We feel much indebted to the liberality with which hun- 

 dreds of specimens of shells of various species for this Lec- 

 ture were given by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 at Cambridge, through Professor Hamlin, and also to Mr. 

 McCarthy, of New York, and Captain Alfred Horsfall, of 

 Steamer Canopus, for the donation of six hundred edible 

 snails from France, the type principally used. 



We failed, in the hurry of the issue.of the last pamphlet, 

 to acknowledge a similar indebtedness for several hun- 

 dreds of coral fragments of various species presented by 

 the Museum of Comparative Zoology, through the courtesy 

 of Count Pourtales. Figures 1-4 are drawn from nature 

 by Mr. Van Vleck, Assistant in the Museum of the Society ; 

 Figs. 30, 32, are from Morse's First Book on Zoology; 

 Figs. 27, 28, 34, 37-40, 42, 43, are copies from various 

 sources; Figs. 21-24 are shells drawn from nature by a 

 student, Mr. Edward Warren, of the Institute of Tech- 

 nology, and the remainder are by the author. 



If I had written the following pages with the view of 

 making everything perfectly clear and easy to the reader, 

 I should have omitted much which is here given, and 

 missed the object I have at heart, w^hich is to convince 

 teachers that they cannot use any text-book as a basis of 

 good instruction. Either Natural History must be used 

 to lead children to observe the facts themselves, to see 

 for themselves, and to appreciate that seeing is the first 

 step on the road to knowledge, or else it is only one study 

 the more ; a little more information, but of no greater value 

 in disciplining the mind than any other mechanical exercise 

 in mnemonics. 



In succeeding numbers no attempt will be made to add 

 to what was given in the lectures ; what was there brouglit 

 forward will be sufficient. 



