SHELLS IN LONDON GARDENS. 23 



produced a note not unlike that which we all know 

 may be brought out of a drinking glass by the 

 friction of a wet finger on the rim. 



Snails are very sensible of cold, and commence to 

 hybernate early, clustering together in the crevices 

 of old walls and trees, or behind water-butts and 

 flower-boxes, and attached to each other by the 

 epiphragms which close the mouths of their shells. 

 Some notion of their prolific nature may be gathered 

 from the statement of a French naturalist, who 

 affirms that he has counted upwards of a hundred 

 eggs laid by a single individual. In this respect, 

 however, the common garden snail, Helix asjpersa, 

 excels most of its congeners. 



Mr. H. Adams informed the Editor of the "Zoolo- 

 gist " that he once found a rarity in the shape of 

 a reversed specimen of this species in his garden at 

 Notting Hill. 



Amongst the other species of snail to be met with 

 in gardens may be mentioned the shrub snail. Helix 

 arhustoruni; the little banded garden snail, H. hor- 

 tensis ; and the wood snail, H. nemoralis. The 

 shrub snail (PI. I., fig. 6) is much smaller than the 

 common garden snail, with a smoother and more 



