Land-snails 363 



lip of its shell to a grass stem and retires well 

 inside. 



The Brown-lipped Snail {H. nemoralis)m globular, 

 or what would be regarded as the typical form of a 

 snail's shell. Commonly the ground colour is a 

 clear yellow, but it varies from white to pink and 

 sometimes brown. Upon this are laid live cleanly 

 marked brown spiral lines, of whicli the two broadest 

 are below the periphery, and three narrower ones 

 above. The epidermis is thin and glossy, but in 

 many mature individuals it is more or less dull and 

 perished. There are about five and a half whorls, and 

 full-grown shells measure little short of 1 inch across. 

 The mouth is an irregular crescent in 

 shape, with the brown lip turned 

 slightly outward and strengthened by 

 a dark bar within. There is a narrow 

 umbilicus, which is open until the 

 shell is full-sized, when it is covered Brown-iipped Snaii 

 over entirely. There is considerable 

 variation, as we have indicated, in the colourincr of 

 this shell, but a much greater amount is seen in the 

 presence, absence, or amalgamation of some or all of 

 the five spiral bands. In some, apart from the dark 

 lip, the shell is quite unicolorous ; in others only the 

 central band is present. The three upper and the 

 two lower bands may be united into two broad areas 

 separated by a thin line of yellow and flanked above 

 and below by the lighter tint ; in fact nearly every 

 possible permutation may be found in a large number 

 of specimens. This snail is exceedingly abundant in 

 hedgerows throughout the country. It appears to be 

 specially partial to the Stinging Nettle as food and 



