171 



are not found in localities near the collector, it is de- 

 sirable to purchase those desiderata, and it is fortunate 

 that at this time several persons and one society are 

 devoted to the formation of collections of shells. The 

 society to which allusion is made is that of the " British 

 Natural History Society,'' York, where most beautiful 

 collections of both recent and fossil shells can be pro- 

 cured at a price exceedingly reasonable. The secretary, 

 E. Charlesworth, Esq., a well-known geologist (to whom 

 I am indebted for many valuable specimens), would give 

 every information required. The dealers alluded to are 

 Mr. Robert Damon, of Weymouth , and Mrs. Branscombe, 

 the wife of a poor fisherman, at Exmouth; both these 

 persons are very reasonable in price, as I have myself 

 proved. 



A collection of shells is now being added to the Not- 

 tingham Museum, in which the whole of the species 

 described in this work will be included. The collec- 

 tion will combine both Land and Fresh-water, and 

 British ilfan'jie species. The arrangements and nomen- 

 clature of the shells which is left to my care will be that 

 which is adopted by Professor Forbes. The other 

 branches of Natural History, Geology, Mineralogy, &c. 

 will also be rearranged, and greatl} added to, that the 

 Museum may be made, in the several branches, a school 

 for study. 



Since writing the Introduction, several scientific terms 

 have, of necessity been used, which were not in it ex- 

 plained; amongst these are a2?ea?, the point of a shell; 

 columella, or pillar, the internal support of most spiral 

 shells, around which the whole convolute; dextral^ 

 when the mouth of a spiral shell is on the right hand 

 side, sinistral when on the left; hyaline, thin or 

 glassy; Zwnafe, crescent, or half-moon shaped; reflected, 

 or reflexed, folding back, as in the thickened outer lip 

 of Helix aspersa, &c. In measuring the dimensions 



