PBEEACE. 



Some explanation of the style in which this paper is written 

 is desirable, for had I known while preparing it for publica- 

 tion that it was to be published in pamphlet form I would 

 have recast it in a shape more convenient for students' use. 

 It owes its present form to the fact that the original paper 

 was written as a thesis for the New Zealand M.A. examina- 

 tion, and thus naturally included argumentative matter that 

 would be out of place, or, at least, unnecessary, in a paper 

 written specially to serve as a guide to any student wishing 

 to work out the structure of the mussel. The study of types 

 is strongly recommended to biological students by many 

 eminent teachers of natural science, and I trust that this 

 paper, even as it stands, may be of service to some that are 

 seeking to study a type of the Lamellibranchiata. As a 

 subject for study the mussel has the advantages of being 

 readily procurable at most points of our coast, and also of 

 not being so small as to embarrass the tiro in the art of 

 dissection. And here I would protest against the so-called 

 study of the Mollusca in which consideration is had merely 

 of the shell, without reference to the internal structure of 

 the occupant, the only thought of the collector being the 

 speediest method of ejecting the tenant of the shells. It 

 may be, indeed, that hinge-teeth and such-like superficial 

 structures furnish a ready and easy means of classification ; 

 but a true scientific spirit will not be content that the 

 animals themselves, furnishing equally reliable characters, 

 and in many cases having a most remarkable structure, 

 should be rejected as unworthy notice. A thorough study 

 of the anatomy of the molluscs as recommended would 

 doubtless entail much harder work on the part of students 

 of this group, but it would also have a much higher claim to 

 be regardecf as scientific work than the cursory methods 

 often adopted. 



ALEX. PUBBIE. 



Wellington, 2nd June, 1887. 



