On the Low Country of North Carolina. 343 



ed on firm foundations, and it is to the same objects, that we 

 must apply ourselves, if we would give precision and accuracy 

 to that of our own. Hitherto, they appear to have been ob- 

 served in a very general manner, if not altogether neglected. 

 And yet, they offer a rich harvest of discovery, to the individ- 

 ual, who has the requisite skill and leisure to gather it. The 

 person who, with a good knowledge of the conchology of our 

 waters, should pass through the alluvial district, and examine 

 its marine organic remains, would soon educe light from 

 darkness. The shells are fragile from decay, but so far as 

 their forms are concerned, often in a state of perfect preser- 

 vation, and they may be had to any amount. They have 

 withal, a few characters, which must strike the most casual 

 observer, and these are all that are necessary for our present 

 argument. 



Shells that are tossed by the waves, are soon ground to a 

 fine powder, or at least worn smooth and deprived of their 

 sharp processes and projections. Every person who has been 

 upon the sea beach must have observed this. 



But the shells of the low country present no such marks of 

 attrition. I should not be safe in the assertion that I have 

 never seen a water worn shell amongst our marine remains ; 

 I have occasionally picked them up — especially in the beds 

 of branches and gullies, where the water and sand were con- 

 tinually passing over them, but they are exceedingly rare. 

 The great body of the shells offer by their appearance, con- 

 clusive evidence that they have never been tossed upon the 

 beach. They still preserve in perfection, their minutest fur- 

 rows and most tender and delicate processes. I have small 

 bivalve shells, of which the two parts still cohere, though it 

 requires the application of but a gentle force to separate them. 



That the low country has not been gradually formed is 

 further proved, by the fact, that the shells are every where of 

 the same age. They belong to the same genera and species, 

 with such variations only as are common in the living ani- 

 mals in neighboring bays and harbors, and, in many cases, 

 to the genera and species now inhabiting the Atlantic coast. 

 How far the agreement between them and the living races 

 will be found to extend, I cannot say — the subject stands in 

 great need of investigation, but it will probably be found to 

 be pretty intricate. It is however to be remembered, that 

 the eye of an experienced naturalist, will sometimes detect 

 specific distinctions, where to one whose opportunities for ob- 



