Dr. Lath AM V Qbfervations on the Spinning Limax. 87 



Limax appeared to be fenfible of its abilities, for it extended itfelf 

 from the bottom of the frame, with its head downwards, till the 

 tail became fufpended ; and it was by means of an undulating mo- 

 tion of the belly, fimilar to that in the act of crawling, that the 

 flow of the vifcous fecretion was produced towards the tail ,• but in 

 doing this the belly was extremely contracted, being furnifhed with 

 numerous tranfverfe ruga; ; at the fame time the body and tentacula 

 were fully extended, indicating no alarm whatever : the head was 

 occafionally moved from fide to fide, which gave feveral turns to 

 the right or left as the centre of gravity lay; but as it af frequently 

 turned one way as the other, the thread was not in the leaft twitted. 

 The thread, on firft leaving the tail, conformed to the fhape of that 

 part, being flat, and five times as broad as at one eighth of an inch 

 diftant therefrom ; but afterwards feemed of an equal fize, and con- 

 fiderably fmaller than the fined human hair. When a portion of 

 this thread was placed under a microfcope, it appeared contracted, 

 by its furface being wrinkled ; it was pellucid, and feemed elaftic. 



Colonel Montagu adds, that he has met with numbers of them, 

 fome of which could not by any means be induced to fpin, as if fen- 

 fible of their inability fo to do, readily turning back when approach- 

 ing the proje&ing edge ; whilft others at once let themfelves down 

 without hefitation; fo that it might be known by their motion, 

 when near the brink of the precipice, whether they were endued 

 with the faculty or not. 



The above were the principal of the obfervations communicated 

 to me, the laft of which were made the beginning of October. My 

 friend, as well as Mr. Hoy, feems to think that the fubject in ques- 

 tion is no other than the Limax agreftis of Linnaeus, to which I moft 

 readily aflent ; and that it is mofl probably the variety mentioned 

 by Muller in his Hift. Verm. II. p. 9. /3. viz. Umax albidus clypeo fa- 

 vefcente'y and perhaps alfo the var. «. in Gmelin's edition of the Sjf. 



Natura 



