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It may possibly be remarked, that in tiic prece- 

 ding description of the genera of shells, no mention 

 has been made by name, of the systems and opi- 

 nions of either former or contemporary writers on 

 the subject. This omission has not arisen from any 

 want of respect to the literary labours of those who 

 with great research and skill have brought the sci- 

 ence of Conchology to its present state, or of those 

 who, like the author, have availed themselves large- 

 ly of the written documents furnished by works in 

 the German, French, and Latin languages which 

 have not been translated into our own. The names 

 of Tcstaccological writers, and the titles of their 

 books, with short notices on sonic, will be given 

 in another place : but it has appeared to be one 

 great source of the uncertainty and confusion at- 

 tending this branch of study, that the beginner had 

 not only to learn a system, but to select one from 

 many extremely different, placed for comparison 

 in the same page. It would be inconsistent with 

 the professed object of this elementary treatise to 

 insert a variety of theoretical matter, which could 

 only tend to divert the mind from the simplicity 



