AIR-BREATHING SNAILS AND SLUGS 275 



the young of this species in a snailer}^ which may be 

 constructed somewhat like a small hotbetl. The old 

 ones lay eggs freely, the eggs looking like little 

 pearls, and the young snails feed readily upon lettuce 

 and cabbage leaves, reaching full size in about two 

 years. I once reared a large number in this way, but 

 at length I was obliged to dispose of them for fear 

 that they would escape and do injury. I am now 

 trying the experiment with our native Cypress Snail, 

 Figure 270, and my only fear is that they will not do 

 well in captivity. Any of these experiments are in- 

 teresting, however, and I would advise the boys and 

 girls to try to raise such snails as naturally live in 

 their neighborhoods, and other harmless species. 



The shell of the Spotted Snail is large, about an 

 inch in diameter, nearly globular, thin, and marked 

 with , wrinkles. The color is brownish gray, with 

 bands of chestnut and threads of yellow, giving the 

 shell a spotted appearance, from which fact it takes 

 its name. This species, as well as some others, is 

 used for food by the French, and it is not unlikely 

 that the hrst ones were brought to this country tor 

 the purpose of propagating them for domestic uses. 

 It is said that the hrst colony was established in the 

 city of San Jose. 



We begin our study of a most interesting division 

 of the old genus Helix, which included all of the 

 common land snails, by examining the picture of a 

 fine specimen of Epiphragmophora fid ells. Gray, the 

 Faithful Snail, as shown in Figure 267. The long 

 name given to this division of snails simply means 

 "epiphragm-bearer," and the epiphragm which he 



