr considerably in these partic-
ulars. Glandina occupies habitually wet and swampy
grounds, and Sacdnea and some species of Pupa are
often fomid upon ground in the immediate vicinity of,

GROGRArillCAL DISTRIBTTTION. JI5

and saturated ^vith water, localities not habitable by
other genera. Ildiv multilineata is one of the species
said to inhabit wet meadows.

Elevation. Although all our species, as has been
said, may be supposed to have surmounted very consider-
able elevations, yet they do not constantly inhabit the
highest levels, such positions being, by reason of climatal
influences, less favorable to them than less elevated
situations. There are, however, some species which,
although diffused throughout almost every part of the
country, are found more commonly than others, in the
higher regions of the mountains, and which appear to
occupy them by choice. It would seem, therefore, that
elevation exercises an influence independent of climate.
We are not aware that many facts have been observed
which support this opinion, and the only species which
we can mention with confidence as being frequently
noticed in such situations is Helix inornata, which, both
in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts, we have
procured from the highest ridges. This native species
bears some resemblance to Helix alUaria, which Mr.
Forbes cites as an inhabitant of the highest elevations
in Great Britain.

But, notwithstanding these remarks, the general influ-
ence of elevation corresponds with that of increasing
northern latitude, and is decidedly climatal. The height
of the most elevated mountains in the United States,
eastward of the Rocky Mountams, however, is so incon-
siderable, that they enjoy for a short period, at least

116 INTRODUCTION.

during the summer, a temperature which is sufficiently
mild to permit any of the species to exercise their usual
functions, and to reproduce their kind, although the
length and severity of the winters retard their maturity
and prevent a rapid increase of numbers. Hence,
species are less numerous, and individuals are reduced
in size and beauty, on the highest levels, in the same
manner as they are in northern localities. A striking
instance of this effect is seen in the mountainous region
of New Hampshire and Vermont, where Helix triden-
tata, and IT. sayi, although frequently met with, do not
reach one half the magnitude which they attain in the
lower levels of western New York and Ohio.

The observations hitherto made on this interesting
subject are few, and do not authorize any confident
inference ; but so far as they go, they show that nearly
all the species which inhabit the country on either side
of the mountains, exist also on the high table-lands,
and that if there are any species peculiar to the extreme
high points, they must occupy very hmited locaUties on
the few peaks which rise more than 5000 feet above the
sea. It is not unlikely indeed, that the genus Vitrina,
which has been found elsewhere at high elevations, may
be discovered in these situations.

The relations which the different levels of elevation
bear to the parallels of latitude, although as interesting
to the zoologist as to the botanist, have not yet been
made the subject of examination in this country. But
the Rocky IMountains, towards and beyond which the

GEOGRAPHTCAL DISTRTBTTTION. Jj^^

tide of population is already rolling, offer, in the great
extent of their table-land and in the height to Avhich they
rise, a vast field of research to future naturalists, -where
they "will be able to solve many of the most important
questions connected with the geographical distribution
of the terrestrial mollusks of our country ; and only a
few years will elapse before these mountains will be
accessible, with comparative ease, to those who may wish
to explore them.

Having thus noticed the most important agents which
are supposed to influence the extension of these animals,
it may be proper to give such general results respecting
their actual distribution, as seem to be justified by our
present scanty knowledge, and to be in accordance with
the preceding principles. And if, as before observed,
but httle confidence can be placed in such general infer-
ences, they may nevertheless be useful by excitmg
further investigation, and may lead the way to more
certain mformation. The facts hitherto observed in re-
lation to species, indicate the existence of several distinct
zoological divisions or sections of country, of which the
topographical characters are in general well marked, and
in which, respectively, causes are seen to exist adapted,
according to our views, to exercise the influences we have
named. It is not pretended that the productions of each
of these, even in the limited department of the terres-
trial mollusks on which alone they are fomided, differ en-
tirely from those of the others ; but, while they are more
or less blended in general, there are certain species which

118 INTRODUCTION.

arc peculiar to cacli. And notwithstanding that these
sections may he defined "with some particularity, their
limits are necessarily in a considerable degree arbitrary ;
and it Avill require many years of patient and indus-
trious observation, and the accumulation of a great
number of facts, before they can be laid down with cer-
tainty. Beginning at the southern extremity and pro-
ceeding northwards, they occur in the follow^ing order.

Section 1. Tlte Peninsula of Florida, and the
adjacent islands, extending from 24° 30^ to 30° north
latitude, and at the nearest pomt being about one hun-
dred and tliirty miles distant from the northern shore of
the island of Cuba. This section, surrounded by the
ocean on every side except the north, is but little raised
above it, no part rising more than one hundred and fifty
feet above its level. The interior of its southern part is
an immense morass intersected by sluggish streams, while
its northern portion is in some parts a level, and in others
an undulated country with a sandy soil, and, except
near the streams and ponds, and in the islands or insu-
lated thickets of verdure locally called hammocks, where
deciduous trees prevail, covered with pine trees and an
undergrowth of dwarf palmetto. The chmate is peculiar ;
summer and winter present no great extremes, and meet
each other by slow and insensible changes ; the beautiful
vegetation and verdant fohage of the tropics are ever
present ; and with the temperature of Cuba, are enjoyed
many of its productions also. Its zoology has never
.been thoroughly investigated, but a careful exploration

GEOGIIAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION HCj

of its most southern portion, including the islands of the
coast, has demonstrated that many of the land-moUusks
indigenous to Cuba, arc found both on the main land and
the islands, and that others ■which are derived from a more
distant som'ce, also exist there. Among the former are
Pupa incajia, Cylindrella lactaria, Cyclostoma dentatum,
Bulimiis itndatus and fasciafus ; and among the latter,
Bulimus virgulatus, and Selix rJiodocheila, selenina,
ottonis, &c. There are other species which, so far as is
at present ascertained, are peculiar to this section. Such
is Vaginulus fioridanus. Dead and Avorn specimens of
other Cuban species are also sometimes seen in collec-
tions, and represented to have been procured in Florida,
but the evidence that they actually -were, is not entirely
satisfactory. 'The other species indigenous to this sec-
tion are the same which are found in the next northern
section. The influence of a mild climate approaching
that of the intertropical regions, and very favorable to
the multiplication of species, is counteracted, in some
degree, by the excessive humidity of large tracts, and
by the general prevalence of a sandy soil. For this
reason, though in some situations they exist in multitudes,
there are extensive portions where it is almost impossible
to discover a single one ; and, in general, it may be said,
that individuals are multiplied whilst species are re-
strained. The marked characteristics of this section,
and its near approach to a tropical clunate, lead us to
expect that when it shall have been thoroughly explored
it will be found to contain more than the tAventy-eight

120 INTRODUCTION.

species now supposed peculiar to itself, as well as other
introduced species. It possesses a peculiar interest as the
connecting point betAveen the Fauna of North America
and that of the West Indian islands.

Section 2. The Tertiary Begion of the Atlantic Coast
and the Grulf of Mexico. This embraces the eastern
parts of North and South Carolina and Georgia, the
■whole of Florida not included in the preceding section,
the southern parts of Alabama and Mississippi, the
whole of Louisiana, and parts of Arkansas and Texas.
It extends from the ocean to the point where the rivers,
falling over the last rocky ledge, reach the level of tide-
water ; and is a low and humid region characterized by
extensive swamps and marshes, sluggish streams, and
wide mlets from the sea. On the streams, the soil is but
little elevated above the water, vegetation is vigorous
and prohfic, and extensive and almost impenetrable
cane-brakes prevail. On the higher grounds the soil is
chiefly sandy, and vast tracts, extending for hundreds of
miles, are covered by magnificent open forests of gigantic
pines. Here the traveller may journey for days and
weeks among the monotonous scenery, and will in vain
seek relief or change in the unvarying landscape,

" Where to the north — pine trees in prospect rise,
Where to the south — pine trees assail the sides,
Where to the east — pine trees obstruct the view,
Where to the west — pine trees forever grew."

To a favorable climate there is here superadded the
concurrent geological influence of a substratum of soft

GEOGRArHICAL DISTRIBUTION. J 21

and crumbling limestone, "nhicli modifies the sandj soil,
the yegetation remaining unfavorable. This section is,
in its lower and more humid parts, the peculiar habitat
of the genus Grlandina, which has not been noticed
north of it. Here also exist in great numbers Helicina
orbiculata, and the polygyral species of Helix. These
last are most abundant on the sea islands, and near the
inlets from the sea. In the sandy plains is found the
species of Helix called by Mr. Say fallax, by the
influence of climate very numerous in individuals, but
through the eSect of a poor and sandy soil, much re-
duced in size. HC. lucuhrata, H. seleniiia, and H. mohili-
ana, so far as is known, are found here only ; so also is
Succinea campestris. Off-shoots from this section extend
into that next north of it, Helicina and one at least of the
folygyral helices having been noticed as far north as the
Ohio River. The species belonging to the section next
north are found more or less abundant where the two
sections blend, and extend to a considerable distance
into this section.

In the southern part of this section, the State of
Texas is included, the climate of which exceeds consid-
erably in its mean temperature that of the parts of the
same section on the Atlantic. After crossing the Mis-
sissippi River, several species appear which either do
not exist, or are very rare on the eastern side ; these
increase in size and development as we proceed in a
south-western direction, until they are found in the most
mature condition in the western part of Texas. Promi-

VOL. I. 15

192 INTRODUCTION.

ncnt among these are Bulimus dealhatus, wLicli is very
abundant, If. Buffoniana and H. herlanderiana. Helix
texasiana, a modification of the tridental forms, also ap-
pears, and seems to constitute a connecting link between
Helix tridentata and its varieties and the polygyral forms
so common throughout the rest of this section. Wliile
these new forms are developed, the common forms of
Helix se^Jtemvolva and auriculata diminish sensibly in
frequency, as we proceed towards the south-west along the
shores of the Mexican Gulf, and at length become very
rare or disappear entirely. Among these is Helix sep-
temvolva, a species more or less common in the low
lands of the whole coast from South Carolina to Louis-
iana inclusive. These circumstances indicate a tran-
sition to another fauna, and it is therefore reasonable to
suppose that, as regards the terrestrial moUusks, Mexico
is a distinct zoological region.

Section 3. The Southern interior Section. In this
section is included the territory north of the preceding,
its western part lying between it and the Ohio River,
while its eastern part extends northerly, though not well
defined on its northern boundary, as far as North Caro-
lina or the southern part of Virginia. It is for the most
part broken into mountains or hills, is watered by large
and rapid rivers, and numerous streams and brooks, and
is covered with forests of deciduous trees. The cfimate,
geological structure, soil, and vegetation, are in general
favorable, and accordingly, both species and individuals
are numerous. As before mentioned, some of the spe-

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. J 0.3

cics of the preceding section extend into this, and almost
all of those belonging to the next succeeding section are
common to it ; but it has its own peculiar species "which
prevail particularly in the mountainous parts of its most
southerly portion. Among these are Helix sjnnosa,
jr. major, H. cumherlandiana, H. suhplana, H. gularis,
H. rotula, H. leporina, and H. lasmodon. The physical
conditions of this section are peculiarly conducive to
the development of testaceous variation ; hence we find
here the carinated and heavily-ribbed Helix palliata, the
deep-ribbed Helix alternata, and others. In it the
genera Limax and Tebennophorus are very abundant.
This section, already distinguished by a larger number
of pecuHar species than either of the others, has been
but partially explored. Being in its greater part a
mountainous region, subject to climatal influences differ-
ent from those of the coimtry north of it, it may be
expected to furnish a still larger number of yet unob-
served species, and would doubtless well reward the
industry of any naturalist who shovdd thoroughly recon-
noitre it. Like the preceding, it extends beyond the
Mississippi River, but its limits are there unknown.

Section 4. The Noi'thern interior Section. This
includes the country between the Ohio River and the
Great Lakes, and between North Carolina and New
York and Vermont. Its character is much like that of
the preceding section, except that its winters are longer
and more severe. Its boundaries on the north-east and
north-west are not well defined, and it extends like the
preceding, west of the Mississippi River. The influences

124 INTRODUCTION.

operating within this section are of the most favorable
kind, except the climate, which, though considerably
severe in winter, is in the northern part meliorated by
the presence of the great body of the waters of the
lakes. Soil, vegetation, and geological structure com-
bine with the climate to produce, in the southern part of
this section, as well as in the northern part of the pre-
ceding, a greater amount of circumstances and condi-
tions propitious to their existence and increase, than exist
elsewhere. Vaginulus, Glandina, JTelicina, the larger
species of BuUmus, and Ci/dostoma, restrained by cli-
matal influences, have disappeared ; but the majority of
the species of Helix, Suceinea, Piqja, and Vertigo flour-
ish in great numbers, and all the naked slugs, both
native and introduced, with the exception of Vaginulus,
are found. It would seem to be the great central focus
of all these genera, from which they radiate into the
other sections. Very few species have as yet been
noticed ; H. lucida, an introduced species, and Pupa
badia, decora and gouldii, are perhaps the only ones.

Section 5. The North-ivestern Section. The coun-
try west and north-west of the Great Lakes and extend-
ing to the 49th degree of north latitude. This section
is described to be " literally a wilderness of lakes, islands,
and peninsulas ; a mazy waste, so inhospitable and irre-
claimable, as to mock the art and enterprise of man, and
bid defiance to his industry." It is characterized as the
coldest climate of the United States ; the winters being
long and severe, the change from summer to winter being
rapid, and the extremes of temperature very great.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. J 25

The extreme range of the thermometer extends from
38° below zero, Fahr., to 100° above, making one hun-
dred and thirty-eight degrees ; and the mercury often
remains below zero for many days together. The sum-
mer heat, though never long continued, is excessive.
The prevailing rocks west of Lake Superior are primary,
the soil is thin and poor, and the vegetation stunted.
Operated upon by these causes, the species which pre-
vailed in the preceding section become less and less
numerous as the secondary region east of Lake Superior
runs out farther west, and finally disappear. The genus
Vitrina is, however, indigenous to it, and Jlelix inornata,
which is believed to reach a more northern as well as a
more elevated position than any other species, is also
fomid in it. Here appears also the singular little Bul-
imus harjpa, which is unknown farther south. This sec-
tion is but httle known.

Section 6. The North-eastern Section. This lies
between the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean,
and comprises the northern parts of New York and Ver-
mont, and all New Hampshire and Maine ; the British
provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are also
included within it. Its summers are short, and its win-
ters long and severe, exhibiting extreme reductions of
temperature, but modified by its proximity to the ocean.
In Nova Scotia, which is almost insular, the winters are
said to be much more mild than in the same parallel of
latitude in Canada. In its general character, as affected
by climate, the section resembles the precedmg, and
though separated from it by a great extent of interme-

128 INTRODUCTION.

diate territory, the most peculiar species of the two are
the same. This is an instance of the tendency of similar
causes to reproduce the same forms in localities widely
separated, though upon the same continent. In it the
influences are unfavorable, and the species gradually run
out towards the north-east, until, in Nova Scotia, the
only one of our larger species common to the more south-
ern sections, known to prevail, is Helix alternata, pro-
bably the most universally diffused species of our whole
catalogue. The number of individuals is also greatly
diminished, and they never attain the same size and
beauty which they reach in more favorable situations.
In many parts of this section, land shells are never seen,
and throughout the whole of it they are more or less rare.
But, while such is the operation of climate and soil on
our native species, Helix hortensis, a species undoubtedly
introduced from Europe, has made a successful lodgment,
and is the most abundant species throughout the greater
part of Nova Scotia, the islands north and east of it,
parts of Lower Canada, New Brmiswick, and on several
small islands on the coast of Maine and Massachusetts,
but does not extend to more southern and temperate
parts. The genus Vitrina also belongs to tliis section,
as does also Bulimus harpa.

The distribution of the genera and species in each of
the preceding sections is exhibited in the synopsis on
pages 128, 129 ; the species supposed to be introduced
from foreign countries being printed in italics. The
catalogues are, of course, imperfect, and additions and
alterations will be made from time to time.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTlllBUTlOX. 1'21

111 addition to the causes mentioned before, as exer-
cising a general influence, there are others operating
in a more limited sphere, and acting only at particular
times, the effect of which, nevertheless, is for the time
being very important, and they are therefore deserving
of remark. They may be denominated occasional or
accidental causes.

Sadden and extreme Vicissitudes of Temperature.
The terrestrial mollusks resist changes of temperature
better than many others by the defences they construct
over the mouth of the shell, as well as by retiring into
protected situations. There is, however, a limit to their
powers of resistance, and sudden and extreme depres-
sions of temperature, particularly in those parts of the
coimtry where such changes are uncommon, are very
fatal to them. In the winter of 1834 and 1835 a sud-
den and severe frost continuing for several hours, de-
stroyed all the orange trees in the Territory of Florida,
causing a most serious loss to the inhabitants. At the
same time, the tide being at ebb, the marine mollusks
living above low water mark were nearly exterminated,
and immense numbers of the terrestrial species were
killed. We have noticed the surface of small islands on
the coast of Florida literally covered with the bleached
remains of Hehx and Hehcina that were destroyed at
that time. It must have required several years to re-
store the species to the same position in point of numbers
which they held before that occurrence. Cold, not very
extreme in degree, but continued for a longer period than
usual, gradually produces results of a similar character.

SYNOPSIS OF GENERA AND SPECIES

SECTION 1.

SECTION 11.

SECTION III.

Vaginiiliis .

• • • • •

floridaiius.

• • •

Tebennophorus
caroliiiiensis.

• •

< • • • •

Limax ....

Limax ....

agrestis.

campestris, variegatus.

• • •

Succinea

Succinea

Succinea

luteola.

campestris,

aurea, avara.

luteola, iiiunita.

obliqua, ovalis.

Bulimus

Bulimus

Buliuuis

exiguus,

doalbatus.

dealbutus, lubricus,

fasciatus,

decol/atus,

exiguu.s, fallax,

subula,

exi^mus,

superastrus.

virgulatus,

fallax,

zebra.

lubricus.

Acliatina

.

gracillima,

pellucida.

Glaiuliiia

Glandina truncata,

. . . ... •

truiicata.

vanuxemensis.

Helix .

Helix ....

Helix ....

aurieulata,

albocincta, alternata,

albolabris, alternata,

jejuna,

arborea, aurieulata,

appressa, arborea,

labyrinthica,

berlanderiana.

cliersina, chiusa, concava.

minusciila,

bulibniana, chersina,

cumberlandiana, demissa.

niobiliana,

clausa, coutracta,

elevata, exoleta, electrina.

ottonis,

demi.ssa, fallax,

fatigiata, fallax, fuliginosa.

pustula,

fatigiata, gularis.

gularis, hirsuta, indentata,

rhodocheila,

hir!-uta, indentata,

inornata, interna.

seleniiia,

inornata, labyn'ntbica,

intertexta, intiecta.

septemvolva.

iucubrata, major.

labyrinthiea, lasmodon.

minu.scula, niobiliana,

ligera, lineata, leporina.

plicata, pustula,

Iucubrata, minuscula.

pulchella, saxicola.

monodon, maxillata, major.

selenina, septemvolva,

multilineata, multidentata.

suppressa, texasiana.

palliata, pennsylvanica.

tliyroidus, vultuosa.

perspectiva, profunda, sayi,
plicata, pulchella, rotula,
solitaria, spinosa, striatella,
subplana, suppressa,
thyroidus, tridentata.

Pupa .

Pupa ....

Pupa ....

coiitracta,

rupicola.

armifera, contracta.

incana,

contracta.

corticaria, rupicola.

pontifica,

variolaria.

rupicola.

• • •

Vertigo

Vertigo ....

milium.

milium, ovata, pentodon.

Cylindrella .

lactaria,

jejuna.

•

• ■ •

Helicina

Helicina ....

orbiculata.

orbiculata, rubella.

Cyclostoma

* • . . •

dentatum.

IN EACH GEOGRAPHICAL SECTION.

SECTION IV.

SECTION V.

SECTION VI.

Tebennophorus ....

caroliniensis.

Arion hortensis

Lunax

agrestis, campestris,

variegattis.

Succinea

avara, aurea, obliqua,

ovalis, putris.
Bulinuis .....

lubricus, fallax,

exiguus.

HelLx

albolabris, alternata,

appressa, arborea,

cellaria, chersina,

clausa, eoncava,

demissa, dentifera,

electrina, elevata,

exoleta, fallax,

fuliginosa, hirsuta,

hortensis, indentata,

iutlecta, inornata,

interna, intertexta,

labyrinthica, ligera,

hmatula, lineata,

lucida, mmuscula,

monodon, multidentata,

multilineata, palliata,

pennsylvanica, perspectiva,

profunda, pulchella,

sayi, solitaria, striatella,

suppressa, thyroidus, tridentata.
Pupa

armifera, badia,

corticaria, coutracta,

rupicola.

Vertigo

decora, gouldii, miliimi,
ovata, pentodon.

. ■ •
...

Vitrina pellucida.

Bulimus
lubricus,
harpa.

HelLx .
chersina,
hii-suta.

• •

*
...

• • >

Tebennophorus
caroliniensis.

Limax

agrestis,

campestris.
Vitrina pellucida.
Succinea

avara, obhqua,

ovalis.
Bulimus

lubricus,

exiguus,

harpa.

• • •

Helix

albolabris,

alternata,

arborea,

aspersa,

chersina,

eoncava,

dentifera,

electrina,

hortensis,

indentata,

inornata,

labyrinthica,

lineata,

minuscula,

monodon,

pulchella,

sayi,

striatella,

thyroidus,

tridentata.
Pupa

contracta.

Vertigo
ovata,
pentodon.

• • •

• • *

VOL. I.

16

130 INTRODUCTION.

The -winter of 1842, which was very severe, produced a
similar effect on the naked moUusks of the coast of
Massachusetts. The species which usually are very
abundant there were hardly observed during the suc-
ceeding year. Oysters, spread by the fishermen on
oyster banks for preservation, were destroyed at the
same ' time in great numbers. Thus a series of long
and uncommonly cold winters, or of cold and dry sum-
mers, reduces their numbers to such a degree that
scarcely an individual is seen where thousands were
met with before. On the other hand a succession of
warm and moist seasons increases their numbers incred-
ibly.

Inundations of Rivers. Tracts of land, but httle
raised above the level of high water, occur on the bor-
ders of nearly all our large rivers. On the lower parts
of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers especially, they con-
stitute a wide, level, alluvial territory, of great extent,
comprismg many hundred square miles. The periodical
melting of ice and snow in the spring, and heavy rains
in the mountains where they have their sources, cause
such an increase in the volume of their waters, that
they occasionally rise above their banks and overflow
the low lands in their vicinity. These inundations are
usually limited to a narrow region, and speedily sub-
side ; but when, by a simultaneous operation of these
causes over a wide extent of country, all the head
waters pour their tribute at the same time into the
main trunks, the mass of water becomes irresistible,

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. \^1

and breaking tlirougli every barrier, it spreads out into a
vast inland sea. The body of water is then so great,
that weeks elapse before it can be drained off through
the usual channels, and the country remains during this
time covered with it. Wlien these mimdations are thus
excessive and long continued, which usually only hap-
pens after intervals of years, they must in a great de-
gree destroy animal life, and reduce, if they do not ex-
terminate, the species most exposed to them. Thus the
undue extension of these animals is checked in a region
otherwise particularly adapted to their increase, and
they are kept within more restricted numerical Hmits.

Another and very different influence of rivers in
their ordinary action is to bring down into the plains
and lowlands, and thus aid in distributing, the species
occurring in the more elevated regions. We may
suppose that a species, having by its own powers at-
tained the summit of a range of mountains, may, when
aided accidentally by the current of rivers, be very
rapidly diffused through the country on the other side ;
and thus a much shorter period of time be required
for its extension than would have been necessary under
other circumstances.

Fires. It was the custom of the aboriginal inhabit-
ants of the country to burn over, annually, large
tracts of land, by setting fire to the rank, dry grass
and herbage on the prairies and in the more open parts
of the woods. This practice, repeated every autumn,
insured a fresh and luxuriant growtli of plants in the

132 INTRODUCTION.

ensuing spring, and thus afforded ample pasturage for
their game. It prevented also the growth of trees
upon the prairies, and of underwood in the forests,
and tended to preserve them in their then existing
condition. The conflagration of the combustible mass
was of course fatal to the smaller animals, and in such
tracts the mollusks were, and still are, comparatively
rare. As, under the proprietorship of lands by the
present population, this practice has, with few excep-
tions, become obsolete, it may be expected that the
land-shells wUl gradually spread over the tracts for-
merly exposed to fires, and become as numerous there
as elsewhere in the same region. Indeed, there is no
doubt that this result has already taken place to a con-
siderable extent, in those States where extensive prai-
ries exist, and that they will continue to multiply
until such lands come under the dominion of agriculture.
On the other hand, the accidental spreading of fires, in
seasons of drought, over wooded tracts, may, from
time to time, diminish their numbers in places subject
to this contingency.

Agriculture. The influence which at this time is
producing the most marked changes in the number
and distribution of the land-mollusks, proceeds from
the operations of man m opening the forest for culti-
vation, and adapting the country for the abode of
civilization. As the forest falls, light and heat are
admitted, the moist places are dried up, the mollusks
are deprived of their natural protection, and brought

GEOGRAPinCAL DISTRIBUTION. \^^

under the action of agents to which they arc unaccus-
tomed, and Avhich tend to their gradual extinction.
The omnivorous hog, which accompanies man in all
his migrations, seeks them out in their most secluded
retreats, and uproots them from the soil itself; and
the domestic poultry find m them a favorite food.
Fires, which from year to year are applied to consimie
the trees felled by the axe, aid in the work ; and finally
comes the plough, which completes their extermina-
tion. Thus, they mostly disappear as the settlement
of the country proceeds, until in the older and most
populous districts, they are nearly extinct or are repre-
sented only by the smaller species, existing under fa-
vorable circumstances, and in the most retired local-
ities. So, too, in the well-wooded regions of the West
not actually subjected to the operations of agriculture,
where they were until lately known to be very nume-
rous, the universal practice of rearing great numbers
of hogs, which roam at large in the forest, has dimin-
ished their numbers and rendered them much less com-
mon. No species, however, is likely to become extinct
from this cause alone, for many escape these various
dangers, and some portions of land remain uncultivated ;
and when sufiered to rest for a tune immolested, they
increase very rapidly.

Destruction hy Animals. The increase of individuals
is kept in check by the depredations of other species
of the same family, and even by other individuals of
the same species. Other kinds of animals also prey

134 INTRODUCTION.

upon them. We have frequently noticed that "when
in a state of confinement, Helix concava, itself not an
abundant species, will generally destroy other species
which are kept with it ; and the animal of Cfla7idina
truncata, which we have occasionally had in captivity,
has uniformly destroyed those of the other genera and
species placed within its reach. In the same manner
Limax variegatus, when kept a few days without food,
has devoured the weaker Limax agrestis, leaving no
vestige of them except the rudimentary shell. We have
also been informed, on what we consider to be good au-
thority, that a foreign species, believed to be Jlelix
nemoralis, which existed formerly in great numbers in
Charleston, S. C, was completely exterminated by Buli-
mus decoUatus, a foreign species also, which now flour-
ishes there in abmidance. In this case, however, the
destruction of the one species, though subsequent to the
introduction of the other, might not have had any con-
nection with it. Birds also make great havoc among
them, where the woods are so far opened as to permit
the entrance of such of them as do not usually fre-
quent the forest. They seize the shell with their beaks,
and bearing it to a prostrate tree or log, break it with
repeated blows of the point of the bill, and extract the
soft animal. It is not uncommon to find numerous
broken shells about a spot in the woods which has been
selected by the bird as the seat of its operations. The
little heaps of shells in the woods are by some supposed
to be due to the agency of squirrels, and not of birds,

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTllIBUTION. J 35

but probably it is merely because they are found, like
the shells of nuts Avhich are known to be eaten by the
former, near to logs. Frogs also, and toads, in their
excursions upon land, frequently meet with and prey
upon them, and it is quite a common occurrence to
find the shell of a Helix in the stomach of a froo-.
Some of the aquatic mammalia feed upon and destroy
great numbers of the Naiades, and there would, there-
fore, be nothing improbable in the supposition that some
of the smaller terrestrial quadrupeds feed upon the land-
mollusks. Indeed, we have been informed that a spe-
cies of field-mouse, probably a Sorex, burrows in the
deep snow that covers the ground in the winter, and
seeking the torpid Helices in their retreats, drags them
to the surface and devours them, leaving the broken
shells scattered upon the snow.

