166 



MEDITERRANEAN PROVINCE. 



distinctiveness), or else some M'Andrew must de- 

 vote a few years to the pleasant labour of re-in- 

 vestigating the whole area. The first of these 

 tasks is now hardly possible : some of the Mediter- 

 ranean observers are no more, the materials they 

 collected are already either lost, dispersed, or in 

 hopeless confusion. The other chance alone remains. 



A carefully-prepared list of Mediterranean Tes- 

 tacea gives more than 700 species. This is, pro- 

 bably, below the number. Mr. Woodward, in his 

 excellent Manual, estimates them at 600 ; Mr. 

 Jeffreys at 850 : it is obvious, therefore, that this 

 sea is wonderfully rich in this group of animals, 

 and our knowledge of them comes nearest to that 

 which we have of those of our own coasts. These 

 gross results as to the Mediterranean Testacea have 

 been obtained by summing the observations of 

 many labourers in very many localities, some of 

 which may be considered separately. 



The Eastern Mediterranean may be divided into 

 Northern and Southern portions. In the first of 

 these, Risso, Payraudeau, and Michaud have col- 

 lected, and our own countrymen Ed. Forbes and 

 Jeffreys have dredged. I am unable to ascertain 

 with what results and to what extent Ed. Forbes 

 investigated this district ; a few incidental notices, 

 such as "dredged off the coast of Nice," are the only 

 indications I have that he had ever worked here. 



Mr. Jeffreys visited this part of the Mediterranean 

 in 1856, for the express purpose of dredging, and 



