128 Dr. JNIaton's and Mr. Rackett's 
CHIOCCO, 
the describer of the " Museum Calceolarium" gives a very full 
account of the shells contained in that collection, with specific 
characters, in the Latin language. These descriptions, however, 
are for the most part borrowed from other writers. The book 
itself must have been looked upon in those days as very superb 
and expensive, and was certainly worthy of the museum which it 
professes to describe. This museum was begun by Benedict 
Ceruto, a physician, and even before it received additions from 
Calceolari, contained an immense assortment both of natural and 
artificial subjects. The figures of the shells occupy six plates, 
and are very correctly executed. It appears to be the first work 
that was written professedly as a description of a museum of na- 
tural curiosities, if we except OLIVTS account of the same col- 
lection, which, however, is very vague and imperfect. • 
The forming of collections began about this period to be under- 
taken by many curious persons, especially in Italy and Germany, 
countries where, in common with other branches of science, na- 
tural history first attracted attention, after the revival of letters. 
SCHONVELDE 
(a physician of Hamburgh) was author of an account of marine, 
lake, and river animals found in the duchies of Sleswick and Hol- 
stein, which contains separate chapters on oysters and muscles, 
pectunculi, and pedicidi aquatici. The work is of a very superficial 
nature, and relates chiefly to the culinary uses of the animals. 
NIEREMBERGIUS 
may be included in our list, as having given some account of va- 
rious Testacea in his "Historia Natures," but he does not present us 
with 