Proximity of the Sea. Among the causes afibcting
the distribution of land-shells which have been noticed
in other comitries, the vicinity of the ocean has been
supposed to exercise very considerable influence. In
Great Britain it has been stated, that species are more
numerous, individuals multiplied to a greater extent,
varieties more common, and the shells larger, more
developed, and marked with more brilhant colors, on
sea-hanks than elsewhere. It seems to be thought,
though it is not so stated in terms, that the ocean pro-
duces a direct influence in this case, and no intimation
is given of its being an indirect climatal efiect. It is
said also, that the presence of sand aids the multiplica-

136 INTRODUCTION.

tion of individuals. If these effects were the result of
the causes named, we might expect to find them occur-
ring in similar localities elsewhere ; but, in this country
at least, the observed facts do not support such a con-
clusion. On the contrary, so far as the author's per-
sonal observation and inquiry have extended, it has
appeared that the land-shells are much less numerous
near the sea than in the interior, and that they are par-
ticularly deficient immediately upon the sea-shore, upon
what may be termed sea-hanks. The influence of the
sea, as well as of large bodies of fresh water, tends to
mehorate the climate of the country bordering upon
them, and hence, perhaps, the sea-shore of Great Britain
is a more favorable habitat than the interior, although
this mfluence modifies the climate of the whole island in
a greater or less degree. Our experience, too, as to
the presence of sand, is entirely opposite to that noticed
in Great Britain, sandy banks near the sea and else-
where being destitute of shells, and all soils in which
sihceous sand predominates supporting them only in
small numbers. Indeed, pure sand creates a mechan-
ical obstacle which these animals cannot overcome ; its
loose dry particles adhere to their wet mucous surface,
incrust them entirely, and prevent their locomotion.
They vainly endeavor to free themselves from it, by
secreting more mucus, and in this way soon become
exhausted, and die.

There is, however, a class of facts in the United
States, which at first view seems to confirm the English

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRTBTTTION. ;I37

observations. Ten years since, we observed great num-
bers of Sellx liortensis on a small uninliabitcd island
comprising less than an acre of surface, near the shore
of Cape Ann, in Massachusetts. Dr. Mighels has
observed the same species very abundant on an island,
of only a few rods in extent, in Casco Bay. Helix sep-
temvolva and Helicina orhicidata occur in such quan-
tities as almost to cover the ground upon small islands
on the coast of Florida. The diminutive islands called
the Brothers, in Lake Champlain, near Burlington, fur-
nish the shells of that district in abundance. Oak
Island,' a little wooded islet a few miles eastward of
Boston, surrounded by extensive salt marshes and at
high water by the sea, was, a few years since, covered
by myi'iads of Bidimus lubricus, and Vertigo ovata.
And very recently, on throwing a bridge from Goat
Island, at Niagara Falls, to an islet near it, the surface
of which measures but a few hundred square feet, and
which had been previously inaccessible, it was found to
contain the Helices and Sucdnece of the neighborhood
so plentifully, that hundreds might have been taken in a
few moments. In all these cases, the fact that individ-
uals were greatly multiplied above their numbers on
the adjacent main land, was striking and beyond doubt.
The locality, in each instance, being situated within the

1 The railroad from Boston to Salem now passes through this island, and
connects it, in two directions, with the main land. This will probably eflect
an entire change in its peculiar molluscous fauna, or rather cause the ex-
tinction of these animals.

VOL. I. 17

138 INTRODUCTION.

immediate influence of large bodies of water, it would
not have been unreasonable to have considered this
influence, the only one apparently common to all of
them, as the cause of the great multiplication of indi-
viduals ; and hence to have inferred, that the proximity
of the sea or of the Great Lakes was favorable to their
increase. But, as other islands, seemingly subject to
the same influences, are totally destitute of shells, and
the main land in their immediate vicinity maintains them
only in scanty numbers, we must necessarily seek some
other cause adequate to explain the facts. According
to our views, we find it m the circumstance that either
these islands are from their position inaccessible, or
from their diminutive extent unworthy of attention, and
hence not subjected to agriculture, and not inhabited by
man and the domesticated animals which accompany
him. The mollusks are therefore in undisturbed pos-
session, and being free from the attacks of enemies,
they multiply to such an extent as the climate and
facility of obtaining food wUl permit ; and consequently,
in process of time, become very abundant. These facts,
then, do not corroborate the opinion held abroad as to
the influence of the sea.

Local causes. There are probably other causes of a
local character not understood, but aflectmg the increase
of individuals in particular circumscribed spots, pro-
moting the increase of species and individuals in some
localities, and restraming it in others. Such causes may
exist in the intimate composition of the soil, or in the

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 139

character of the plants ; and it is likely that both of
them have their influence. The mechanical properties
of the soil also have an influence, as in the instance of
sand, to which we have alluded. So too, a soil composed
of stifi" clay which on a few hours exposure to the sun
becomes baked and rigid, and cannot be penetrated by
them, is equally unfavorable. There are other localities
where individuals multiply infinitely. Mr. Anthony, of
Cmcinnati, Ohio, informs us, that in his walks around
that city, himself and a fi-iend collected during a single
week, above five thousand specimens of Helices, the time
devoted to the walks bemg taken from the mtervals
between business hours, and good and mature specimens
only being selected. Professor Adams states that he
collected, in one hour, more than one thousand specimens
of Helix minuscula ; and Dr. Gould found Bulimus
liibncus so abundant upon Oak Island, that many hun-
dreds could be taken from the ground with a single
handful of decaying leaves.

Although some few species seem to occupy somewhat
Hmited localities, not having as yet been found over any
very broad region, yet the range of most species is very
extensive ; and, what is worthy of remark, the widest
distribution is to be noticed in the smallest species. The
smaller species are also tenfold, and probably a hundred-
fold more numerous than the larger. This circum-
stance is somewhat difficult of explanation. Both their
number and their broad range may perhaps be owing
to their very diminutiveness, on account of which they

140

INTRODUCTION.

more readily find shelter and escape observation, thus
being exempted from many destructive agencies.

There are some species, upon the distribution of which,
climate, vegetation, geological structure and other gen-
eral causes, seem to exercise but very little influence, as
is shown by the universality of their diffusion through-
out the country. Helix labyrinthica, for example, is
equally abundant, and as much developed, upon the sides
of the primary hills of Vermont and Maine, in the rig-
orous climate of 45° north latitude, where snow covers
the ground three or four months of the year, as it is 20°
further south, upon the tertiary levels of southern
Florida only a few feet above the sea, where it enjoys a
climate of almost tropical mildness. The same remark
may be made of Helix minusoula, Pupa contracta,
P. rupicola and P. exigua, and perhaps of other mhmte
species.

?fEK^-p.f^^

VI.

OF ZOOLOGICAL FOCI, OR POINTS OF ORIGIN WHENCE
GENERA AND SPECIES ARE DERIVED.

The distribution of species, as treated of in the pre-
ceding chapter, has thus far been considered only as
influenced by existing causes, whose operation is known.
These, however, will hardly account for the present con-
dition of all the species, or rather, some of them as it
would seem, occupy their present positions, notwithstand-
ing the restraining influences, which, if the preceding
views are correct, should have limited them within more
narrow bounds. The species alluded to, are those which
occupy dififerent and widely distant countries and conti-
nents, and which have already been discovered upon so
many points of the earth's surface, as to indicate an
almost universal difi"usion. The researches which are
now continually undertaken, to elucidate the zoology of
almost every part of the world, frequently bring to our
knowledge instances of the wide range of species, which
had been noticed previously only in a single coimtry ;
and the number of these is already large. The most

142 INTRODUCTION.

striking example among them occurs in Helix 2mlc7ieUa.
This diminutive species is spread throughout the con-
tment of Europe ; it is common in the north of Africa,
and in some parts of the south of Asia ; * it is found in
Cuba, and others of the West Indian islands ; and is
abundant in nearly every part of the United States and
Canada. The various positions which it is thus found
to occupy, and the dissimilar circumstances in which it
exists, together with the difference of chmate and other
physical agents to which it is subjected, and the vast dis-
tances both of land and ocean which intervene between
these localities, render it doubtful whether its general
dispersion is not due to other causes than those which
have been named, and whether, indeed, it can be ex-
plained on any acknowledged principles. Its condition
in this country tends to increase these doubts. Its occur-
rence might, of course, be expected, in any country
which has been closely connected with Europe by com-
merce, but this would be no reason for meeting it in the
interior of North America, far removed from the settle-
ments of white men, and in places still inhabited by the
aboriginal races, and only occasionally visited by the
wandering hunter. Yet, in 1820, on the arrival of
Major Long's explormg expedition at Council Bluffs, on
the Missouri River, five hundred miles above its embou-

1 Specimens of Helix pulchella were brought to tliis country by Mr.
Lyell, which were obtained by Lieut. Lyell, in the neighborhood of Can-
dahar. They difler in no respect from common European and American
specimens.

OF ZOOLOGICAL FOCL ;[43

chure into the Mississippi, and more than fifteen hundred
miles from any maritime port, Mr. Say discovered it in
considerable numbers. Its existence in this case involves
some important consequences, for, if we consider it to
be of foreign origin, and take the period of its introduc-
tion to have been some time since the first permanent
colonization of this continent by Europeans, and suppose
the point at which it was introduced to have been upon
the sea-coast, it is necessary that the animal should have
travelled more than twenty thousand times its own length
every day while in motion, and to have been in progres-
sive motion one fourth of the whole time for two hundred
years, in order to have reached this locality; and if its
progress has been aided by accidental transportation to
some point on the IMississippi River, the result will not be
the less improbable. Now when we reflect, that it is
only sLxty or seventy years since the first settlements of
white men were made west of the Alleghany Mountams,
and that it is scarcely forty years since the country
beyond the Mississippi River was reached in their pro-
gress, and bear in mind that the accidental transporta-
tion of such animals could only have occurred by the
merest chance, and that in their natural progress they
must have overcome numerous and steep mountains, and
crossed wide and rapid rivers, the difficulties in the way
of this mode of explanation seem to be insuperable. It
is true, that the historical period within which this con-
tinent has been kno-wn, comprises probably but a small
part of its whole existence, and that the action of known

144 INTRODUCTION.

causes through a period of mdefinite duration, might
have produced even a more general diffusion, but, as an
impenetrable veil hangs over everything that preceded
the historical epoch, and we know of no facts which cor-
roborate this latter suggestion, we cannot place much
rehance upon it. We must seek then for other causes,
to explain the general dispersion of this and other cos-
mopolite species.^

Of the origin and mode of creation of organized
beings, we of course can know nothing, through our own
limited faculties. The subject is beyond our comprehen-
sion, and Divine Providence has vouchsafed to us no
revelation concerning it. The Mosaic account of cre-
ation informs us that after the surface of the earth was
prepared for the support of animal life, the different
classes of animals were created at different periods of
time, and our own experience, drawn from observation
of the fossil remauis of former animals, which have been
preserved in the strata of the earth's crust, fully cor-
roborate this account. But, we are limited to these
very general facts, and must found our views of the
local origin, and the subsequent dispersion of species
over the earth upon such observations as we possess, and
such reasonings as we can base upon them.

1 A similar course of remark might be pursued in relation to Bulimus
lubricus, and Vitrina pellucida, the former abundant and generally diflused
in the country, the latter rare and found only in insulated situations, but in
every case directly upon the route followed by hunters and fur-trappers,
from the earliest seltleineiils.

OK ZOOLOGICAL FOCI

145

There arc two theories, which have mainly divided
the opinions of naturalists. The first supposes that the
existing races of animals were of simultaneous creation
at a common centre or focus, from which they have
spread over the whole earth ; the other considers that
there were several distinct centres or foci, from which
the species radiated into — and thus formed, the zoolo-
gical circles or regions which are now apparent. The
first supposition, though possible, is seen at once to be
attended with many physical difficulties, and has but few
supporters ; while the second, commends itself to the
minds of almost all. In surveying the zoology of the
earth, we find groups of distinct animals, of the different
classes, occupying regions which are defined by natural
boundaries, and limited to these regions alone ; and the
discovery of new continents and islands has, in every
case, revealed animals peculiar to each of them. The
existence of distinct zoological regions has hence come
to be an axiom in the philosophy of zoology, and the
theory of distinct foci of animal origin has thus been
greatly fortified. But in all the speculations of natural-
ists on this subject, and in all their attempts to deduce
the limits of the various regions, from the actual distri-
bution of animals, attention has been given almost solely
to the large animals, and mostly to the vertebrata, and
consequently the regions as laid down by authors, are co-
extensive with the wide range of these species. It is
manifest, however, that the ranges of the different classes
of animals differ very much among themselves, and that

VOL. I. 18

146 INTRODUCTION.

the quadruped that seeks its food, according to the
change of seasons, throughout the greater part of a con-
tinent, and the bird which, guided by its instinct, spends
its summers in the polar regions, and its winters between
the tropics, are subjected to very different laws of dis-
tribution from the insect whose range is often strictly
local, or the mollusk, whose limits are defined by the
causes we have described. The higher classes of ani-
mals, indeed, are unaffected, or bui slightly restrained,
by many of the causes which, to the inferior classes,
constitute insurmountable obstacles ; and consequently,
the geographical space wliich they respectively occupy,
or the circles within which they habitually move, are of
very different extent. It would seem to result, from this
reasoning, that, in seeking to ascertain and define the
various zoological regions, we must make a distinct
apportionment for each distinct class of animals ; and
that the spacious regions ranged by the higher animals,
must be divided and subdivided into others of more
limited extent, which shall represent the more Umited
spheres of the less diffused species. It follows, also, that
within each of these minor spheres or zoiilogical sections,
the original focus of all the species contained within it,
must have been located. We believe that these ideas
will be found to be consistent with facts everywhere
observed. In appljdng them to North America, we find,
that its temperate parts are considered to constitute a
peculiar zoological region, characterized, among other
animals, by the bison among quadrupeds, and the wild

OF ZOOLOGICAL FOCL

147

tui'kej among birds ; and for these two classes of animals
it is probably correctly defined ; but for the terrestrial
mollusks, some other division is necessary ; for the most
•widely difiused among them does not occupy so large a
space, and several groups of species are much more lim-
ited, as we have endeavored to show. It will be objected
to this theory of distinct zoological centres, that it can-
not be natural, because it concerns only one department
of animals ; and that, as nature acts through general laws,
these separate plans of diffusion are inconsistent with
this principle. The objection, in our view, has but little
weight ; the laws of nature are known only by their
results, and as we see that different classes of animals
have different capacities and different powers of action,
and of resisting action, we must believe that they were
formed to be subject to different influences ; and that
their diffusion may, without any inconsistency of purpose,
have been regulated by different' plans. And the gen-
erally received opinion, of the successive creation of the
different classes of animals, after intervals of greater or
less durations, adds strong confirmation to our theory ;
for, admitting this to be true, the centres from which
sprung the various mollusks were established, and the
causes influencing their extension and distribution were
in operation, for an indefinite period in advance of even
the existence of the animals of the higher classes.

There are difiiculties which it seems to us can hardly
be overcome on any other supposition. If all the species
had been created at one time and at one place, they

148 INTRODUCTION.

ought to be found to have made nearly an equal advance,
and to be pretty equally dispersed over the earth, for we
know of nothing in their organization that should give
any considerable advantage in this respect to one over
another. The species of the two hemispheres should
also be in general the same. If all the species then,
originated on the eastern continent, how has ,it happened
that those that have reached the western continent, have
ill general, left none of their kind behind them ; or that
peculiar species exist in small islands or groups of islands
far removed from other land ? If it be said that in the
long lapse of ages, species once universally diffused have
become extinct in particular regions, and that the sur-
vivors are confined to more limited ranges, we ask how
it happens that the testaceous remains discovered by
geological research, differ as much from existing species
as the recent species of the two contments differ from
each other. It seems to us that the facts taken for
granted in these objections are inconsistent with any
other theory than that of different foci of creation, and
that this theory is sustained by all that we know of the
geological revolutions of the earth, and of the condition
of the species formerly existmg upon it.

Having thus adopted the theory of distinct zoological
centres, and admitting that as successive portions of the
earth's surface emerged from the waters, and became
adapted to sustain the different classes of animals, those
races which were fitted for the then existing physical
condition of things, were brought into being by the pro-

OF ZOOLOGICAL FOC'i.

149

lific hand of nature, we find no difficulty in supposing
that under the same or similar conditions, the same
species may have been created at different centres. In
this Avay the presence of any species in every part of
the earth may be accounted for, and thus only can we
satisfactorily explain the diffusion of the species that
have been under consideration.

The zoological sections which, in accordance with
these ideas, we have ventured to propose, are given
merely as suggestions, indicated by the present state of
information. It is desirable that the subject should be
fully investigated, and the correctness of the proposed
divisions tested. Should they be proved to be untenable,
we shall very willingly relinquish them, and adopt such
other views as may be found more consistent with facts.

YII.

OF THE INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES INTO THE

UNITED STATES.

The frequent commercial intercourse subsisting be-
tween various countries is producing, slowly but surely,
important changes in the fauna of many districts ; and
must presently render it difficult to distinguish their in-
digenous animals from those that have been imported.
Nowhere is international commerce more active, than
between the western and southern nations of Europe and
the United States ; and hence we are peculiarly liable to
the introduction of animals from that part of the world.
Considerable additions to our catalogues of the lower
animals, particularly of insects, have already been made
in this way, and it has therefore become desirable, that
an accurate determination of our native species, in every
department, should be had, previous to any further in-
crease from this source. For this reason, we have
endeavored to ascertain the facts relating to the intro-
duced species of land-shells, whether derived from this
source or others, both for the interest connected with the

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES. I5I

subject, and that thej might serve as points of compar-
ison for future observers. Among the species which are
common to this and to other countries, we shall mention
Helix pulcliella and Bulimus lubricus, as being of foreign
origin, and as having been introduced ; but this we do,
rather in deference to received opinion, than because we
are satisfied of the fact ; for, in truth, so generally are
they diffused over the country, that we are inclined to
believe, as may be mferred from our remarks on a for-
mer page, that they are as truly native species as many
others which have never been considered to be other-
wise.

The process of introducing foreign species is constantly
going on. The animals sometimes, but more commonly
their eggs, are transported in the soil of boxes of plants,
or about the roots of trees and shrubs imported for hor-
ticultural purposes, or in the cavities of woods used in
the arts. Another common mode of introduction is
among the ballast of vessels, collected on the shores of
foreign countries, and often discharged on our own.
Some of the larger European species, and particularly
Helix aspersa, are sometimes shipped to this country as
an article of commerce, and are used for food by foreign
residents. Others are brought as objects of curiosity,
and are preserved in gardens, and conservatories. Indi-
viduals introduced in some of these modes, escaping or
preserved by accident, are thus enabled to colonize the
species in new localities, where, if favored by propitious
circumstances, they obtain a permanent footing, and

152 INTRODUCTION.

extend themselves gradually in the country. Of these,
Limax agrestis, and L. variefjatiis, Helix asper-^a, IT. eel-
laria, II. hortensis, H. lucida, and //. pulchella, and
JBulimus decoUatus, B. zebra, B.fasciatus, B. virgulor
tus and B. luhricAis, are examples. Others strive in
vain to establish themselves ; the climate or some other
cause is fatal to them, and after some increase, they
diminish and become extinct. Of these, Helix nemoralis,
virgata, pisana, and lactea, and Bulimus acutiis, are
recorded as having been noticed in the United States
at different times ; and it is only by adopting the sup-
position of their subsequent extinction, that we can give
credit to these observations, for it is nearly certain, that
none of them now exist within our territory.

Oceanic currents also aid in bringing to our shores
foreign species, and have been the means of introducing
and naturalizing them. The Gulf Stream is a promi-
nent example of this. This great body of water, flow-
ing from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic, passes
between the Peninsula of Florida and the Island of
Cuba, and after turning the southern point of Florida,
sweeps along its eastern shore. It is sometimes driven
close to the northern coast of Cuba, and sometimes
forced much further north, according to the direction
and force of the wind. Various counter currents, due
also to the influence of the wind, diverge from the main
stream, among which is noticed a current which, after a
northerly wind has prevailed for several days, sets in a
south-westerly direction near to the Florida Reef. The

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES. ^53

principal stream and the currents ori^^inating in it, bear
upon their surface various vegetable and other produc-
tions brought by rivers into the Gulf, or swept from its
shores, and these are frequently deposited upon parts of
the coast very distant from their origin. In this way
seed-vessels from the Spanish Main, trunks of trees and
fragments of wood of unascertained origin, and numer-
ous objects from the northern shore of Cuba, are fre-
quently found on the shore of Key West, and on the
beach of Cape Florida and the shores and islands to the
north of it.' These circumstances are adequate to
account for the transmission of land-shells from the
Island of Cuba, and even from more distant places, to
the mam land and islands of Florida ; and to this source
we ascribe the origin of Selix rJwdoeheila, and Bulimus
vir^ulatus, which are probably derived from the Bar
hamas, but possibly from the Spanish Main, and of
Selix ottonis, Bulimus fasciatus, B. zehra, B. siibula,
BujM incana, Cydostoma dentatum, and Cylindrella
lactaria, all midoubtedly from Cuba, which, having
found a congenial soil and chmate in the southern
part of the peninsula of Florida, are now flourishing
there in great numbers. To the same cause may

' A few years since a bottle was picked up on Tavernia Key, near Cape
Florida, containing a note stating that it was thrown overboard ofl' the More
Castle. A Cuba barge, of the kind used in lading and unlading vessels in
Mataazas, was lately found stranded on the beach at New River, twenty-
five miles north of Cape Florida. Small objects from Cuba are often found
on the shore of Key West.

VOL. I. 19

154 INTRODUCTION.

possibly be due the passage of some of the smaller
species, of universal diflPusion in the United States, to
the Island of Cuba. Among these are Helix minuscula,
Piqja contracta, and P. rupicola, which from their gen-
eral distribution on the continent, may be supposed to
have originated there rather than upon the island.

We cannot help thinking, too, that such currents have
had some agency in introducing Helix hortensis on our
north-eastern coast, at some former period, although we
are not aware of the existence of one, capable of produ-
cing such an effect. This species is found, within our
hmits, only in the States of New York and Vermont on
the boundary of Canada, and in the north-eastern States
from Massachusetts to the British provinces along the
borders of the sea. In the first-named localities, its
presence is accoimted for, by its extension under usual
circumstances from Canada, where it is said to be com-
mon. On the sea-coast, some other explanation is neces-
sary. Commencing at what appears to be its southern
limit, it occurs on the sandy soil at the extreme end of
Cape Cod ; it then disappears in the intermediate country,
and is next found on a small, rocky, uninhabited island,
on the shore of Cape Ann ; proceeding further east, it
is lost until it again appears on a small island of a sim-
ilar character in Casco Bay, Maine. Along this exten-
sive line, it is nowhere found inland, and, with the excep-
tion of the locality on Cape Cod, never on the main land,
although the islands referred to are in close proximity
to it. In New Brunswick it begins to occur in the mte-

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIIiS. I55

rior, and in Nova Scotia is said to be the most common
of the larger species. That it should occur on the
extreme point of a cape extending far into the sea, and
on desolate islets along the coast, is consistent with the
supposition of its having been borne there by currents ;
while the common mode of distribution, bj numerical
increase and extension, or by direct introduction through
commercial agency, from Europe, does not explain why
it is found in such unfrequented spots only, on the bor-
ders of the sea alone, never upon the main land, and on
some islets, but not on others. Our own hypothesis is,
that having been very early introduced into the French
province of Acadia, (and also into Canada) by the
European colonists, and become numerous there, it has
been borne along the coast by counter currents and
eddies, to the places which it now occupies, where, being
protected from other animals, and from the operations of
agriculture, to which it would have been exposed on the
main land, and under the influence of a climate rendered
mild by the proximity of the sea, it has multi])lied to a
great extent.'

J Since the above obsen'ations were penned, the author has again
vLsiled, after an interval of nine years, the locality upon Salt Island,
Cape Ann. Tliis island, which at extreme low water is connected with the
main by a narrow sand-bar, is a mass of granite elevated not more than
sLxty or seventy feet above the sea ; its seaward side is bold and precipitous,
and being open to the assaults of the waves, is denuded of soil to the very
smuinit. Its landward side, protected by the crest of the island from
storms coming- from the ocean, has a thin superstratum of soil, whicli sup-
ports a rank growth of coarse grass and low slirulss, tlie latter allbrding a '

l^Q . INTRODUCTION.

That this hypothesis of the agency of currents is no
violent one, is proved by common experience. A single
log of timber, removed from the bank of a river by the
rise of its waters during a freshet, and borne by them
to the ocean, and driven by winds, tides, and currents,
might carry with it, and deposit upon other shores, the
eggs of mollusks, or even the living animals themselves,
provided they were not too long exposed to the elements.
It is difficult to estimate their powers of endurance under
such circumstances, or to hmit the amomit of exposure
which they might bear, but they are unquestionably such
as to enable them to sustain hfe for several days, in the
case we have supposed. The eggs of snails have been
subjected to a high temperatui-e in an oven, until, being
totally deprived of moisture, they were friable between
the fingers ; they have been repeatedly frozen and
thawed again ; they have been suffered to remain a con-
constant shade. On this part of it, apparently not exceeding an acre in
extent, Helix hortensis formerly existed in such numbers that hundreds
could be obtained in a few moments. On approaching the island at this
time, smoke was seen rising from it, and presently a rude hut erected on
the sheltered side, boats drawn up on the strand, nets spread upon the
bushes to dry, and lobster-traps scattered about, became \-isible, and an-
nounced that a fisherman had taken possession of it. The usual conse-
quence of the presence of man and his companions has followed. Helix
hortensis is greatly reduced in numbers, and must very soon become ex-
tinct. After a diligent search of nearly an hour, only four or five living
specunens could be found. It may be well to mention in tliis place, that
the same effect has followed the connection of the small island near Niagara
Falls with Goat Island. Within two years after admission was thus gained
to it, the mollusks were nearly exterminated.

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES. I57

siderable time immersed in water, and yet, on being
placed in favorable circumstances, have been found to
retain their vitahtj, and have matured and produced
young. They would not be exposed to severer trials
when floating upon a log in the ocean, and their chances
of surviving would be as good. Logs and trunks of
trees which have drifted from a great distance, may
often be seen upon our sea-beaches ; and we remember,
on one occasion, to have seen Nantasket beach, at the
mouth of Boston harbor, strewn with logs which had
been driven from the rivers of ]Maine by easterly winds
of several days continuance.

The limits of species, and particularly of the intro-
duced species, are gradually enlarging, and though their
progress must necessarily be slow, it is susceptible of
satisfactory proof. Unless of native origin, as we have
suggested, the time of their introduction must be taken
to be a period subsequent to the colonization of the
country, which is comparatively a recent date, and yet,
some of them have extended over a large part of the
country, as Helix pulchella, and Bulimus lubriciis, and
are extremely abundant. The fact that the distant
regions to which these species seem to have extended,
are in the track of the early French voyagers and col-
onists, along the great Lakes and about the upper Mis-
sissippi, is quite significant ; and shows that they might
have been introduced into those parts directly, with the
effects of the colonists, in the same manner as we sup-
pose tliom to have been introduced on the Atlantic bor-

158 INTRODUCTION.

ders. Others are met with only adjacent to the sea,
or rather not very far removed into the interior, as
Helix cellaria, and Limnx agrestis, which in many
localities are very common. The extreme distance
from the sea-shore at which we have hitherto noticed
them, has not exceeded one hmidred miles. Others
again, as Liniax variegatus, occur in the cities and
other limited localities separated by considerable dis-
tances from each other, whither they have been trans-
planted by accident ; and yet another class are confined
to a single locality, beyond which they have not yet
advanced, as Bidimus decollatus m gardens in Charles-
ton, S. C, and Helix lucida in the vicinity of Albany,
N. Y., where they have probably been introduced in
packages of imported plants. As all these are probably
destined to a still further extension, the present range of
each is important as a point of comparison in future
investigations.

