FAMILIAR NOTICE OF SOME OF THE SHELLS FOUND IN THE LIMITS 

 OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS : WITH REFERENCE TO DESCRIP- 

 TIONS AND FIGURES. BY JOHN LEWIS RUSSELL. 



THE object of the present paper is to give a simple account of 

 a few shells found in this immediate vicinity, avoiding as much as 

 is possible, the objection of scientific and technical description. 

 No specimen has been noticed, which has not been found within 

 the county. I have taken this precaution, that one of the pri- 

 mary intentions of the Society should be fulfilled, viz. to procure 

 the Natural History of Essex County. 



Scattered throughout a multitude of various scientific publi- 

 cations, and oftentimes unaccompanied by figures, the descrip- 

 tions of our native shells, escape the observation of the private 

 student, whose access to libraries, or whose privileges in the use 

 of Cabinets are limited. In thus collecting, as it were, these 

 scattered descriptions, I do not presume on originality, but only 

 aim at usefulness. To this end, I have gathered wherever such 

 information came in my way, or was at my disposal, interspers- 

 ing private observations as they occurred to my mind. 



With a few exceptions, the species are marine ; the land and 

 fresh water shells, may perhaps constitute another paper at a 

 future time. 



PECTINARIA. BELGICA. Lam. BELGIC PECTINARIA. 



Brown's Zoologist's Text Book. pi. 92. fig. 20. 

 Conchologist's " pi. 19. fig. 20. 



A curious shell, made up of small particles of sand loosely 

 agglutinated, and shaped like the foreign Dentalium. Care 

 should be taken in collecting it as it is very fragile. 



Found in the stomach of the haddock, offNahant. 



Cabinet of the Society. 



OBSERVATION. May be found in great abundance at very low 

 tides at Lynn and neighboring beaches ; the animal is very cu- 

 rious, and to be captured the shell should be very suddenly re- 

 moved from the sand, or its inhabitant easily escapes. A singu- 

 lar fringed head, and numerous spiny bands or joints may be 

 noticed on the body. 



