Our British Snails 



II 



the Greek iribiua. This word means a lid, or 

 closing arrangement, and this mollusc makes a 

 hard front door for itself when it hibernates, i.e. 

 suspends active life and buries itself in the 

 winter. 



It is much to be regretted that in most cases 



H. pomatia, half natural size. 



scientific names fail to give much information to 

 the young student, and in some cases they give 

 none at all. The first or generic name is supposed 

 to be formed from Greek, the second, or specific, 

 from the Latin, but there are some hybrids and 

 manymere "nonsense names" to puzzle beginners. 

 Thus the slug Limax gets its name from limus, 

 "mud " ; but a scientist, who ought to have known 