The annexed table exhibits a list of foreign species,
which have been stated by authors to occur in the Uni-
ted States, or the countries adjacent, with an indication
of the present condition of those now existmg. It is
quite probable that some of the species, said to be ex-
tinct, have never in fact occurred here ; and that others,
which now seem to be identical with foreign species, may
be found essentially different when examined more accu-
rately, and the difference may become still more obvious
on a careful comparison of the animals.

Foreign species now first ascertained to be found in
the United States, are not included in the table.

(159)

TABLE OF FOREIGN SPECIES RECORDED BY AUTHORS AS
OBSERVED IN THE UNITED STATES.

NAMES OF SPECIES.

AUTHORS REFERRED TO.

Arion hortensis.

Liiuax agrestis. .

varieg^atus.

Vitriiia pellucida.
Succiaea amphibia.
putris. .

Helix asper.«a. .

bonplandi.

cellaria .
depicta. .

liortensis.

lactea. .
lucida. .

nemoralis.
nitida. .
pisana. .
pulchella.
variabilis.

Bulimus acutus. .

decollatus.

lubricus.

radiatus.

undatus.

virgiiieus.

octona. .

acicula.

Partula otaheitana.

Binney.

Gould. Binney. . <

Say. Fcrussac. . J

Say. Adams. Mighels.

Forbes.

Ferussac.

Gray. Forbes.

Hmnb. and Bonp.

Lamarck.

Binney. Gould.
Grateloup. .

Binney. Gould. I

Say. .

Ligalls. . . I

Gray. .

Ferussac Gray.
Gray. Forbes.
Say. Gray.
Gray. Forbes.
Fer. Gray. Forbes.
Say. Gray.
Gould. Adams. .

Ferussac.

Say, .
Say. .

Des Moulins.

PRESENT CONDITION
AND LOCALITIES.

Boston and vicinity.

Atlantic States, not more
tHan 100 miles from the
sea.

Cities in Eastern and Mid-
dle States.

N. E. and N. W. Sections.

Not unconmion.
Charleston, S. C. Maine.

Probably inhabits the pe-
ninsula of Florida. H. al-
bolabris supposed a vari-
ety of this by Lam.

Common in Eastern and
Middle States, in cities.

Not existing in U. States.

Islands on coast of Mass.
and Maine ; borders of
Canada.

Extinct.

Numerous at Greenbush,
New York.

Extinct.

Probably H. arborea.

Probably H. rhodocheila.

Very common.

Extinct.

Extinct.

Charleston, S. C. only.

Common.

Probably B. dealbatus.
Say.

Florida.

Florida.

Greenhouses and conser-
vatories.

Never existed in U. States.

IQQ INTllODUCTION.

There is another branch of this subject which de-
mands attention, as connected with the introduction of
foreign species, and that is, the distribution in the neigh-
boring countries and islands, of those species which are
usually admitted to be indigenous to the United States.
In the dearth of zoological information concerning that
part of North America south of the United States, we
find but few facts recorded which illustrate the subject,
and hence w^e can present nothing of much interest.
We have reduced the observations into the form of a
table, which will show at one view all that we have been
able to gather. We include in it Bulimus zebra and
S. fasciatus, because, although we believe, from their
appearance in our territory only on the southern point
of the peninsula of Florida and on the small islands
closely adjacent, that they were accidentally introduced
from the neighboring island of Cuba, others may not be
of the same opinion, and it may be interesting to ascer-
tain their range as well as that of the other species. In
the British provinces at the north of the United States,
the observations are still fewer in number, and we are
acquainted with only a single local list (and that a very
meagre and incomplete one,)' of the land-mollusks oc-
curring in any part of the British North American pos-
sessions. We know, however, from authentic informa-
tion, that many of the species indigenous to our fourth
zoological section, are also common to the peninsula of

1 Mrs. Sheppard's, in the Transactions of the Literary and Historical
Society of Quebec, Vol. i. p. 88. 1829.

INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN SPECIES. 161

Upper Canada ; and, if we may judge by the climate
and physical characters, they must be as abundant there
as in the northern parts of the United States. But, as
we are not able to particularize species, or their local-
ities, or the extent of their range north of Lake Erie,
we have omitted them in the table. The few species
known to extend north of the St. Lawrence River, are
included in it.

We are aware that no important deductions can be
drawn from this table in its present imperfect condition,
and therefore offer it with some hesitation. But as the
facts which would go to complete a table of this kind,
must necessarily be collected before we can determine
with accuracy the species which are Indigenous to the
United States exclusively, we have thought it expedient
to furnish the outline, in the hope that others would, ere
long, provide the materials for filling it up. It is also
not improbable that some of the species, now supposed
to be identical with extra-limital ones, may prove to be
different. The same facts might also have an important
bearing upon the question of the local origin of the sev-
eral species. For the species contained in the table,
we have given such authorities as are known to us ;
where none are named, we have relied either upon our
own personal knowledge, or upon the information of per-
sons whose accuracy we could not doubt.

VOL. 1. 20

(102)

TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES INHABITING THE
UNITED STATES, IN OTHER PARTS OF AMERICA.

SPECIES.

Vitrina pellucida. .
Succinea putris. .
Bulimiis dealbatus

fasciatus. .

■ subula. . .

■ zebra. ... J

Achatina gracillima.
pellucida.

Helix altemata.

Sub nomine dubia.

auriciilata. .

:\

:1

■fallax. . .

Sub nom. triodonta,

■ minuscula. ? • • [

Sub nom. lavalleana. j

• monodon. ?

Sine nomine.

— ottonis.

— saxicola.

— seleniiia.

Glandina truncata.

Pupa rupicola. . .

Sub nom. servilis,

contracta. . .

incana. . . .

Cylindrella lactaria. . .
Helicina orbiculata. . .
Cyclostoma dentatum .

DISTRIBUTION.

Greenland.

Canada, near Quebec. .

Mexico

The Antilles, Trinity. .

Mexico

BrazQ

Yucatan, and Central
America.

Cuba

The Antilles, Barbadoes,
Cayenne.

Cuba

Cuba

Canada, near Quebec. .
Nova Scotia. Common.
Mexico

Mexico

Cuba.

Canada, near Quebec.

Cuba

Cuba

St. Croix

The Antilles. . . .

Mexico

Central America. . .

Cuba, St. Croix. . .

Cuba.
Cuba.

Cuba.

Cuba.

ACTIIOEITIES.

Forbes.
Sheppard.

Ferussac.
Humb. and Bonp,
D'Orbigny.

Ferussac.

Pfeiffer.
Pfeifler.

Sheppard.
M'Culloch.

Jan.

De la Sagra,

Sheppard.

Pfeiffer.
Pfeiffer.
Griffith.
Fer. De la Sagnra.

Gould.
Gould.

Gould.

VIII.

OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GEXERA AND SPECIES IN THE
UNITED STATES, COMPARED WITH THAT OF EUROPE
AND SOUTH AMERICA.

The distribution of the terrestrial mollusks in the
United States, as compared with the temperate parts of
Europe, presents some curious results. The following
table shows the number of species found under the sev-
eral genera :

GENERA.

NUMBER OF
SPECIES.

INTRODUCED
SPECIES.

Vaginulus.

Tebennopliorus

Arion.

Limax. .

Vitrina. .

Succinea.

Bulimus.

Helix.

Achatina.

Glandina.

Pupa.

Vertigo. .

Cylindrella.

Helicina.

Cyclostoma.

1

2
1
3
1
8
11
71
2
2
8
5
2
3
1

1

0

1

2
1
1
2
5
2
1
2
1
1
1
1

Total ' .
Deduct introdu

ced s

pecies

121
22

22

Indigenous species.

99

164 mTRODUCTION.

The whole number of species hitherto ascertained,
within the bounds of the United States east of the Mis-
sissippi River, excluding species found elsewhere also, is
ninetj-nine.

The first reflection that arises, on examining this table,
is, the comparatively small number of species which it
exhibits. The number inhabiting the corresponding cli-
matal parts of Europe, of equal territorial area, is more
than twice as great ; and the limited extent of the British
Islands affords at least an equal number. This in-
equality of numbers may perhaps be partly explained by
the supposition, that many species remain yet undiscov-
ered ; but, considering the attention which has already
been given to our conchology, we can hardly expect that
the whole difference should be made up by future re-
searches. A further approximation of numbers may
also be gained by cutting off some of the nominal species
of European Limaces, which seem to be established on
very slight external characters, and will hardly maintain
their places ; but when this is done, the difference
remaining will still be very considerable. We confess
that we do not perceive the means of reconciling the
disparity of distribution, which strikes us as the more
remarkable, because the species live in this country
more in their natural condition than they can do in the
cultivated parts of Europe, and because a large portion of
our territory seems to be, by its climate and geological
structure, and other physical circumstances, peculiarly
adapted to their growth and increase. The only circum-
stance which we perceive, wherein the European local-

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES. IQ^

ities can be supposed to have the advantage is, the more
equable and gradually changing temperature which they
enjoy; the changes of temperature in many parts of
this country being frequent, rapid, and excessive.

We notice, also, the remarkable deficiency of the
lAmaeidm, of Tvhich Tehennophorus is the only unequiv-
ocally native genus, while Arion and Vaginulus are
each represented by a single introduced species, and
lAmax has two introduced species and one somewhat
doubtful native. The whole appear to have been for-
merly represented by TehenyiopJiorus, which is believed
to be peculiar to North America, and differs essentially
from its allied genera by its external form and internal
structure. It may be remarked, however, that as the
animals of this family are nocturnal in their habits, and
their places of resort are but little open to common ob-
servation, it is almost certain that other species will be
discovered. The genus Olaiisilia, which, in Europe,
comprises numerous species, is without a representative,
and, so far as we know, does not occur either upon the
continent of America, or the adjacent islands. Its place
is supplied by Cylindrellay which is common in the
Antilles. Vitrina contams only a smgle species, iden-
tical with the most common European species, and by
many thought to be introduced. Of the other genera
common to both lists, Sucdnea is more numerously rep-
resented here than in Europe ; Pupa, Vertigo, and Buli-
mus, much less so, although our proximity to the regions
where Bulimus prevails would induce us to expect to
find it more numerous ; and Helix, making allowance for

166 INTRODUCTION.

a few deductions from some of the foreign lists, main-
tains nearly an equal representation. The most consid-
erable differences, however, indicated by the comparison,
arise from the introduction into our catalogue of the
genera Vaginulus, Crlandina, Cylindrella and Helicina,
which are believed to be entirely wanting in Europe,
and the very distinct section of Helix, which includes the
polygyral species. All these are due to our near ap-
proach to the tropical parts of our continent, withm which
they all prevail. Crlandina, it is believed, is peculiar
to the coasts and islands of the Gulf of Mexico, the
alluvial regions north and south of it, and the larger
West Indian Islands ; while Helicina and Cylindrella, as
well as Cyclostoma are most numerous in the Antilles,
from which most probably our species, w\.\h. one excep-
tion, were derived. The sub-genus Helicodonta of
Ferussac, which is numerous in species, as we shall
hereafter have occasion to observe, is also characteristic
of the American continent and islands, but is not, like
the preceding, more predominant near the equator than
elsewhere. We shall notice the peculiarities which dis-
tinguish our native species, and the particulars in which
they differ from those of other countries, in our general
remarks upon each genus. We give here a comparative
table showing the number of species of the several
genera of terrestrial mollusks in the United States, and
in various sections of Europe. It is derived from au-
thentic catalogues of local authors, and exhibits forcibly
our numerical deficiencies in species. A single local
catalogue of the North of Africa is added.

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES.

167

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF TERRESTRIAL MOLLUSKS IN
THE UNITED STATES AND IN EUROPE.

0

COUN'TRIES.

AUTHORS.

1

0

0

■A

a
4

>
1

3

8

2
13

1

71

C3

3"

13

.3

3

2

-5
2

a

X
3

3
p

0
1

hi
121

United States, ]
East of River >
Mississippi )

3

Great Britain .

Alder . .

0

0

1

7

1

2

5

3G

13

5

0

0

1

71

Scotland . .

Forbes

0

0

0

7

1

2

4

24

9

2

0

0

0

49

Ireland . . .

Thompson

0

0

1

G

1

2

4

30

9

2

0

0

1

56

Germany . .

Pfeiffer .

0

0

0

C

3

2

7

58

16

17

0

0

2

111

Sweden . . .

Wilson

0

0

0

9

1

1

3

20

6

4

0

0

0

44

Russia, with )
Caucasus J

Krynicki .

0

0

0

0

1

2

9

47

16

15

0

0

0

90

Switzerland

Charpentier

0

0

0

7

4

2

5

40

21

11

0

0

0

90

Province of \
Brabant, N. of \
Belg-ium 3

Kicks

0

0

0

S

2

1

6

22

12

6

0

0

1

58

France . . .

Michaud .

0

0

1

12

4

2

10

79

27

11

0

0

7

153

Department of )
Pas-de-Calais, \
N. of France )

Bouchard- >
Chantereaux ^

0

0

0

8

1

3

4

21

7

6

0

0

2

52

Department of '\
Puy-de-Dome, >
S. of Centre )

Bouillet

0

0

1

10

3

2

4

27

9

5

0

0

1

62

Department of ^
the Landes, >
S. of France )

Grateloup

0

0

1

8

1

2

5

30

5

3

0

0

1

56

Department of ■)
Finisterre, !>
W. of France j

Collard-des- >
Cherres. J

0

0

1

3

1

1

3

24

7

3

0

0

2

45

Italy . . .

Jan . .

0

0

0

2

3

2

6

66

13

10

0

0

2

104

Province of 1
Como, North V
of Italy )

Porro . .

0

0

0

3

3

2

3

29

14

5

0

0

3

G2

Sicily . . . 'Philippi

0

3

0

0

1

1

7

41

1

4

0

0

3

GI

Portugal . . Morclet

0

1

1

M

1

4

G

28

7

1

0

0

1

64

North of Africa

Terv-er

0

0

1

4

0

1

5

42

4

0

0

2

49

168 INTRODUCTION.

In the preceding table, the numbers for Scotland,
Germany, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, and Italy, are
copied from Mr. Forbes's Report ; in the other instances,
they are taken from the authors named in the table
itself. Tebennopliorus includes Vaginulus, Limax in-
cludes Arion, Bulimus includes Aehatina, Pupa includes
Vertigo, and Clausilia includes Azeca and Oylindrella.
Ci/clostoma, which was not given by Mr. Forbes, is added.
Besides exhibiting the numerical relations which our
species bear to those of Europe, this table also shows
the local distribution of the genera. While Limax
is most numerous in species towards the north, though
not in the extreme north, its numbers diminish towards
the south, until, in Sicily, it appears to be replaced
by Parmacella. Vttrina, Succinea, and Bulimus are
pretty equally diffused. Clausilia is shown to pre-
dommate most towards the north, and Cyclostoma with
equal certainty to prefer the south. Pupa, while it
flourishes most in northern latitudes, is at the same
time, partial to mountainous districts. The sixteen
species which it comprised in Russia and Germany,
are reduced to seven in the south of France (Landes),
and to only one in Sicily ; the limited and moun-
tainous territory of Switzerland affords many more
species than the whole extent of Germany, which is fur-
ther north ; and the small province of Como, situated a
little south of the Alpine ranges, in northern Italy, con-
tains as many as all the rest of Italy. The genus Helix
is most plentifully distributed towards the south. In

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES. IQQ

Italy and Sicily it comprises two-thirds of all the terres-
trial species, while in Sweden and Scotland, and in
Switzerland, where elevation produces the effect of a
high latitude, its species are less than half of the whole
number. The only countries on the list, that have been
thoroughly mvestigated, are Great Britain and France.
The disproportionate number of species shown to belong
to the latter, is due in part to its thorough exploration,
but in a greater degree to its extent, which reaches from
the Mediterranean to the North Sea, and to the singular
variety of its surface, which, although in general by no
means mountainous, yet includes parts of the mountain
ranges of the Pyi^enees, the Jura, and the Alps, and
therefore partakes of a greater diversity of climate and
elevation than any other country of Europe. The effect
of these peculiarities upon its fauna is very apparent,
the northern species, except Clausilia, all the southern
species, and all those affecting mountainous regions,
being in excess. The value of tables of this kind is
very evident from this example. A complete series of
them, including especially those of limited districts
which present strongly-marked topographical or climatal
peculiarities, would be invaluable in affording the means
of deducing the laws of geographical distribution.

When we commenced our introductory remarks, we
did not expect to extend this division of our subject
beyond a comparison between our species and those of
Europe ; but, an opportunity having occurred of exam-
imng the valuable work of M. De la Sagra, on the

VOL. I. 21

lYO INTRODUCTION.

Natural History of Cuba, we cannot forbear making use
of some of the interesting information that it affords,
and also of facts contained in the memoir of Dr. Pfeiffer
on the pneumobranchiate mollusks of the same island.
In this connection also, the results of the observations of
M. D'Orbigny in Sovith America, in their relation to the
distribution of the terrestrial species on this continent,
gain an additional importance. We compare therefore
the genera of Cuba, and of South America, with those
of the United States. It is not to be supposed that
these lists are equally complete with that of the United
States ; indeed it may be taken for granted that they
are much less so. Being the work of foreign travellers,
who resided but a short time in those countries, many
species must have necessarily escaped notice, however
careful their researches may have been ; and whenever
the subject shall be resumed by native naturalists, the
gleanings may be expected to equal in number the first
harvest. But they probably represent pretty nearly the
proportion in which the respective genera prevail, and
may, therefore, serve our present purpose.

It is proper to observe, before introducing the follow-
ing table, that the researches of M. D'Orbigny were
mostly confined to that part of South America which
lies north of the twenty-fifth degree of south latitude,
and that a large majority of his species appear to have
been collected in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia, on the
western side of the continent.

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES

171

NUMBER OF SPECIES.

GENERA.

Cuba. Cuba. South America.
By De la Sagra. By Pleiffer. By D'Orbigny. "'^'^^ ^"^'s*-

Tebennophorus

0 .

0 .

0 .

2 .

Vagiiiulus . .

. 1 .

0 .

2 .

1 .

Anoa

0 .

0 .

0 .

1 .

Liinax

0 .

0 .

2 .

3 .

Vitrina

0 .

0 .

0 .

1 .
9 .

Siiccinea

1 .

0 .

4 .

Buliious

12 .

11 .

91 .

11 .

Helix .

22 .

16 .

26 .

79 .

Glaiidina

2 .

4 .

0 .

2 .

Pupa

9 .

4 .

4 .

8 .
5 .

Vertigo .

0 .

0 .

0 .

Cylindrella

0 .

4 .

0 .

3 . i

Helicina

0 .

8 .

4 .

3 . 1

Cyclostoma

0 .

. 4 .

2 .

1 ,

Total ....

47 .

51 .

135 .

. 129

We notice, in the first place, the South American list.
Here Vitrina, Vertigo, and Glandina, all the genera of
the Limacidce except Vaginulus, which replaces Tehen-
nopliorus, being, like that species, entirely covered with
a mantle, are wanting. Succinea holds a smaller nu-
merical proportion than in North America. Bulimus
predominates in the astonishing proportion of ninety-
one in a total of one hundred and thirty-five ; holding
about the same rank there, that Helix maintains in the
southern part of Europe. Helix is reduced to a sixth
part of the whole number. Pupa remains very subor-
dinate, and Helicina and Ci/clostoma are merely repre-
sented. In the Cuban list of M. De la Sagra, Tebenno-
phorus, Vitrina, and Vertigo are wanting ; and a single
Vaginulus represents the whole family of Limacidce.

172 INTRODUCTION.

Selix makes up less than one half, and Bidimus about
one third of the whole number. Selicina,^ a genus not
numericallj strong, is very predominant ; and Cydosto-
ma is considerably numerous. Clausilia appears in the
list of M. Pfeiffer, but it comprises only species which
are not true Clausilice, and for which, more recently, he
has constructed the genus Cylvndrella.

The facts exhibited in the tables which we have given,
and derived from the other sources mentioned, suggest
certain general inferences concerning the geographical
distribution of the genera which are worthy of notice,
and deserving of being tested by observation in other
parts of the world. They indicate, that native species
of the European genera of the Limacidce, namely, Li-
max, Avion, and Testaeella, are wanting hi the tropical

' We have not seen that part of the work of M. De la Sagra, which
treats of Helicina, but the monograph of this genus by Mr. Sowerby, ( The-
saurus Conchy liorum,) gives descriptions of seventy-two species, of which
seventeen are set down as belonging to Cuba, fourteen to the Antilles and
other West Indian islands, and tliirteen more to the adjacent parts of the
continent of America. Bolivia, on the western coast of South America, is
said to furnish three species, and the Philippine islands six. A single
species is ascribed to Opara, in Polynesia : and to this we may add nine
others, collected by the United States Exploring Expedition. The locahties
of the remaining species are unknown. We make a similar remark con-
cernmg Cyclostoma, the species of wliich Mr. Sowerby has also collected
into a monograph. Of one hundred and thirty-three species, whose habitat
is known, thirty-two belong to the West Indian islands, forty-two to the
East Indian Archipelago, thirteen to the African islands, five to Polynesia,
(to which we add nine from the Exploring Expedition,) four to the islands
of the Mediterranean, seven to Europe, nine to Asia, eight to Africa, and
thurteen to America. Some of the species ascribed to the continents, pro-
bably only occur upon the islands adjacent.

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES. 173

and temperate portions of the American continent and
islands, their place being supplied by the genera Tehen-
noplwms and Vaginulus, the first in North and the
second in South America, the Antilles and that part of
Florida adjacent to Cuba. The only exception to this re-
mark is, a single and somewhat doubtful species of Limax,
common in the United States.' At the same time, the
climate is favorable to several species of foreign origin,
"which are rapidly spreading through the country. Vit-
rina only appears in America north of 44° north latitude.
Helix, a genus common to all the continents and large
islands, is most abundant in temperate latitudes of the
northern hemisphere, towards their southern limits, and
gradually diminishes in the number of its species, both
in approaching the equator, and in going into higher
latitudes. BiiUmus affects mostly the inter-tropical lat-
itudes, where it takes the place of Helix, while ki the
temperate latitudes of North America and of the east-
ern contment it is reduced to a very small number of
species*. In South America, however, which seems to
be the great numerical centre of the genus, the species
abomid as far as 25'^ south latitude. The European form
of Pupa, differmg however in specific characters, is
common to North America, and extends in a few species

> The territory belonging to the United States, on the Pacific Ocean, south
of 49° north latitude, is also known to produce one or more species of
Limax, drawings of which were made by the artists of tlie United States
Ebcploring Expedition. We do not loiow whether the species have been
determined or not.

174 INTRODUCTION.

to the West Indian islands, in which other pecuhar forms
of the genus prevail. Grlandma is an American genus,
and confined to the limits which have been already men-
tioned. Helkina is also an American genus, though
not exclusively so, the central focus of which is the
Antilles, whence it is diflfused through the other West
Indian Islands to the adjacent parts of the continent on
*the sea-coast, as far as 25° north latitude. In the
Philippine Islands this genus re-appears under geo-
graphical conditions similar to those which distinguish
the American localities ; that is to say, the position of
this group of islands and its relations to the neighboring
continents of Asia and Australia, bear an extraordi-
nary resemblance to those of the Antilles in respect of
the continent of America. On all the principal groups
of islands throughout the Pacific, this genus is found,
though very essentially modified in form from the
American types. In conclusion, the genus Cyclos-
toma seems to range around the whole circumfer-
ence of the globe within 20° both north and south'of the
equator, avoiduig for the most part continental stations,
and finding the conditions most favorable for its exists
ence in the innumerable islands with which this belt of
the globe is studded. It is difiused more numerously
in the eastern than in the western hemisphere, in about
the same proportion as the islands themselves are more
numerous there. A single species being often confined
to a small group of islands, or even to a single island,
and the species in general being very much separated.

DISTRIBUTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES

175

and, as it -were, scattered geographically, there docs not
appear to be any centre where the genus is more predom-
inant than elsewhere. In this respect it differs ap-
parently from the other genera, which may be said to
have each, one or more climatal or topographical centres.
In the dispersion of this genus among the islands of the
sea, a remarkable contrast is presented to the distribution
of the superior classes, and particularly of the mamma-
lia, the latter being, in general, entirely wanting in small
islands remote from the continents, while, in those adja-
cent to them, they consist of the species belonging to
the main land.

IX.

GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS.

Under this head we propose to make only a few re-
marks on the geological conditions in which such of
the existing species as are found also in a fossil state
occur, and to draw, from the few facts collected, such
inferences as to their former condition on the earth's
surface in the regions where they occur, as these facts
may seem to warrant. The conclusions which depend
upon the situation in which fossil terrestrial shells are
found, are however, much less worthy of confidence
than those derived from the marine fossils. The lat-
ter may reasonably be supposed to have lived and died
in the localities which they now occupy, while the for-
mer have only been preserved by being removed from
their original positions, and subjected to conditions en-
tirely different from those under which they existed
during life. The substance of all land-shells possesses
so little solidity, and their texture is so frail, that when
they are deprived of the protection that the animal
itself affords them, the operation of the elements soon

GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. J 77

decomposes and destroys them ; hence, in a short time
after the death of the animals, scarcely a vestige of
their shells is to be found. The formations which con-
tain them, and in which alone they have been found
thus far, are those which have been deposited in the
estuaries and bays at the mouths of ancient rivers, or
in the beds of lakes. The streams and rivers which
discharged their waters into those reservou'S were filled
with the washings of the countries through which they
flowed. The shells and other substances borne along
by their currents, on reaching the sea or lake in which
they terminated, were deposited in still water, and being
immediately covered by succeeding deposits, remained
protected from disturbing causes until the beds and
strata Avhich contained them underwent the fossilizing
process. But it may have happened that a river, rising
in a high latitude, and flowing towards the equator,
like the present Mississippi, may only have reached its
outlet within or near the tropics. It may have re-
ceived tributaries through its whole course, some of
which, uniting with it near its mouth, may have passed
through regions enjoying a tropical cUmate. The
waters of such a river would of course be freighted
with the animal and vegetable productions of regions
very remote from each other, and of very different
climes, and they would be deposited promiscuously
together. Genera and species peculiar to mountainous
countries would be found side by side with those belong-
voL. I. 22

178 INTRODUCTION.

ing to lowlands and marshes ; while those which in life
were habituated to a high temperature would be inter
mingled with others which had Uved under the influence
of an almost constant winter. And farther, besides the
terrestrial shells of such different characters we might
also find the Limniadce of shallow waters, the Naiades
of deeper streams, and the various species of Cyrena,
Crnathodon, and Neritina of the mouths of rivers, all
mingled together with the truly marine genera. It is
manifest that in the confusion of species which such a
deposit would present, but few legitimate inferences
could be drawn as to the former climate and condition of
that part of the earth's surface where they occur, or as
to the changes of habit and locality of the species them-
selves, or ui fact as to any pomt except their contem-
poraneous existence, and their affinities to the species
which are now extant.

