FLEMING. -^So 



goodly display of synonymes, and — not one word of animal 

 structure, or of the economy of the creatures that bviilded 

 the models they described. When wo were students this 

 catalogue of Maton and Racket's was in high estimation, 

 and we have heard it dictatorially pronounced to be an ex- 

 cellent model, in a sort of pseudo-critical comparison of 

 it with Montagu's ever-during work ! 



This very slight sketch gives you a true picture of what 

 Conchology was with us in 1815 and for some subsequent 

 years ; but a change was at hand, which was effected by the 

 joint labours of Dr. Leach, the Rev. John Fleming, and Mr. 

 John E. Gray.* 



Dr. Leach cast aside contemptuously the fetters of the 

 Linnaean school, and, with ardent vigour, he adopted and 

 advocated the French systems, which he sought to improve 

 by working in the same direction, and under the guidance of 

 the same principles. He, however, published little that bore 

 directly on Conchology. He was the first to propose the 

 division of the naked Cephalopods into two families, from 

 the number of their tentacular feet ; he first discovered the 

 true structure of the ligament of the Bivalves ; and he, dis- 

 criminating their peculiar features, collected certain species 

 under new genera or families, for he W'as very nice in detect- 

 ing difi^erences amid common resemblances, and attached too 

 much importance to slight variations from his fondness for 

 analysis. 



On the contrary, his friend Dr. Fleming, a Scotch clergy- 

 man, proceeded with the caution which is said to be cha- 

 racteristic of his countrymen. In his interesting article, 

 " Conchology," contributed to the " Edinburgh Encyclo- 

 paedia," and published in 1815, he has stated many obvious 

 objections to the system of Linnseus ; and he has given out- 

 lines of those of Bruguiere, Bosc, and Lamarck, which he 

 ventured rather faintly, however, to praise. As he limited 

 himself, in this article, to the description of British shells, 

 he did not indicate his views of the arrangement of the 

 Mollusca in general ; and the subjoined outline of his partial 

 method will show you how purely conchological and Lin- 

 naean this eminent and sagacious naturalist was at this 

 period : — 



* In 1822 the Elements of Conchology, including the Fossil Genera and 

 the Animals, hy T. Edward Bowdich, was published at Paris, — a very use- 

 ful work, hut little known in this country, and hence its influence must have 

 been inconsiderahle. Yet it would seem that in 1825 Lamarck's system 

 began to have some favour, for an ei)itome of it was published by Cliarles 

 Dubois, F.L.S., in that year. Tiie low estate of conchology amongst us is, 

 however, made more evident by this work, for in his translation, Mr. Dubois 

 omits all the characters derived from the animals. 



