2o6 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



too, crawling on the dead leaves or wet stones, were 

 many Cyclostoma clcgans, both the light and dark 

 variety, one of the most elegantly shaped of all our 

 British land shells. Then carefully examining the 

 trunks of the beech-trees, we took many specimens 

 oi Buli;H2ts obscurtis, so covered over with a gray- 

 green coating of lichen that in many cases they 

 looked like mere knots or excrescences of the tree : 

 here and there, but rather sparingly, we saw the 

 variety albida. In the same locality, Clausilia 

 laiiiiiiata was abundant, shining out with its bright, 

 glossy, horn-coloured shell, while its two varieties 

 albida and pellucida were only to be added to the 

 store at long intervals. The variety pellucida is a 

 beautiful shell, looking like transparent porcelain. 

 Here we had a patient search for Clausilia Rolphii, 

 and every now and then we fancied we had been 

 successful, but on a closer and more careful inspec- 

 tion, the specimens turned out to be those of Clausilia 

 dubia. Since this we have had several shells of 

 Clausilia I\olJ>/iii seni to us from the same neighbour- 

 hood so that some time or other we must have 

 another search, and I hope a more successful one. 

 Sometimes "local shells," though rare in other 

 parts, are abundant in the localities where they are 

 found, and here we took Buliuuis montauus (a local 

 shell) from the trunk of almost every tree, descend- 

 ing from its summer quarters amongst the top 

 branches and tender buds of the beech-trees, and 

 preparing to look out for snug quarters for the 

 winter. Its variety pallescens was by no means 

 infrequent. Coming out of the wood into an open 

 space on the hill we found Helix rotunda fa, If. 

 concinna, H. hirsuta, H. rufescens. Of the last many 

 of the specimens are of a most beautiful brown-red 

 colour, while others were almost pure white. 

 Helix cricetorum was abundantly creeping over the 

 wet grass, and timidly shrinking into its shell im- 

 mediately on being touched. Under the stones 

 in small colonies, we came upon Pupa sccale and 

 Pupa umbilicata. 



Turning into a deep depression in the side of the hill, 

 in which the common blackberry grew in luxuriance, 

 we spied a variety of Helix nemoralis which we had 

 never been fortunate enough to have taken before, 

 but of which a few specimens had been kindly sent 

 to us by Miss F. Hele, of Bristol. The bands upon 

 the whorls were entirely destitute of colour and per- 

 fectly pellucid. In the " Conchological Journal " the 

 name given to the variety is arenicola, why or where- 

 fore it is difficult to make out, as this name does not 

 seem to specify any peculiarity either in its shape, 

 colour or habitat. 



Knowing that we were in the locality for Helix 

 pomatia, we asked a little rustic maiden, about twelve 

 years old, who was out on the hills gathering sticks, 

 if she saw any of the very large snail shells. She, how- 

 ever, evidently knew more about the matter than we 

 had suspected, and said, " Do you mean the Roman 



snails ? " — " Yes," we replied ; " what do you know 

 about Roman snails ? " She answered, pointing to 

 some cottages about half a mile distant, " I got 

 twenty of them last week to put into our garden 

 there, for father says as they will drive the other 

 snails away. And last summer a young gentleman as 

 was very ill, came to live at one of them houses and 

 I used to get him twelve of them big snails every 

 day for him to eat ; the doctor said as how they would 

 cure him." "Whereabouts did you find them?" 

 we asked. " Oh," she replied, " all among the nettles 



in the bottom of the hedges down there.' 



Thank 



you, little maiden," we said, and giving her a small 

 present for her information we set off in search of 

 Pomatia, and found him too, with his large, brown- 

 banded, globose shell, and beautifully shaded creamy 

 grey foot. Returning homeward we boxed several 

 specimens of Helix lapicida ; these were larger in 

 diameter, of a much darker colour, and with the 

 markings more distinct, than any we had taken 

 before. Crawling on some palings were Helix 

 Cantiana, Helix nemoralis var. minor, and many other 

 varieties, Helix arbustoriun and its variety Jlavescens, 

 Helix virgata (some specimens of which were remark- 

 ably conical in shape), and several of the commoner 

 kinds of slugs. We reached home well laden with 

 spoils, after one of the most enjoyable conchological 

 excursions we had ever spent. 



H. MiLNES. 



NOTES ON JURASSIC FORAMINIFERA. 

 By Dr. Rudolf Haeusler, F.G.S., &c. 



THROUGH the microscopical investigation of 

 the Swiss Jurassic rocks many interesting facts 

 respecting the distribution of Foraminifera were ob- 

 tained which may interest your readers, and assist 

 them in working out this group in the English 

 Jurassic strata. The total number of species of Swiss 

 Jurassic Foraminifera is about three hundred and fifty, 

 with countless varieties. Their distribution in differ- 

 ent divisions is not equal throughout the country ; 

 while certain limestones are crowded with their shells, 

 others are almost devoid of them. Even in the same 

 strata they are not equally common in different loca- 

 lities, and many species are not even restricted to only 

 one locality. The mode of preservation often does 

 not allow of the determination of specimens, their 

 chemical character being changed by pseudomor- 

 phoses. As besides it is often only possible to find* 

 them by preparing their sections, it is evident that a 

 great number are still to be discovered. By compar- 

 ing the Swiss species with those obtained from other 

 countries, it is surprising to find that most of them 

 are different, although it is evident that the general 

 character of the fauna changes with the petrographi- 

 cal habitus, it is yet not uncommon to meet with the 

 same species in lithologically different strata with 



