of new and rare Volutce. 29 



now become very rare, the only species with which the reviewer 

 appears to have come in contact, deserving of all his " doubts." 

 Such is the mere hoarder who spreads his hidden treasures before 

 him solely for the pleasure of his eye, or the gratification of his 

 vanity ; whose pursuit, even if his avarice of natural productions 

 can be pronounced quite harmless, is about as intellectual and use- 

 ful as that of the northern prince, who used to amuse himself with 

 arranging his jewels on a table covered with black velvet, in every 

 figure which his second childishness could suggest. 



It is the bounden duty of the collector of shells more especially, 

 to put off these childish things. In conchology, although such men 

 as Adanson, Poli, Cuvier, and Lamarck have lent their aid to the 

 science, there is more to be done tlian there is in any other depart- 

 ment. The Ornithologist and Entomologist have, in almost all 

 cases, a complete form to deal with, combined, generally, with a 

 knowledge of the habits of the animals, which form the subjects 

 of their studies. The Conchologist is surrounded by difficulties. 

 The animals, with which he should be conversant, reside, in the 

 majority of instances, in the bosom of the great deep ; and the 

 shells, which come to his hands ninety-nine times out of a hun- 

 dred without the inhabitants, are mere exuvise, whose purposes 

 in the animal economy he is left io conjecture. Too many of the 

 writers on this subject have never bcslo'.ved a thought on the 

 matter, and consequently we are presented with the most un- 

 natural arrangements, tlie result of placing the testacea solely ac- 

 cording to the form of this part of their organization, without 

 considering the probable structure of the more vital parts of the 

 animal and their relation to the figure of tiie shell ; " for we have 

 annulose animals united to true mollusca, merely because they 

 have shells, and true mollusca separated from this division, merely 

 because they have no shells."* 



With such ol.stacles in the way of our progress, it is almost 

 unpardonable if we do not avail ourselves of the contents of our 

 collections to aid the fund of scanty materials with which we 



* Horce Entomologic<e. p. 242. The shell collector will find many useful 

 hints in the neigbourhood of the passage quoted. 



