WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



to have no such dainty prejudices. Some mam- 

 mals, Hke the raccoons and wood-rats, also eat 

 them; insects suck their juices, and the carnivo- 

 rous slugs prey upon one 'another. Lastly, man, 

 the greatest enemy of the brute creation, employs 

 several species of snails for culinary purposes. By 

 the Romans they were esteemed a great luxury, 

 and portions of plantations w^ere set apart for the 

 cultivation of the large, edible Helix pomatia, where 

 they were fattened by the thousand upon bran sod- 

 den in wine. From Italy this taste spread through- 

 out the Old World, and colonies of this exotic spe- 

 cies, survivors of classical "preserves," are yet 

 found in Great Britain where the Roman encamp- 

 ments were. They are still regarded as a delicacy 

 in Italy and France, the favorite method of prepa- 

 ration being to boil in milk, with plenteous sea- 

 soning. Frank Buckland says that several of the 

 larger English species are excellent food for hun- 

 gry people, and recommends them either boiled in 

 milk, or, in winter, raw, after soaking for an hour 

 in brine. Dr. Edward Gray stated, a few years 

 ago, that immense quantities were shipped alive 

 to the United States " as delicacies '' ; but I am in- 

 clined to consider this an exaggeration growing 

 out of the fact that among our fancy groceries '' a 



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