TURBO. 353 
in the collection which would equally harmonise with the 
various characters assigned to it. ‘The worn state of this indi- 
vidual accounted for the otherwise puzzling expression “ levis- 
sima”’ having been applied to a shell, whose surface in perfectly 
fresh examples is not inelegantly sculptured. It must be 
remembered that our forefathers were contented with such 
Testacea as the sea washed upon the shore, which were generally 
dead and worn, and that the use of the dredge, as applied to 
the acquisition of objects for natural-historical observation, is a 
comparatively recent innovation. Hence the rubbed and (in a 
pecuniary sense of the word) worthless specimens belonging to 
a retired veteran in conchology, or the cheap lots (the rejecta- 
menta of a shell sale), the first purchase of some youthful and 
not over-critical tyro, are often more serviceable for the deter- 
mination of the species of the older writers, than are the 
exquisitely perfect examples which now grace the cabinets of 
the wealthy amateur. 
Dr. Philippi has stated his belief—a decision arrived at 
solely from a careful perusal of the language of our author— 
that the Turbo auriscalpium was identical with the Rissoa, sub- 
sequently termed acuta by Desmarest (Bulletin Soc. Philomat. 
1814, pl. 1, f. 4). The Linnean type confirms the opinion of 
the talented German, as it corresponds exactly with the named 
individual he forwarded to me. The graphic description in the 
‘Systema’ of the peculiar mouth which characterises the shell 
is a great assistance for the determination of the species, and 
the queried reference to Argenville (Conch. pl. 82, f. 19) was 
not without its utility, since, although from the accompanying 
text it is ascertained to be a land shell (a Clausilia), the general 
shape, the size, and the apparently projecting and thickened 
lip, forcibly remind us (when the drawing is mentally corrected 
by the diagnosis) of this anciently observed species. 
Turbo politis. 
The short description evidently points to Hulima as the 
modern genus in which this former Turbo should be located, 
and the “Habitat in M. Mediterraneo” greatly limits the 
22 
