PREFACE. 



The object of the present Work is to explain the manner in which 

 the Collection of Mollusca and their shells is arranged in the 

 British Museum, and especially to give a short account of the 

 chief characters, derived from the animals, by which they are dis- 

 tributed, and which it is impossible to exhibit in the Collection. 



The figures referred to* after the names of the species, under 

 the genera, are those given in " The Figures of Molluscous Animals, 

 for the Use of Students, by Maria Emma Gray, 3 vols. 8vo, 1850 

 to 1854 ;" or when the species has been figured since the appear- 

 ance of that work, in the original authority quoted. 



The concluding Part is in hand, and it is hoped will shortly 

 appear. 



JOHN EDWARD GRAY. 



Dec. 10, 1856. 



