6 



pomatia is esteemed by the French; Helix formatio, 

 during Lent, by the Romans ; and, in England, we 

 have an annual snail feast, held at Newcastle, at which 

 our large garden snail-shell (Helix aspersa) is eaten. 



It will, perhaps, be interesting to know the authors 

 names who have written on this subject. The most 

 notable of them may be thus briefly enumerated, with 

 the years in which they first wrote. Shroeter in 177 J , 

 Muller in 1773, Pennant in 1777, Montagu in 1803, 

 Donovon, Rackett, and Maton in 1804, Drapernaud in 

 1805, Brard in 1808, Montfort in 1810, Laskey in 181 1, 

 Alten in 1812, Turton in 1814, Brown in 18J7, Lamark 

 in 1818, Ferussac, Jeffreys, and Leach in 1820, Grey 

 and PfeiflFer in 1821, Nilsson in 1822, Sheppard in 1825, 

 Berkeley in 1828, Alder in 1830, Jenyns in 1832, Ross- 

 masser in 1835, Nunneley in 1837, Forbes, Fleming, 

 Johnston, Michaud, Potiez, and Strickland in 1838, 

 Thompson in 1840, and Macgillivry in 1843. Since 

 1843 we have Grey's edition of Turton's shells, a work 

 by Captain Brown, and the British Mollusca, a splendid 

 treatise now coming out, by Forbes and Hanley. 



In my researches on this subject I am greatly in- 

 debted (for many specimens of shells, and various in- 

 formation) to Mr. Bean, of Scarborough ; Mr. Alder, of 

 Newcastle; Mr. Gough, of Kendal; Lieut. Hardy, of 

 Bath ; Mr. JeftVeys, of Swansea ; Dr. Lee, of Hartwell ; 

 Sir Oswald Moseley, of Rollestnn Hall ; BIr. R. T.Mil- 

 let, of Penzance ; Mr. Thompson, of Belfast; Mr. J. 

 G. Talem^ of Reading; the Rev. J. Peach, of Holme ; 

 the Rev. W. Clark, of Bath; Mr. Winstanley, of 

 Chaigeley Manor ; Mr. Graham, of Darlington ; and 

 the Rev. J. Goodall, of Dinton. I am also indebted to 

 Mr. F. E. Swann, for the ^I'^wings of the difl'erent 

 shells which illustrate tbis.work, and to my brother, Mr. 

 A. S. H, Lowe, for engraving those drawings. I take 



