\!. 1I1S1 





Gorin., tn advance; vorwartu, Germ. t forward*), appears in fore- 

 toll, /oreoast, /ojvfathors, /o>vhoad. 



"The /0rknower is not the oaiua of all that are /unknown." 



In /orgive (Germ, vergoben), tho idea nooma to be that of 

 giving away, giving mth"t -/ H-im-n, giving /reefy, and henoe to 

 u (Fr. pardonnor, in low Lat. perdonare). 



" Not soou proroked, however stung and teased, 

 And If perhaps nimlo angry, soon appealed ; 

 She nithor wares, than will dispute her right, 

 And iujurod makes /orgiveness her delight." Cowper. 



Hept, of Greek origin (irra, pronounced hop'-ta, $even), forms 



t Hyllublo of /i. 7. /agon (Greek yovia, pronounced gon'-i-a, 



on angle), that which has icrrn <t,t'jl''!<, and consequently seven 



sides; and Jtepfarohy (Greek ttpxt) pronounced arise, government), 



a sevenfold govern 



" Seven independent thrones, the Saxon /uptarchy, were founded by 

 the conquerors." Gibbon. 



RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. I. 



THE SNAIL. 



IT ia to be feared that there are not many among us who are 

 disposed to regard the little animals that may be classed among 

 tho "common objects" of our fields, gardens, and even houses, 

 with the same attention and curiosity as we examine the form 

 and inquire into the habits of a lion, elephant, or gorilla, fresh 

 from the deserts of Africa or the jungles of Asia, or a walrus 

 lately brought from northern climes. And yet the beasts that 

 find a hiding-place in our woods and thickets, the birds that fill 

 the air with melody at the approach of spring, and the insects 

 that often destroy our best and choicest fruits and blossoms, 

 are as " fearfully and wonderfully made " as the larger animals 

 of foreign lands ay, even as ourselves, for whose use, or 

 pleasure, or perchance correction, they were created. Each has 

 been called into being for some wise end by the Maker of us all, 

 even though our limited knowledge may fail to discover its 

 iitility, and the purpose which it serves in the economy of 

 Nature. The structure and habits of each beast or bird or 

 insect, however small, however unattractive in appearance, 

 claim our consideration as much as the graceful figure of tho 

 antelope or giraffe, or the instinct and docility of the horse or 

 dog ; and as a lesson may be learnt from each and all, more 

 potent in its teaching than the precepts of the best of all books 

 nave one, we invite the attention of our readers to our studies 

 in Natural History, which may be termed recreative in two 

 senses first, as they will do much to relievo the strain that our 

 lessons in languages, mathematics, and science may exert on 

 the mind of the student ; and secondly, in the first and truest 

 meaning of the word, as by a thoughtful inspection of some of 

 God's lesser works, we may reneio from time to time and build 

 up again what we may have lost of our reverential love of Him 

 without whom not even a sparrow falls to the ground unnoticed 

 or uncared for. 



In such a spirit, then, we introduce to the notice of our 

 readers the snail, an animal that finds small favour, generally 

 speaking, with those who love their gardens. 



THE SNAIL. 



We will imagine that while strolling round your garden or in 

 the fields you have just picked up a snail. Hold him tenderly, 

 n,nd not long in your hand, or you may make him very wretched. 

 How HO ? Bemomber his body is cold, your hand is hot, almost 

 like a furnace to him, and the temperature must be enough to 

 make him faint. In truth, while on a human hand the snail 

 must, feel about as comfortable as St. Lawrence on his gridiron. 

 Besides, St. Lawrence gained honour and applause for his 

 suffering, but no such reward awaits the snail ; so, out of a 

 kindly feeling, do not keep him long in the hot hand. 