It has been held that as the presence of certain spe-
cies coincides in general with temperature, the occur-
rence of certain fossil forms in a particular geological
formation indicates that the climate of the locality was,
at the period of deposition, similar to that in which the
same or analogous Hving species are now known to exist.
The preceding remarks show how erroneous this opinion
is hkely to be when founded upon the occurrence of the
terrestrial and fresh-water species ; for the place of their
origin and its climate must be in a great degree uncer-
tain, and while it may coincide with their present condi-

GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 179

tion it may on the other hand differ very materially
from it. It has also been suggested that as vegetable
remains have been detected in very ancient formations,
it might have been expected that the animals -which feed
upon vegetables, and especially the herbivorous land-
mollusks would have existed contemporaneously with
them, and that their remains should now be found in the
same strata ; but that as they do not appear in any of
the formations older than the tertiary, and but very
sparingly in that, they could not have existed antecedent
to, and were far from numerous during the tertiary
period. Hence, as a further inference from these infer-
ences, it has been stated, that the present time is the
period of their greatest numerical development, and
that their actual numbers far exceed those of any former
era. These conclusions also ought to be received with
great caution, for the premises on which they are
founded are very uncertam. We have seen that the
remains of these animals, by reason of their frail and
perishable nature, soon decay, and we must take it for
granted that only a small part of their whole number is
washed into rivers and carried away by their currents.
The deposites which finally receive them can therefore
represent but very feebly their former numerical condi-
tion, and a very general diflFiision of species upon the
earth's surface is quite consistent with the existence and
deposition of only a small number of their remains.
The condition of the species at particular epochs cannot
therefore be correctly mferred from such facts, and the

X80 INTRODUCTION.

suggestions we have alluded to deserve only the credit
"which is due to plausible conjectures./

There is, however, a class of minor formations of the
tertiary period, in which the testaceous remains point to
more certain results. These we have mentioned as de-
posited in the beds of lakes. When the body of water
from which the deposit in these instances took place was
small, it could of course only contain the productions of
the lake itself, and of the region immediately around it.
Hence species occurring together in such formations
must have not only existed contemporaneously, but must
have occupied the same geographical region, and have
been subjected to the same physical influences. The
inferences which may be drawn from them are therefore
more to be relied upon.

Shells of many of the terrestrial species, apparently
in a fossilized condition, are often met with in collections,
and are said to be brought from the western and south-
western parts of the country. They indicate the exist-
ence of the most recent tertiary or post tertiary forma-
tions, but nothing certain is known of them. Dr. David
D. Owen, of New Harmony, Indiana, has discovered an
extensive deposit of this kind in Pusey coimty, on the

1 This view of the subject is strongly corroborated by facts brought to
light by the valuable researches of Professor Hitchcock. He has given, to
us unequivocal proofs of the existence of birds, in the most ancient mesozoic
period, through the evidence of their foot-tracks in the sandstone of the Con-
necticut River valley. The number of species he has now made us ac-
quainted with is not less than seventy, and yet not a single bone of any one
of these has yet been discovered.

GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. J^gl

Wabash River, in that State. It is a fine sandy marl
of a yellowish-white color. It occurs on the upland,
from twenty-five to fifty feet above the bottom land, and
is reached at the distance of from six to ten feet from
the surface, and has been penetrated to the depth of
twenty-five feet without passing through it. It appears
also on the opposite side of the Wabash in Illinois at
about the same level, and near Shawneetown, forty miles
distant, in descending into the bottom land, in a similar
position. Dr. Owen has learned that a similar deposit
in an analogous position exists opposite to St. Louis,
above the American bottom on the INIississippi river, and
there are said to be indications of a like formation at
Big-Bone Licks, on the south side of the Ohio River,
about twenty miles below Cincinnati. The Wabash
deposit contains, in vast numbers, terrestrial and fluviatile
shells of the same species as those now existing in the
surrounding country ; they occur also, as we are informed,
in strata of marl below the deposit in which the bones
of the Mastodon are found.' Whether all these are
parts of one continuous deposit, or whether they point
out the location of several small basms in which a con-
temporaneous deposition took place, is not yet ascer-
tained. The fossils which they contain prove, accord-

* The number of land and fresh-water shells occurring in the "Wabash
deposit is very great. In a small parcel of the marl which we have exam-
ined, the following species were noticed. Helix hirsuta, monodon, laby-
rinthica, lineata, tkyroidus, claicsa, infiecta. Pupa armifera, coiitracta.
Hdicina occulta ; together with several species of lamineu, Planorbis^ Am-
nicola, Valvata.

182 INTRODUCTION.

ing to the opinions at present received among geologists,
that the epoch of their deposition corresponded with the
time when the surface of the earth in that region was
diversified with lakes of considerable extent, and that it
was antecedent to the period when, bj the lifting of their
beds, the surface attained its present position, or when
by some relative change in the level of the land, the
lakes were dramed of their waters. We have said that
these deposits contain the species of terrestrial and
fiuviatile shells inhabitmg the surrounding country. Of
the species indigenous to that section, nearly two thirds
have abeady been found in a fossil state (although but
little attention has been given to them) and their identity
is beyond all doubt. There is, however, a single ap-
parent exception to the general remark, in a species of
Selieina, which Mr. Say, supposing it to be a recent
species, described under the specific name occulta, and
which is one of the most common species among the
fossils. As the genus Helicina belongs mostly to inter-
tropical regions, and has rarely been met with in a re-
cent state in so high a latitude as that occupied by these
fossUs, a good deal of importance has been attached to
its occurrence here as indicating such a change of cli-
mate as has been alluded to. But this supposition
creates more difficulties than it obviates, for the numer-
ous species of other genera found in company with the
species in question, and which live at this time in the
same district in which the fossils are situated, must, ac-
cording to this view, have also been adapted to a warmer

GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. Igg

climate than the present, though they do not now exist
in southern latitudes, and therefore a very considerable
change in their habits must have since taken place.
Notwithstanding the facility with which the terrestrial
moUusks accommodate themselves to the physical influ-
ences which act upon them, such a change is not consist-
ent with what we know of their history, and hence the
most reasonable conclusion is, that the climate in which
they have lived, from the days when the multitudes
which now compose the mass of the fossil beds were in
the enjoyment of hfe upon the sm-face of the earth, to
the present time, has remained essentially the same.

The question of the identity of this fossil, with any
living species of Helicina is also interesting, as upon its
solution, perhaps, may depend the opinion we may form
as to the comparative remoteness of the period when all
the fossil species of the formation flourished. If it
should be considered to be specifically distuict from any
other known living form, or in other words to be an ex-
tinct species, we should refer its existence to a more
ancient date in the tertiary period than would otherwise
be assigned to it. If on the other hand it should prove
to be identical with an existing species, it would date
back only to the most recent epoch. This point we
have established to our own satisfaction by carefully
comparmg specimens of the fossils of the Wabash de-
posit with the few specimens we have seen of the only
species of Helicina which inhabits the country north of
the tertiary section of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico,

184 INTRODUCTION.

and which was described by the late Jacob Green, M. D.,
as HeUcina rubella. We cannot doubt the identity of
the two, as they are as nearly alike as the soft and
crumbling fossil can be to the shell whose surface yet
retains its original character. The recent shell is ex-
tremely rare, and is found in only a few collections, and
in tliis respect oifers a strong contrast to the fossil, which
must have been very numerous. One of the most evi-
dent facts taught to us by geology is the constant suc-
cession of zoological species. They come into existence
one after another, increase and flourish for a longer or a
shorter time, and then gradually die out and disappear.
That there are laws which regulate and limit their con-
tinuance we cannot doubt, although they are not under-
stood by us ; neither can we doubt that they are yet in
operation, and that in accordance with them species do
now sometimes become extinct. The abundance of the
species mider consideration, at the time of its deposition
in the fossil beds, and its rarity now, suggest the
thought, that having then reached its greatest numerical
development, it has since slowly declined, and is now in
•a condition of zoological senility antecedent to its entii'e
extinction.

The light which is afforded by geology, in elucidating
the former zoological condition of the earth, is a beauti-
ful illustration of the manner in which one science often
ministers to another. Without the aid which has been
derived from our knowledge of the animated creation,
geology, indeed, would hardly have attained the cer-

(JEOLOGICAL RELATION. 185

tainty of a science, but it is from time to time amply
repaying the benefit, by making kno-\vn the condition of
the animal kingdom at remote periods of time. We
are thus enabled to obtain glimpses of the state of the
earth -when races of animals very different from those
now living inhabited it, and to note their successive ap-
pearances and decline, until at length we reach the time
when animals which are still extant began to prevail.
The results afforded by such observations are among the
most Avonderful presented to us by science. They tend
to enlarge our ideas of the power of the Creator, while
they multiply infinitely om' conceptions of the unlimited
variety of created things, and of the immeasurable du-
ration of their existence.

Guided by the light reflected from geological sci-
ence, we may feel rationally authorized to draw from
the preceding facts and considerations the following
inferences. That our existing species of land moUusks
were Hving at a period which, though recent in a geo-
logical sense, was anterior to the last geological revolu-
tion, when the surface of this portion of the earth was
brought to its present condition, and to the existence of
the higher orders of animals which now inhabit it, and
even to that of the extinct mammaUans which are known
only by their gigantic remains. That, during the period
of the deposition of the newest tertiary beds they
were at least as numerous as at present, and that conse-
quently, the existing epoch cannot be considered as that
of their greatest development. That, in the interval of
VOL. I. 23

18(3

INTRODUCTION.

time between the two periods, the immense extent of
which we have no means of estimating, very few, and
perhaps none of the then existing species (as indicated
bj the fossil deposits) have become extinct ; and that
consequently, the term of their specific existence is of
great length. That, although the numbers contained in
the Wabash deposit indicate that, at the time of their
deposition, the species had been a long time in existence,
none of their remains have yet been discovered in ear-
lier formations.

X.

HABITS AND FACULTIES.

The animals of this order, indigenous to the United
States, are essentially inhabitants of the forest. It is
there, under the deep shadows of a dense foliage, where
the sun's rajs hardly penetrate to the sui'face of the
earth, and where the ground is covered with the mould-
ering trunks of trees and thick layers of decaying
leaves, that they find a constant moisture, a twilight
interinipted only by darkness, abmidance of vegetable
and animal food, and the means of shelter and protec-
tion. These constitute a combination of circumstances
very favorable to their increase, and hence they may be
discovered, in situations where these conditions exist, in
every part of the country where they can be found at
all. But when, with these, are conjoined a mild climate,
and a calcareous soil, the maximum of favoring influences
is reached, and large numbers are produced. It is in
the great valley of the Mississippi, based throughout
nearly its whole extent upon horizontal limestone forma-

188 INTRODUCTION.

tions, that these combined causes operate over an exten-
sive region, and there, consequently, the species proper
to it exist in multitudes. In the parts of the country
which have been long cultivated, and are nearly deprived
of their forests, they have mostly disappeared, and only
survive in places where some shelter of wood or stones is
still afforded to them. They everywhere avoid cultiva-
ted fields and open pastures, and are never found in
gardens/ or about or within houses or other buildings.
In this respect, they present a remarkable contrast to
the same animals in Europe, which not only are very
common in open and cultivated tracts, but are particu-
larly numerous in fields and gardens, where some of the
species commit much mischief, and in cellars, drains and
other similar situations, in immediate contiguity with
man. The species which have been introduced from
Europe, and naturalized in this country, are distinguished
by the same habits as the stock from which they are
derived, and differ as much from the native species.
Thus, Helix hortensis, and IT. jnilchella live in open and
exposed situations destitute of shelter, except that
afforded by grass and shrubs. Helix cellar'ia occupies
gardens and cellars. Limax variegatus inhabits cellars
and damp places about drains, and L. agrestis is com-
mon everywhere in gardens, fields, cellars, and houses.
It infests the road side, and the neighborhood of our

' There is a single exception to this remark in Helix fallax, Say, which
we observed a few years since living in great numbers in gardens, in
Charleston, S. C. in company with Bulimiis decnllatxis.

HABITS AND FACULTIES. 189

clAvelllngs, and has in some places become the pest of
the horticulturist.

Whether this difference of habitat arises from original
constitution, or is the consequence of the long continued
operation of external causes, is a curious subject of in-
quiry. The preference for the forest over the open
country exhibited by the native species, even m situa-
tions where both have been for a long time equally
accessible to them, seems to indicate that the former
supposition is correct ; and this opinion is strengthened
by the disappearance of nearly every species with the
progress of agriculture. If their habits were not in-
superable, they might be expected to have been some-
what modified ere now, and to have become adapted to
the new physical conditions to which they are subjected.
That they have not been, suggests the thought, that like
the aboriginal race of men, and some of the larger
quadrupeds, they are destined to give way before the
advance of civilization, and to have their places filled by
foreign species. On the other hand, there are some
facts which tend to show that accidental causes may
have produced a slow and gradual revolution in the
habits of the European species, corresponding with the
changes which, within the historical period, have taken
place over the surface of the greater part of Europe ;
and that in process of time, the same influences will pro-
duce similar results on the habits of the North Amer-
ican species. All those parts of Europe which are now
the most populous were covered with forests, at no very

190 INTRODUCTION.

distant period, and all the terrestrial moUusks were then,
like ours at the present time, living in the forest. The
progress of agriculture there was verj slow compared
with its advances in this country, and thus time was
given to the animals to accustom themselves to the
change ; and thej have thus, by slow degrees, adopted
their present habits. In the United States, the advance
of agriculture in newly settled parts is very rapid ;
large tracts of forest are almost simultaneously subjected
to the axe and to fire, and a very few years produces an
entire change in the vegetation of a whole section.
Consequently these animals are at once exterminated,
or the few that survive are brought suddenly under the
influences of new circumstances, which, from the abrupt-
ness of the change, are fatal to them, but which, if
imposed upon them more gradually, might have been
sustained. A few spots and some limited tracts of land,
remaining unchanged, in the midst of cultivation, protect
some individuals of every species ; and it is from this
comparatively small number, thus preserved, that their
subsequent increase is derived. But, at this period, the
field is equally open for the multiphcation of those
foreign species which accompany man as for the native
species, and it is not surprismg that the former, whose
habits are already adapted to the existing state of things,
should increase more rapidly than the latter. The native
species however, become gradually familiarized with the
circumstances around them, and some few of them
advance, and after a time establish themselves in the

HABITS AND FACULTIES. 191

open country, Avhere they seek such shelter as they can
find. This transition is very slow, but there are suffi-
cient indications, in the exceptions which are found to
the general habits of the species in this particular, to
show that it is going on; and therefore, it is reasonable
to believe, that when a period shall have elapsed as long
as that since the south and west of Europe were cov-
ered with forests, our species will have become able to
sustain themselves in the open country, and will have
spread themselves in great numbers over those populous
parts where they are now wanting. The power of
adaptation to new circumstances, which is a prominent
quahty of nearly all the shell-bearing species of this
order, and which, combined with a remarkable tenacity
of life, enables them to resist successfully the many
dangers to which they are exposed, is illustrated in the
extremes of their mode of Hfe on the two contuients.
We know of no other instances of animals living in a
natural condition, not domesticated nor accompanying
man, where the same diversity of habitat in analogous
species exists. The presumption of changes which shall
approximate the habits of both, in proportion as the
physical circumstances of both approach each other, is
therefore not a violent one. But it is by no means cer-
tain that all the species Avill survive the violent change
to which they are at first exposed. Those of them which
are in a state of declme and nearly run out, and those
which are strictly local in then- habitats will be least
able to sustain themselves, and their entire extinction
will be very likely to follow.

1Q2 INTRODUCTION.

All the species are nocturnal or semi-nocturnal in their
habits. In the day-time thej seek such shelter as may
be at hand, and retreat into dark holes and crevices, or
hide themselves under the fallen trunks of trees, frag-
ments of wood, leaves and stones, or bury themselves
wholly or partially in the earth. There they remain
inactive until evening twilight, when, except in seasons
of drought, they sally forth in numbers ; and in favorable
situations, such as ravines and low places in the forest,
may be seen crawhng over the surface of the ground,
and sometimes climbing the stalks of plants, and the
trunks of trees. They are probably active during the
whole night, during which they all seek their food, and
those species which are noxious to man commit their
depredations in the garden and orchard. At this time
too, their sexual meetings take place. Soon after day-
light, they retire to their retreats, and remain very close
until night approaches agaui. They also come forth
when the atmosphere is charged with moisture, and after
light showers.

There is a difference in the places of their retreat.
The Limaeidce are oftenest found attached to the lower
surface of wood and stones lying in contact with the
ground, or to the damp walls of cellars, and, in the forest,
concealed under logs. So soon as, from the increased
dryness of the atmosphere, these places no longer retain
moisture, they abandon them for others, and in seasons
of drought they penetrate deeply into the earth. The
HeUcidoe, in the forest, are observed under prostrate

HABITS AND FACULTIES. I93

timber, to the lower surface and crevices of which they
adhere by a mucous attachment during the day, in hol-
lows under the roots of trees, and under the layer of
decaying leaves which cover the ground. In situations
where such places of shelter are not found, they half
bury themselves in the soil, at the roots and under the
shade of thick tufts of plants. Numbers frequently
resort to the same retreat, but this in the Helieidce seems
a mere matter of accident, while in the introduced
species of Limacidce it appears to indicate a gregarious
habit, as they prefer to crowd together and lie in close
contact with and upon each other.^ These last are said
by some to occupy permanently the same retreat, but
the assertion is probably incorrect. They often, and
perhaps generally, remain in the immediate vicinity of
the place where they procure their food, and hence they
often resort to the same place of shelter ; and as many
of them have frequently been observed in the same
place, they have been thought to be the same individuals.
But when one set of individuals is destroyed another soon
takes their place, and whenever a new shelter is provid-
ed, by the accidental presence of fragments of wood in
suitable situations, it is immediately resorted to by them.
The native genus Tebennophorus is in no manner grega-
rious ; it lives in the forest, mostly buried in decaying
and rotten wood, and no more than two are usually found

' The promiscuous mingling of individuals of Limaz agrestis and Limax
variegatus in their respective retreats has often reminded us of the familiar
positions in which swine place themselves for sleep.
VOL. I. 24

194 INTRODUCTION.

together. In clouclj weatlier, when the atmosphere is
charged with moisture, and during light showers, all the
species come forth in the day time ; but on a change of
weather, immediately return again, and during rains
remain in their retreats. Long continued or excessive
rains, however, inundate their hiding places, drive them
out, and force them to resort to trees.

We have seen, in a preceding part of this work, how
numerous are the agencies which are continually tending
to destroy the lives of individuals, and to exterminate
whole species. Being all of them sIoav in their motions,
without means of escape from enemies, destitute of in-
struments of offence or of defence, and some of them
unprovided with a covering, it would seem as if their
existence must be very precarious, and that they must
be easy victims to the unfavorable circumstances around
them. Such would be the case undoubtedly, and these
causes would interfere with the diffusion of species and
derange their distribution in a greater degree than they
actually do, if there were not counteracting properties
in the animals themselves which modify and limit the
destructive tendency. These conservative properties
are, their prohfic generative capacity, their insensibility
to pain, their extreme tenacity of hfe, and their extra-
ordinary power of reproducing important organs which
have been cut off or destroyed by accident.

The number of eggs produced varies in the genera
and species in the same proportion as the dangers to
which they are exposed are greater or less. Thus, in

HABITS AND FACULTIES. ^95

the lAmacidce, whose means of protection, and whose
chances of preservation are much less than those of the
ffelicidce, the number is much greater than in the latter.
The number of eggs produced by two individuals of
Limax agrestis kept in confinement by Dr. Leach was,
in the course of rather more than a year, seven hundred
and eighty-six. It usually amounts to at least three
hundred per annum. The other species, though not
equally prolific, multiply greatly ; and each pair of the
various species of Helicidce produces, annually, from
thirty to one hundred eggs, aud perhaps more. The
young of the Limacidce complete their growth and re-
produce their kind sometimes within the year of their
birth, and always as soon as the second year ; and the
species of the other families are believed not to require a
much longer time to attain maturity. This rapid
increase replaces the numbers annually destroyed, and
maintains the species in their relative importance.

Their extreme tenacity of life is manifested in every
stage of growth, from the egg to the mature animal. The
eggs of Limax have been so entirely desiccated that their
form has disappeared, and there remained only a thin
skin, friable between the fingers. In this condition they
have been kept for years ; and yet a smgle hour's expos-
ure to humidity was suflScient to restore their form and
elasticity.! They have been dried in a furnace eight
successive times, until they were reduced to an almost
invisible minuteness, yet in every interval have regained

' Bouchard-Chantereaux, Ipc. cit. p. 15.

196 INTRODUCTION.

their original bulk in a moist situation.^ In all these
instances, the young have been developed in the same
manner as in other eggs not subjected to the experiment.
In the northern part of the United States •we have fre-
quently observed the eggs of the Helicidce in the forest
covered with snow, protected only by a single leaf, where
they had remained through the winter months, constantly
exposed to a temperature much below the freezing point.
The Helicidce themselves withstand the cold of the sever-
est winters in the same situations ; and Succinea has
been frozen in a solid block of ice, and yet escaped
unharmed. Helices, when frozen in a state of confine-
ment, though they sometimes recover so far as to move
about with some activity, usually survive but a short
time.

The power of reproduction of parts of the body is more
astonishing still. It is well established by experiments
on thousands of Helices, that the tentacles, when cut off,
grow out again, — that considerable parts of the loco-
motive disc may be amputated, and the new parts imme-
diately bud out, and supply their place. The great length
of time they can subsist without food is another exempli-
fication of their great tenacity of life. Those species,
especially, which live in dry and exposed situations have
this power of endurance to a remarkable degree. A
friend received specimens of H. desertorum which had
been collected in Egypt, had been shipped to Smyrna,
thence to Constantinople, thence to Rio Janeiro, and

' Leuchs, loc. cit.

HABITS AND FACULTIES.

197

finally to Boston, — occupying a period of about seven
months, — ■wliich appeared in full vigor when taken from
the papers in -which they had been enveloped. They
were laid away in a drawer ; and on being examined
three years afterwards, some of them still came out in
tolerable vigor.

XI.

SPECIAL ANATOMY OF THE TERRESTRIAL GASTEROPODA
OF THE UNITED STATES. By JOSEPH LEIDY, M. D.

OF PHILADELPHIA.

INTRODUCTION.

When the researches were commenced in the winter
of 1844, of which the following chapters are the result, it
was the proposition of Dr. Binney for the author to give
a complete anatomical and physiological description of
the terrestrial Gasteropoda of the United States, includ-
ing the special and general anatomy, with the embryo-
logy of the several genera. Before the special anatomy
was fairly completed, the death of Dr. Binney put a stop
to the work ; and, a diflferent course of observation hav-
ing occupied the author's attention, the subject is now
published, after a long delay, in its present incomplete
state, from notes taken at the time.

The animals dissected are as follow : —

LiMAX ; L. variegata, L. agrestis, L. campestris.

Arion ; A. Jwrtensis.

Tebennophorus ; T. caroUnensis.

Vaginulus ; V. floridanus.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 1<)9

Helix ; H. alholabris^ H. tht/roidus, H. sayi, H. tri-
dentata, H. fallax, H. 2Jcdlicita, H. llgera, H. intertexta,
H. siippressa, H. auriculata, H. elevata, H. profunda,
S. concava, H. fidiginosa, H. perspectiva, H. alternata,
S. cellm'ia, H. exoleta, IT. multUineata, H. hirsuta, H.
soUtaria, S. dentifera, H. arborea, S. pulchella, JS.
berlanderiana, S. gularis, S. injlecta, S. tezasiana.

BuLiMUS ; B. fasciatus, B. decoUatus, B. virgidatus,
B. dealbatus, B. caribbceorum.

Pupa ; P. incana.

SucciNEA ; aS". obliqua.

Glandina: Cr. truncata.

Chapter i. — general remarks upon the exterior form

AND structure OF THE TERRESTRIAL NAKED GASTERO-
PODA.

Upon examining a Limax or an Arion, we find it com-
posed of a thick, vermiform body, with a broad, ribbon-
like, pedal disc, rmming the whole length of its inferior
surface. The anterior, obtuse extremity forms the head ;
and from it protrude four retractile tentaculse, upon the
outer side of the tip of the two superior, or longer of
which, is placed the eye. The mouth is situated at the
antero-inferior part of the head ; and immediately below
it is a deep depression, or bhnd sac. The posterior part
of the body forms the tail, and is acute. Upon the
antero-superior part of the body is placed the mantle,
which covers the pulmonary chamber, and contains within

200 INTRODUCTION.

it a rudimentary, laminar, calcareous testa. The ante-
rior part of the mantle is free and movable, and the head,
indirectly through the retractor muscle of the buccal
body, is capable of being retracted beneath it. On the
right edge of the mantle the pulmonary orifice exists ;
and at the posterior side of the latter the anal aperture
is placed. Upon the right side of the head, a short dis-
tance posterior to the superior tentacula of that side, the
genital orifice is situated. The body has two distinct
cavities ; the pulmonary chamber, containing a vascular
net- work upon its surface, the heart, the renal organ, and
the rectum ; and the visceral cavity, separated from the
former by a muscular partition, containing the digestive
and generative apparatus and the nervous centres.

In Tebennoj^Jiorus the mantle covers the whole upper
surface of the body, and encloses no testaceous rudiment.
Its anterior edge is unattached, and the head is retractile
beneath it. The pulmonary chamber is placed beneath
the anterior part of it ; and the muscular membrane
bounding the visceral cavity in a great part of its extent,
is but loosely attached to the outer integument.

In Vaginula, the body appears broad from the mantle,
which encloses the whole body except the comparatively
narrow pedal disc, forming a lateral, angvilar projection
as it is inflected inferiorly to the margin of the pedal
disc. In transverse section it is semi-elliptical, as repre-
sented in figure 4. The mantle contains no testaceous
rudiment. The head can be but slightly protruded. The
respiratory orifice is situated on the right side of the tail,

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £01

between it and the extremity of the pedal disc. The
anal aperture opens at the posterior margin of the latter
orifice. The generative apparatus has two distinct ex-
ternal apertures, distant from each other. The male
genital orifice is placed just beneath the mouth, between
it and the blind sac, mchning to the right. The female
orifice is situated upon the inferior part of the left side
of the mantle, midway between the head and tail.

As usual, the body has two catties, of which the pul-
monary occupies a position at the right posterior part,
beneath the mantle, and extending backwards on the
right to the tail.

Chapter ii. — general remarks on the terrestrial
testaceous gasteropoda.

A testaceous gasteropod resembles a slug with the
greater portion of the viscera squeezed out upon the
back, and arranged in a turbinate manner. The turbin-
ate mass is always an exact mould of the testaceous cover-
ing of the anunal; its length in the spiral direction holds
no proportion with that of the foot, or that part of the
body which the animal protrudes from the shell, and dif-
fers very much, not only in different genera, but also in
different species of the same genus. With an increase
ni length a proportionate decrease in breadth is observa-
ble, and vice versa. In Pupa it reaches its maximum
length and narrowness ; in Succlnea it has the mini-
mum length, and the greatest proportionate breadth.

VOL. I. 25

202 INTRODUCTION.

When the foot is protruded from the shell, every part
of the exterior surface of the turbinated mass is still in
contact "with the interior surface of the latter, and is re-
tained so by means of the comparatively capacious pul-
monary chamber. When the foot is retracted, it is at
the expense of the latter cavity ; so that the pulmonary
chamber of the testaceous genera is as much larger than
that of the naked genera as the size of the foot super-
added, whilst the extent of the pulmonary net-work of
blood-vessels remains the same.

The testacea have a muscle which is pecuHar, namely,
the retractor-muscle of the foot, which has its origin, in
common with the retractors of the tentaculse and buccal
body, from the columella of the shell. Narrow at its
commencement, it increases in breadth, splits into several
bands, and diverges as it descends to get its insertion
into the whole of the inner margin of the excavation of
the foot, excepting anteriorly, where its place is occupied
by the retractor of the buccal body.

The head occupies the anterior portion of the foot, and
in Helix, Bidinms, Pujm, and Succinea oflFers nothing
peculiar from that of Limax. In Cflandina a third pair
of tentacular appendages exists. These are non-retractile,
auriculate in form, and originate just postero-inferiorly to
the base of the inferipr, retractile tentaculce, and project
horizontally backward.

The body of the testacea, like that of slugs, has two
great cavities. The visceral cavity includes the greater
part of the turbinated mass, and the excavation of the

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 203

foot. The pulmonary chamber occupies a position on
the outer side of the lower one to three whorls of the tur-
binated mass. The collar apparently takes the place of
the mantle in slugs. In all the genera it is attached
around the base of the turbinated mass, and is perfora-
ted on the right side by the pulmonary orifice. On the
outer border of the latter the anal aperture is placed.

As in slugs, the genital orifice is situated on the right
side of the head, just posterior to the tentaculre.

Chapter hi. — on the tegumentary covering of the
terrestrial gasteropoda.

Besides a testa capable of enclosing the whole body,
which most of the terrestrial Gasteropoda possess, they
have a thick envelop, composed of mucous and muscular
membrane. The exterior, highly irritable and contractile
investment consists of an actively secreting mucous mem-
brane, (Figs. A, B, C, 1) with a substratum of interlaced
muscular fibres (2). In the naked genera it is prettj^

Figure A.

