16'4 Dr. Maton's and Mr. Rackett's 



of the greatest naturalists the Avorld has known, and will find that 

 this composition (which had not before made its appearance in 

 print) deserves to have had a place among the most important of 

 his works. Besides the great number of ncAv and expressive terms 

 which were introduced into Testaceology, the genera constructed 

 by Tournefort exhibit infinitely more science and precision than 

 those of any preceding writer in the same branch. His classes are 

 analogous to those which had begun to be in general use, namely, 

 Univalvia, Bivalvia, and Multivalvia ; but this author preferred the 

 terms Monotoma, Ditoma, and Tolytoma. The classes are di- 

 vided into familice, the characters of which are drawn chiefly 

 from the general habit and contour; whereas those of the genera 

 are founded in a great measure on the mouth or hinge, accord- 

 ing as the shell is simple or valved. Besides Tournefort's sys- 

 tem, our author gives a specimen of that of Breynius ; but he 

 adheres to Langius's, with the exception of the class Polytomoy 

 borrowed from the first-mentioned writer. In the 110 plates which 

 accompany Gualtieri's Avork are given figures of the most rare 

 shells of the Asiatic and African shores; several of which Avere 

 very indifferently engraved by Buonanni and other authors, and 

 many (especially of the Coni, Helices, and Nerita,) do not appear 

 to have been engraved before. It must be remarked, hoAvever, 

 that many of the subjects from Avhich the draAvings Avere made 

 appear to have suffered from the polish of the dealer, and the 

 outline is not always given Avith scrupulous fidelity : yet, upon 

 the whole, the Index Testarum of Gualtieri is an useful and mag- 

 nificent work, and deserves a place among those which are most 

 Avorthy of being consulted and referred to. As this did honour 

 to Italy, so, in the same year, did that of 



D'ARGEN- 



