Excerpt from West Coast Shells: A Description of the Principal Marine Mollusks Living on the West Coast of the United States, and of the Land Shells of the Adjacent Region Whenever you collect shells it is well either to make a record or write a label stating where and when they were found. These labels become increasingly valuable as the years go by. There are a number Of things which you will wish to learn about your specimens, three Of which are as follows: their names, their structure, and the habits of the animals which constructed them. This book is designed to enable you to Obtain the names, so that you may be able to speak Of your shells intelligently, and to suggest a proper mode Of classification. It also gives hints concerning the structure and markings of the Shells, and tells you some things about the mollusks to which they originally belonged. Very much, however, will depend upon your Spirit of investigation. Never be satisfied to simply know the name Of a Shell, but go on to learn all that you can about the life of its former inhabitant. The more familiar you become with this book the easier you will find the work Of naming shells. Note carefully the general plan and the order Of the chapters. Study the pictures care fully, and you will soon learn the probable place to turn for the description of an unknown shell. Consult the Biographical Index, and get acquainted with the men who gave names to the shells. Study the Glossary, and learn the meaning Of all the terms used in the descrip tions. The general Index will help you in the pronunci ation Of the Latin names, as the vowel of the syllable to be accented is designated by a mark. Keep a record book for drawings and additional descriptions Of your Specimens. Love your work and it will bring you many hours of real profit and pure pleasure. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.