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AMERICAN SEASHELIS by R. Tucker Abbott

AMERICAN SEASHELIS

By

Publisher: Van Nostrand

The enormous increase in interest in shells insures a steady market for this comprehensive -- and beautiful - book on North American mollusks, - some 1500 species. For collectors from Labrador to Florida, from Alaska to Lower California, this promises to include those found in shallow waters, with sufficient data to aid in identification, and sufficient balance in information to make it a usable book for amateurs without antagonizing the professionals. The chapters on background information, too often slighted, give the reader fascinating instruction on the life of the ""snails"" and the ""clams"", where they are found, how they grow, how they feed, breathe, reproduce, how they sense and see, how they burrow and swim. Some elementary knowledge is assumed, though the chapter on collecting is basic and very sound, touching on all phases, - the necessary research and attention to details, the equipment, the extension of success if dredging is employed, the importance of accurate records, proper preparation, knowledge of how to exchange shells with other conchologists. Then follows the main body of the book:- the careful description of each of the 1500 species, classified under genus, family, and both scientific and beach name, described as to locale, size, characteristics, and cross indexed to illustrative plates.