Then how shall wo observe oar friend and study his comfort 

 also P Get a piece of clean window-glass, and place the nail 

 II1...H it. Ho will bold firmly to the flat* with his broad, 

 expanded, sucker-like foot. Then, by looking at the gentleman 

 through tho glass, an be more* along, the reader will be able to 

 note the mode in which such animals walk, mark the ware-like 

 motions of the foot on the glass, and remember that all soft- 

 bodied animals with a foot like the snail's, are named GasUro- 

 pod*, a word which means " having the feet and belly joined," 

 and whioh is derived from the Greek ymmtp (gas-tetr 

 belly, and wout (poiw), a foot 



Having noticed the sucker- like foot, and tested the force with 

 which it cling* to the glass, let a* look at the head of oar 

 snail. The first noticeable object* are what children call the 

 horns or feelers. Look closely at them. What is that black 

 shining spook on the top of each feeler '< The eye of the snail, 

 according to the judgment of most naturalists. Strange sort of 

 eye, whioh can thus be lifted np above the body, when its owner 

 wants to take a survey of the world. If we want to obtain a 

 wider view, we get on an elevation ; the snail manages msftsis 

 in another manner, he lifts np the eye itself. As the nail eon- 

 templates one of us through those black specks, the question 

 rises, is he not terribly frightened at a being having an eye as 

 large as his whole body '( However, unfortunately, in the 

 present state of snail education, it is impossible to impart his 

 views to us, so we will let that topic pass. 



Touch the tip of his feeler; see how ingeniously he tucks 

 the whole machine into its case, just as the top of the finger of 

 a glove is turned in sometimes, when the glove is drawn off. 

 Now wait awhile ; see, the tube is pushed out again, and the 

 eye is slowly rolled out from its remarkable hiding-place. 

 Have you a pair of scissors in your hand ? Would you like to 

 cut off those feelers, eyes and all 't No, some will say, respect 

 even a snail's feelings. Others may answer yes, cot them off, 

 if we shall get any knowledge by so doing ; we do not believe 

 such creatures feel pain. Well, yon cannot prove they do not feel 

 when thus treated, that's certain ; and it shows a better heart to 

 believe they suffer when injured. Those who believe in Shake- 

 speare will probably take this view. They will remember his 

 remark that a worm when crushed feels as much pain as when 

 a giant dies. However, we will dare to be rather cruel for once 

 only; we will do violence to our tender feelings, and, earnestly 

 begging the snail's pardon, we cut off both feelers at one snip of 

 the scissors. Now we have killed the snail, have we not t At 

 least we have blinded him for life ? Indignant the snail is cer- 

 tainly ; see how he goes back into the innermost part of his 

 house. He may well retire from a world which treats him thus. 

 Now what will be the result ? If the snail be in good health, 

 and the operation be not performed too late in the year, that 

 poor despicable-looking creature will begin to form a new pair 

 of eyes and feelers in about twenty-five days. This operation 

 was often performed on a great number of snails by Spallansani, 

 a celebrated Italian naturalist of the hist century. Such a re- 

 production of organs proves the possession of singular vital 

 powers in so lowly a creature. But Spallanxani and others 

 have gone beyond this. They repeatedly cut off the heads of 

 snails, and those heads, with all their organs, have been in a 

 few months reproduced! That is a power which some men 

 might have envied. Even tho little finger of a human being 

 when out off is gone for life ; no power of making a fresh one 

 grow on the old place belongs to the greatest philosopher on 

 the earth. Yet here we have a poor despised creature often 

 able to recover its lost head, eyes, feelers, and month. The snail 

 beats us all on such a work, beyond doubt. 



Let us not forget the mouth of the snail. It is an instrument 

 capable of doing no light work, as those know to whose garden* 

 the animal pays its unwelcome visits. The two lips are formed 

 of a horny substance, which acts in the manner of a file on 

 vegetables. The tough leaves of the white lily are often rasped 

 off in a few nights by this cutting machine. If any one should 

 be desirous of examining minutely the structure of the snail's 

 mouth, he will find some fine specimens in the Physiological 

 Gallery of the Hunterian Museum in the College of Surgeons, 

 Lincoln's Inn Fields. 



Of tho snail's brain we may just make this remark, that the 

 complete nervous system of the creature's first cousin, the slug, 

 ia to be seen in the same museum, and Professor Owen has 

 given a learned description of the whole. Both snails and 



