BIGELI H\ 



STUDY OF LAND-SNAIL 201 



STUDY OF LAND-SNAIL IN THE FOURTH OR FIFTH GRADES 



BY ANNA N. BIGELOW 

 Miss Chapin's School for Girls, New York 



What is the land-snail good for ? 



The writer is well aware that certain critics of nature-study urge 

 that the first consideration in planning a nature -study lesson should 

 be the "human interest" based on what the animal is good for. 

 However, experience with many classes of children of various ages 

 forces the conviction that in the case of many interesting, but not 

 very useful animals, the interest and enthusiasm requires no arbitrary 

 pedagogical method of procedure. The real human interest in this 

 case is the child's natural interest in pet animals, and this is here the 

 best guide. Experience shows that all the following points are in- 

 teresting, and valuable — in almost any order of study — (a) in de- 

 veloping the child's sympathetic attitude towards animals and (b) in 

 training in the method of scientific study. It matters little, then, 

 where the teacher mentions such economic facts as that the snail is 

 edible and destructive to gardens (see preceeding article). These 

 excite little interest as compared with that stimulated by considering 

 the animal as a representative of a great group and because of its 

 own interesting "personality." 



I. Snail in Winter-Quarters 

 (In this condition they are brought from Europe.) 



Note that the mouth of the shell is completely closed by a plaster 

 plate. Notice the shape of the shell— a spiral (make a spiral from 

 paper or wire). The small end (the^apex) represents the beginning 

 of the snail's shell, while the large whorl ending at the mouth is the 

 newest part of the shell. Hold the shell with the mouth toward you 

 and the apex up and notice that the opening of the shell is to your 

 right. Such a shell is called a right-handed shell. Later you may 

 see some species of snails having a spiral turning to the left and such 

 are therefore known as left-handed shells. Examination of some 

 empty snail shells, some chipped on one side to show internal 

 structure, will be interesting. Notice the central column around 



