NATURE'S CALENDAR 



drumhead. The snail has filled his house 

 with air, then closed his door with an air- 

 tight curtain, and gone to sleep. Per- 

 haps he makes a second or even a third 

 screen inside of it, to guard against any 

 accident breaking the outer one, which 

 would be fatal to him. The breathing 

 Fvfid circulation of the blood of these hi- 

 bernating snails seem wholly to cease— at 

 least a chemical test will show that the 

 air inside the shell is as pure as that out- 

 side ; but it seems necessary that it should 

 not be disturbed. Mere cold, however, 

 appears to have no harmful effect. 



Rising another step, we encounter 

 among the insects some curious facts. 

 The best that most insects can do on the 

 approach of cold weather, which means 

 famine for them, is to die; so that in this 

 month a collector can find little to add to 

 his cabinet, except in the way of imma- 

 ture form.s. It is doubtful whether any 

 fully developed neuropter could be picked 

 up in January, with one remarkable ex- 

 ception — the snow insect, a curious wing- 

 less, caterpillar-like little creature, about 

 as long as a grain of rice, and orange red 

 or shining black, according to species; 

 it dwells in the moss and is rare, but when 

 seen at all, it appears in great numbers 

 hopping about on the snow in sunny 

 places. 



In the group of orthoptera — the cock- 

 roaches, crickets, locusts, and the like — a 

 few adults may be gathered. The bur- 



January 8 



January 9 



