3H THE NATURAL HISTORY 



Top-shaped Snail, or Fulvous Snail (Helicella fulva), 

 are all found under stones, among moss and moist 

 decaying leaves in our upland and lowland covers, 

 hedgerows, gardens and pastures, the two first occa- 

 sionally in damp cellars ; and whatever difficulty there 

 may be in identifying the different species of this 

 genus, the Helicella Alliaria speaks for itself, very 

 often, at the slightest touch, it gives out such a 

 powerful odour of garlic, that it cannot easily be 

 mistaken for any other species. 



The Common Snail (Helix aspersa) may be found 

 plentifully in all the gardens in the parish at any time 

 between its hibernations, particularly after a shower of 

 rain, and in the majority of cases it is no sooner found 

 than it is crushed under foot. If, however, it should 

 be so fortunate as to escape a fatal accident before 

 it has arrived at maturity, each individual deposits 

 upwards of a hundred eggs, and if its value in the 

 French Pharmacopoeia is really as great as it is 

 asserted to be, many a sufferer from pulmonary 

 disease has good reason to rejoice at its prolific 

 nature. It is from this species that the valuable 

 Helicine is obtained, but it can scarcely be deemed 

 a recent discovery. Without having the faintest sus- 

 picion that this now celebrated specific was ever 

 destined to be introduced to the Medical Profession 

 under a scientific name, Materfamilias, at Halting and 

 elsewhere, has been in the habit of administering it 

 for generations past, with the happiest results, in cases 

 of whooping cough. The formula according to which 

 she prepares it, no doubt differs materially from that 

 of the eminent Physician under the sanction of whose 

 name it has taken so high a rank in the Materia 

 Medica. She simply strings a dozen or so of living 

 snails together, by passing a needle and stout thread 

 through the shell and body of each, these are next 

 suspended festoon-like over a dish or pan containing 

 a layer of coarse brown sugar, on which the mu- 



