WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



on thousands of helices that the eye peduncles, 

 when cut off, grow out again — that considerable 

 parts of the locomotive disk may be amputated, 

 and the new parts immediately bud out and sup- 

 ply their place/' 



Some snails, moreover, practise self - mutilation 

 as a means of protection. This is reported of 

 Stenopus, a West Indian genus, and is highly 

 characteristic of the Philippine snails of the genus 

 Helicarion, as described by Semper in Animal 

 Life. The several small species live upon trees 

 in damp woods, where they are numerous and ac- 

 tive, and consequently much exposed to attack by 

 reptiles, birds, and other enemies. Every species 

 seems to have the property of shedding the tail 

 whenever it is roughly seized. ''This they do by 

 whisking the tail up and down with extraordinary 

 rapidity, almost convulsively, until it drops off; 

 if the creature is held by the tail, it immediately 

 falls to the ground, where it easily hides among 

 the leaves. . . . Now, this hinder portion of the 

 foot is the most conspicuous part of the snail's 

 body, and it may be supposed that it, in most cases, 

 is the part first seized by the reptiles or birds that 

 prey upon them." 



Professor Semper found that a large proportion 



295 



