PREFACE 



rjIHE object of this work is much the same as that 

 -L which led to the writing of its companion volume 

 The Romance of Wild Fknvers — to awaken an interest 

 in, and lead to a closer study of, the creatures de- 

 scribed. Shells and their makers, of course, necessi- 

 tated a different kind of treatment from that accorded 

 to the wild flowers ; but the author's plan of making 

 his readers first acquainted with the outstanding 

 characteristics of the prevailing types of structure 

 as embodied in such familiar forms as the snail, the 

 mussel, and the cuttle, will enable tliem to follow 

 him throughout the further chapters. 



It is not pretended that this volume will enable the 

 reader to determine the exact species of all the native 

 mollusks that may come under his notice; but it is 

 hoped he may get from it an intelligent idea of the 

 sub - kingdom so far as it is represented in these 

 islands, and may be assisted in discriminating between 

 most of those commonly encountered in the woods and 

 lanes, by the pond and stream, or along the seashore. 

 Of the seven hundred and fifty species of Mollusca in- 

 digenous in the British Islands and the adjacent seas, 

 no less than six hundred and fifty species have been 

 briefly described in these pao-es. Bai it Js not as. .a 



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