Historical Account of Testaceological Writers. 199 



ginal. For such of Linnaeus's terms as have justly been consi- 

 dered objectionable, on account of indelicacy, this author has 

 substituted others which, though not equally expressive, perhaps, 

 are sufficiently intelligible. In the specific descriptions, the shell 

 and the animal have been alike regarded; and the author seems to 

 have steered a sort of middle course between the advocates for 

 a system founded chiefly on the former, and those who have made 

 the latter the chief subject of their attention. — Our remarks hi- 

 therto have had respect only to the Introd. ad Hist. Nat. In the 

 other work the merit consists in the figures, which are finely 

 drawn, and contribute greatly to the general splendour of the 

 volume. Plate 25 of Part I and 24 of Part II exhibit solely 

 shells, correspondent to concise descriptions of seven remarkable 

 species. 



The period of which we are treating was peculiarly productive 

 of valuable publications in Testaceology. In 1778 



BARON BORN, 

 so well known by his writings on mineralog}', presented to the 

 public his description of the shells preserved in the museum of 

 the Empress Queen at Vienna. This work was undertaken by 

 the express command of Her Imperial Majesty, and forms a thick 

 octavo volume, in Latin and German. The author has closely 

 followed the Linnean method, and his descriptions exhibit the 

 peculiar terseness and precision introduced into natural history 

 by that great Avriter. His synonyms are copious and correct, and 

 he does not appear to have fallen into that frequent error among 

 naturalists — the undue multiplication of species. In this work 

 the number of the latter is 6l6, and references are made to them 

 by their German, Dutch, French, and English names, in four 

 distinct indices. — Two years after the publication of the descrip- 

 tive 



