$&1 SNAILS. 



solitary habitation after so many years confinement. 

 Dr. Macbride, and a party of gentlemen at his house, 

 were also witnesses of this surprising phenomenon. 

 Dr. Macbride has thus mentioned the circumstance: 

 " After the shell had lain about ten minutes in a glass 

 of water that had the cold barely taken off, the snail 

 began to appear ; and in five minutes more we per- 

 ceived half the body pushed out from the cavity of 

 the shell. We then removed it into a basin, that the 

 snail might have more scope than it had in the glass; 

 and here, in a very short time, we saw it get above 

 the surface of the water, and crawl up toward the 

 edge of the basin. While it was thus moving about, 

 with its horns erect, a fly chanced to be hovering 

 near, and, perceiving the snail, darted down upon 

 it. The little animal instantly withdrew itself into 

 the shell, but as quickly came forth again when it 

 lound the enemy was gone off. We allowed it to 

 wander about the basin for upward of an hour, 

 when we returned it into a wide-mouthed phial, 

 wherein Mr Simon had lately been used to keep it. 

 He was so obliging as to present me with this re- 

 markable shell j and I observed, at twelve o'clock, 

 as I was going to bed, that the snail was still in mo- 

 tion ; but next morning I found it in a torpid state» 

 sticking to the side of the glass." 



A few weeks afterward this shell was sent to Sir 

 John Pringle, who shewed it at a meeting of the 

 Royal Society; but some of the members imagining 

 that Mr. Simon must have been imposed upon by 

 his son having substituted fresh shells for those that 

 had been given to him, the boy was re-examined 

 4 