Fig. a is a diagram representing the disposition of the coverings of
the body in Limax and Arion. 1. mucous lamina; 2. muscular subslratinn ;
3. muscular peritoneum ; 4. visceral cavity ; 5. rudimentury testa ; U. pul-
monary chamber.

2G4

INTRODUCTION.

uniformly developed throughout, but is thickest upon the
pedal disc, the tail, and the upper surface of the mantle,
and thinnest upon the head, tentaculoe, and reflected
border of the mantle.

Figure B.
In the testaceous genera, upon the part of the body
corresponding to the interior of the shell, it appears as if
the mucous layer had been pushed downwards to form
the collar (fig. C, 1*) ; but it may be still traced over the
surface of the turbinated portion, as a delicate, tessel-
lated epithelium.

Figure C.

The mucous glands are very numerous in the mucous

Fig. B, disposition of the tegumenta in Tebennophoriis. 1. mucous
lamina; 2. muscular lamina; 3. peritoneum ; 4. visceral cavity; 5. pulmo-
nary chamber ; G. interval between the two muscular layers.

Fig. C, disposition of the tegumenta in Helix, Bulkmis, &c. The refer-
ences are the same as in figs. A and B, except 1*, which is the collar.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 205

layer ; its epithelial cells are flattened, from three to six
sided, granular, and with large, round nuclei.

The muscular substratum (figs. A, B, C, 2) of the
mucous lamina is composed of unstriped fibres, arranged
transversely, obliquely, and longitudinally. It is inflect-
ed outwards beneath the mantle, in Limax and Avion,
to form the outer parietes of the pulmonary chamber.
Between this portion and the mucous layer is placed the
rudimentary testa (fig. A, 6). In TehennopJwrus, it is
inflected inwards (fig. B, 5) beneath the anterior portion
of the mantle, to form the parietes of the pulmonary
cavity. Its transverse fibres predominate within the
tentaculiB, its longitudinal fibres, in the exterior pul-
monary parietes of the testaceous genera, and especially
accumulate on the outside of and parallel to the rectum,
so as to serve as an efficient agent in the retraction of
the collar, and an aid in the expulsion of mattefs from
the rectum.

Interior to the musculo-mucous investment of the body
is a second covering, (figs. A, B, C, 3) which may be
considered as a sort of peritoneum. It is a muscular
membrane, and encloses the digestive and generative
apparatus. It is usually pretty closely attached to the
outer tegument, except in Tehennopliorus carolinensis,
in which the two are separated in all parts of the body,
except above the pedal disc, where they are firmly
blended together, as in all Gasteropoda. It forms the
partition or diaphragm between the visceral and pulmo-
nary cavities. This membrane is composed of transverse

OQg INTRODUCTION.

and longitudinal, unstriped, nuclear fibres, and is the ori-
gin of the especial retractor muscles of different organs.

Chapter iv. — of the digestive apparatus.

LiMAX. The orifice of the mouth is bounded by a
pair of contractile lips, is situated at the anterior part of
the head, and opens into the cavity of the buccal body.
When the latter is retracted by its peculiar muscle, the
oral orifice becomes lengthened into a canal by the in-
version of a portion of the external integument.

The buccal body is an irregularly oval-shaped, muscu-
lar organ, resembling in appearance a gizzard, and con-
tains "within it the masticatory apparatus. Just Tvithin
the upper lip, attached to the entrance of the buccal
body, is the dental plate, a crescentic, corneous lamina,
used for cutting the food. Its anterior face is convex,
and presents several vertical ridges. Into its upper
convex edge, a band of muscular fibres is inserted, by the
contraction of which the inferior, concave, cutting edge
is advanced beyond the line of the upper. The middle
of the cutting edge is extended into a short, conical
toothlet. This plate is brought into view when the ani-
mal is eating, by the advancement of the buccal body.
The floor of the cavity is occupied with a gouge-shaped,
muscular tongue, the tip and upper surface of which are
free, and are covered by a corneous lamina studded with
a great number of conical dentures, with the points pro-
jecting backwards, arranged in transverse rows. These

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 207

teeth preserve the same form in the lines from before
backwards ; the central line ahvajs differs from the
others, and the teeth also vary gradually in form and
size as they pass off from the central line laterally. They
also vary slightly in form in different species. This
lamina protrudes from the buccal body posteriorly, into
a short, rounded, protuberant, blind sac, within which it
appears to undergo a constant growth, as it is worn away
by attrition anteriorly ; for its use appears not only to
facilitate the passage of the food onwards to the oesoph-
agus, but also to act as a sort of rasp for triturating it, by
means of the powerful muscles composing the buccal body.
Into the posterior, inferior part of the buccal body, below
the blind sac of the lingual lamina, is inserted, in a trans-
verse, curved line, its retractor muscle. This muscle has
its origin, in common with the retractors of the tentacles,
from the muscular investment of the visceral cavity, pos-
terior to the pulmonary cavity, and to the right of the
rectum.

The oesophagus proceeds from the upper, posterior part
of the buccal body backward to the stomach. It is short,
and dilates gradually into the latter.

The stomach is a capacious, membranous receptacle,
when extended being two-thirds the length of the animal.
In L. variegata and L. agrestis, anteriorly it is dilated,
and elongated-oval in form, posteriorly it is intestiniform.
In L. campestris, it is nearly uniformly cylindrical
throughout. Where the stomach terminates in the small
intestine, it makes a turn forward with the latter, pro=-

208 INTRODUCTION.

ducing, in L. variegata and L. campestris, a sort of cul-
de-sac posteriorly. Into the angle formed bj the stomach
and intestine, on each side, opens a biliary duct, "which,
in L. agrestis, however, are more removed toward the
small intestines.

The intestine forms a single convolution among the
lobes of the liver, and then passes obliquely forward from
the left to the right side, to join the rectum. It is capa-
cious, and pretty uniformly cylindrical throughout.

About the middle of the oblique portion going to join
the rectum, in L. agrestis, opens a short, cylindrical cul-
de-sac. In L. variegata the intestine, upon reaching
the retractor muscles of the buccal body and tentacles,
■winds around their origin, turns backward a short dis-
tance, and then again forward to the rectum, producing
in this way a sigmoid flexure. From the termination of
the latter in the straight portion, there proceeds back-
ward as far as the termination of the visceral mass, a
long, cylindrical cul-de-sac.

The rectum is short and straight, and penetrates into
the pulmonary cavity, upon the right side of which it
proceeds to the pulmonary orifice, at which it terminates
by the anal aperture.

The salivary glands are two in number, flat, oval or
irregular in outline, of a grayish pink hue, and are situ-
ated upon the anterior parietes of the stomach. They
are composed of several lobuli, which are conglomerated.
From each gland proceeds a duct, along the oesophagus
to the buccal body, into which they open on each side of

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 209

the entrance of the oesophagus. In L. campestris, the
two glands are conjoined, so as to form a collar around
the commencement of the stomach.

The liver, by far the largest viscus in the body,
occupies a position at the posterior part of the latter.
It is of a brownish color, and consists of two principal
lobes, an anterior and a posterior, which are further
divided, the anterior into three or four, and the poste-
rior into two lobes. Each lobe is composed of a number
of lobuli held together by bloodvessels. From the con-
vergence of branches, an hepatic duct is formed for each
principal lobe, which opens in the side of the angle formed
at the termination of the stomach in the intestine. The
posterior cul-de-sac of the stomach usually contains some
bile, which is a thin, glairy, drab-colored fluid.

AriOjST. The digestive apparatus offers but little
peculiarity from that of Limax. The retractor muscle
of the buccal body is not so strong, and is divided into
two lateral bands. The oesophagus is narrower and
lonsrer. In the form of the stomach and absence of a
cul-de-sac to the small intestine, it resembles Limax
campestris. The rectum, in its course to the pulmonary
orifice, perforates the renal organ.

Tebennophorus. The buccal body has a conspicu-
ous curve downwards, and the buccal pouch of the
lingual lamina is longer than in Limax or Arion, and
curves upwards from the postero-inferior part of the

VOL. I. 26

210 INTRODUCTION.

buccal body. The retractor muscle of the latter is split
into two bands as in Arion, but one stronger. There are
also two small retractor muscles to the lower lip. The
oesophagus is comparatively long. The stomach is cylin-
drical and sacculated, and, posteriorly with the small
intestine, forms a wide cul-de-sac. The small intestine
is like that of L. cmnpestris and Arion. The salivary
glands occupy a position on each side of the oesophagus.
The ducts are tortuous.

Vaginula. The buccal body possesses no retrac-
tor muscle. The dental plate is broad, and, upon the
anterior surface, has a pectinate appearance, from the
numerous ridges upon it. Its cutting edge is devoid of
the conical toothlet. The oesophagus is moderately long
and capacious. The stomach is cyhndrical and saccu-
lated, and posteriorly forms a deep, capacious cul-de-sac,
independent of the small intestine. It is strongly mus-
cular and shining, the transverse muscular fibres being
very distinct. The anterior hepatic duct opens into the
angle formed by the cul-de-sac and the intestine, the
posterior into the fundus of the latter. The small intes-
tine is pretty uniformly cylindrical, and holds the usual
course to near its termination in the rectum, Avhen to
reach the latter it turns abruptly backward, and joins it
on the right side, just posterior to the middle of the
body. The rectum is straight, and proceeds backwards,
along the right side of the body, within the pulmonary
cavity, and terminates between the extremity of the tail

SPECIAL ANATOMY. Oj^J

and the pedal disk, at the side of the pulmonary orifice.
The salivary glands are arborescent, or fasciculated in
appearance. The ducts are short and delicate. The
lobuli of the liver are looser, or more separated, than in
the preceding genera.

Helix. The buccal body has the same appearance,
generally, as in the slugs. The retractor muscle is
much stronger, and has its origin in common with the
retractor of the foot and tentaculse, from the columella of
the shell ; at its insertion it forms a semicircle around the
posterior inferior part of the buccal body. The pouch of
the lingual lamina is always a prominent object. In H.
cellaria and H. coneava^ihe buccal body is proportionately
nearly twice the length of that of the other species. The
dental plate varies in some degree in different species : in
H, ligera, H. intertexta, &c. it is smooth anteriorly, and
in the middle projects downwards into a large, conical
toothlet ; in H. albolabris, H. tridentata, &c. the ante-
rior surface presents a number of curved ridges, each of
which projects inferiorly as a sort of toothlet.

The oesophagus is generally long and narrow. In
some species it is unusually long and contracted, as in
H. concava, R. cellaria, H. hirsuta, IT. perspectiva, etc. ;
in others it is long, and dilated in the middle, as in S.
aurieulata ; in many it is capacious, and gradually passes
into the stomach, as in M. exoleta, etc.

The stomach is usually cylindroid, and more or less
sacculated. The posterior cul-de-sac is always present.

212 INTRODUCTION.

The small intestine comes off from the stomach at a
very acute angle, and into the latter two hepatic ducts
empty. It is pretty uniformly cylindrical, and forms, as
in slugs, a single convolution or a sigmoid curve, among
the lobes of the liver, and penetrates to the pulmonary
cavity at its right posterior angle. The rectum, in all
the testaceous genera, corresponds in length to the pul-
monary cavity, the right side of which it occupies to the
pulmonary orifice, at the outer border of which it ter-
minates by the anal aperture. It is cylindrical, usually
wider than the small intestine, and is frequently some-
what sacculated. Upon the outer side of the rectum,
running its whole length, is a band of muscular fibres,
the object of which is, apparently, the retraction of the
collar, the shortening of the rectum, and the expulsion
of its contents.

The salivary glands are generally elongated, oval, with
lobed edges. They are usually united together and
situated on the oesophagus, or commencement of the sto-
mach. When the oesophagus is narroAV they surround
it ; when dilated, they occupy one-half or two-thirds of
its surface. The salivary ducts are long and large.

The liver is four lobed, three of which lobes are ante-
rior or inferior, and the fourth posterior or superior. The
fourth lobe, conjoined with the testicle, forms the very
summit of the turbinated mass. The ducts from the
anterior ^obes converge to form a single trunk, which,
with that from the posterior lobe, open into the junction,
or angle, of the cul-de-sac of the stomach with the intes-
tine.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 213

BuLiMUS. The digestive apparatus in B. dealbaius,
B. decoUatus, and B. virgidatus, resembles that of H.
aurieulata; the oesophagus is long, narrow, and dilated
in the middle ; the stomach is cylindroid, and more or
less sacculated. The stomach of B.fasciatus resembles
that of Limax variegata, being large find capacious ante-
riorly, cylindrical and sacculated posteriorly. The rec-
tum is capacious and sacculated.

Pupa. A characteristic of this genus is the very great
proportionate length of the viscera, corresponding to the
numerous whorls of the shell. The retractor muscle of
the buccal mass is long and strong. The dental plate
has two central, conical toothlets in its cutting edge.
The oesophagus is very long and narrow. The stomach
is very long, and even forms a fold upon itself. The rec-
tum is very long and sacculated ; the muscle on its outer
side is well developed.

SucciNEA. A characteristic of this genus, the re-
verse of Pupa, is the great breadth and shortness of the
viscera. The dental plate has an upper, quadrangular
piece, superadded to the ordinary, crescentic plate.
The stomach resembles that of Limax variegata. Its
mucous membrane presents several longitudinal rugae.
The small intestine does not undergo the same relative
diminution with the other viscera. The rectum is very
short, and, from the transverse position of the pulmo-
nary cavity, it is placed along the right of the breadth,

214 INTRODUCTION,

instead of the length of the latter, as usual. The salivary
glands are situated one on each side of the commencement
of the stomach ; their ducts, just before opening into the
buccal body, become dilated.

Glandina. The oral orifice is triangular, and bounded
by three papillated lips, one upper and two lateral. The
buccal body is a very long muscular cylinder, a little
curved downward at the posterior part. There is no
cul-de-sac for the lingual lamina protruding behind ; and
the retractor muscle is divided into three fasciculi, one
central and passing into the buccal body posteriorly, the
others lateral and inserted as usual. Externally, it has
a very thin investment of longitudinal muscular fibres,
continuous with those of the retractor muscle and the
origin of the especial muscles of the tongue. This layer
is very delicate and transparent ; and at the anterior
third of the buccal body, laterally and inferiorly, it pre-
sents several fasciculi, which pass to the tegumentary lips. -
Beneath the exterior covering, and readily seen through
it, is a thick and strongly fasciculated, transverse layer of
muscular fibres. When the buccal body is laid open the
oral orifice is found to be continuous with a triangular ca-
nal with smooth sides, running one-third its length. At
the posterior superior termination of the canal, is the open-
ing of the oesophagus and orifices of the salivary ducts.
There is no dental plate. The posterior two-thirds of the
buccal body is occupied by a long oval organ, composed
of numerous,' strong fascicuh of muscular fibres, arising

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 215

laterally and infcriorlj at the posterior part of the buccal
body ; the former passing inwards and forwards, the lat-
ter forwards to the anterior extremity of the organ, which
is free, and projects into the triangular, oval canal. The
lateral fasciculi leave between them superiorly an inter-
stice, at the bottom of which is found the lingual lamina,
in the form of a tube, closed posteriorly, and open and
reflected downwards and backwards upon the anterior,
free tip of the organ. Into the posterior extremity of
the lamina, the middle fasciculus of the retractor mus-
cle of the buccal body is inserted ; and, just anterior
to this insertion, a small, attrahent fasciculus, arising
from the roof of the buccal body, posterior to the orifice
of the oesophagus, which gets to the lamina by means of
the interstice of the muscular organ superiorly. The
teeth of the lingual lamina are arranged diagonally, from
the middle line, in parallel rows, passing from within out-
wards.

The oesophagus issues from a fissure at the upper poste-
rior line of the anterior third of the buccal body. It is
long and cylindrical, and rather wider at its termination
than at its origin. The stomach is irregularly cylindroid,
and has a cul-de-sac at its commencement, projecting an-
terior to the entrance of the oesophagus. The small intes-
tine is capacious.

The salivary glands are conjoined, so as to form a cir-
cular collar around the posterior part of the oesophagus.
The salivary ducts are long, and enter the same fissure
of the buccal body at which the oesophagus issues. The

21(3 INTRODUCTION.

anterior lobes of the liver are comparatively very small,
■while the posterior lobe is correspondingly large ; and to
the whole there is but a single duct.

Chapter v. — observations on the tissues of the
digestive apparatus.

The mucous membrane of the alimentary canal is
usually smooth throughout. In the stomach it frequently
presents a number of transverse folds, corresponding to
the contractions which produce the sacculated appearance
of the organ ; and in several species of different genera
it presents a few longitudinal rugoe, as in Limax v alle-
gata, Bulimiis fasciatus, Selix exoleta, etc. In its
whole extent it is formed of a columnar epithelium and
a nucleolated-nucleated basement membrane. The col-
umnar cells of the epithelium are long and pyramidal,
the upper part or base being broad, and the attached ex-
tremity very narrow. They are filled with a very fine,
indistinct, granular matter, intermingled with coarser,
highly reflective granules. Each contains an oval, gran-
ular nucleus, with a minute nucleolus.

The muscular investment of the intestinal canal is
strongest upon the stomach and rectum. In Var/inuhis,
Pupa incana, etc. it is strong and shining upon the sto-
mach. It consists of two layers, an internal transverse
and an external longitudinal. They are both composed
of white, shining, strap-shaped bands, with the extremities
pointed and closely adapted to each other. None of

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £17

the transverse bands surround the stomach, all bemg
much too short. They are indistinctly granular in struc-
ture, and each contains one or two elongated nuclei.

The lobules of the salivary gland are composed of the
dilated commencements of the ducts, lined with soft,
granular cells, which are oval in form, and contain a
round, granular nucleus with a minute nucleolus. The
basement membrane of the salivary ducts is amorphous.
The epithelial cells lining the trunks bear considerable
resemblance to those found in their follicular commence-
ment. Outside of the basement membrane, twine nar-
row, muscular fibres in various directions. They are
nucleated, and where the nuclei exist are wider than at
the intervening parts.

The lobuli of the liver are composed of the rounded
commencement of the biliary ducts, and are lined with
polygonal cells, which become globular on the removal of
pressure. The hepatic cells contain a fine, granular
matter, fine and large oil-globules, and a round, nucleo-
lated nucleus.

Chapter vi. — of the generative app^jiatus.

All the terrestrial Gasteropoda under consideration are
monoecious, or hermaphroditic, though none are capable
of self impregnation. They are also all oviparous.

LiMAX. The testicle is a round, or oval body, par-
tially concealed by the liver ; it is brown in color, and

VOL. I. 21

218 INTRODUCTION.

has the appearance of being composed of rounded acini.
In L. variegata, it is lobulated. The epididymis is an
undulated, or moderately tortuous tube, leading from the
testicle to the inner side of the junction of the ovary with
the prostate gland. It opens into a groove upon the inner
side of the interior of the oviduct which is continuous, at
its inferior extremity, with the vas deferens. Opening
into the termination of the epididymis, and lying against
the inner side of the ovary, is a small, compound, folli-
cular body, Avhich appears to be common to all the terres-
trial Gasteropoda. The prostate gland is a white, or
cream-colored body, occupying the inner side of the whole
length of the oviduct. It has a transverse, striated ap-
pearance, and numerous openings into the groove leading
from the epididymis to the vas deferens.

The vas deferens is a comparatively short tube, pass-
ing from the prostate gland to the penis. In L. varie-
gata, it joins the summit of the latter ; in L. agrestis
and L. campestris, it enters near the base.

The penis, in L. variegata, is a long, cylindroid, irre-
gular body, lying at the right anterior part of the vis-
ceral cavity, and joining at its termination a short cloaca.
Into its summit is inserted the retractor muscle, which
has its origin from the muscular investment of the vis-
ceral cavity, just posterior to the position of the pulmo-
nary cavity. The interior of the penis is lined by mucous
membrane, its exterior of muscular membrane. In L.
agrestis and L. cajnpestjis, the organ which corresponds
to the penis of L. variegata becomes of a someAvhat pro-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 219

blematical character. In L. agrestis^ it is an elongated,
conical organ, with a protuberant base. Its summit is
divided into three coeca ; the retractor muscle is
inserted into its side. Upon the interior it presents
several longitudinal folds of mucous membrane, and at
its. lower part, corresponding to the protuberance of the
base, an oval, pointed papilla. In L. eampestris^ the
organ is spiral, and has but a single pointed summit.

The ovary is a large, white, semi-elUptic organ, usually
more or less curved and lobulated, and situated at the
summit of the oviduct. In L. agrestis and L. campestris
it is always two-lobed, or double. The oviduct is a long,
wide, soft, white, tortuous, sacculated tube, passing from
the ovary to the vagina. The neck or portion immediately
joining the vagina, commences usually where the prostate
gland terminates, and is contracted to less than half the
calibre of the upper portion of the tube. Its interior sur-
face exhibits a number of transverse folds, corresponding
to the contractions which produce the sacculated appear-
ance of the organ, and upon the inner side upon each
side of the spermatic groove, or longitudinal fold.

The generative bladder, in L. variegata, is a large
pointed, oval receptacle, opening by a very short, wide
tube or duct, into the vagina. In L. agrestis it is large,
elongated oval, and opens by a short duct into the angle
formed by the junction of the vagina with the male
portion of the generative apparatus. In L. campestris
it is a small oval sac, with a longer, narrow duct, open-
ing into the tube leading from the penis to the cloaca.

220 INTRODUCTION.

In all three species of lAmax, the cloaca is a short canal
opening at the generative orifice on the right side of the
head.

Arion. The generative apparatus resembles more
that of i. variegata than the other species. The penis
is cylindrical, dilated at base, and has its retractor mus-
cle inserted into the latter point. The generative blad-
der is large, oval, pointed at summit, and has a very
short but muscular duct, joined midway by the vagina.
At the latter junction is inserted a second retractor mus-
cle. The cloaca is lono; and dilated in the middle.

o

Tebexnophorus. The testicle lies upon the right
side, partly concealed by the liver ; it is round and loloii-
lated. The epididymis is more tortuous than in the pre-
ceding. The vas deferens is very long, tortuous, and
muscular. It joins the penis at its summit, and has the
retractor muscle inserted into it the length of the penis
above the latter. The penis is irregularly eyhndroid,
bent at its summit.

The ovary is exceedingly lobulated. The oviduct is
tortuous, wide, aud very much sacculated. The prostate
gland is longer than in Limax or Avion. The genera-
tive bladder is large, globular, or nearly so. Its duct is
rather less than half the length of the oviduct. At its
junction with the neck of the latter, an oval, muscular
organ exists, the dart sac. AVithin the latter at the bot-
tom, is a hemispherical papilla, upon the summit of which

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £21

is placed a wliite, calcareous, calcarate dart. At the
junction of the vagina, common to the neck of the ovi-
duct, duct of the generative bladder, and the dart sac,
with the penis, there are two short retractor muscles
inserted. The cloaca is narrow and cylindrical, and has
surrounding two-thirds of its middle, a thick, glandular
organ. Interiorly, the penis, cloaca, etc. have a longi-
tudinally rugous surface.

Vaginulus. a remarkable peculiarity of this genus
is the removal of the male and female portions of the sex-
ual apparatus from each other. The former, except the
testicle and prostate gland, occupies the usual position,
but opens externally between the mouth and olfactory
orifice ; the latter is placed in the middle inferior part of
the \asceral cavity, and opens exteriorly on the right
side, inferiorly just posterior to the middle of the body.

The testicle is situated between the posterior part
of the stomach and the liver, on the right side. It is
not lobulated, but has the same aciniform arrangement
as m the preceding genera. The epididymis is mode-
rately tortuous, and becomes the vas deferens at the
junction of the ovary with the oviduct. The vas deferens
takes a remarkable course to get to the penis. It is, at
first, attached for a short distance to the commencement
of the oviduct, which it leaves, and then winds around its
lower extremity, where it is joined by a comparatively
very small prostatic gland. It continues its attachment
to the lower part of the oviduct to the junction of the

222 INTRODUCTION.

latter with the duct of the generative bladder, where it
receives a small duct from the duct of the latter organ,
and then passes nearly to the external female orifice,
where it turns abruptly forwards between the muscular
peritoneum and the right edge of the podal disk, and
continues this course to the head. It now turns abruptly
backwards to the right, and again appears within the
visceral cavity, and passes to the base of the penis.

The penis is a conico-cylindroid, contorted organ, con-
tained within a thin, muscular sheath. Its apex presents
a small, round papilla, or glans ; and into its base is in-
serted the retractor-muscle, which arises just anterior to
the pulmonary cavity. The lower part of the preputial
sheath of the penis is joined by the common duct of a
highly developed, multifid vesicle. This latter organ
consists of twenty-five long, narrow, cylindrical. Wind
tubes, contorted at their termination, and opening sepa-
rately into a common tube, containing, in the specimen
examined, attached to its bottom, a narrow, cylindroid
organ, which, probably, may have been an uncalcified
dart.

The tube formed by the prgeputium and the duct of
the multifid vesicle, as previously mentioned, opens ex-
teriorly immediately beneath the mouth. The ovary is
small and unusually lobulated. The oviduct is a narrow,
cylindrical tube, which winds forwards and then back
again so as to form a double spiral, after which it makes
a curve downwards, and is joined by the duct of the
generative bladder. The latter organ is globular ; its

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £23

duct IS short, graduallj increases in breadth, and is spi-
rally twisted. From the duct, as previously mentioned,
passes a small offset to the vas deferens. Tlie common
duct of the bladder and oviduct, or vagina, is cylindri-
cal, and, just before terminating, is joined by a short,
wide, tube, derived from a large, oval sac, which is filled
with a delicate, reticulated substance. This sac is pecu-
liar to Vagimdas ; its use is problematical.

The position of the female orifice of generation has
been already stated.

Helix. The testicle, very unlike that of slugs, is
imbedded or commingled with the parenchyma of the
posterior or superior lobe of the liver ; and, instead of
having an aciniform appearance, it is composed of fasci-
cuh of short coeca. It is usually of a lighter color than
the fiver. The epididymis is long, and generally very
much convoluted, and contains a white, silky, tenacious,
substance, often distending the tube to a considerable
degree, composed of spermatozoa. At its junction with
the prostate gland, it always receives the duct of a small
accessory gland, composed, in different species of Helix,
of from three to nine acini.

The prostate gland is generally larger than in the
Limaces ; in H. ezoleta it is unusually large.

The vas deferens generally corresponds in length with
the curve passing from the termination of the prostate
gland downwards to the cloaca, and thence to the sum-
mit of the penis. In H. exoleta and H. albolabris it is

224 INTRODUCTION.

considerably longer, and in the latter presents several
large convolutions. In H. intertexta, IT. ligera, H. gu-
laris, and II. suppressa, it is much shorter. Generally,
it is a white, narrow, cylindrical, frequently undulated
tube. Sometimes it is distinctly and strongly muscular,
as in H. alholabris, H. tridentata, II. elevata, etc. In
II. fuliginosa its lower part is dilated to the diameter of
the penis, and is strongly muscular. In H. albolabris,
H. tridentata, and II. ezoleta, at its commencement it
presents a dilated and glandular appearance. In M.
solita7'ia it is much dilated, annulated, and glandular at
its termination. In all instances except in H. cellaria
and H. alternata, it joins the summit of the penis ; in
the two latter it joins the penis at the side, very near
the summit.

The penis varies very much in form and size ; most
usually it partakes of a conico-cylindroid form. In H.
sayi, H. texasiana, H. injlecta, and 11. auriculata, it
is very large and long, cylindrical, collapsed, and flaccid.
In H. concava it is long, clavate, and bipartite at the
summit. In H. alternata, H. persjjectiva, and H. solita-
ria, it is short, stout, and clavate. In H. alholahris, H.
trideyitata, H. multilineata, H. arhorea, H. dentifera,
and H. palliata, it has a thick, preputial membrane,
originating around its base, and rising upwards so as to
envelop it for one or two-thirds of its extent. In H. pro-
funda the base of the penis protrudes into a sheath join-
ing the cloaca, in the form of a cone with its apex bent
upon itself. In H. ligera, H. intertexta, and H. sup-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 225

' pressa, it is wholly enveloped in a sheath derived from a
tubular offset from the duct of the generative bladder.

