233 



CHAP. V. 



_^ CONCHOLOGY, ETC. 



I. THE SHELLS OP CEYLON. 



ALLUSION has been made elsewhere to the profusion and 

 variety of shells that abound in the seas and inland 

 waters of Ceylon 1 , and to the habits of the Moormen, 

 who monopolise the trade of collecting and arranging them 

 in satin-wood cabinets for transmission to Europe. But, 

 although naturalists have long been familiar with the 

 marine testacea of the island, no successful attempt has 

 yet been made to form a classified catalogue of the species ; 

 and I am indebted to the eminent conchologist, Mr. Syl- 

 vanus Hanley, for the list which accompanies this notice. 



In drawing it up, Mr. Hanley observes that he found it 

 a task of more difficulty than would at first be surmised, 

 owing to the almost total absence of reliable data from 

 which to construct it. Three sources were available : col- 

 lections formed by resident naturalists, the contents of the 

 well-known satin-wood boxes prepared at Trincomalie, 

 and the laborious elimination of locality from the habitats 

 ascribed to all the known species in the multitude of works 

 on conchology in general. 



But, unfortunately, the first resource proved fallacious. 

 There is no large collection in this country composed ex- 

 clusively of Ceylon shells ; and as the very few cabinets 

 rich in the marine treasures of the island have been 

 filled as much by purchase as by personal exertion, there 

 is an absence of the requisite confidence that all professing 



See Vol. II. ch. iv. p. 474. 



