262 MOLLUSCA 



from Auckland are of the variety conoidea, thin, small and conical. 

 He also describes this as a most voracious snail, which has been known 

 to perforate birds' eggs for food 1 . 



In the Agricultural Department's report for 1897 this species is 

 stated (in conjunction with different species of slugs) to be very 

 destructive to orange- and lemon- trees in the Hokianga district. 

 Captain Broun records that in another district near Auckland he 

 examined a lemon-tree about three years old that had been nearly 

 killed by snails; large pieces of the bark had been eaten away, and 

 even the green wood had been injured. 



Mr Huddlestone of Nelson states that English snails, introduced 

 along with the plants from Britain, were first seen in the Nelson 

 district in numbers in 1861. These were in all probability either 

 Helix aspersa or H. caper ata. 



Helix hortensis, Miiller 



This snail is apparently widely spread in the North Island. It 

 was recorded from Auckland by Captain Hutton, and from Taranaki 

 by Mr W. W. Smith. I am told that it is abundant at Napier. 



Snails of the genus Helix seem to be very tenacious of life, a 

 fact which favours their distribution in hay, straw, etc. Kew records 

 cases of H. hortensis which lived for 14 months without food, and 

 of H. aspersa, which survived after being in a closed pot of earth 

 for about ten and a half months, and subsequently produced fertile 



Helicetta caper ata, Montagu 



Mr Suter recorded this snail from Nelson in the South Island, 

 and Paekakariki in the North Island. It is probably much more 

 widely spread than these two isolated localities indicated. As showing 

 how readily snails are distributed, it may be mentioned that Kew 

 (p. 161) records a case in England where "thirteen wrinkled-snails 

 (H. caper ata}, together with a quantity of tares were taken from the 

 stomach of a wood-pigeon which had been shot three days previously. 

 Most of the snails were alive, and began creeping about on being 

 placed in a dish containing a little water." 



Helicostyla tricolor, Pfeiffer 



Mr Suter reports this from a garden in the Bay of Islands. 



1 Dr Binney in Terrestrial Air-breathing Mollusks (1851) states that the larger 

 European snails, and particularly Helix aspersa, are sometimes imported into the 

 United States, for use as food by foreign residents. 



2 Mr A. Nicols in Acclimatisation of the Salmonidce at the Antipodes says (p. 46) 

 that in the 'Mindora' shipment of salmon ova in 1869 "a living snail was found 

 among the moss " in which the eggs were packed, and was " acclimated." By which 

 I suppose he means that it was set free. 