The muscular tunic of the penis is thick and strong.
The internal lining mucous membrane usually presents a
number of large rugge, longitudinal and oblique ; fre-
quently there is but a single, large, longitudinal fold, as
in H. alternata, IT. albolabris, etc. At the point of en-
trance of the vas deferens there is generally one or two
pendant j valve-like folds of the lining membrane.

In S. albolabris, II. tridentata, and H. onuItiUneata,
the surface of the membrane is everywhere distinctly
papillated ; in the others it is smooth.

The penis of //. cellaria on the outside presents a row
of minute, round, glandular bodies.

The retractor muscle is in all cases, except in H. soli-
taria, inserted into the summit of the penis, or into the
vas deferens near its termination in the latter. In the
excepted case, it is inserted into the side of the penis,
above its middle. In H. multilineata there are some
accessory fibres passing from the latter to the prepu-
tium ; in H. jjrofunda to the base of the penis ; in H.
albolabris, tridentata, etc. from the vas deferens to the
preputium. The penis joins at its base the cloaca.

The ovary has the same general form and color as in
slugs, but rarely presents any thing more than a trace of
lobuli, usually having a uniform, homogeneous appear-
ance. The oviduct does not differ from that of the slugs.
Its neck is usually narrow, and of variable length, and is
joined at the lower part by the duct of the genital blad-

voL. I. 28

226 INTRODUCTION.

der, to form the vagina. In H. concava and H. multi-
lineata, the neck is long, dilated at its lower part, and
strongly muscular, and its internal surface presents a
number of longitudinal rugae. In H. profunda and S".
fuliginosa, it is long, cylindrical, and strongly muscular.
The genital bladder, constantly existing, presents con-
siderable variation in the form, size, and length of the
duct. It is generally subrotund, oval, or pyriform in
shape, and large. In H. solitaria the duct is wide, as
long as the oviduct, and dilated at its lower part. In H.
jperspectiva it is as long as the oviduct, and narrow. In
E. alternata, H. ligera, H. intertexta, IT. concava, H.
snppressa, and H. gularis, it is rather more than half
the length of the oviduct. In the remaining species gen-
erally, the bladder reclines upon the lower part of the
prostate gland, and its duct is about the length of the
neck of the oviduct. In II. vmltilineata it does not
reach the prostate gland, and so gradually passes into its
duct as to be a mere, long, coecal tube. In H. her-
landeriana the duct of the bladder is as short as that of
Arion. Usually, the surface of the bladder is smooth ;
in H. profunda and H. exoleta it is transversely folded ;
in H. fuliginosa it is regularly, longitudinally folded.
In H. concava and H. multilineata, the duct of the
bladder at its termination dilates, and is strongly muscu-
lar. In H. solitaria the lower third is dilated. In E.
fuliginosa and ff. p)rofunda, it is strongly muscular the
greater part of its extent. In H. albolabris, H. palliata,
H. tridentata, etc. it is dilated to the size of the bladder,

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £27

is strongly muscular, and internally presents a number
of regular, longitudinal folds, sometimes undulated at the
sides, extending to the lining of the bladder in the form
of line-like pUcae. In H. ligera, IT. intertexta, H.
gularis, and IT. supjjressa, an offset from the duct of the
bladder passes down, and encloses the penis, dart sac,
and cloaca.

The vagina, or common duct of the oviduct and duct
of the genital bladder, holds no correspondence with the
length of the penis ; it is always shorter, usually not
more than one-third the length, and is also narrower.
In H. fidiginosa, it is surrounded by a thick, glandulous
body.

In H. ligera, H. intertexta, H. gularis, and H. sup-
pressa, there exists, opening into the cloaca, a curved,
cylindrical, strongly muscular dart sac, longer and nar-
rower than the penis. The bottom of the tube, for one-
fourth the length of the latter, is occupied by the papilla
from which arises the dart. The muscular layer, for
more than half the length of the tube, at the middle of the
latter, closely envelops the dart, and terminates abruptly
below in a sort of papilla, from which the point of the dart
projects into the lower part of the tube. The dart is a very
long, narrow, curved, cylindrical, tubular, flexible, calca-
reous spiculum, terminating in a sharp, spear point. At
the base of the dart, there opens into the dart sac, in IT.
ligera and H. supjjressa, a single, short, pyriform follicle,
the simplest homologue of the multifid vesicle. In H. in-
tertexta and H. gularis, there is a pair of such folhcles,

228 INTRODUCTION.

but longer. Into the summit of the dart sac is inserted
a retractor muscle, originating from the angle formed by
the division of the duct of the genital bladder into two
parts. Opening into the tube which leads from the penis
to the cloaca, in H. Berlanderiana, is a cylindrical,
curved, muscular organ, about one-half the length and as
thick as the penis, which is probably a dart sac, although
in the specimen dissected no dart was found. In H. con-
cava^ opening into the cloaca, is a short, rounded, muscu-
lar cavity, probably a dart sac, which, however, in the
individuals dissected, were also destitute of the organ.

The cloaca, or common receptacle of the termination
of the male and female organs of generation, is a short,
"wide, muscular tube, holding no relationship with the
length of the penis, and opening exteriorly on the right
side of the head.

In many species of Helix, the anatomy of the genera-
tive apparatus is so very similar, that they appear to
differ in nothing but size. Thus, H. alholahris, H.
tridentata, H. dentifera, H. palliata, IT. arhorea, and
H. fallax, are alike ; JI. intertexta, H. gidaris, S.
suppressa, and H. ligera are also alike, except that the
two latter have but a single vesicle to the dart sac, while
the former have a pair. H. auricidata, H. texasiana,
and S. injleeta, are alike, and also iZ". thyroidus and H.
pulcJiella.

It is a very remarkable fact in the special anatomy of
the generative apparatus of the genus Helix, that while
the flagellate form of the penis and those accessory

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 229

oriians, tlie dart sac and multifid vesicles, are so com-
mon in European species, they are very rare in American
species. In not one of the latter does the flagellate form
of penis exist. A rudiment, or simplest condition of the
multifid vesicles, only exists in four species ; S. inter-
texta and H. gularis, in which there is a single pair of
folhcles, and H. ligera and H. siqjj^ressa, in which there
is but one short follicle. The dart sac exists certainly
in only the four latter species, probably in II. berland-
eriana, and doubtfully in H. concava.

BuLiMUS. In B. fasciatus the penis is long, cylindri-
cal, and strongly muscular. The vas deferens joins it
near the summit ; and the retractor muscle, which is
very long, is inserted into the latter. The oviduct is
long, and its central part presents the peculiarity of be-
ing colored brown. The genital bladder is ovate, situated
near the ovary, and its duct is narrow, and as long as
the oviduct. The vagina is broad and muscular. At
the base of the penis, there opens a short, cylindrical
duct, derived from a single, multiBd vesicle, which pre-
sents six or seven rounded or ovate divisions. There is
no dart sac.

In B. dealbatus the penis is very long ; its upper por-
tion is narrow and very tortuous, and flagellate in appear-
ance ; although the true flagellum, or the free portion of
the summit of the penis beyond the insertion of the re-
tractor muscle, is very short. The lower third of the
penis is dilated, and presents an annular constriction ;

230 INTRODUCTION.

at its base it is enveloped by a sbort prepuce. The vas
deferens follows the course of the penis nearly to its
summit. The genital bladder is oval ; its duct as long
as the oviduct.

In B. virgulatus the penis is long, irregularly cylin-
droid, and has its base enclosed in a short prepuce. The
vas deferens terminates in, and the retractor muscle is
inserted into, its summit. The genital bladder is oval ;
its duct is not more than one-third the length of the ovi-
duct, and dilates as it passes downwards.

In B. decoUatus the penis is short, conic o-cylindroid,
and simple. The vas deferens enters near its base ; the
retractor muscle is inserted into its summit. The geni-
tal bladder is small ; its duct is narrow, and not longer
than the neck of the oviducL.

Pupa. In P. incana the penis is short, narrow, and
cylindrical. The vas deferens is of a very great length
when compared with what it is usually in the other
genera. Its lower part, about the length of the penis,
is dilated to the size of the latter organ, is strongly mus-
cular, and terminates at the base of the penis. The
retractor muscle is inserted into the summit of the latter.
The lining membrane of the penis presents a single, longi-
tudinal fold. At the base of the penis is a short, muscu-
lar sac, or protuberance, probably a dart sac, although
the individual dissected possessed no such instrument.
The genital bladder is oval ; its duct is as long as the
oviduct, and midway receives a long, narrow duct, de-

I

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 231

rived from a granular, glandular organ combined with
the testicle in the posterior lobe of the liver.

SucciNEA. The testicle is not separated into distinct
fasciculi bj the parenchyma of the liver as in Helix, but
forms a single mass. The epididymis is very much con-
voluted, and appears always to be distended with sperm-
atic matter. The prostate gland is unusually short,
occupying the upper half only of the length of the ovi-
duct, and is thick, clavate, and more or less colored by
pigmentum nigrum cells upon the surface. The penis
is long, cylindroid, curved downward at its upper part,
and is joined at its summit by the vas deferens. The
retractor muscle is inserted into the penis a short dis-
tance below its summit. The genital bladder is large
and globular ; its duct is nearly as long as the oviduct,
and is narrow. The vagina is moderately long and mus-
cular. The cloaca is short.

Glandina. The testicle is an oval mass, separated
from the Uver as in the Limaces. The epididymis ap-
pears from a hilum in the side of the testicle ; at first
but slightly tortuous, it becomes convoluted just before
ending. Its accessory glandula is large. The penis is
long, large, and clavate, very gradually enlarging from
the base to the summit. The vas deferens, which joins
the latter point, is long, moderately tortuous, and wide.
The retractor muscle is inserted into it near its ter-
mination in the penis. The bladder is oval, constricted ;

232 INTRODUCTION.

its duct is as long as the oviduct. The vagina is
moderately broad. The cloaca is short. The exte-
rior generative orifice is on the right side of the head,
considerably posterior to the inferior tentaculse.

Chapter vii, — general remarks upon the junction
OF different portions of the generative appara-
tus, AND THE STKUCTUKE OF ITS TISSUES.

The testicle was mistaken by Swammerdam, Cuvier,
and others for the ovary, and the latter organ and pros-
tate gland for two portions of the testicle. A micro-
scopic examination of these different organs at once,
very easily settles their true nature ; although, even
without this mode of analysis, we would suppose the epi-
didymis would indicate the character of the gland of
which it is the duct, and leave the remaining two organs
to be considered as belonging to the female apparatus.
In Hehx, the structure of the testicle consists of dense
fasciculi of short coecal pouches, which are simple, bifur-
cate, or trifurcate. These contain polygonal spermato-
phori, which are finely granular with a round nucleus, or
filled with granular globules of uniform size, or with coils
or bunches or fasciculi of spermatozoa. The epididymis
always contains, more or less, and is frequently dis-
tended with, a white, silky, filamentous substance, com-
posed of spermatozoa. The latter consist of very delicate
and, comparatively, enormously long filaments, terminat-
ing, at one extremity, in a thickened head. They vary

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 233

in length in different species of these gasteropods. The
head assumes two principal forms ; it is either sigmoid
and pointed, as in H. alholabns, H. multilineata, etc., or
else it is spiral and pointed, as in H. alternata, H. soli-
taria, etc. In the vas deferens, the spermatozoa may
often be detected in movement, which is slow and vibrat-
ing in character.

The prostate gland, although situated along the tract
of the oviduct, evidently belongs to the male apparatus,
as is proved by its emptying solely into the vas deferens
in Vaginulus, and in its being placed between the ter-
mination of the epididymis and the commencement of
the vas deferens only, as is very conspicuously observed
in Succinea. In structure, it is composed of closely
packed, tortuous, tubular, simple folHcles, lined with
short, thick, pyramidal epitheha, Avhich are densely gra-
nular, and contain a round, nucleolated nucleus. The
object of this organ probably is to dilute the very tena-
cious spermatic matter as it oozes from the epididymis
into the spermatic groove on the inner side of the ovi-
duct.

In all the terrestrial gasteropods examined, there was
found a small, glandular body, from which proceeds a
short duct to join the termination of the epididymis. It
consists of from two to nine rounded follicles joining a
common duct, and, from the constancy of its existence,
must be deemed important.

The ovary is soft and homogeneous in appearance ;
viewed by the microscope, it is found to be almost wholly
VOL. I. 29

234 INTRODUCTION.

composed of immature ova, polygonal cells with a germi-
nal vesicle and macula.

The sides of the oviduct are soft, and in great measure
composed of a tissue consisting of large, polygonal cells,
with from one to five small, round nuclei.

The organ denominated genital bladder, from its open-
ing into the vagina, or at the termination of the latter,
and in Vaginulus from its belonging almost wholly to the
female organs, must be considered rather as a portion of
the female apparatus than a prostatic sac, as it is called
by Owen. By many authors, this has been termed the
spermatheca, from its supposed function of holding sperm-
atic fluid received from the male organs ; and with some
reason ; for in several instances I have found it to contain
a tenacious mass, which upon microscopic analysis was
found to be composed of spermatozoa. This cannot, how-
ever, be considered wholly as its use ; for it secretes a
mucoid matter, which may probably faciUtate the passage
of the ova through the vagina and cloaca. The mucoid
matter within the bladder is frequently found to contain
immense numbers of an infusorial parasite, which I have
described under the name of Cryptoicus.^

The epithelium of the bladder consists of very long,
caudate, columnar cells, with elliptical, granular nuclei,
and a small, round nucleolus.

' Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. N. S. Vol. I.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 235

Chapter viii. — of the respiratory and circulatory-
apparatus.

The lung of the Terrestrial Gasteropoda is a simple
cavity, with an orifice communicating with the exterior,
upon the right side of the body. The surface of this
pulmonary cavity in part of its extent, and more parti-
cularly near the pulmonary orifice, is covered by a close
intertexture of blood-vessels. The blood of the body is
conveyed directly to the lungs by two principal vessels,
the pulmonary arteries, which join the capillary rete of
the pulmonary surface. From this rete passes ofi" the
pulmonary vein to the heart, which is systemic, and con-
sists of an auricle and ventricle. The auricle receives
the pulmonary vein ; from the ventricle passes off the
aorta, to be distributed throughout the body.

Limax. The pulmonary cavity is situated beneath
the mantle, and has nearly the same size and form. It
is separated from the visceral cavity by the muscular
peritoneum, but contains the rectum, renal organ, and
heart. The pulmonary orifice is situated at the antero-
inferior edge of the mantle, on the right side of the body.
When open it appears round ; it is closed by means of
circular, muscular fibres. The pulmonary rete is princi-
pally displayed upon the roof of the cavity, and from it
converge three principal trunks, to form the pulmonary
vein which passes to the auricle of the heart.

236 ' INTRODUCTION.

The heart, enclosed within a pericardium, is situated
near the middle of the pulmonary cavity. The auricle
and ventricle are pyriform, and placed base to base.
The sides of the latter are considerably thicker than
those of the former, and present internally several well-
marked fascicuH, crossing in different directions. Be-
tween the auricle and ventricle is a double valve. From
the apex of the ventricle passes oiF the aorta, which
pierces the muscular peritoneum, and divides into two
principal branches, — one passing to the sub-oesophageal
ganglia devoted to the viscera in the anterior part of the
visceral cavity, the other passing to supply the viscera
posteriorly. Upon the right of the heart, attached to
the roof of the pulmonary cavity, is placed a large, glan-
dular organ, considered as the kidney ; from the whole of
its right margin proceeds a duct backwards, which then
curves to the side of the rectum, at the left side of which
it remains attached to the pulmonary orifice.

Arion. The pulmonary cavity is situated as in
Limax. Its whole interior surface presents an intricate
rete, from which converge six or seven pulmonary veins
to the auricle of the heart.

The renal organ forms a complete circle around the
heart, and is perforated by the rectum, in the course of
the latter to the pulmonary aperture.

Tebennophorus. The pulmonary cavity is situated
beneath the anterior portion of the mantle. It is formed

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £37

bj an inflection of the muscular layer of the Integument
of the body. The renal organ is placed to the right of
the heart, and at its posterior part is perforated by the
aorta.

Vaginulus. The pulmonary cavity is situated be-
tween the muscular peritoneum and the integument of
the body. Its principal portion is placed upon the right
side, anterior to the middle, but extends to the left side,
over the back, and along the right side to the pulmonary
aperture, between the tail and posterior extremity of the
podal disc. The heart is placed in the anterior portion
of the cavity. The auricle receives a vem from the right
and another from the left side. The renal organ is
placed posterior to the heart, between the passage lead-
ing from the pulmonary cavity to its orifice, and the
course of the rectum.

Helix. In this genus, as is also the case in all the
testaceous genera under examination, the pulmonary
chamber is comparatively very large, for reasons already
stated, and occupies a position on the outside of the
lower one or two whorls of the turbinated mass of the
viscera. In front, it is bounded by the collar, in the
right side of which is the pulmonary orifice. The floor
of the cavity is formed, as in slugs generally, by the
muscular peritoneum. The roof, or outer wall, is occu-
pied on the right side by the rectum, posteriorly by the
heart and renal organ, and anteriorly by the pulmonary

238 INTRODUCTION.

rete of capillary vessels. The pulmonary rete is most
developed in the vicinity of the pulmonary orifice ; and
from it in a line -with the latter, along the course of the
rectum, proceeds backward a single pulmonary vein to the
heart. The renal organ is elongated, pyramidal, and is
placed to the right of the heart and pulmonary vein. Its
duct commences upon the right border of the gland,
courses backward to the rectum, along the inner side of
which it passes to the pulmonary aperture.

The remaining testaceous genera present nothing pecu-
liar in the character of the pulmonary or circulatory
apparatus.

General Remarks. The heart, in warm weather,
beats about fifty-five times in a minute, but to some
extent appears to be under the control of the animal, for
if disturbed or irritated it pulsates much slower.

In composition, the heart consists of distinctly granu-
lated, unstriped, muscular fibres, with oval nuclei, which
are hardly visible before the application of acetic acid to
them.

The interior of the heart and aorta is lined with a tes-
sellated epithelium ; and the exterior of the former and
interior surface of the pericardium are covered by the
same. The cells are granular, with distinct, round, or
oval, granular nuclei, and a minute nucleolus.

The pericardial epithelium separates its pecuHar fluid
very freely, the pericardium frequently appearing dis-
tended with the liquor pericardii. In Helices, it fre-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 239

quently contains numbers of an entozoon, whicli I have
named Distoma vagans.^ The blood-vessels, especially
in the liver, exhibit a white, opaque appearance, which
is dependent upon the deposit in the sides of the vessel
of innumerable, oil-like granules.

The blood contains numerous blood-corpuscles, which
vary in size, are granular, and exhibit numerous radiat-
ing, projecting points of variable length, — frequently
greater than the diameter of the corpuscle.

The pulmonary cavity is lined with a tessellated epi-
thelium, the cells of which are faintly granular, with a
few coarser granules, and a distinct, round or oval, gra-
nular, nucleolated nucleus.

The renal organ is a gland which exhibits a foliated,
or plicated appearance, within a capsule. The surfaces
of the plicte communicate with the duct existing along
the whole right border of the organ, and are covered
with polygonal, organic cells, every one of which con-
tains a large, white, round, opaque mass, resembling
uric acid in appearance.

Chapter ix. — on the nervous centres, and the
distribution of the nerves.

«

The nervous centres consist of three distinct sets of
ganglia, which are all placed within the anterior part of
the body or head.

The first set, or supra-oesophageal gangha, form a trans-

' See Journal Acad. Nat. Sci. New Series, Vol, I.

240 INTRODUCTION.

verse band, above or in front of the buccal body, usually
at its anterior part, but varying in the latter position, to
some degree depending upon the movements of the buc-
cal body. When the latter is protruded, the band of
ganglia is thrown back to the commencement of the
oesophagus ; when retracted it is placed just behind the
upper lip. It consists of two symmetrical halves united
by a short, transverse commissure. Each half is com-
posed of several ganglia, aggregated to a greater or less
degree in different genera and species. Sometimes they
are so aggregated, or are so covered by enveloping tis-
sue, as to appear a single mass ; in others five or six
distinct masses may be readily counted.

The second set, or sub-oesophageal ganglia, form a cir-
cular mass, placed infero-posteriorly to the buccal body,
in the excavation of the foot. It is asymmetrical, and is
composed of several ganglia, more or less aggregated
together ; from four to seven masses can generally be
counted. It is usually more developed upon the right
than the left side, and passes through all the shades of
color, in different genera and species, from white, yellow,
to orange. Through the opening formed by the arrange-
ment of the ganglia into a circle, passes the cephalic
branch of the aorta. The supra-oesophageal and sub-
oesophageal ganglia are connected together on each side
of the buccal body by a double commissure, which varies
in length in different genera ; thus, in Helices, etc., it is
generally so long as to allow of much movement of the
supra-oesophageal ganglia forward with the buccal body,

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 241

■while in Vaginulus it is so short that the two sets of gan-
glia form a close ring around the anterior part of the
buccal body.

The third set of ganglia are the stomato-gastric, con-
sisting of two minute, lateral masses, united by a short,
transverse commissure, and always placed upon the buc-
cal body immediately postero-laterally to the commence-
ment of the oesophagus. The stomato-gastric ganglia are
connected with the supra-oesophageal on each side, by
means of a long, delicate commissure, which is more or
less loose, and permits a free movement of the former
ganglia with the buccal body to which they are fixed.

From the supra-oesophageal ganglia pass off on each
side, — 1st, a minute branch along the course of the
supra-sub-oesophageal commissure ; 2d, three or four small
branches to the retractor muscles of the tentaculte ; 3d,
a large branch, the superior tentacular nerve ; 4th, one
or two small branches to the base of the superior tenta-
cle, for its integument ; 5th, the inferior tentacular
nerve ; 6th, small branches to the integument of the
lips.

From the sub-oesophageal ganglia pass off, — 1st, nume-
rous branches on each side, to the podal disk, and late-
rally to the integument ; 2d, a branch on the right side
to the penis ; 3d, a branch to the vas deferens and pros-
tate gland ; 4th, on each side a branch to the retractor
muscle of the buccal body ; 5th, a large one to each side
of the collar and pulmonary chamber ; 6th, a branch

which follows the posterior aortic vessel, which gives off
VOL. I. 30

242 INTRODUCTION.

brandies to the muscular peritoneum ; 7th, branches to
the origin of the tentacular retractors ; 8th, branches
to the oviduct, ovarj, testicle, stomach, intestine, and
liver.

From the stomato-gastric ganglia pass off on each
side, — 1st, a nerve to the external muscular structure
of the buccal body ; 2d, two branches which penetrate
posteriorly into the buccal body ; 3d, a branch to the
sahvary duct and gland ; 4th, a branch to the oesophagus
and stomach ; 5th, branch to the interior of the buccal
body anteriorly.

The above distribution of the nerves has been princi-
pally derived from dissections of Glandina and Helix
albolahris. In the former genus, upon what is the nerve
to the inferior tentacle in the other genera, there is
formed, near the base of the tentaculte, a ganglionary
enlargement, from which passes off the true, inferior
tentacular nerve of this animal, and two other large
branches to the third, or external tentacle.

The nervous centres are composed of ganglion glo-
bules, varying very much in size ; some are very large,
others are not more than one-eighth the diameter of
the larger ones and nuclear bodies. The globules are
more or less polygonal, from mutual pressure, are dis-
tinctly granular, and contain a nucleus which is com-
paratively of enormous size. The latter usually fills
one-half or two-thirds of the cell or globule, is more
distinctly and darkly granular, and contains from one
to seven small, round, transparent nucleoli. The sepa-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 243

rate nuclear bodies resemble the nuclei of the ganghon
globules, but are much smaller, and contain but a
single nucleolus. The nerve fibres pass through the
ganglionary centres, among the globules in every direc-
tion ; but none of them appear to originate or terminate
in the latter. None of the ganglionary cells are cau-
dated.

The nerves consist of bundles of tubuli, containing an
oleo-albuminous matter, which in the fresh nerve is semi-
fluid, faintly granular, homogeneous, and translucent, but
after the matter is pressed out of the tubuli it separates
into two portions, one of which is a tenacious, fluid sub-
stance, containing the other in the form of oil-like glo-
bules of no determinate size. The wall of the tubuli is
amorphous and transparent, and has attached to it, and
projecting externally, oval, granular, nucleolated nuclei.

The nerves, especially in those emanating from the
supra-oesophageal ganglia, are enveloped in a sheath
formed of large, elongated, polygonal, transparent cells,
containing in the centre an oval nucleus surrounded by
a mass of coarse, granular bodies, which are endowed
with a very active molecular movement.

Chapter x. — on the organs of especial sense.

Touch. The soft, mucous integument is very irrita-
ble ; but tactile sensibility is most developed in the ten-
taculse, which are two pairs of tubular prolongations of
the external integument, from the anterior part of the
body or head. The superior pair of tentaculee are

244 INTRODUCTION.

several times longer and thicker than the inferior pair.
They are conico-cylindroid in shape, 'with the free extre-
mity or point dilated, or bulbous, in the outer side of
which the eyes are placed. The inferior pair are short,
conico-cylindroid, and slightly bulbous at the point.

The integument is thick at the base of the tentaculoe,
but gradually becomes thinner as it approaches the free
extremity, where it is delicate and transparent. The
color is the same on the general investment of the body,
except at the free extremity of the tentaculee, where,
from its transparency, the structure beneath shows
through, and appears whitish. On the superior tenta-
culae it is rougher than upon the inferior, from the poly-
gonal folds being deeper. It is but loosely attached to
the parts within, except at the free extremity, where it
becomes firmly united.

The retraction of the tentaculse takes place by means
of the contraction of the retractor muscle, which forms
within the tentaculoe a cylindrical tube, and is inserted
into the integument at their free extremity, so that when
they are retracting the integument becomes inverted,
and the point of the tentacula first disappears from view
and, in protrusion, is last to appear. The latter move-
ment takes place through the relaxation of the retractor
muscle, and the gradual contraction of the circular, mus-
cular fibres forming the basis of the integument, com-
mencing at the base of the tentaculse and proceeding
towards the free extremity, by which course of movement
the latter is pushed out.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 045

Within the tube of the retractor muscle of the tenta-
culae, passes to the free extremity of the latter the ten-
tacular nerve. When the tentaculse are retracted, the
nerve becomes tortuous, and spiral, but when fully pro-
truded it is nearly straight, or merely undulated.

Near the free extremity of the superior tentaculoe the
nerve undergoes a sudden constriction, and then dilates
into a gangliform enlargement, from the outer side of
which proceeds a small division of the tentacular nerve,
as the optic nerve, to the eye. The gangliform enlarge-
ment is composed, on the exterior, of the nerve-tubuli of
the tentacular nerve, and on the exterior, of a soft, white,
finely granular matter, containing, in the exterior layer,
round, granular, nuclear bodies. Anteriorly, the enlarge-
ment undergoes a constriction, and then dilates into the
large, bulbous mass of the extremity of the tentaculae.
This latter mass is white, soft, and finely granular.
Upon its exterior, the nerve-tubuli of the exterior of the
first gangliform enlargement diverge, and divide into a
number of large branches, which laterally subdivide into
numerous smaller branches, and thus inclose the granu-
lar mass.

The inferior tentaculae present the same nervous struc-
ture, except that there is no well-marked constriction
between the tentacular nerve and the first gangliform
enlargement, nor between the two enlargements, nor is
there any optic nerve.

The space between the tentacular nerve and the
retractor muscle, is filled with a filamentous tissue, con-

246 INTRODUCTION.

taining round, granular, nucleolated nuclei, and large,
round or elliptical, transparent cells, with nulcei similar
to those which lie free in the tissue.

The integument of the tentaculoe is very freely sup-
plied with nerves from the supra-oesophageal ganglia.

Taste. If existent, it is probably dependent upon
nerves distributed within the buccal body, and derived
from the stomato-gastric ganglia. The structure of the
lingual lamina precludes any idea of its existence there.

