76 RAMBLES IN SEARCH OF SHELLS. 



fattening nourisbment to the sheep" which feed upon 

 the downs, and pick them up with the short grass ; and 

 a similar observation has been made in other parts of 

 the south of England, notably at Dartmoor and on 

 the Hampshire and Sussex Downs. We have often 

 wondered how these molluscs contrive to withstand 

 the glaring heat of the sun upon the exposed downs, 

 especially in the position in which they are often 

 found, that is, sealed to a grass-stem, a foot or more 

 from the ground. 



The flat shape of ericetorum, its usually large 

 umbilicus and nearly circular mouth, will readily 

 serve to distinguish it from any other of the banded 

 snails. In Sussex the village children collect them 

 by bushels, and, threading them on string, make 

 necklaces and bracelets of them. Mr. W. Jeffery 

 informs us that ericetorum attains a larger size in 

 the valleys on the north side of the downs, where 

 the herbage is less scanty than on the south side 

 and the sun has less power. The second species, 

 vlrgata, is of a white or cream colour, with a single 

 broad band of purple-brown just above the periphery, 

 and several narrower bands below it. In this respect 

 it differs from plsaiia (a more local species found 



