46 M E M O I R S ?/^ /i6^ 
2. Of what ihell is the "Blatta Syzantina the Operculum or 
lid? 
3. Of the feveral forts o^^ur puree amongft authors, which is 
that of the fliops? Likewife which fort of 'Buccina and Umbilici 
narini ought to be ufed in the /liops ? 
1. As to the Entaliay Dr. Lifter does not rememhcr to have 
leen any thing in the Ihops under that name : The defcriptions of 
the fDentalia in Schroder are very faulty, and both theie and the 
JEntalia fliould feem by him to be the two fpecies of ^Dsntalia, 
which ai'e figured by Dr. Lifter-, the ^Dentalium being that, 
which is commonly, and in great plenty, found about the ifland 
of Guernfeyy and ellewhere on our coaft, and the fam.e with that 
found in the Mediterranean : It is a long, (lender, round pipe, a 
little bending and tapering, hollow and open at both ends, with- 
out any crack or flaw, naturally white at one extremity, and ufu- 
ally a little reddifh , it is very fmooth, and poliflied on the out- 
fide, and from thence, and its figure, called a Tiog-like-tooth : 
The EmaliuvJ^ or other fpecies of the 'Dentalia^^ is much longer 
and thicker than the former, but much alike in other refpefb, 
lave that this is flreaked with high ridges, and moftly of a green- 
ifh colour : This fpecies, Dr. Lifter conjectures, came from the 
Indies-^ Note, that anything, that is wrought into, or channeled, 
is by the Italians called an Intaglia-^ whence, and from the 
affiniry of the word Dentalia^ he fuppofes thoie diftindlions of 
names had their rife. 
2. To the fecond query; Dr. Lifter takes the "BhJta Syzan- 
tina to have lucceeded the Unguis odoratus, and to have been 
introduced into the fliops in its ilead; in !/Jiofeorides\ time, the 
beffc was brought from the Red Sea, viz. the paleli; and fattefl; 
the blacker and Imaller, from 'Babylon^ or the Te^Jlan gulf; but 
it leems, later times took up with thofe found about ConCtantinople-, 
whence the prefent fhop Blatta had its name; and it was 
called Blatta^ probably from its dark hair colour; it is true, 
tDiofcorides lays, that the Unguis was an Operculum, like that of 
the purple fifli ; he means what was uled in his time, when it leems 
the Unguis odoratus was loft, or was not brought to Europe ; but 
it will appear from the lame jDioJcorideSy that the Unguis was no 
Operculum -J and it will be worth the while to fliew this miftake, 
and conlequently the errors ofthe Moderns in iubftitntingthe Oper- 
culum of a marine L^urben^ for the true Unguis odoratus: The 
Unguis odoratus^ according to Diofcorides^ is found in the lakes 
ox India, where Nard doth grow; wherefore the Conchylia feed- 
ing on Nard are aromatick 5 it is gathered after the lakes have 
been 
