80 EXPERIMENTAL MUTILATION. 



The year 1766, in which Spallanzani published the results of 

 his experiments, inaugurated a perfect reign of terror for the 

 Snails. The ardent Abbe, indeed, did for them just what 

 Galvani, some years later, did for frogs and rabbits : he led to 

 their being immolated by thousands upon the altar of science, with 

 the view, apparently, of ascertaining how far it was possible to 

 go in maiming and mutilating the poor Molluscs, without actually 

 destroying life. The first result of these experiments was to 

 throw discredit upon the extreme cases that Spallanzani had 

 mentioned ; but more careful operators, in after-years, fully 

 established the truth of his statements, and demonstrated the 

 existence of those extraordinary powers of reproducing lost parts 

 which he was the first to announce to the world. It is to be 

 hoped that no ambitious young naturalist who may read these 

 pages will be tempted to repeat the above experiments for himself, 

 because we can assure him the facts are well established, and any 

 further snail mutilation to confirm them would be only wanton 

 cruelty. 



It would hardly be suspected that little fellows, with such 

 cold and sluggish natures as the Snails possess, would manifest 

 much warmth of passion. So it is, however ; and the Loves of 

 the Snails has always been an attractive subject with savaitts, 

 from the very singular circumstances connected with it. In 

 reading Professor Rymer Jones's graphic account of the mat- 

 ter, with its curious details of love darts and tender demon- 

 strations the coyness on the one side, and the ardour on the 

 other one is half inclined to think that you are again going 

 over the story of the amours of the Olympian gods. 



In the great majority of the Helicidce, the young are produced 

 in eggs, which are always globular in shape, and in some of 

 the larger kinds enveloped in a hard calcareous shell. The eggs 

 of the common Garden Snail are often exposed to sight on turn- 

 ing up a stone, or slate, or piece of decaying wood, that has been 

 lying long in some dank, unfrequented part of the garden ; and 

 by an inexperienced person they would be very liable to be mis- 

 taken for some out-of-the-way curiosity of Nature's making. 

 They are about the size of small peas, and being of a beautiful 

 pearly white, might be made into a very pretty string of beads, 

 were they only durable enough for the purpose. We have some- 

 times watched both Helix aspersa, and her cousin nemoralis, whea 



