278 SUPPLEMENT 
viewing it as a part of the animal, but also in conchology 
properly so called, by a great number of new generic sections; 
by the employment of a terminology still more rigorous; and, 
finally, by the introduction, as the basis of a principal divi- 
sion of the bivalve shells, of the number of the muscular 
impressions, in 1807, which was adopted in 1810 by M. 
Oken. He was of opinion, however, that the oscabriones 
should be placed with the patella, contrary to the felicitous 
conjecture of Linneus. In general, as one might easily be 
convinced, by a complete exposition of his new system (for 
which, however, we have no room here), he has entirely 
abandoned the division of shells, established by the majority of 
the conchologists his predecessors, on the number of pieces 
of which the testa is composed, and has rather chosen the 
general form of the shells on which to establish his first four 
divisions into subspiral, cardiniferous, subcoronal, and ver- 
micular; in fact, he could no longer admit the division of 
univalves, bivalves, and multivalves, since he places the osca- 
briones among the subspirals, which certainly no one would 
do, who proposed merely to make an arrangement of shells. 
In general, it would appear that M. de Lamarck, in this sys- 
tematic arrangement of shells, was too anxious to place it in 
a direct relation with that of the animals, which unquestion- 
ably must render it more difficult, but at the same time, 
perhaps, also more interesting as regards true science. 
Since, and during the publication of the method successively 
brought to perfection by M. de Lamarck, other conchologists 
adhered almost rigorously to the system of Linnzeus, extended 
by Bruguiéres, such as M. Bosc, Montagu, &c., or carried to 
excess the generic sections or subdivisions, as did M. Denys 
de Montfort, in his Systematic Conchology, printed in 1808, 
but which contains only the univalve shells. This author, 
absolutely paying no attention to any thing but the testa, has 
necessarily considerably multiplied the genera, by desiring too 
