CONCLUSION. 
UR forefathers, when producing a book, usually 
commenced proceedings with a foreword or pre- 
face, followed by a humble dedication to some 
most illustrious and puissant personage, and a quite un- 
necessary Apologia embellished with flourishes, copper- 
plate headings and tailpieces, and a profusion of marvellous 
capitals, all of which are peacefully slumbering on the 
shelves of our libraries, and conform not at all to our 
modern notions of the literary craft. However, I cannot 
abruptly take leave of my readers who have been con- 
siderate enough to patiently wade with me through the 
foregoing pages without a feeling of gratitude for their 
kindly indulgence. Partly to disarm criticism, if such a 
consummation were possible, and at the same time account 
for some, to me, obvious shortcomings in this book, I 
must, after all, resort to the old-fashioned author’s apology 
as a prelude to my concluding remarks. An apology of 
this nature, to my way of thinking, savours too frequently 
of the “devil’s darling sin, the pride that apes humility,” 
a weakness I cannot subscribe to, but certainly I know 
that there are a few errors of omission, not to mention 
those of commission, in the work which should be ex- 
plained. As this little book is written simply for the ama- 
teur, no one need expect an account of, or even a reference 
to, those small molluscs possessing shells the size, say, of 
a pin’s head, more or less. The soft-bodied mollusca, often 
of most charming appearance and colour, have been silently 
passed over. We may watch them in some pellucid pool, 
pay a passing tribute to their rare beauty and stately move- 
ments, and leave them to the calm enjoyment of their 
simple lives. Other important mollusca not mentioned in 
these pages are the Chitons, bearing neat coats of plate 
armour on their backs. At Mount Maunganui some twenty 
different species are to be found, including the lovely and 
much-sought-after “butterflies,” whose valves of deep For- 
get-me-not blue are among the prettiest of their kind, as 
well as the pure Wild Rose variety; but as I have only 
found one of these, and have neither heard nor read of a 
similar one being taken, I am afraid it can only be re- 
garded as a sport. The reason that the Chitons have not 
been described is that the subject has proved too much for 
149 
Sea Shells 
of New Zealand 
