

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. 





