T)66 Shell Life 



eggs are laid in cup-shaped hollows at the roots of 

 grass, etc., and covered with a little earth. The snail 

 becomes full-s^rown in about twelve months from the 

 time of hatching, and lives about five j^ears. This 

 species appears still to be eaten in the north of England. 

 The Apple Snail or Roman Snail {H. poviatia) is 

 the largest of our native species. The Garden Snail 

 has usually an untidy vagabondish appearance, but 

 the Apple Snail as constantly looks neat and clean. 

 The ground colour of his shell is a creamy tint, 

 and upon it are from three to live spiral bands 

 usually of pale brown. The surface is not so smooth 

 as in asperisa, the lines of growth being more dis- 

 tinctly raised. There are five whorls, and the mouth 

 is nearly round. The umbilicus is very small. The 

 fact that this species is restricted in range to a few 

 southern English counties, and its local occurrence 

 even there, has caused a wide belief in the legend 

 that it is not indigenous, but is one of those 

 creature-comforts introduced by our Roman con- 

 querors, and left behind as a contribution to the 

 future civilisation of the British barbarians. Others 

 have placed the date of its supposed introduction in 

 the sixteenth century, and more than one individual 

 has been indicated as the philanthropist to whom we 

 are indebted for so fine an item in our molluscan fauna. 

 The Pro-Romanists, however, point to a number of 

 acknowledged sites of Roman camps and villas in 

 whose neighbourhood this snail is found : here, say 

 they, is evidence that the Romans and the snail were 

 fellow colonists. On the other hand, those who put 

 forward the autochthonic claim, point to the fact 

 that there are many important Roman stations — such 



