INSESSOEES. 31 



our gardens, no less than for its charming song. 

 When the young are in the nest, the number of 

 caterpillars and insects with which the parent birds 

 feed them is almost incredible, while, throughout 

 the year, this bird renders us good service by de- 

 vouring the snails, which would otherwise devour 

 our vegetables and plants. Every one must have 

 observed the method which the Thrush employs to 

 extract the snail from its shell by dashing it against 

 a stone. But a curious fact, perhaps not generally 

 known, is, that when a thrush has been frightened 

 from a snail after he has chipped the shell without 

 extracting the animal, the snail has power to repair 

 the damage it has sustained, and a new shell forms 

 where the old has been destroyed. My attention 

 was directed to this, some time ago, by Professor 

 Bell, who showed me several shells of the com- 

 mon garden snail (Helix aspersa) which had been 

 curiously patched with new material, and looked as 

 if the new piece had been "let in" and cemented 

 round the edge. This, of course, could not have 

 been the case where a piece was completely chipped 

 out and detached from the shell ; the new shell must 

 have been formed by a secretion from the animal 

 gradually hardening on exposure to the air. 



The Kev. Leonard Jenyns and other naturalists 

 have observed that the Thrush " does not collect in 

 flocks during the winter." While shooting in Sep- 

 tember, I have been surprised to see the number of 