Smell. The presence of this sense is undoubted,
though there is much discrepancy of opinion as to its
situation. I have suspected that it probably may be
placed in the blind sac, or depression, which opens just
below the mouth. This sac varies in its degree of devel-
opment in the different genera ; in Limax it is a super-
ficial depression ; in Vaginulus it extends backwards
beneath the buccal body for half an inch, is conical in
shape and yellowish-white in color ; in Bulimus fasciatus
it extends back, in the excavation of the foot, to the tail,
and is folded several times upon itself.

Hearing. The acoustic apparatus consists of a pair
of transparent, vesicular bodies, placed upon the postero-
inferior part of the sub-cesophageal ganglia, one on each
side. They are placed in a depression of the ganglia,
formed by a separation of the nerve-tubuli as they pass
from and into the latter, immediately upon the gan-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £47

glionic globules. Their interior is filled with a trans-
parent fluid, containing numerous otoconites, which vary
in size, are oval in form, transparent, composed of con-
centric layers of carbonate of lime, and frequently have
a small cavity in their centre. During life, and for a
short time after the death of the animal, the otoconites
are endowed with a peculiar vibratoi'y movement, by
which they are disposed to accumulate into a mass in the
centre of the auditory vesicle. After the cessation of
the movement, they become diffused through the fluid of
the vesicle.

Sight. The eyeball is placed beneath the integu-
ment, on the outer side of the constriction which exists
between the gangliform swellings at the free extremity
of the superior tentacula. The optic nerve is derived
from the inferior part of the first gangliform enlargement,
is tortuous or undulating, and reaches the eyeball at its
posterior part. Its course is frequently indicated by a
deposit of pigmentum nigrum.

The eyeball is globular, and is invested exteriorly by
a transparent tunic, corresponding to the sclerotica and
cornea.

The choroidea forms two-thirds of a sphere, and is
inflected anteriorly into a sort of depressed disk, perfo-
rated in the centre. It consists of a delicate, trans-
lucent membrane, with a deposit of a single layer of
irregularly rounded, or oval, black pigment cells. The
interior of the choroidea contains a clear, consistent vit-

248

INTRODUCTION.

reous humor ; but the character of the retina I did not
detect at the time. Whether a crjstaUine lens exists or
not I am in doubt ; at the time of making; the investiira-
tions, in several instances I thought I discerned it very
distinctly ; but in other instances, even when larger spe-
cies were examined, if it existed it escaped my observa-
tion.

REFERENCES TO THE PLATES.

PLATE I.

LiMAX VARIEGATUS.

Fig. I. The integument laid open, with the viscera in situ. 1. Buc-
cal body; 2. salivary gland ; 3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. termination
of intestine in the rectum ; 6. blind tube from the termination of the in-
testine ; 7. oviduct; 8. pulmonary chamber ; 9. heart ; 10. renal organ;
11. left superior tentacle ; 12. sub-oesopliageal ganglia; 1.3. left stomato-
gastric ganglion; 14. liver; 15. origin of the retractor muscle of the
penis.

Fig. II. The viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2. stomach;
3. intestine; 4. termination of do. ; 5. blind tube from do. ; 6. salivary
glands; 6.* salivary duct ; 7. liver; 8. hepatic duct; 9. testicle; 10.
epididymis; 11. prostate gland; 12. penis; 13. retractor of do. ; 14.
ovary; 15. o^^duct; 16. genital bladder; 17. pulmonary chamber; 18.
aorta; 19. cephalic branch of do.; 20. visceral branch of do.; 21. sub-
oesophageal ganglia; 22. left superior tentacle

Fig. III. The generative apparatus. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis;

3. prostate gland; 4. penis; 5. retractor of do. ; 6. ovary; 7. oviduct;
8. genital bladder ; 9. cloaca.

Fig. IV. The pulmonary chamber laid open and magnified four
diameters. 1 . Floor formed by the muscular peritoneum ; 2 pulmonary
orifice; 3. rectum; 4. anal aperture ; 5. renal organ ; 6 duct of do. ; 7.
pericardium laid open; 8. heart; 9. pulmonary vein ; 10. pulmonary
arteries ; 1 1 . aorta.

Fig. V. Testa.

Fig. VI. Dental plate.

PL.\TE II.
Figs. I. — IV. Arion hortensis.

Fig. I. Organs in situ. 1. Buccal body; 2. stomach; 3 intestine;

4. termination of do. ; 5. liver; 6. testicle; 7. ovary; 8. oviduct; 9.
cloaca; 10. pulmonary chamber ; 11. heart; 12. retractors of the penis
and vagina.

VOL. I. 31

250 INTRODUCTION.

Fig. II. Genitalia, two diameters. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis;
2.* vas deferens ; 3. prostate gland; 5. penis; 6. ovary; 7. oviduct; 8.
genital bladder ; 9. cloaca; 10. retractors of the penis and vagina.

Fig. III. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractors of
do.; 3. ccsophagus ; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. rectum; 7. anus; 8.
salivary glands ; 9. duets of do.; 10. liver; 11. duct of liver.

Fig. IV. Pulmonary chamber, magnified. 1. Floor of the cavity ;
2. pulmonary orifice ; 3. pulmonary arteries ; 4. auricle; 5. ventricle; 6.
pericardium; 7. aorta; 8. renal organ; 9. intestine; 10. anus.

Figs. V. — VI. Limax CAMrESXKis.

Fig. V. The digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. its retrac-
tor; 3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. terminal portion of do. ; 6. anus; 7.
salivary glands ; 8. liver.

Fig. VI. Generative apparatus. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 2.*
vas deferens; 3. accessory gland of do. ; 4. prostate; 5,6. penis; 8.
oviduct; 9. genital bladder ; 10. cloaca.

Figs. VII. — IX. Limax ageestis,

Fig. VII. Body laid open, and viscera dissected apart. 1 . Buccal
body; 2. stomach; 3. intestine; 4. blind tube of do.; 5. salivary
glands; 6. liver; 7. testicle; 8. epididymis; 9. prostate; 10. recepta-
cle of the penis ; 1 1 . trifurcate gland of do. ; 12. sac of penis ; 13- retrac-
tor muscle; 14. ovary; 15. oviduct; IG. geftital bladder; 17. pulmon-
ary chamber.

Fig. VIII. Lower portion of the genitalia. 1. Prostate; 2. recepta-
cle of penis; 3. trifurcate gland of do. ; 4. sac of penis ; 5. retractor; 6.
oviduct; 7. bladder; 8. cloaca.

Fig. IX. Eeceptacle of the penis laid open. 1. penis; 2. longitu-
dinal folds of the receptacle ; 3. trifurcate gland.

PLATE III.
Tebennophokus caeolinensis.

Fig. I. Integument laid open, and the viscera in situ enclosed
within the muscular peritoneum.

Fig. II. Muscular peritoneum laid open; the organs in situ. 1.
Pulmonary chamber laid open; 2. muscular peritoneum; 3. buccal
body; 4. stomach; 5. liver; 6. intestine; 7. testicle; 8. ovary; 9. ovi-
duct; 10. d.irt sac ; 11. heart; 12. renal organ; 13. pulmonary orifice.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 251

FiG- III. Digestive apparatus and pulmonary chamber. 1. Buc-
cal body; 2. retractors of do- ; 3. tt'sophagus ; 4. stomach; 5. intestine;

6. rectum; 7. salivary glands ; 8. ducts of do.; 9. liver; 10. ducts of
do.; 11. pulmonary chamber ; 12. pulmonary veins ; 13. renal organ ;
14. lieart.

Fig. IV. Generative apparatus. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 2.*
vas deferens; 3. prostate; 4. penis; 5. retractor of penis; 6. ovary.

7. oviduct; 8. genital bladder ; 9. dart sac; 10. cloaca; 11. glandular
sti'ucture of do.; 12. right superior tentacle.

Fig. V. Penis, dart sac, etc. laid open. 1. Penis; 2. folded lining
of do.; 3. vas deferens; 4. dart sac, containing the dart; 5. neck of
oviduct; 6. duct of bladder ; 7. cloaca.

Fig. VI. The dart, enlarged.

Fig. VII. Glandular layer of the cloaca, enlarged.

Fig. VIII. Globular form of the genital bladder.

Fig. IX. Spermatozoa, highly magnified.

Fig. X. A bunch of imperfect spermatozoa from the testicle, highly
magnified.

Fig. XI. Granules from the testicle, highly magnified.

Fig. XII. Imperfect ova from the ovary, highly magnified.

PLATE IV.

Vaginulus floridanus.

Fig I. Integument laid open; the viscera in situ. 1. Buccal
body; 2. salivary gland ; 3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. rectum; 6. liver;
7. testicle; 8. multifid vesicle ; 9. heart.

Fig. II. Viscera separated. 1. Buccal body; 2. stomach; 3. intes-
tine ; 4. salivary glands ; 5. liver; 6. course of rectum, renal duct, and
pulmonary passage ; 7. testicle; 8. epididymis; 9. receptacle of penis;
10. multifid vesicle ; 11. ovary; 12. oviduct; 13. genital bladder ; 14.
parenchymatous sac of the vagina.

Fig. III. Part of the digestive apparatus. 1. Esophagus; 2. sto-
mach; 3. intestine; 4. liver; 5. hepatic ducts.

Fig. IV. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 3. vas deferens;
4. prostate; 5. receptacle of penis laid open ; 6. penis; 7. retractor of
penis; 8. base of multifid vesicle ; 9. ovary; 10. oviduct; 11. genital
bladder; 12. parenchymatous sac of vagina laid open.

Fig. V. Visceral cavity, with the greater portion of the viscera
removed. 1. Buccal body ; 2. salivary glands ; 3. a'sophagus; 4. rec-
tum; .'). pulmonary passage; 6. pulmonary cells between the integu-
ment and muscular peritoneum; 7. pulmonary artery from the left

252 INTRODUCTION.

side; 8. heart; 9. renal organ; 10. renal duct; 11. penis, seen within
its receptacle ; 12. base of the multifid vesicle; 13. parenchymatous sac
of the vagina; 14. vagina; 15. sub-oesophageal, and 16. supra-ciesopha-
geal ganglia; 17. olfactory sinus.

Fig. VI. Dental plate : a. size of nature ; b. magnified, with the
retractor muscle attached.

PLATE V.

BULIMUS FASCIATUS.

Fig. I. The viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2. lingual
pouch; 3. retractor of buccal body ; 4 stomach; 5. intestine; G. rec-
tum; 7. anus ; 8. salivary glands ; 9. ducts of do. ; 10. liver; 11. posi-
tion of the testicle commingled with the posterior lobe of the liver ; 12.
epididymis ; 12.* vas deferens ; 13. accessory gland of the epididymis ;
14 prostate; 15. penis; 16. retractor of do. ; 17. multifid vesicle; 18.
ovary; 19. oviduct; 19.* glandular portion of do. ; 20. genital blad-
der; 21. pulmonary chamber ; 22. pulmonary aperture ; 23. puhnonary
artery; 24. pulmonary vein; 25. pericardium; 26. auricle; 27. ventri-
cle; 28. aorta; 29 . renal organ ; 30 renal duct; 31. orifice of do. ; 32.
supra-oesophageal ganglia; 33. stomatO-gastric ganglia; 34. suli-
oesophageal ganglia.

Fig. II. Buccal body laid open, enlarged. 1. Upper lip; 2. lower
lip; 3. dental plate ; 4. sides of buccal cavity; 5. tongue; 6. entrance
of oesophagus ; 7. oesophagus; 8. salivary ducts; 9. lower part of
buccal body: 10. retractor muscle.

Fig. III. The muscular tongue, with the tubular prolongation of
the lingual lamina into the lingual pouch.

Fig. IV. Dental plate: a. magnified; b. size of nature.

Fig. V. Excavation of the foot 1. Buccal body turned forward;
2. retractor muscle; 3. attrahent fasciculi; 4. lingual pouch; 5. re-
tractors of the foot ; 6. olfactory sinus.

PLATE VI.
Helix albolaeeis.

Fig. I. The animal, with the pulmonary chamber (1) laid open
and turned back from the visceral mass (2); 3. the mouth; 4. the
cloaca, voluntarily protruded.

Fig. II. The viscera, all dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 253

retractor of do. ; 3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. rectum;
7. anus; 8. salivary glands; 9. liver; 10. testicle; 11. epididymis;
11.* vas deferens; 11.** accessory gland of epididymis; 12. pro.s-
tate; 13. penis; 14. retractor of do. ; 15. ovary; 16. oviduct, 17.
genital bladder; 18. pulmonary chamber; 19. pulmonary vein; 20.
heart; 21. renal organ; 22. its duct ; 23. anus; 24. cephalic branch of
aorta; 2.5. supra-oesophageal ganglia.

Fig. III. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis ; 2.* vas deferens ;
2.** dilated commencement of do.; 3. accessory gland of epididymis ;
4. prostate; 5. penis; 6. prepuce; 7. retractor muscle ; 8. ovary; 9.
oviduct; 10. genital bladder; 11. muscular organ on the duct of do. ;
12. cloaca.

Fig. IV. Penis, etc. laid open. 1. A''as deferens; 2. retractor of
penis ; 3. penis ; 4 a longitudinal papillated fold of the lining mem-
brane; 5. jjrepuce; 6. bladder laid open; 7. muscular organ at its
base; 8. neck of oviduct ; 9; orifice of do. ; 10. cloaca.

Fig. V. A second appearance of tlie interior of the organ at the
base of the bladder (1). 2. Longitudinal folds ; 3. neck of oviduct ; 4.
orifice of do.

Fig. VI. Portion of oviduct laid open, exhibiting the spermatic
groove, and, within it, the orifice of the prostate gland. 1 . Epidid}Tnis ;
2. accessory gland ; 3. spermatic groove ; 4. side of the oviduct.

Fig. VII. Pyramidal epithelia from the prostate gland, highly mag-
nified. 1. Mass of cells; 2. isolated cells.

Fig. VIII. Imperfect ova from the ovary.

Fig. IX. Dental plate, much magnified.

Fig. X. Eye, much enlarged.

Fig. XI. Portion of renal organ, moderately magnified.

PLATE VIL

Fig. I. H. cellaria; II. — V. H. alteenata; IV,, VII. H.
perspectiva; VIII. H. palliata.

Fig. I. Viscera of H. cellaria, dissected apart. 1. Buccal body;

2. retractor of do.; 3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. rec-
tum; 7. anus; 8. salivary gland ; 9. liver; 10. ductof do. ; 11. testicle;
12. epididymis; 12.* vas deferens; 13. prostate; 14. penis; 15.
retractor of penis ; 16. ovary; 17. oviduct; 18. genital bladder; 19.
vagina; 20. pulmonary chamber ; 21. heart; 22. renal organ.

Fig. II. Viscera of H. altemata. 1. Buccal body; 2. ct-sophagus j

3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. rectum; 6. salivary gland ; 7. liver; 8.
testicle; 9. epididymis; 10. prostate; 11. penis; 12. retractor of do. ;

254 INTRODUCTION.

13. ovary; 14. oviduct; 15. genital bladder; 16. pulmonaiy chamber ;
17. heart; 18. renal orf^^an ; 19. renal duct; 20. pulmonary aperture.

Fig. III. Dental plate, magnilied. 1. Muscle ; 2. the plate.

Fig. IV. Penis laid open. 1. Penis; 2. thick longitudinal fold;
3. vas deferens ; 4. retractor of penis.

Fig. V. Spermatozoa, highly magnified.

Fig. VI. Digestive apparatus of H. perspectiva. 1. Buccal body ;

2. retractor of buccal body ; 3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine;

6. salivary gland; 7. ducts of do. ; 8. hepatic ducts.

Fig VII. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 3. accessory
gland of do.; 4. prostate ; 5. penis ; 6. retractor of do.; 7. ovary; 8.
oviduct; 9. genital bladder; 10. cloaca; 11. right superior tentacle.

Fig. VIII. Dissection of H. palliata. 1. Buccal body ; 2. stomach ;

3. intestine; 4. rectum; 5. anus; 6. salivary gland ; 7. liver; 8. epidi-
dymis; 8.* vas deferens ; 9. accessory gland of do. ; 10. prostate; 11.
penis; 12. retractor of do. ; 13. ovary; 14. oviduct; 15. genital blad-
der ; 16. retractor of buccal body ; 17. pulmonary chamber ; 18. heart ;
19. renal organ; 20. supra-cesophageal ganglia.

PLATE VIII.
Figs. I. — VI. Helix multilineata.

Fig. I. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractor of do.;
3. lingual pouch ; 4. stomach ; 5. intestine ; 6. salivary gland ; 7.
hepatic duct.

Fig. II. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 2.* vas deferens ;
3. accessory gland of epididymis; 4. prostate; 5. penis; 6. prepuce;

7. retractor of penis ; 8. ovary; 9. oviduct; 10. genital bladder; 11.
vagina; 12. cloaca; 13. right superior tentacle.

Fig. III. Penis (1) laid open to exhibit the papillary structure on
its inner surface ; 2. prepuce ; 3. vas deferens ; 4, 5. neck of oviduct
and vagina laid open; 6. bladder; 7. orifice of bladder.

Fig. IV. Portion of the inner surface of the penis, magnified two
diameters.

Fig. V. Spermatozoa, highly magnified.

Fig. VI. Spermatozoa in coil.

Figs VII. — X. H. solitaria.

Fig. VII. Digestive apparatus. Same references as Fig. I.

Fig. VIII. Genitalia. 1. Testicle ; 2. epididymis ; 2.* vas deferens ;
3. accessory gland of do. ; 4. pi'ostate ; 5. penis; 6. retractor of do. ;
7. ovary; 8. oviduct; 9. bladder; 10. cloaca.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. £55

Fig. IX. Spermatozoa and granules from the epididymis, highly
magnified.

Fig. X. Portion of the renal organ at its commencement, exhibit-
ing the relation of the duct at its outer edire.

Fig. XI. Helix Berlanderiana.

Fig. XL Genitalia of Helix Berlanderiana. I. Testicle; 2. epi-
didymis; 3. accessory gland of do. ; 4. prostate; 5. penis; 6. double
retractor of do. ; 7. sac of the dart? ; 8. ovary; 9. oviduct; 10. blad-
der; IL cloaca.

PLATE IX.

Figs. I. — IH. H. peoeunda.

Fig. I. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractor of do. ;
3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. salivary gland; 7. ducts
ofdo. ; 8. hejjatic ducts.

Fig. II. Inferior part of the genitalia. 1. Prostate; 2. vas defe-
rens; 3. penis; 4. retractor of do. ; 5. prepuce; 6. oviduct; 7. bladder;

8. vagina; 9. cloaca; 10. tentacle.

Fig. III. 1. Vas deferens; 2. penis; 3. retractor of do. ; 4. prepuce
laid open; 5. glans penis; 6. genital bladder and duct laid open, ex-
hibiting the interior, longitudinal folds ; 7. neck of oviduct; 8. vagina;

9. cloaca; 10. tentacle.

Helix fuliginosa.

Fig. IV. II. fuliginosa, with all the viscera dissected apart 1.
Buccal body; 2. retractor of do. ; 3. oesophagus; 4 stomach; 5. intes-
tine; 6. rectum; 7. anus; 8. salivary gland ; 9. ducts of do.; 10. liver;
11. testicle; 12. epididymis; 13. accessory gland of do. ; 14. prostate;
15. penis; 16. retractor of do. ; 17. ovary; 18. oviduct; 19. bladder;
20. glandular structure surrounding the vagina ; 21. pulmonary cham-
ber ; 22. heart ; 23. renal organ ; 24. retractor muscle of the foot ; 25,
supra-, 26. sub-cesophageal, and 27. stomato-gastric ganglia.

Figs. V. VI. H. aukiculata.

Fig. V. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. lingual pouch ;
3. retractor of buccal body ; 4. oesophagus; 5. stomach; G. intestine;
7. salivary gland ; 8. ducts ofdo.; 9, hepatic ducts.

253 INTRODUCTION.

Fig. VI. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis ; 2.* vas deferens ;
3. accessory gland of epididymis; 4. prostate; 5. penis; 6. retractor
of do.; 7. ovary; 8. oviduct; 9. genital bladder; 10. vagina; II.
cloaca.

Figs. VII. — IX. Attditory apparatus of H. pulchella.

Fig. VII. Inferior ganglia of the sub-oesophageal mass, highly
magnified, with the auditory vesicles attached.

Fig. VIII. Side view of one of the auditory vesicles.
Fig. IX. Otoconites, very highly magnified.

PLATE X.

Figs. I. — III. H. exoleta.

Fig. I. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. lingual pouch;
3. retractor of buccal body ; 4. stomach ; 5. intestine ; 6. salivary gland ;

7. ducts of do.; 8. hepatic ducts.

Fig. II. Genitalia. Same references as Fig. VI. PI. IX. ; 2.** glan-
dular commencement of vas deferens.

Fig, III. Penis laid open. 1. Longitudinal folds ; 2. vas deferens;
3. valvular folds ; 4. retractor of penis ; 5. vagina; 6. orifice of do.

Figs. IV. V. H. elevata.

Fig. IV. Viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body ; 2. oesophagus;
3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5 rectum; 6. anus; 7. salivary gland;

8. liver; 9. testicle; 10. epididymis; 11. accessory gland of do. ; 10.*
vas deferens ; 12. prostate; 13. penis; 14. retractor of do. ; 15. ovary;
16. oviduct; 17. genital bladder; 18. pulmonary chamber; 19. pul-
monary vein; 20. heart; 21. renal organ ; 22. duct of do. ; 23. pulmo-
nary orifice ; 24. supra-, 25. sub-oesophageal, and 26. stomato-gastric
ganglia.

Fig. V. Penis laid open. 1. Longitudinal folds of interior ; 2. vas
deferens; 3. retractor of jjenis.

PLATE XI.

Figs. I. — IV. H. Sayi.

Fig. I- Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractor of do ;
3. lingual pouch ; 4. oesophagus ; 5 stomach; 6. intestine; 7. salivary
gland ; 8. salivary ducts j 9. hepatic ducts.

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 257

Pig. II. Genitalia. Same references as Fig. VI. PI. IX.
Fig. III. Portion of the oviduct laid open. 1 . Transverse folds of
the sides; 2. spermatic groove.
Fig. IV. Dental plate, largely magnified.

Figs. V. — VI. H. hirsuta.

Fig. V. Viscera dissected apart. 1 . Buccal body ; 2. oesophagus ;
3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. rectum; 6. anus; 7. salivaiy gland; 8.
liver; 9. testicle; 10. epididymis; 11 . accessor)' gland of do. ; 10.* vas
deferens; 12. prostate; 13. penis; 14. retractor of do. ; 15. ovary; 16.
oviduct; 17. genital bladder ; 18. pulmonary chamber ; 19. heart; 20
renal organ.

Fig. VI. Accessory gland of the epididymis, highly magnified.

Figs. VH. — IX. H. thteoidxts.

Fig. Vil. Digestive apparatus. Same references as Fig. I.
Fig. VIII. Genitalia. Same references as Fig. VI. PI. IX.
Fig. IX. Penis laid open. 1 . Longitudinal folds ; 2. valvular fold ;
3. vas deferens; 4. retractor of penis; 5. orifice of vagina.

PLATE XII.

Figs. I. — III. H. inteetexta.

Fig. I. Genitalia. 1. Testicle; 2. epididymis; 3. accessory gland
of do. ; 2.* vas deferens; 4. prostate; 5. penis; 6. retractor of do. ;

7. sac of the dart ; 8. glandular pouches; 9. ovary; 10. oviduct; 11.
genital bladder; 12. duct of do. to the vagina; 13. division of the duct,
enclosing the lower part of the genitalia; 14. retractor of the dart sac ;
15. portion of the duct of the genital bladder, enclosing the cloaca; 16.
cloaca.

Fig. II. Lower part of the genitalia laid open. 1. Penis; 2. por-
tion of the duct of the genital bladder, which encloses the lower part of
the genitalia, laid open ; 3. vas deferens; 4. neck of the oviduct; 5.
duct of the bladder; 6. the portion of do. to the vagina ; 7. dart sac ;

8. glandular pouches ; 9. dart; 10. orifice of the vagina.

Fig. III. a. the dart, the size of nature; b. do. much magnified.

Figs. IV. — VK. H. ligeea.

Fig. IV. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractor of
do.; 3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. salivary gland; 7.
hepatic duct.

VOL. I. 32

258 INTRODUCTION.

Pig. V. Genitalia. Same references as Fig. I.
Fig. VI. Animal with the penis and lower portion of the dart sac.
Fig. VII. Dental plate.

Fig. VIII. Genitalia of H. suppressa, magnified seven diameters.
Same references as Fig. I.

Figs. IX. — XI. H. concava.

Fig. IX. Digestive apparatus. Same references as Fig. I. PL
XI.
Fig. X. Genitalia. Same references as Pig. VI. PI. IX., except

1 1 , which is probably a dart sac ; 12. cloaca.
Pig. XI. Dental plate, much magnified.

PLATE Xin.

Pig. I. — III. SucciNEA.

Pig. L Viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2. stomach; 3.
intestine; 4. rectum; 5. anus; 6. salivary gland ; 7. ducts of do.; 8.
liver; 9. testicle; 10. epididymis ; 11 . accessory gland of do. ; 12. pros-
tate; 1.3. penis; 14. ovary; 15. oviduct; 16. genital bladder; 17.
pulmonary chamber ; 18. heart; 19. renal organ.

Fig. II. Genitalia. Same references as Pig. VI. PI. IX.

Pig. III. Dental plate, a. Natural size; b. magnified; 1. mus-
cle; 2. dental plate; 3. accessory plate.

Fig. IV. Nerve centres of Helicina orbiculata, highly magnified.
1. Supra-oesophageal ganglia; 2. stomato-gastric ganglia; 3. sub-
ojsophageal ganglia ; 4. auditory vesicles.

Pig. V. Spermatozoa from the epididymis, very highly magnified.

PLATE XIV.
Glandina truncata.

Pig. I. Animal deprived of its shell. 1. Turbinate mass of vis-
cera; 2. anterior third of the buccal body protruded as in eating; 3.
mouth; 4. generative aperture ; 5. suiDcrior tentacles ; 6. inferior ten-
tacles ; 7. external tentacles.

Pig. II. Viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2. oesophagus ;
2.* exit of do. ; 3. stomach; 4. intestine; 5. rectum; 6. anus; 7. sali-
vary gland; 8. ducts of do.; 9. liver; 10. hepatic duct; 11. testicle;

12. epididymis ; 13. accessory gland of do. ; 12". vas deferens ; 14. pros-
tate; 15. penis; 16. retractor of do.; 17. ovary; 18. oviduct; 19. genital
bladder; 20. vagina; 21. cloaca; 22. pulmonary chamber; 23. pul-

SPECIAL ANATOMY. 259

monaryvein; 24. heart; 25. aorta; 26. renal organ ; 27. duct of do.;

28. orifice of do. ; 29. retractor muscles of buccal body, tentacles, and
podal disk; 30. supra-a'sophageal ganglia; 31. stomato-gastric gan-
glia; 32. superior tentacles retracted ; 33. Distoma sacs.

Fig. III. Inferior view of the protruded portion of buccal body.
1. Mouth; 2. external tentacles.

Pig. IV. Diagram of nervous centres. 1. Sub-oesophageal gan-
glia; 2. supra-cesophageal ganglia ; 3. stomato-gastric ganglia.

PLATE XV.

Fig. I. Genitalia of Bulimus dealbatus. 1. Testicle; 2. epididy-
mis; 3. accessory gland of do- ; 4. prostate; 5. vas deferens; 6. penis ;

7. retractor of do. ; 8. ovary; 9. oviduct; 10. genital bladder ; 11. va-
gina; 12. cloaca.

Fig. II. — IV. Pupa incaxa.

Fig. II. Viscera dissected apart. 1. Buccal body; 2. retractor of
do.; 3. oesophagus; 4. stomach; 5. intestine; 6. rectum; 7. anus;

8. salivary gland ; 9. liver; 10. pulmonary chamber; II. collar; 12.
pulmonary aperture; 13. pulmonary vein; 14. heart; 15. aorta; 16.
renal organ; 17. duct of do. ; 18. testicle; 19. epididymis; 20. acces-
sory gland of do. ; 21. prostate; 22. vas deferens ; 23. penis; 24. retrac-
tor of do. ; 25. dart sac (?) ; 26. ovary ; 27. oviduct ; 28. genital bladder ;

29. an accessory gland joining the duct of the genital bladder by the
duct 30; 31. retractor muscles ; 32. sub-cesophageal ganglia.

