168 Dr. Maton's and Mr. Rackett's 
was to cultivate the natural history of Ireland, and that it owed 
its origin probably to the plan originally formed by Mr. Boyle 
in England, which led to the labours of Plot and other county 
historians, and which cannot be sufficiently applauded for its 
utility. On the subject of Testacea Dr. Smith was not very mi- 
nute or methodical: but the more common and well known spe- 
cies he is far from having, in all instances, treated of superficial^. 
DR. JAMES PARSONS 
described two species of Testacea in the Philosophical Transact ions : 
but they form the subjects of separate communications, the 
first of which, relating to Mytilus lithophagus, occurs in vol. 45, 
and the second an account of Pholas pusilla, called by this writer 
P. conoides, in vol. 55. The latter is illustrated by four figures. 
The "History of Animals" of Doctor (afterwards 
SIR) JOHN HILL 
contains five good and correct plates of Testacea, each figure hav- 
ing its English name underneath. This author divided shells into 
a certain number of " series" the characters of which are founded 
on very dissimilar principles, some of them being derived from 
the nature of the shells themselves, and others from their habita- 
tions, like the divisions adopted by Lister. The genera, however, 
have some resemblance to those of the Linnaean system. The 
specific descriptions are in Latin, but the other parts of the work 
in English. 
In the Recueil de V Acadkmie de Rochelle is a full description by 
MERCIER DU PATY 
of Mytilus edidis, to which the author has annexed three plates. 
KLEIN, 
