340 SNAILS. 



congregate in clusters behind some old tree, or 

 against a sheltered wall, fixing the openings of their 

 shells against each other, or on the substance be- 

 neath, and adhering so firmly in a mass, that the 

 thrush cannot by any means draw them wholly, or 

 singly, from their asylum. In the warmer portion 

 of the year they rest separate, and adhere but 

 slightly ; and should the summer be a dry one, the 

 bird makes ample amends for the disappointment 

 in winter, intrudes its bill under the margin of the 

 opening, detaches them from their hold, and de- 

 stroys them in great numbers. In the summers of 

 1825 and 1826, both hot and dry ones, necessity 

 rendered the thrush unusually assiduous in its 

 pursuits ; and every large stone in the lane, or 

 under the old hedge, was strewed with the fragments 

 of its banquet. This has more than once reminded 

 me of the fable of the ' Four Bulls ;" united in- 

 vincible, when separated an easy prey ; but, with 

 the exception of this season, and this bird, I know 

 no casualty to which the garden snail is exposed. 



Ignorant as we are of the scope, limitation, and 

 even existence, of certain faculties in animals, we 

 can frequently do little more than conjecture the 

 means whereby they perform many of the functions 

 of life. This ignorance leads us naturally at times 

 to refer these powers to the agency of senses like 

 our own ; but, in most instances, probably without 

 any foundation in truth. No creature seems less 

 qualified to commit the depredations which it does, 

 than the garden snail. We grieve to see our fruit 