Fig. III. Penis laid open. 1. Penis; 2. longitudinal fold; 3. re-
tractor of penis; 4. vas deferens ; 5. orilice of do.
Fig. IV. Dental plate, magnified.

Figs. V. VI. Bulimus decollatus.

Fig. V. Digestive apparatus. 1. Buccal body; 2. lingual pouch;
3. retractor of buccal body ; 4. oesophagus ; 5. stomach ; 6. intestine ;
7. salivary gland ; 8. ducts of do. ; 9. hepatic ducts.

Fig. VI. Lower portion of the Genitalia.

Figs. VII. VIII. B. virgulatus.

Fig. VTI. Digestive apparatus. Same references as in digestive
apparatus of Fig. II.
Fig. VIII. Genitalia. Same references as Fig. I.

PLATE XVI.
Fig. I. NervoussystemofGlandinatnmcata, magnified. 1. Supra-

260 INTRODUCTION.

oesophageal ganglia; 2. sub-oesophageal ganglia; 3. stomato-gastric
ganglia; 4. nerve to the upper lip; 5. to the integument of the superior
tentaeulse; 6. to the lateral lips ; 7. supra-cesophageal, stomato-gastric
ganglionic commissure; 8. superior tentacular nerve; 9. an accessory
branch; 10. nerve to the inferior and external tentaculie; 11. gan-
glionic enlargement of do.; 12. inferior tentacular nerve ; 13. external
tentacular nerves; 14. nerves to the buccal body; 15. to oesophagus
and stomach; 16. to salivary ducts and gland; 17. supra-oesophageal,
sub-cesophageal, ganglionic commissures; 18. nerves to podal disk;
19. nerves to collar and pulmonary chamber; 20. to retractor of buc-
cal body; 21. follows course of aorta, and supplies the oviduct, ovary,
testicle, etc. ; 22. supplies integument, collar, pulmonary chamber, and
retractor muscles, at origin ; 23. to penis; 24. to cloaca and integu-
ment in vicinity ; 25. numerous branches to integument on each side,
and podal disk ; 26. to retractor muscles ; 27. to tail and podal disk;
28. large branch to integument on each side.

Fig, II. Supra-CESophageal and stomato-gastric ganglia of Helix
albolabris. 1. Supra-oesophageal ganglia; 2. stomato-gastric ganglia.
3. supra-oesophageal, sub-oesophageal, ganglionic commissures; 4. su-
pra-oesophageal, stomato-gastric, ganglionic commissures; 5. superior
tentacular nerve; 6. inferior tentacular do. ; 7. to commencement of
olfactory sinus ; 8. inferior part of mouth and buccal body; 9. to inte-
gument of lips; 10. integument at side of mouth, and generative aper-
ture on the right side; 11. recurrent branch to superior tentacular
muscle; 12. to retractor of podal disk; 13. to buccal body; 14. to
oesophagus; 15. to salivary glands.

INDEX TO VOLUME I.

Academy of Natural Sciences, its

Journal, 35.
Acephiila, 92, 96.
AcHATiNA, Lk. 128.

grac-illima, Pf. 109, 128, 162.
pellucida, 109, 128, 162.
Acknowledgments to co-laborers, 23.
Agatina variegata, Raf. 50.

Aiscata, Kaf. 50.
Agriculture, influence on species,

132, 190.
American Zoology, neglect of by

Europeans, 56.
Amnicola, 181.

Analogues, use of the term, 77.
Anatomy of terrestrial gasteropods,

198.
Ancylus, 97.
Aorta, 238.
Aplodon, Raf. 49.

Aeion, 97, 163, 165, 168, 171, 172,
203, 205, 209, 220, 236.
bortensis, 109, 159, 198.
Asiphoiiobranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.
Atlantic region, features of, 103; spe-
cies of, 109.
Auricula, 97.
AuriculidiB, 96, 97.
Azeca, 168.

Birds, destruction of species by, 134.
Blainville, definition of Mollusks, 92.
Blood, 239.
Boston Society of Natural History, its

Journal, 35.
Buccal body, 206, in Glandina, 214.
BuLiMUS, 97, 111, 124, 128, 163, 165,
167, 171, 173, 202, 204, 229.
acicula, 159.

Bulimus acutus, Fer. 152, 159.

dealbatus, 109, 122, 128, 162,

199 213 229.
decoll'atus,' 109, 128, 134, 152,
158, 159, 188, 199, 213, 230.
exiguus, 109, 128, 129, 140.
fallax, 109, 128, 129.
fasciatus, 109, 119, 128, 1.52,
153, 246. 160, 162, 199, 213,
216 229.
harpa[ 109, 125. 126, 129.
lubricus, 109, 128, 129, 137, 139,

144, 151, 152, 157, 159.
octona, 159.
radiatus, 159.
subula, 109, 128, 153, 162,
serperastrus, 109, 128.
undatus. 109, 119, 159.
virgineus, 1-59.
virgulatus, 109, 119, 128, 152,

153, 199, 213, 230.
zebra, 128, 152, 153, 160, 162.
Cabinet specimens, insufHcient for

study, 72.
Calcareous rudiment, 200.
Causes, influencing geographical dis-
tribution of species, 99 ; mountain
ranges, 110; rivers and lakes, 107;
ocean, 108; climate, 110; geologi-
cal structure, 112; vegetation, 113;
humidity and dryness, 113; eleva-
tion, 115; inundations of rivers,
130 ; fires, 131 ; agriculture, 132 ;
destruction by animals, 133; the
sea, 135; local, 138.
Central region, features of, 103 ; spe-
cies of, 109.

262

INDEX.

Cephalopoda, Cuv. 92, 96.
Cervicobnuichiata, Bl. 95, 96.
Chimotrenia, llaf. 49.
Cliojco of specilic names, 77.
Circular system of arrangement, 89.
Circulatory apparatus, 235.
Cirrhobranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.
Classification, 84.
Clausilia, Lie. 165, 167, 1G8, 169,

172.
Climate, influence on species, 110.
Cloaca, in Limax, 220 ; in Arion,
220; in Tebennophorus, 221; in
Heli.x, 22S ; in Succinea, 231 ; in
Glandina, 232.
Concliology, auxiliary to geology, 69.
Corvus corone, 76
Cryptobranchiata, Desh. 95, 96.
Cryptoicus, Leidy, 234.
Cuba, genera in, compared with U.

States, 171.
Currents, agency of, in the introduc-
tion of species, 152.
Cuvier, division of Mollusks, 92.
CycLOSTOMA, Lk. 97, 111, 124, 163,
166, 167, 16S, 171, 174.
campanulatum, 109.
dentatum, 109, 119, 128, 153,

162.
distribution of species, 172.
Cylindrblla, Pf. 97, 163, 165, 166,
16S, 171, 172.
jejuna, 109, 228.
lactaria, Gould, 109, 119, 128,
153, 162.
Cyrena, 178.
Dart sac, in Tebennophorus, 221 ; in

Heli.x, 227.
Dental plate, 206 ; in Pupa, 213 ; in

Succinea, 213.
Destruction of species by animals,

133.
Digestive apparatus, 206.
Distoma vagans, 239.
Distribution of genera and species,
compared vv'ilh those of Eu-
rope and South America, 163.
of the nerves, 239, 241.
D'Orbigny, genera in S. America,

170.
Dryness, influence on species, 113.
Eggs, number of, 194 ; development

of, 195 ; tenacity of life, 195, 196.
Elevation, influence of, on species'

115.
Epididymis, 218, 232.
Eumelus, Raf. 52, 53.

nebulosus, Raf 52.
lividus, Raf. 52.
European naturalists, neglect of Ame-
rican labors, 56.

E.Kternal characters of equivocal spe-
cific value, 67.
Eye, structure of, 247.
Faculties of land-mollusks, 187.
Fires, influence on species, 131.
Fossil land-shells, 180.
Ganglia, supra-oesophageal, 239 ;
sub-oesophageal, 240 j stomato-gas-
tric, 241.
Gasteropoda, 92, 93, 96 ; naked, 199 ;

testaceous, 201.
Genera and species. s;eographical dis-
tribution of, 99, i28, 162; number
of, 103; geological relations, 176.
Generative apparatus, 201, 2i7 ; in
Limax, 217; in Arion, 220;
in Tebennophorus, 220 ; ia
Vaginukis, 221 ; tissues of,
232.
bladder, 234; in Limax, 219;
in Arion, 220; in Tebenno-
phorus, 220; in Vaginulus,
222 ; in Helix, 226 ; m Buli-
raus, 229; in Pupa, 230; in
Succinea, 231 ; in Glandina,
231.
Geographical distribution of genera
and species, 99, 162 ; table of,
109, 128.
features of the country, 100.
Geological relations of land-shells,
176.
structure, influence on species,
112.
Glandina, 97, 111, 114, 121, 124, 128,
163, 166, 167, 171, 174, 202,
214, 231, 242.
truncata, 109, 128, 134, 162,

199.
Vanuxemensis, 109, 128.
Gnathodon, 178.

Habits and facuhies of land mollusks,
187 ; diflerent from those of Europe,
188.
Hammocks of Florida, 118.
Haste to describe species, an obsta-
cle, 74.
Hearing, organ of, 246.
Heart, 235, 238 ; in Limax, 236 ; in
Vaginulus, 237 ; pulsations of, 238.
Helicodonta, 166.
Helices described by Say, 59.
Helicidte, 97, 192, 193, 195, 196.
Helicina, 97, 111, 121, 124, 127, 163,
166, 167, 171, 172, 174, 182.
distribution of species, 172.
chrysocheila, 109.
occulta, 109, 181, 182.
orbiculata, 109, 121, 128, 137,
162.

INDEX.

263

Helicina rubella, 128, 184.

HhiAX, 97, HI, 124, 127, 128, 1G3, 166,

167, 168, 171, 172, 173, 202,

211, 223, 237.
albociiicta, 109, 128.
albolabris, 59, 109, 128, 129,

199, 211, 223, 224, 225, 226.
alliaria, 105.
alternata, 59, 109, 123, 126,

128, 129, 162, 199, 224, 225,

226, 233
appressa, 59, 109, 128, 129.
aspersa, 109, 129, 151, 152, 159.
arborea, 109, 128, 129, 199, 224,

228.
auriculata, 59, 109, 122, 128,

162, 199, 211, 224.
berlaiuleriana, 109, 122, 128,

199, 226, 228, 229.
bonplandj, Lk. 159.
bufloiiiana, 109, 122, 128.
cellaria, 109, 129, 152, 158, 159,

188, 199, 211, 225.
chersina, 59, 109, 128, 129.
clausa, 59, 109, 128, 129, 181.
coiicava, 59, 109, 128, 129, 134,

199,211,224,226,228,229.
cumberlandiana, 109, 123, 128.
coluinbiana, 109.
caliibniieiisis, 109.
deinis.sa, 109, 128, 129.
denlifera, 109, 129, 199, 224,

228.
depieta, Grat. 159.
desertoruin, 196.
dubia, 162.

eleclrina, 109, 128, 129.
elevata, 59, 109, 128, 129, 199,

224.
exolela, 109, 128, 129, 199, 211,

216, 223, 226.
fallax. 111, 121, 128, 129, 188,

199, 228.
fatigiata, 109, 128.
fuliginosa, 109, 128, 129, 199,

224,226,227.
gularis, 109, 123, 128, 199, 224,

226, 227, 228, 229.
horieusis, 109, 126, 129, 137,

154, 156, 159, 188.
hirsula, 59. 109, 128, 129, 181,

199,211.'
inflecta, 59, 109, 128, 129, 181,

199, 224, 228.
interna, 59, 109, 128, 129.
iudenlata, 109, 128, 129.
inornala, 109, 115, 125, 128, 129.
mtertexta, 109, 128, 129, 199,

211,224,226.
jejuna, 109, 128.
labiosa, 109.

Helix labvrintliica, 59, 109, 128, 129,
140, 181.
lactea, 152, 159.
iigera, 59, 109, 128, 129, 199,

211, 224.
lineata, 59, 109, 128, 129, 181.
leporina, 109, 123, 128.
liniatula, 109, 129.
lasmodon, 109, 123, 128.
loriL-ata, 109.
lucida, 109, 124, 129, 152, 158,

159
lucMibrata, 109, 121, 128.
uiaxillata, 109, 128.
minusc'ula, 109, 128, 129, 139,

140, 154, 162.
major, 109, 123, 128.
inobiliana, 109, 121, 128.
monodou, 109, 128, 129, 162,

181.
mullilineata, 59, 109, 115, 128,

129, 199, 224, 225, 226, 233.
muhidenlata, 109, 128, 129.
neiijoralis, 134, 152, 159.
nickliniana, 109.
nuttalliana, 109.
ottoiiis, 109, 119, 128, 1.53, 162.
penn.-^vlvanica, 109, 128, 129.
palliata, 59, 109, 123, 128, 129,

199, 224.
patuia, Desh. 59.
perspecliva, 59, 109, 128, 129,

199, 211, 224, 226.
pisaiia, 152.
profunda, 59, 107, 109, 128, 129,

199, 224, 22.5, 226.
pulfhella, 109, 128, 129, 142,
151,152, 157, 159, 188, 199,
228.
pnstula, 109.
rotula, 109, 123, 128.
rhodoeheila, 109, 119, 128, 153.
saxicola, 109, 128, 162.
sayi, 109, 115, 129, 199,224.
seleiiina, 109, 119, 121, 128,

162.
septemvolva, 59, 60, 109, 122,

12S 1 37
solita'ria, 59, 109, 128, 129, 199.

224, 226, 233.
spinosa, 109, 123, 128.
striatella, 109, 128, 129.
sub-plana, 109, 123, 128.
suppressa, 109, 128, 129, 199,

224, 226, 227, 228, 229.
sportella, 109.
slrigosa, 109.
texa.siana, 109, 122, 128, 199,

224, 228.
thyroid us, 59, 109, 128, 129, 181,
199, 228.

264

INDEX.

Helix tridentata, 50, 109, 111, 115,
121, 12S, 129, 199, 211, 224,
225, 226, 228.
Iriodonta, Jan. 162.
towiisendiana, 109.
tudiculala, 109.
vancouverensis, 109,
variabilis, C. 159.
virgata, 1.52.
Hemiloma, Raf. 52, 53.

ovata, Raf. 53.
Humidity, inttueiice on species, 113.
Identity of species on botli conti-
nents, 75.
Inferobranchiata, Bi. 95, 96.
Injuries, reparation of, 196.
Intestine, 208 ; in Helix, 212 ; in Suc-

cinea, 213.
Introduction of foreign species, 150 ;

agency of currents in, 152.
Inundations of rivers, influence on

species, 130.
Invertebrate animals, 85.
Kidney, in Limax, 236 ; in Arion, 236.
Lakes, inlluence on the range of spe-
cies, 107.
Leidy, anatomy of terrestrial gastero-
poda, 198.
Limacidse, 97, 165, 171, 172, 192, 193,

195.

LiMAX, 97, 123, 128, 163, 165, 167,

168, 171, 172, 173, 195, 202,

203, 205, 206, 217, 220, 235,

240.

campestris, 109, 128, 129, 198,

207, 208, 209, 210, 218, 219.
agrestis, 109, 128, 129, 134, 1.52,

1.58, 159, 188, 195, 198, 207,

208, 218, 219.
gracilis, Raf 53.
variegatns, 109, 128, 129, 134,

152, 158, 159, 1S8, 19S, 207,
208, 213, 216.

Limniadee, 76, 97, 178.

Lintjual lamina, 206; in Glandina,
215.

Lininea, 97, 181.

Liver, 209, 217 ; in Helix, 212.

Local circumstances, influence on
species, 138.

Locality, a cause of variation of spe-
cies, 65.

Lung, in terrestrial gasteropods, 235.

Maclurian Lyceum, its Contributions,
35.

Mantle of Mollusks, 199.

Menoraphis, Raf. 49.

Me.sodon, Raf 49.

Mesomphix, Raf. 49.

Mollusca, 90, 92, 90.

Mollusks, Blainville's defmition of,

92 ; Cuvier's division of, 92 ; to be
studied with their shell, 69.

Monopleurobranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.

Mountain ranges, influences on spe-
cies, 101.

Mucous glands, 204.
membrane, 216.

Multifid vesicles, 229.

Muscles, 205.

Naiades, 178.

Naked terrestrial gasteropoda, 199.

Neritina, 178.

Nerves, distribution of, 239, 241 ;
structure of, 243.

Nervous centres, 239 ; composition
of, 242.

New York Lyceum, its Annals, 35.

Nucleobranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.

Nudibranchiata, Cuv. 95, 96.

Obstacles to the study of Zoology,
63.

Odomphium, Raf. 49.

Odotropis, Raf. 48.

Omphalina, Raf. 49.

Orders of Mollusca, 94.

Organs of sense, 243.

CEsophagus, 207 ; in Helix, 211; in
Buliinus, 213; in Glandina, 215.

Otoconites, 247.

Ovary, 233; in Limax, 219; in Te-
bennophorus, 220; in Vaginulus,
222 ; in Helix, 225.

Oviduct, 234; in Limax, 219; in Te-
bennophorus, 220 ; in Vaginulus,
222; in Helix, 225; in Buliinus,
229.

Pacific region, features of, 102 ; spe-
cies of, 109.

Parmacella, 167, 168.

Partula Otaheitana, 159.

Pedal disk, 199, 201.

Penis, in Limax, 218 ; in Arion, 220 ;
in Tebennophorus, 220 ; in Vaginu-
lus, 222 ; in Helix, 224 ; in Buli-
mus, 229 ; in Pupa, 230 ; in Suc-
cinea, 231 ; in Glandina, 231.

Pericardium, 238.

Philomycus, Raf 51, 53.
flexuolaris, Raf 52.
fuscus, Raf 52.
oxyurus, Raf. 52.
quadrilus. 51.

Physa, 97.

Plauorbis, 97, 181.

Pneumobranchiata, Lam. 94, 96, 97.

Points of origin of species, 141.

Prioritjr, rule of, 22.

Prostate gland, 233 ; in Succinea,
231.

Pulmonary cavity, in Limax, 235;
in Arion, 236 ; in Tebennophorus,

INDEX.

365

236; in Vagiiiulus, 237; in Helix,
237.
Pulmonary chamber, 199, 200, 202.
Pulmonary orifice in Liinax, 235.
Pulmonary rete, in Limax, 235; in

Helix, 238.
Pulsations of the heart, 238.
Pupa, Drap. 97. 114. 124, 163, 165,
167, 168, 171, 173, 201, 202,
213 230.
armilera, 109, 128, 129, 181.
badia, 109, 124, 129.
contracta, 109, 128, 129, 140,

154, 162, 181.
corticaria, 109, 128, 129.
incana, 109, 119, 128, 153, 162,

199, 216, 230.
rupic-ola, 109, 128, 129, 140,

154, 162.
modica, 109.

pontifica, Gould, 109, 128.
servihs, Gould, 162.
variolaria, 128.
Pupadae, 97.
Raiinesque (C. S.) notice of, 41; his

works, 48.
Rang, his definition of Gasteropoda,

93.
Rectum, 208.

Renal organ, 236, 239; in Tebenno-
phorus, 237; in Vaginulus, 237 ; in
Helix, 238.
Reproduction of injured parts, 196.
Respiratory apparatus, 235.
Retractor muscle, 202, 225.
Rivers, influence on the range of spe-
cies, 107, 130.
Salivarv glands, 208, 217 ; of Vaginu-
lus, 211 ; in Helix, 212; in Succi-
nea, 214; in Glandina, 215.
Say, (Thos.) his Conchology in
Nicholson's Encyclopedia, 36 ; his
life, 39 ; Helices described by, 59.
Scutibranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.
Sea, influence of its vicinity on spe-
cies, 135.
Sense, organs of, 243.
Serial arrangements, 88, 97.
Shells, to be studied with the animal,

69; and at all ages, 71.
Sight, organ of, 247.
Silliman's Journal, its contributions,

35.
Siphonobranchiata, Bl. 95, 96.
Smell, sense of, 246.
Species, definition of, 64; variations
of, 65 ; how to be described,
68.
on both continents, identity of,
75.

Specific names, choice of, 77.
Spermatheca, 234.
Spermatoztja, in Helix, 232, 234.
State Surveys, 36.
Stenosloma, Raf. 49.
Stenotrema, Raf 49.
Stomach, 207 ; of Tebennophorus,
210; of Vaginulus, 210; in Hehx,
211; in Bulimus, 213; in Pupa,
213; in Succiuea, 213.
Stomato-gaslric ganglion, 241.
SucciNEA, 76, 97, 114, 124, 128, 163,
16-5, 167, 168, 171, 196, 201,
202, 213, 231, 233.
amphibia, 159.
aurea, 109, 128, 129.
avara, 109, 128, 129.
campestris, 109, 121, 128.
lutcola, 109, 128.
niunita, 128.
nuttalliana, 109.
obliqua, 109, 128, 129, 199.
ovalis, 109, 128, 129.
putris, 109, 129, 159, 162.
rusticana, 109.
Sub-Qjsophageal ganglion, 240.
Supra-cESophageal ganglion, 239.
Synonyms, an obstacle, 63.

of species described by Say, 59.
Synopsis of genera and species in

each geographical section, 128.
Table of Helices described by Say,
59; of pneumonobranchiate mol-
lusca, 97; of distribution of species
in geographical regions, 109; of
temperature, 110; of genera and
species in each geographical sec-
tion, 128 ; of foreign species ob-
served in the United States, 1-59 ;
of species inhabiting other parts of
America, 162 ; of the number of
species in each genus, 163; of
terrestrial niollusks in the United
States and in Europe, 167 ; of ge-
nera, compared with those of South
America and Cuba, 171.
Taste, sense of, 246.
Teeknnophorus, 53, 97, 111, 123, 128,
163, 165, 167, 168, 171, 173,
193, 200, 204, 205, 209, 220,
236.
carolinensis, 109, 128, 129, 198,
205.
Tegumentary covering, 203.
Temperature, table of, 110; vicissi-
tudes of, 127.
Tentaculfe, 199 ; structure of, 244
Terrestrial mollusks, anatomy of, 198.
in the United States and Eu-
rope, comparative table of, 167.

VOIi. I.

33

366

INDEX.

Terrestrial mollusks, comparalive ta-
ble of, in tlie United States and
South America, 170.

Testacella, 1G7, 172.

Te.'^tis, 232 ; of Limax, 217 ; in Te-
bennophoriis, 220; in Vaginulus,
221 ; in Helix, 223, 232 ; in Suc-
cinea,231 ; in Glandina, 231.

Tissues of the genital organs, 232.

Touch, organ of, 243.

Toxotrema, Raf. 49.

Triodopsis, Raf. 49.

Trophodon, Raf. 49.

Turbinated mass, 201.

Va2:ina, in Helix, 227, in Bulimus,
229; in Succinea, 231; in Glan-
dina, 232.

Vaginulus, 97, 124, 128, 163, 165,
166, 168, 171, 173, 200, 210,
216, 221, 233, 234, 237, 242,
246.
floridanus, 109, 119, 128, 198.

Valvata, 181.

Varieties, from locality, 65.

Vas deferens, in Limax, 218 ; in Te-
bennophorus, 220; in Vaginulus,
221; in Helix, 223; in Bulimus,
229; in Pupa, 230; in Glandina,
231.

Vegetation, iafliience on species, 113.

Vertebrate animals, 85.
Vertigo, 97, 124, 163, 16-5, 108, 171.
decora, 109, 124, 129.
gouldii, 109, 124, 129.
milium, 109, 128, 129.
ovata, 109, 12S, 129, 137.
pentodon, 109, 128, 129.
Vicissitudes of temperature, inllu-

ence on species, 127.
ViTEXNA, 97, 111, 116, 125, 126, 163,
165, 167, 16S, 171, 173.
pellucida, 109, 129, 144, 159,
162.
Xolotrema, Raf. 49.
Zoological foci of genera and species,
141.
sections of country, 117; Flo-
rida, 118; tertiary of the At-
lantic, 120 ; Southern Inte-
rior, 122; Norlhern Interior,
123; Northwestern, 124;
Northeastern, 125 ; table of
species in, 128.
Zoology, obstacles to the study of,
63 ; neglect of American, by
Europeans, 56.
of Massachusetts, 3G; of New
York, .36 ; in the United
States, rise of, 31.

END OF VOLUME I.

I>r .ir.„j„,M

/.l/l/l/.V /'/f//l'f/l////.l\ />,;l/>

/nip ,i<* ./ f^&irui- // II.' /ii .Hiitih^rt,! *»'*' iimfti

//.• .r/M.lu..M

I — JV- Aritni /iiir/r/i,riir . v, \'i. /.i/mi.r rii/ii/ii',rf/7,i .

W\ - IX / iii/ri'.r/i.r-

Imp if^ .f. J)f/,truf

FL.m.

Or .rUi^Jel

J(i^(m//('/>/ii'///.r ciiro/iTicrhi'i.i-

Sufi- & JJMtirar Ate t/e iA SirnLiifru- J'^^iauvtrve ۥ

PI/, rv.

Dr J£c<tfy,def

Fq^iTU/lu.r /?orcJi/nu,i

&np iL' . / l/flitr/w ■

^SS^ /;

Ih- J I-etJu J^

fiuhf/u/if /^/.Jvy////A/

ffw d^ .^ flfitrur . ff lir /.i Jttntktffnr . '**■ /wrtiav** t'

11 0_o XI

.-' VIII

/>r .r r.riJu. iM

//l'//.l • tl//>i >/<//>/ •/, I ■

fntf Jf i^-i^fliR'H

pn^oVC!!.

I» .' -'■'■/■' ■/./

I // ci'/Za/za
VI, VII // /)i'/,iy>('f///i(/ .

II — A . // tl/f('l7li//il
VIII. // I'd //id /(I

Imp iL' if Pf/iiriu-.B tff fii %tnt4U/nf S*"' fU'tu'iUftu- fi

M-,-7ni.

Dr J Leufif dW

imp. tL' tf- Prlofuc ■

■fir JtMi&f. dtj

V, VI // awiciilcitii VII- IX // pulcfu'Uo

Jfnfi lie J. Iffiarut'. /t tL' la JC'tOiifrw , l./kvuvreVK' /'

Pr JZditfy. <iV

-111. // ('.vo/cliJ

IV. V. I/. r/et>d((i

Im/t. Jr •/■ Pr&iruf .

£>r <r lettfy. JeJ.

I — W. // ,\'(ii/i . V, VI. // /linn/ fa .

vii-i\, // t/ii/r,)///ii,r.

/m/f. Jf .f./>fiii/'ue,N-.fif la Mantiitf/if ,1'^ (ii'/ifrntivt' A*.

8-.-

Hr J U^ d'/

r - f(( // inter h'.ita- iv— vii // /u/cra

VIII /I sii/ipre.rj-a- ix — xi f/. tonawn

Imp lA' J fhliU-tu-

PL. X!!llo

1 - III cJ'mxuicu iwaUif ■ W /A'/.tf/tf ii//>iiiiJata

\ ■ //('/i.r (ifJio/dhruf .

Im/- ,/,■ ,fP,'l,u-ui\ U Ji< ll Mmkufltf .'"ik'lufui;-

PL. miTv

Dr.JJ^tify.d^

(rhwJr7t(f tru/u (Ua .

Jmp Jf J fMiiru.-

PI.. 2V,

r ^-X^i^. Jt-i

V, VI. Bu/anud- (/t'tu)//tihic>-. \ii, vin B uuyulatiur

Imp Jc JJ)fAirttf . R dr LtJifanttUf'w J irfjusru'in.' t>

i>t.z7?r.

■■ tfL^iffy.dot

I Cr/a/ti/ina /r/mrafa

11 ffi'/t.r ai6/>/<j/jri,r

Imp ti' J0ela/ve ■

hLl

a%

-^H

\4^

j^\S^jjW

iiri*-

^\

^ ir

>» w*