3 86 
CONCH 
Hiftory. 
Importance 
of contho- 
iooy. 
an inconvenient magnitude, the clafs of Vermes, which 
vaill be treated of in its proper place in the courfe of 
the work. 
The fine polilh, fplendid colours, and elegant form 
of tlieils, have been long admired, and have procured for 
them a confpicuous place in the cabinets of the curious. 
Indeed in this refpeft, mankind have difcovered no 
fmall degree of folly and extravagance, in the high 
price which has been given for rare and beautiful Ihells, 
and often only on account of their rarity. But the ltudy 
of conchology acquires a higher degree of importance 
and utility in another view. In many parts of the 
world, different kinds of tefiaeeous animals are em- 
ployed as an excellent and nutritious food 3 and fome 
tribes fupply the table with a delicate luxury. Dif- 
ferent fhells furnifh employment to ingenuity and art, 
in the manufacture of mother-of-pearl for various pur- 
pofes-j and the pearl itfelf, fo much fought after as an 
ornament of drefs, and often the rival of the richeft 
O L O G Y. 
Chap. I. 
gems, in the eftimation of mankind, is the production 
of tellaceous animals. Its nature and mode of formation, 
therefore, cannot fail to be objedls of curious invefti- 
gatian. But tellaceous animals and their productions, 
are not only beneficial and ornamental 3 fome are found 
to be highly pernicious. The fnail ravages the garden 
and the field, and marks its progrefs with the deltrudlion 
of fome of the faireft of the vegetable tribes 3 while 
the fhip-worm is juftly the dread of the mariner 3 fe- 
cure, as it were, in its infignificance, humbles the 
glory and pride of man 3 and labouring in fecret, de- 
molilhes the nobleft efforts of ingenuity. In thefe 
views, then, the economy and habits of tellaceous ani- 
mals3 which at firlt fight might appear a barren and 
ufelefs purfuit, become an important and beneficial 
fubjedl of invelligation. The following chapters, there- 
fore, lhall be occupied in the claflification and natural 
hiftory of this tribe of aninials. 
Hiftory. 
CHAP. I. HISTORY OF CONCHOLOGY. 
Cultivated 
ty the an- 
cients. 
4 
By the mo- 
derns. 
THE few fcattered fragments concerning the natu- 
ral hiftory of Ihells, or tellaceous animals, which are 
fo be found in the writings of the ancients, when com- 
pared with the more extended and fyftematic labours 
of the moderns, are fo unimportant and inaccurate, 
that it would be altogether fuperfluous to trouble our 
readers with an account of the information which they 
contain. It appears, however, from the works of A- 
riftotle and Pliny, the great naturalifts of Greece and 
Rome, that the ftudy ©f conchology was not entirely 
ne'gle&ed in their time. It appears too, that admirers 
and colleflors of Ihells were not then wanting. Scipio 
and Laslius, we are informed, found a relaxation from 
the toils and cares of war and government, by indul- 
ging in this elegant amufement (a). 
Nor will it be attended with much advantage, to 
give a particular account of the works of the earlier 
writers on this fubjeft, among the moderns. Thefe 
are Gefner, Johnfton, Rondeletius, Aldrovandus, Bel- 
lonius, Wormius, and fome other authors, who culti- 
vated this department of natural hiftory, and accompa- 
nied their defcriptions with figures, iiiuftrative of the 
objedls which they defcribed. 
The firft author who attempted a fyftematic divifion 
of Ihells, according to their external form and charac- 
ters, was John Daniel Major, profeffor of medicine in 
the univerfity of Kiel in Holllein. His method is pub- 
lifhed at the end of his curious and interefting remarks 
on the treatife concerning the purpura of Fabius Co- 
lumna, printed at Kiel in 1675. The fyftem of the 
German naturalift was followed by that of our coun- 
tryman Dr Lifter, on a more extended and improved 
plan, which was publifhed ten years after. Succeeding 
naturalifts turned their attention to the ftudy of concho- 
logy, and to the improvement of the claffification of 
the numerous objefts of this, department of natural hi- 
ftory. Such were Buonanni, Rumfius, Langius, Brey- 
nius, Tournefort, Gualtieri, D’Argenville, Klein, Lin- 
naeus, Adanfon, Geoffroy, and Muller. 
We lhall here exhibit feme of the moll celebrated 
fyftems of conchology which have been propofed by 
writers on this fubjedl. This, we trull, will not be 
unacceptable to our readers, and particularly as the 
works of thefe authors are in few hands, and fheje- 
fore become lefs acceflible, 
I. The firft general arrangement of Ihells Is thatSjltern of 
publifhed by Dr Lifter in a work with the following Lifter, 
title. Martini Lifter, M. D. Hforice five Synopfs me- 
thodical Conchy liorum libri quatuor, contmentes I O 5 7 f- 
guras cere nitidijjime infeu/ptas, a Sufanna et Anna Li- 
fer depiBas. Londini, 1685 — 16&8, folio. A fecund 
edition of the fame work was publilhed at Oxford in 
1770, with additional figures. 
SYSTEM of LISTER. 
Lib. I. De Coclileis Terrefri'ous. 
Pars I. De Buccinis et Turbinibus terreftribus. 
Se< 5 l. 1. De Buccinis terreftribus a liniftra dextrorfum 
tortilibus, ltevibus, edentulis. 
Se£l. 2. De Buccinis terreftribus a liniftra dextrorfum 
tortilibus, edentulis, ftriatis. 
Se£l. 3. De Buccinis terreftribus a finiftra dextrorfum. 
tortilibus, apertura dentata. 
Sedt. 4. De Buccinis terreftribus a dextra finiftrorfum 
tortilibus, apertura plana. 
Sedt. 5. De Buccinis terreftribus a dextra finiftrorfum 
tortilibus, apertura dentata. 
Cedi. 6. De Turbinibus terreftribus cochleafformibus, 
id eft compadtiore figura. 
Sedl. 
(a') Laelium et Scipionem conchas et umbilicos ad Cajetam et ad Laurentum legere confueffe, et ad cronem 
animi remiffionem ludumque defeendere. Cic. ds Orat. lib. iL 
