642 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
SEA SHELLS.* 
F ew who know anything of shells, or of dredging for them, are un- 
familiar with the name of Mr. J. Gwin Jefeevs, who has now, through 
his publisher, issued the third volume of his splendid treatise on Conchology. 
In this part of his work he describes the remaining Conchifera, the Soleno- 
conchia and the Gasteropoda, as far as the genus Littorina. In each case 
his accounts of the families and species are both scientific and popular ; that 
is to say, they contain reading both for the savans and the general public. 
Thus he commences his account of each species in the orthodox fashion ; 
giving its synonyms, habitat, distribution, technical description, and list of 
varieties ; and then he adds a deal of interesting matter relating to the 
natural-historical and commercial bearings of the moUusk in question. The 
chapter upon the Littorina, or, as it is more frequently termed, the periwinkle, 
is full of interesting details. “ The old English name of ‘ periwinkle ’ is 
supposed to have been a corruption of petty winkle, or wilk. Lister says 
that the Scarborough fishermen called them couvins ; and he adds, that they 
were much sought after by the Flemings. According to Dale, they were 
called in Suffolk pin-patches. The ancient vernacular names for them were, 
in Swedish, kupunge, in French, higourneau. Throughout Shetland they 
are known as wilks. In Strom’s time, the Scandinavians used to believe 
that whenever these shell-fish crept far up the rocks, it indicated a storm 
from the south The female produces about 600 young ones, which are 
clustered in a vascular ovary situated in the upper part of the body. The 
statement that the common periwinkle is viviparous seems to be disproved 
by the fact that it is eatable at all seasons of the year, and is never gritty, 
which last would certainly be the case if it contained testaceous fry.” It 
would appear that the periwinkle is a much more important article of diet 
than is generally imagined. In Mr. Hyndman’s report to the British 
Association, on the operations of the dredging committee of Belfast (1857), 
it is stated that at that place periwinkles are gathered and exported to 
London in large quantities. The trade has been carried on by one person 
for the last twenty-five years, who employs three horses and a mule to draw 
them, besides employing boats, &c., and paying about <£'60 weekly in wages 
during the season. The supply at Billingsgate is about 2,000 bushels per 
week for six months, from March to August inclusive, and 500 bushels per 
week for the remaining six months. The number of persons employed in 
gathering is at least 1,000, and as many more in selling. The coloured 
frontispiece to Mr. Jeffreys’ book represents a piece of timber eaten through 
by the Teredo Norvegica, and is well executed. We cannot, however, award 
much praise to the publisher for the manner in which most of the plates 
have been executed. The drawings have a meagre, unfinished appearance, 
and the intended effects of light and shade say very little for the artist’s 
pencil. The volume, however, is a good one, and intending conchologists 
will do well to purchase it as a profitable sea-side companion. 
* “British Conchology.” Vol. III. Marine Shells. By John Gwin 
Jeffreys, F.R.S., F.R.G.S., &c. London : Van Voorst. 1865. 
