IV 



ment of i'cience as tliat his, or any. other fyftematic arrange- 

 jnent is infallibly perfect, or arrived at its ne plus ultra. 

 Such an opinion militates againfi; all improvement. Daily 

 experience teaches us, thr.t as our knowledge expands, and 

 new objedts prefent themfelves to our view ; or, becoming 

 more intimately acquainted with others, heretofore only 

 partially and obfcurely known, fome alterations and additions 

 are indifpenfibly necefTary ; and in this opinion mod modern 

 phyfiological writers feem to concur. At the fame time 

 we by no means approve of a compleat revolution in a fyf- 

 tem which is at once fimple, perfpicuous, and comprelien five ; 

 but thefe are matters of private opinion, not of controverfy. 



The writings of Linn.'Eus fliew how frequently he was 

 induced to vary his opinion, and tholb new emanations of 

 light from fo brilliant a mind, illumed by its radiance tlie 

 fcientific world. Can it then be fuppofed that had this 

 great phyfiologift lived a few years longer, he would not 

 have improved upon his twelfdi edition of the Syjlema JVa- 

 turce f* Since the publication of that valuable work how much 

 new matter has been difcovered that cannot be referred to 

 any of the Linncean genera, the writings of many celebrated 

 modern naturalifts will evince : we mufl not therefore in- 

 culcate the principle that any deviations from the Linnccan 

 arranscemcnt are ufelefs innovations in fcience. 



It will be feen that we have thought fit to remove the 

 genus Teredo from the divifion of Univalves, and have 

 placed it in that of the Miiltivalves next to Pholas, to which 



it 



