PREFACE. 
XI 
have dissented from the Linnaean school, 
have, indeed, satisfactorily pointed out 
some flaws in the great fabric of the 
Systema Naturae ; ” but in attempting to 
eradicate the faulty parts, and to supply 
their place more fitly, they have injured 
some of the main supports, and have nearly 
involved the whole edifice in ruin. 
The following pages are devoted to the 
task of facilitating the study of conchology, 
on the method of the Swedish naturalist ; 
and they are written under the firm persua- 
sion, that a material change is dangerous, 
even in speculative matters, when the prin- 
ciple has stood the test of general consent, 
and when the means of reaching perfection 
are not yet, and perhaps may never be, 
attainable. 
