THE 



CONCHOLOGIST'S TEXT-BOOK 



INIEODUCIION. 



CoNCHOLOGY, Testaceology, or Malacology, is that 

 department of Natural History which treats of animals with 

 a testaceous covering or shell. 



The richness and variety of colours, the fine polish, the 

 beauty and elegance of form, exhibited by shells, have always 

 excited admiration, and procured for them a conspicuous 

 place in the cabinet of the curious collector. But what- 

 ever interest t^ pursuit of this branch of knowledge may 

 have excited, in this point of view, and however highly rare 

 and beautiful shells have been prized, this is the least impor- 

 tant feature of their history. Other and more rational con- 

 siderations render the study of Conchology an agreeable 

 pursuit. The animals of many kinds of testaceous shells 

 furnish an excellent and nutritious food. Some tribes sup- 

 ply the table with a delicate luxury. Other shells, as those 

 of mother-of-pearl, afford materials for ingenuity and art, in 

 preparing it for various purposes: and the- pearl itself, often 

 the rival of the most precious gems in the estimation of 

 mankind, is the production of several species of testaceous 

 animals. Its nature and mode of formation, therefore, can- 

 not fail to be objects of curious investigation. Even the 

 pernicious effects of some species of this tribe of aiiimals, 

 demand the attention of man, in studying their nature, 

 tracing their history, and in providing a remedy against their 

 poisonous properties. The Snail ravages the garden and 



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