236 EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 



succeed, by the way, in catching a snail by the horns, 

 and throwing it over their shoulder, it is an omen of 

 good luck ; and if it is placed on a slate, then likewise 

 it will describe, by its turning, the initials of their future 

 husband's name." It is said that if on leaving the house 

 you see a black snail (slug ?) seize it boldly by one of 

 its horns, and throw it over your left shoulder ; you 

 may then go on your way prosperously; but if you 

 fling it over the right shoulder, you will draw down ill 

 luck. This practice is said to extend as far a south as 

 Lancashire.* 



In Piedmont, to induce the snail to put out its horns, 

 children are accustomed to sing to it 



" Limassa, limassa, 

 Tira fora, i to corn, 

 Dass no, i vad dal barbe 

 E ti tje fass taie." 



In Sicily, children terrify the snail by informing it 

 that their mother is coming to burn its horns with a 

 candle ; and in Tuscany, they threaten the white snail 

 (la marinella) telling it to thrust out its little horns to 

 save itself from kicks and blows. f This reminds us of 

 the English children, who used to sing ; 



" Snail, snail, come out of your hole, 

 Else we shall beat you as black as a coal ! " 



According to the ' Archseologia Cambrensis/ in the 

 parish of St. Clear's, Carmarthenshire, small portions 

 of lands were formerly gambled away by means of snail 

 races. The rival snails were placed at the foot of a 

 post, and the one that first reached the top, won the 

 land for its master. In the Isle of Wight, the fishermen 



* ' Folklore of the Northern Counties of England.' 

 t ' Zoological Mythology/ vol. ii. pp. 74, 75. 



