48 
REVIEWS. 
Shells and their Inhabitants. The Genera of recent Mollusca arranged 
according to their organization; by Henry and Arthur Adams. London : 
John Van Voorst, Parts 18 to 24, viz.:—from 1st November, 1854, 
to 1st November, 1855. Price plain, 8vo., 2s. 6d.; royal 8vo. 
Animals, plain, 5 s. 
We think this very useful manual of recent Mollusca is not as generally 
known as it deserves, and it may not be altogether useless to give a brief 
sketch of Messrs. Adams’ plan. About seven parts are published each year, 
containing some 32 pages of letter-press, and from four to five plates. The 
characters of the various classes and sub-classes among the Mollusca are 
given in the order of their presumed affinities, accompanied by descriptions 
of the families and genera. A list of the species is affixed to each genus, with 
a figure of the typical one. The authors seem to ignore malacological 
distinctions in forming their genera, though they give them their due place 
when noting the peculiarities of the families. We think a work of this 
description a most invaluable one to either the Conchologist or Malacologist 
(we regret that the English language has no one name to combine the two). 
In order to get a comprehensive view of the natural affinities of the 
great sub-kingdom of the Mollusca, one must have marshalled before him 
all the information that can be obtained upon the subject; and while the 
difficulty, not to speak of the irksomeness of the task, of collecting the 
varied communications made to learned societies, or to various serials, pre¬ 
vents this task being accomplished but by the few; the many, by the pub¬ 
lication of this work of Messrs. H. and A. Adams, have it accomplished for 
them, and may sit down and form theories, if they like it, on the facts that 
have been faithfully collected by our authors. It is, however, no easy 
matter to form a theory. We believe that in the kingdom of nature there 
exist individuals which owe their existence to the pre-existence, at one 
time or other, we care not when, of a pair of beings like themselves. These 
we designate as species, and these species are for the most part allowed to 
approach each other, like the links in one vast circular chain—the one be¬ 
coming more like the other, while each preserves its special identity. Now, 
if these gradations really have existence in nature, the more of these links 
that we are able to fit to each other, the nearer will we arrive at the period 
when the last one may be inserted, the chain once for ever closed, and we 
be permitted to look on and see with a charmed eye the perfection of the 
Almighty’s work, and admire how each little atom finds its allotted place 
in the circumference of these flying wheels. We believe there never was a 
naturalist yet that did not believe in the existence of order in the great 
kingdom of nature, though as much cannot be said for the kingdoms of 
