Historical Account o/Testaceological Writers. 151 



canter by a plate representing Argonauta Argo in the act of 

 sailing. The author, it seems, was enabled to give an accurate 

 account of the construction and movements of that wonderful 

 animal from personal observations, on the Indian seas. 



In the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Pans for 

 1706 occurs one of the most excellent Testaceological disserta- 

 tions that had ever before appeared ; it was the composition ot 

 the celebrated anatomist 



POUPART, 

 and had for its subject the physiology and pathology of the Mus- 

 cle tribe The anatomy, habits, and diseases of several species 

 of Mytilusaxe amply and scientifically described, and there are 

 some accurate figures in two plates subjoined. M. Poupart had 

 before distinguished himself by a dissertation on the motive power 

 of an aquatic Helix, which was published in the " Journal des 



Scavans." 

 ' One of the most distinguished Dutch collectors, contemporary 



with Rumphius, was 



LEVIN VINCENT, 

 the description of whose museum, however, scarcely deserves to 

 be spoken of here, since it is composed in too general and popu- 

 lar a manner to be of any utility to a scientific naturalist; and 

 the plates (which, notwithstanding, are well executed) represent 

 the several objects in a confused manner, as they were placed in 

 the museum itself: yet a few species of shells, as well as of other 

 natural curiosities, may be pretty easily discriminated. The de- 

 scription we allude to is entitled « Wondertoonel der Nature," and 

 was published, wholly in -the Dutch language, at Amsterdam m 

 1706. But this work was afterwards given, in an abridged form, 

 in Latin and French, with impressions of the same plates. 



The 



