278 The Knowledge of Fossil Shells- 



may be, and many of them already have been visited, by travellers 

 in search of Geological facts, like^Iessrs. Smith, Farey, Bakewell, 

 Gieenough, and many others ; this latter circumstance ought not 

 however to occasion the neglect of such public and permanent 

 ^Vorks in the strata, because the deeper and further progress of 

 excavating, is continually exposing new or better specimens of 

 Shells than have hitherto been collected, in almost any Quarry 

 or Pit. 



Each Specimen should have a vumler put on it, as soon as 

 possible after collecting, referring to the Notes taken, as to its 

 habitat or place in the strata, as above mentioned, and the Place 

 on tJie surface of the country, described by the Name of the par- 

 tiadar quarry or work, and in what Farm, Township or Parish 

 situated, and its bearing and distance, as near as these can be 

 estimated or told by the v/orkmen, from the nearest church or 

 village which is shown in the ordinary Maps, not forgetting to 

 add the County to all such descriptions, for fear of another place 

 of the same name being confounded therewith, by others to whom 

 these particulars may be communicated. 



A comuion mistake by niauy Collectors has been, imagining 

 that they were possessed of zmiqne specimens of fossil shells, and 

 which persuasion has had two bad effects, one of them occasion- 

 ing tlie neglect of an accurate and persevering search in the iden- 

 tical slrattim from whence their rare specimen was taken, by 

 which other such specimens might almost with positive certainty 

 be found ; and the other evil resulting, has been, that so high a 

 value was set on the supposed unique specimen, that such Gen- 

 tlemen as Ah', tf-owerby have rarely been able to olitain even the 

 loan thereof: whereas, the profusion that exists of fossil speci- 

 mens, in their proper beds, might enable all industrious Collectors 

 to have so many almost equally perfect duplicates of each species 

 in their Collections, as freely to give or exchange v.ith all their cu- 

 rious Friends who may visit thein, and even to enable them, occa- 

 bionally, to carefully pack isp a small Box of good Specimens, as 

 to their being pretty entire, and showing the hinge of the Shell 

 in particular, each numbered, and accom])anied by a numbered 

 extract from the collector's Notes (as above mentioned), and for- 

 ward the same by some careful Friend, or what is better, by the 

 stage Coach, directed for Mr. James Sowerby, No. 2, Mead Place, 

 near the Asylum, Lambeth. 1 have not experienced or under- 

 stood, that Mr. S. in any case objects to paving the carriage of 

 such presents ; but it will I think occur to most of such liberal con- 

 tributors, towards a work of general interest, that he should not 

 be so burthencd, when great numbers oi duplicates of the species 

 already in his colltction may flow in upon him, and where, yet, 



it 



