184 



other species ; it hibernates by burrowing into the ground at the roots of beech 

 trees, it leaves its winter quarters in March, ascends tlie favoured tree (and by-the- 

 bye it chooses certain beech trees in preference to others), it enjoys itself at the top 

 of the trees from March to Aiigust, and then descends to sleep for the remaining 

 half-year. Through the advice of a friend, I went some years ago to some woods 

 in August, and found the beech trees well stocked with equal quantities of 

 jB. montayius, JB. obscurus, Clausilia laminata, Helix lapicida. If any one should 

 ever find at the root of a tree a dead shell, he may be almost certain to obtain 

 living specimens by visiting the spot in the months we have named. Very 

 possibly Helix obvoluta, found in Ditcham Wood, Hampshire, on the tops of 

 Fagua sylvatica, may have habits exactly correspondini:? with this animal. 



Helix pomatia. Dr. Gray, speaking of these shells, asserts that "they have 

 been said to be found as far north as Devizes in Wiltshire, and in Gloucester- 

 shire." This shell is the largest of the genus we have, and by some has been 

 thought to have been in existence in England only since the middle of the 16th 

 century ; others claim for it the rank of being indigenous here ; it certainly is 

 interesting in its movements, and although we do not, with the Romans of old 

 and the French of the present day, like snail soup, yet the whiteness of the flesh 

 might render it purer to the sight and taste than a lump of ox tail, at least to 

 those who like it. This creature seems to have degenerated very much, as in 

 former days the shell is said to have been capable of holding " pints of water." 



A few words about the Testacella halioUdea, which is a slug, with a small 

 shell on its back. A beautiful complication of teeth it has ; if you hold its 

 palate to the light you will, without any magnifying power, see some of its 

 wonders ; the Testacella itself is of rare occurrence, probably because it burrows 

 in the ground in winter, and is only above ground at the close of the year ; there 

 need be little doubt that those who would hunt for them would very easily secure 

 numbers, although they are considered scarce. 



A singular habit of this slug is recorded in Eeeve's " Mollusks," page 31 ; 

 he obtained the information from M. Gassies, " When a Testacella has discovered 

 the prey on which it wishes to make a repast, it moves stealthily to one side of the 

 worm, with an indifference so complete that one would have supposed it had not 

 observed it or disdained it ; but suddenly it turns, and whilst the worm is twisting 

 to the right and to the left, it lifts its head, withdraws its tentacles, dilates 

 enormously its mouth, and throws itself upon its prey, enfixing it by a kind of 

 suction. Contortions of the worm are necessarily the result of the wounds from 

 the palate spines ; it wrestles, but in vain : retained by a multitude of barbs, its 

 movements only serve to engage it more and hasten its joassage into the stomach of 

 its voracious enemy.'' 



Ilelix carthusiana is a shell of great rarity ; the habitats given for it 

 are, I believe, only Kent and Sussex, and even there it is eccentric. I was 

 staying some years since at a rectory in the latter county. The Rector took me 

 to a field very close to his own home to obtain the shell. There were not many 

 specimens obtainable. The peculiar thing about them was that they were only 

 to be found in the compass of perhaps an acre of ground. The Rector told me he 



