OKLAHOMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 11 



the vegetation. Sometimes they were so numerous and their nearly 

 white shells so noticeable as to suggest that the prairie weeds were 

 l)lossoming snails. 



These snails are rarely active between eight o'clock in the 

 morning and sunset, unless cloudy weather prevails. My observa- 

 tions, however, lead me to believe that moisture rather than dark- 

 ness is responsible for the activity of the molluscs for immediately 

 after a hard shower none were cemented to the weeds, rocks, or 

 other objects, but all that I saw were moving. 



Prompted by these observations the writer performed some 

 simple experiments. Three living specimens, which had sealed their 

 shells with epigrams were immersed in water. One of these emerged 

 in just six minutes. The epigram of one of the other two was then 

 punctured and all three placed in a dry cup in my locker. The next 

 morning the one that had emerged while immersed had climbed out 

 of the cup, Init neither of the other two had emerged. Before 

 noon they emerged but soon retreated into their shells and sealed 

 the entrances. During the afternoon six others which had been in 

 my locker several days without having removed their epigrams, 

 emerged, and after crawling about some, cemented themselves to 

 the sides of the till and to articles in the locker. The activity of 

 these specimens was' doubtless due to the humidity of the atmos- 

 phere, for it is really great when the sun shines just after an 

 August shower ; even the clothes in the locker were damp the day 

 after the rain. In another case a number of snails that had been 

 placed in the locker during dry hot weather sealed their shells and 

 all estivated until awakened by moisture. These observations lead 

 to the conclusion that not heat but moisture is the factor which 

 determines the behavior of snails during observation. 



III. OBSERVATION ON THE BEHAVIOR OF A MALE 



DICKCISSEL, SPIZA AMERICANA DURING 



THE NESTING PERIOD 



Ed. D. Crabb 



From the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Oklahoma. 

 Contribution No. 9, Second Series. 



A male dickcissel which the writer observed took no part in 

 the building of the nest, incubation or rearing of the young, but 

 faithfully sang encouraging songs for his toiling mate and proved 

 himself, "Lord and Master of his Household," by using force 

 to cause the female to resume her task of incubation after she 

 had been frightened from her nest and had manifested too great 

 fear to return. 



