Conchology. 67 



Nor will it be attended with much advantage, to give a 

 particular account of the works of the earlier writers on this 

 subject among the moderns. These are Gesner, Johnston, 

 Rondeletius, Aldrovandus, Bellonius, Wormius, and some other 

 authors, who cultivated this department of natural history, 

 and accompanied their descriptions with figures, illustra- 

 tive of the objects which they described. The first author 

 who attempted a systematic division of shells, according to 

 their external form and character, was John Daniel Major, 

 professor of medicine in the university of Kiel in Holstein. 

 His method is published at the end of his curious and inter- 

 esting remarks on the treatise concerning the purpura of 

 Fabius Columna, printed at Kiel in 1675. The system of the 

 German naturalists was followed by that of Dr. Lister of Eng- 

 land, on a more extended and improved plan, which was pub- 

 lished ten years after. Succeeding naturalists turned their 

 attention to the study of conchology, and to the improvement 

 of the classification of the numerous objects of this depart- 

 ment of natural history. Such were Buonanni, Rumsius, 

 Langius, Breynius, Tournefort, Gaultieri, D'Argenville, Klein, 

 Linnaeus, Adanson, GeofFroy, Muller, La Marck, De Blain- 

 ville, Schumacher and Cuvier. 



To exhibit all the systems of these authors would require 

 volumes, and therefore cannot be expected in the limited 

 space which our pages are destined to occupy. Our only 

 object is at present to give such a view of the subject as will 

 tend to facilitate our progress in the study of conchology. 

 We shall here treat of the general terms which are employed 

 in describing shells, and the names by which the different 

 parts have been distinguished by naturalists. This, we trust, 

 will not be unacceptable to our readers, particularly those to 

 whom works on this subject are inaccessible without imposing 

 upon them a greater expense than they can afford, or of which 

 they may deem the subject worthy. 



All shells or testaceous bodies hitherto discovered, may be 

 divided into three principal tribes, and which, after the 

 Linnaean manner, ma)^be denominated Multivalve, Bivalve 

 and Univalve. 



An external part of a shell being of a testaceous substance, 

 and either itself forming a shield or covering for the animal, 

 as in univalves, or in union with another, or others connected 

 by a ligament, cartilage, hinge, teeth, or other fastening, is 

 den^inated a valve. The shells, therefore, consisting of a 

 single piece, are called univalves, those of two parts bivalves, 

 and those of many parts multivalves. Between bivalve and 



