iN A SNAILERY. 33 
yet found in Great Britain where the Roman encampments 
were. They are still regarded as a delicacy in Italy and 
France, the favorite method of preparation being to boil 
in milk, with plenteous seasoning. Frank Buckland says 
that several of the larger English species are excellent food 
for hungry people, and recommends them either boiled in 
milk, or, in winter, raw, after soaking for an hour in salt 
and water. Some of the French restaurants in London 
have them placed regularly upon their bills of fare. Thou- 
sands are collected annually and sent to London as food for 
eage-birds. Dr. Edward Gray stated, a few years ago, that 
immense quantities were shipped alive to the United States 
“Cas delicacies ;” but I am inclined to consider this an exag- 
geration growing out of the fact that, among our fancy gro- 
eeries “a few jars of pickled snails, imported from Italy,” 
figure as a curiosity, rather than something needed, for the 
table. The same author records that the glassmen at New- 
castle once a year have a snail feast, collecting the animals 
in the fields and hedges on the Sunday before. 
Mr. W.G. Binney, for whom a sirup of snails was pre- 
scribed by two regular physicians in Paris in 1863, points 
out how old is the belief that land mollusks possess valua- 
ble medicinal qualities. In the Middle Ages the rudimen- 
tary shell of the slug acquired a high rank among the nu- 
8 
