OF CONCHOLOGY. 201 



ON THE MANUFACTURE OP GENERA AND SPECIES BY 

 MODERN AUTHORS ; AND ON THE NOMENCLATURE 

 OF THE CUMINGIAN COLLECTION. 



(From Notes on the Specimens of CalyptrcBidce in Mr. Cuming's Col- 

 lection. — Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1867.) 



BY DR. J. E. GRAY. 



" Mrs. Gray having kindly undertaken to place some of the 

 shells of the late Mr. Cuming's collection on tablets, the spe- 

 cimens of certain families have come under my supervision, and 

 I have been induced to make some observations that I thought 

 might tend to the better understanding of the - species. I here- 

 with send my notes on the shells of the family Galyptrceidce, and 

 this paper may be followed by some others of a similar character. 



I shall preface these notes by some observations on the col- 

 lection itself. 



I certainly should have considered the following observations 

 unnecessary if most exaggerated statements had not been pub- 

 lished respecting the collection, which are likely to mislead the 

 public — such, for example, as that each specimen had not only 

 its name and its special locality attached to it, but also the depth 

 in the ocean at which it was found, and that the specimens are 

 in all instances the actual types of the species from which the 

 descriptions have been taken. As this is not the case, it is ne- 

 cessary that some account of the collection as it was received by 

 the British Museum should be given, in order that it may be 

 properly understood by the scientific conchologists who may 

 hereafter consult it. I have not the least intention by the fol- 

 lowing remarks to depreciate the value of Mr. Cuming's labors 

 as a collector, or of his collection ; for every conchologist, both 

 scientific and amateur, is very greatly indebted to him for 

 having collected one of the largest and most perfect collections 

 of shells ever brought together ; for he not only collected exten- 



