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The Grove
[circled] 7
West Northfield, Ill. Oct 20^th 1856

Dear Sir.

I spent this afternoon in wading in
the River Des Plaines (a tributary of the Illinois
River) hunting shells for you.

I was unable to find many bivalves con[page torn]
the living animals, but managed to find a [page torn]
shells about stones and logs, the contents of which
had been devoured by that "Conchologists assista[page torn]
- the muskrat. For want of better specimens
I shall send you some poor ones. Thinking they
may be of some use in comparing, observing varieties
&c, though not good for cabinet specimens.

This river is a small stream and rather sluggish
Enlarging to great size annually at the time
of [illegible]. It is now very low.

I found what I suppose to be melania cana
iculata in almost incredable quantities.
I estimated the average number at about ^over twenty
to every square foot of the whole surface [page torn]
the river - though there would be large [page torn]
in stagnent water (that is behind points where the [page torn]
could not come) where the shells lay so thick as to comple[page torn]
cover the bottom - all touching each other. The
shells all contained the living animal. I observed that
in moving about they often followed in each other[page torn]
tracks as if 'twere easier to travel so. I observed
a specimen about an inch long moved about his own