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Common jfreebvoater Sbelle- 



THE subject I have chosen for this paper is, I am afraid, not 

 a popular one. Firstly, because Conchology is not a 

 popular science; and secondly, because the title "Common 

 Freshwater Shells" does not sound very fascinating. The fact 

 that shell-collecting is not nearly so largely indulged in as butterfly 

 collecting or birds'-egg collecting, is very largely due to the want 

 of cheap popular books on the subject. If a person unversed in 

 conchology could read in simple language some information about 

 the shells he happened to find, he would become interested, go 

 further afield, and in time get to understand the standard works of 

 the day. But when the beginner finds that " the mantle margins " 

 of the animal he has found " are slightly cerrated in the branchial 

 region, and united posteriorly by the branchial septum," his natural 

 conchological tendencies get nipped in the bud. Probably, also, 

 many people never get over their inherent dislike for slimy snails 

 and slugs, even though they handle a beetle with the utmost 

 unconcern. But be these things as they may, Conchology ought 

 certainly to take a much higher place among the " popular " 

 branches of Natural History than it does. Land and Freshwater 

 shells need only the simplest of tackle for their capture ; they are 

 far easier to prepare for the cabinet than insects, for there is no 

 tedious and sight-trying " setting " ; they do not require the 

 repeated attention which flowers do when going through the 

 process of drying ; and, lastly, they are not liable to be totally 

 destroyed by mites when they finally find their resting-place in the 

 cabinet. Many of the marine shells, it is true, require a dredge 

 for their capture, but very many may be taken without. By the 

 seaside, by riverside and lakeside, by ponds and streams, in 

 meadows, marshes, gardens, and waste places, " Far from the 

 madding crowd's ignoble strife," the delightful hobby may be fully 

 indulged in, and the despised snails caused to render a rich 

 harvest of lovely shells and fascinating information. In spite of 

 all the learning of the Nineteenth Century, there are more things 

 in snails and slugs " than are dreamt of in our philosophy." 



The average person knows less about snails than he does about 

 almost any other branch of natural history, and this is saying a 



