230 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



in some one circumstance that it could not heed all else 

 that transpired. If I am not greatlj in error, when our 

 sparrows, wrens, and other small birds give their young 

 a silent send-ofE, there will be a large gain in their 

 numbers. Invited destruction, at present, works sad 

 havoc among many species. 



August 3. — In rambling about to-day, twelve miles 

 from home, but still on the banks of Crosswicks Creek, 

 I found many snails of two or three species. Their 

 abundance led me to institute a careful search for them, 

 and I soon found that my cousin's hillside was far more 

 favored with terrestrial mollusca than is the hillside at 

 home. Why ? I asked myself, and have not yet found the 

 reason. Here, as at home, were chestnuts, oaks, birch, 

 beech, and sassafras, rotten logs and dead leaves in 

 abundance, damp ground and scattered springs in like 

 manner characterizing the surface soil, and the outlook 

 the same. 



The prominent form was a true snail, that was readily 

 recognized as to the "species," by its white, porcelain- 

 like lip. The others were smaller, and inconspicuous, in 

 comparison. There are six species of these mollusks that 

 the rambler can look for with some confidence. Three of 

 them are nearly or quite an inch in diameter, when full- 

 grown, and so are readily seen ; the others, smaller, and 

 must be sought for with more care; but snail-hunting, 

 let it be said, is not exhilarating. As Prof. Morse has 

 truly stated, "certainly a more unassuming subject could 

 not well be studied, for aside from the soothing pleas- 

 ure of lying down, dorsal region uppermost, in some se- 



