70 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



gardens, yet it is not often that one comes across 

 their eggs, on account of their being deposited in 

 holes which the females make in the ground and 

 afterwards fill up again with such skill as to leave 

 no signs of their work. The quantity and size of 

 the eggs laid by these creatures varies considerably 

 according to the species responsible for their 

 production, those of the well-known edible or vine- 

 snail being about the size of a small pea, and some- 

 what soft and jelly-like in consistency, while in 

 regard to their number, an individual will produce 

 sixty or eighty in the course of a few days. Very 

 different, however, is the case of the giant snails, 

 which lay very few eggs, but of such a large size 

 as to resemble those of a bird, these being oval in 

 form and white in colour. The shells of these 

 giant snails frequently measure as much as six 

 inches in length, and in some countries the creatures 

 themselves are eaten by the populace. 



Few eggs are more remarkable than those of 

 certain insects, but their beautiful structure is 

 not always revealed to the eye without the use of 

 a microscope. When magnified, however, by that 

 means, it will be noted that many of them are 

 wonderfully decorated and sculptured, and others 

 look as if they were covered with a network of 

 lace ; while those of us who are unacquainted with 

 the ova of the lace-wing fly might readily mistake 

 them for some form of fungus on account of the 

 manner in which they are attached to the leaves 

 or twigs of trees by fine silk-like stalks, about an 

 inch in length. 



