PEF.STON : NON-AtAUINK MOT.I.USCA OK LLANDUDNO. I29 



Again, he says : — '"'' Helix nemoralis in great variety of colour and 

 markings swarms along the road-sides, in company with H. aspersa and 

 H. virgata " ; and, again : — " H. nenioralis, abundant by road-sides 

 among thistles and on posts in the flat lands between Llandudno 

 and Gloddaeth." 



My experience with regard to H. nemoralis was somewhat dis- 

 appointing. I had expected to obtain good series of varieties, but 

 the " swarms " were absent ; they had either migrated, or greatly 

 decreased. I searched the hedgerows and ditches, but for a long 

 time with poor success. One very wet day, with perfect hygrometric 

 conditions, I eventually discovered a solitary snail, and by diligently 

 searching the grass and nettles, came across odd ones here and there, 

 and after nearly two hours' work obtained about two dozen. The 

 snails were difificult to find, but the greater number had crawled up 

 the stems of tall reeds, which grew in a deep ditch (Conway Road), 

 and as they hung from the leaves or clung to the stems were scarcely 

 discernible. A curious fact about these snails on the reeds was how 

 they managed to get there at all, as the bottom of the ditch con- 

 tained nearly a foot of water. Probably they had ascended the stems 

 when the ditch was dry. Altogether I collected ninety specimens 

 from the same place during my three weeks' stay, but quite four-fifths 

 of the number were found clinging to or crawling up the reeds in 

 rainy weather. - 



In 19 15 I again explored this ditch, but the reeds had a short 

 time previously been cut down, and I only obtained about half-a- 

 dozen shells from the grass on each side. In a field where the reeds 

 in another drain had not been cut, I failed to find a single shell, 

 although the place seemed in all respects identical and suitable. 



Now, ninety shells are not many to find after diligent search on 

 many occasions, so that in 1901 H. nemoralis could not be said to 

 swarm ; and after an absence of another fourteen years, my opinion 

 has not altered. Either H. nemoralis is becoming rarer in the dis- 

 trict, or my idea of swarms of snails does not coincide with that of 

 Mr. Roebuck. 



In 1901 I explored many other parts of the district, particularly 

 the Morfa area, but only found shells in one or two other places in 

 the immediate vicinity of Llandudno, viz., on the walls and rocks 

 skirting the Marine Drive on the Great Orme, and sparingly among 

 the vegetation (brambles and marram grass) on the sand dunes of the 

 Conway shore, south-west of the Morfa. In 19 15 I gave this latter 

 locality more careful and systematic attention, and on suitable days 

 found H. nemoralis commoner here than elsewhere ; the var. cas- 

 tanea being decidedly predominant, yet even here the species could 



