History of Concholoyy. 251 



these methods would be wearisome and unprofitable, — they were 

 next to useless when promulgated, and have now no attraction even 

 in the eyes of the pure conchologist. It is when we rise from their 

 examination that we are in the best mood to appreciate the merits 

 of Linnaeus, and feel inclined to nod in complacent assentation to 

 all the paeans which have been so often sung to his praise. 



Linnaeus having, with a tact characteristic of his genius for sys- 

 tem, divided invertebrated animals into two great classes — Insecta 

 and Vermes, — was less happy in his reduction of the latter into their 

 secondary groups or orders. The testaceous mollusca occupy one 

 order by themselves, in which there are four sections of equal value — 

 the multivalve, bivalve (Conchce,) the univalves with a regular 

 spire (Cochleae), and the univalves without a regular spire.* In 

 each section there are several genera defined with neat precision, — 

 the characters of the multivalves being derived from the position of 

 the valves, — of the bivalves from the number and structure of the 

 hinge-teeth, or, in the absence of these, from a part influencing the 

 opening of the valves, — of the Cochleae from the unilocular or mul- 

 tilocular shell, but in most from the formation of the aperture ; while 

 in the last division the shape of the shell affords the means of dis- 

 criminating them, excepting in Teredo, which is defined " T. in- 

 trusa ligno/' in evident contrariety to his principles and his better 

 custom. The naked tribes are placed in the order denominated 

 " Mollusca," where they stand, in te admired disorder," with radi- 

 ated zoophytes, annelidans, parasitical worms, and the Echinoder- 

 mata, which latter, however, are better in this strange miscellany, 

 than they were when they stood either amongst simple or multi- 

 valved shells. 



In estimating the merits of this system it is not fair to look back 

 from our present vantage ground, and magnify its defects by a compa- 

 rison with modern classifications : we are in candour to place ourselves 

 behind its author, and looking forward, sav how far his efforts have 

 been useful or quickening.t Standing thus we trust to offend none of 

 his admirers when we admit that there is nothing in its principle of 

 a novel character : the soft mollusca were previously recognized and 

 better assorted by Charleton ; and every one of the sections, and, if 



* The expounders of Linnaeus' system do not adopt this last division, — why 

 it is difficult to say. By disregarding it they have injured the naturalness of the 

 method. 



f The first edition of the ' Systema Naturas' was published in 1735, but 1758 

 is properly the year which gave birth to his conchological system, when the 10th 

 edition was published. It was perfected in 1766. 



