200 Dr. Maton's and Mr. Rackett's 
scriptive part of the museum, appeared the sumptuous and splen- 
did folio which illustrates it by eighteen admirable engravings 
(containing upwards of 200 coloured figures), besides vignettes 
and other ornamental appendages. This volume cannot be said 
to have been surpassed by any similar performance, either in 
elegance or utility, and may justly be considered as one of the 
most valuable works of which the lover of shells can become 
possessed. 
In 1776 were published the " Elements of Conchology " of 
DA COSTA. 
As this author wrote after Linnaeus, it might be expected that 
a system, in which he professes to diifer materially from that great 
naturalist, would have contained some important improvements. 
It is worthy of remark, however, that, after abusive strictures on 
the Linnean system, Mr. da Costa builds his own chiefly on the 
general characters which Linnaeus himself has made use of. For 
example, the turbinated univalves are characterized by the shape 
of the aperture, and the bivalves by the nature of the hinge. When 
the student is informed that he must make himself acquainted 
with four orders, sixteen families, and thirty-nine genera of uni- 
valves, and with three orders, sixteen families, and twenty-three 
genera of bivalves and multi valves, before he arrives at specific 
distinctions, none of which our author considers in this perform- 
ance, he will most probably abandon the new system in disgust. 
It cannot but be acknowledged that the volume contains some 
judicious remarks on the study of this branch of natural history, 
and on the authors who have treated of it. There are also useful 
instructions for collecting, cleaning, and preserving specimens. 
Still more acceptable to the public were two other works of this 
author; one of which, however, was on too extensive a scale to 
admit 
