INTRODUCTION. 



CONCHOLOGY comprehends the description of 

 all molluscous animals having a testaceous covering, 

 and constitutes one of the most numerous and beautiful 

 branches of natural history, exhibiting as much va- 

 riety, symmetry of form, and vivid richness of color- 

 ing, as any other of the marvellous works of him, who 

 " In six days made the heaven and earth, the sea, and 

 all that in them is." 



Shells abound in the different seas, salt-marshes, 

 sandy shores, rivers, lakes, forests, and plains, of every 

 part of the globe: but the most beautiful and valuable 

 aquatic and terrestrial species are found in the eastern 

 and tropical climates. With moderate care they are 

 less perishable than almost any other natural produc- 

 tion of equal delicacy, preserving their beauty unim- 

 paired during the lapse of ages; and from the difficul- 



