SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



I also found Epinephele tiliionits, and more fre- 

 quently E. ida. E. janira occurs commonly in its 

 var. hispulla, which does not differ from that form 

 found, in the South of France. 



Coenonympha corinna was the commonest butterfly 

 at Vizzavona, a very pretty and distinct little Satyrid. 

 It was to be seen everywhere and in great numbers. 

 C. pamphilus, though found there, is not nearly so 

 common ; I did not take the var. lyllus. I found no 

 Hesperidae during my stay in Corsica, though I sought 

 diligently for Syricthus therapne, which I had hoped 

 to find. 



On Friday, July 14th, I began my return, going by 

 train to Bastia, which I reached at noon. There it 

 was intensely hot, but very enjoyable. The old 

 town, with its picturesque church and buildings 

 mingled with southern vegetation and sloping down 

 to the blue Mediterranean, formed a picture worthy 

 of Ruskin's words or Stanfield's brush. After lunch 

 I braved the fierce heat, and went collecting in some 

 orchards on the hillsides behind the town. My 

 takings were principally Satyridae, including Satyrus 



aristaeus, S. lithonns, S. ida, and .S'. ligelius. 

 Everything was so dried up that it was difficult to 

 find a verdant spot, so I had to trespass on private 

 grounds. No one interfered ; probably my net was a 

 sign that I was like the man in " The Runaway Girl " 

 " searching for the rarer lepidoptera," and so I was 

 left alone. This evening Bastia was en fete ; and such a 

 fite ! — a ' ' festa duplex major, " as ecclesiastical language 

 would express it. So we left the harbour, on board 

 the steamer, amid the firing of guns from the citadel, 

 fireworks, and illuminations— for it was the "Fete 

 Nationale." One was glad, in spite of the vivacity 

 of the scene, to get out into the stillness of night upon 

 the sea, and steam back to Nice in peace and quietness. 



Though Papilio hospiton was not in my collecting- 

 box, I had a fair collection of Corsican butterflies — 

 made during my five days' visit — and, more than that, 

 I had seen and also scented this wonderful island. 

 I left Corsica with the hope of some day paying it 

 another visit. 



All Saints' Vicarage, Sontliend-on-Sea : 

 March yd, 1 goo. 



REARING SNAILS IN CAPTIVITY 



By Ej.eonora Armitage. 



' I 'HE remarks on homing of snails and other 

 ■*■ matters connected with the living animal in 

 Science-Gossip (ante, p. 243) have interested me, 

 and I feel tempted to transcribe some of my notes 

 and observations on the subject. I am not a col- 

 lector of shells nor a student Of conchology, neither 

 do I possess any literature on the subject ; therefore 

 anything I can say is only a record of my own ob- 

 servations. 



In the summer of 1S95 I was given two individuals 

 of the " Roman " or " apple " snail (Helix powatia), 

 which is not found in this neighbourhood. I kept 

 them under a large bell-glass in a shad)' part of the 

 garden, sometimes on turf and sometimes on a flower- 

 border, where they could burrow at their ease and 

 keep themselves moist and cool. I fed them on cab- 

 bage and lettuce leaves, with a strawberry now and 

 then. Occasionally they were allowed to take exer- 

 cise, being tethered to a stake on the grass by means 

 of a long piece of fine string, one end of which was 

 tied round the shell. It was interesting to watch 

 them crawl to the end of their tether and strain to 

 get beyond, pulling more than I ever saw before >>! a 

 living snail's body out of its shell. They spent most 

 of the daytime sleeping, nestled in the grass or under 

 the shade of a cabbage leaf, awakening in the evening 

 to crawl over the interior of the bell-glass and to 

 feed, which they did mostly at night. Often they 

 roosted on the glass. I had to keep them prisoners, 

 as I did not want them to devour my choicest flowers, 

 which is what snails and slugs always do ; but I have 



known them escape, probably by burrowing beneath 

 the tell-glass and eventually emerging on the other 

 side. I have frequently recaptured them ; they do 

 not stray very far, and are conspicuous by their size 

 and the light tints of the shell and the pale colour of 

 the foot. They did not display any homing instinct ; 

 I have never known one to return to the bell-glass or 

 its neighbourhood. Both these individuals in July 

 burrowed about two to three inches in the soil and 

 deposited eggs. The egg is white, round, glistening, 

 and opaque, and about the size of a garden pea. 

 Unfortunately none of these eggs hatched out: the 

 weather was very hot, and probably some dried up 

 and some were devoured by slugs and insects. 



Towards the end of October they retired under- 

 ground, and when I dug them up a few days after I 

 found that they each had made a very neat, smooth, 

 white porcelain door to the mouth of the shell and 

 gone to sleep for the winter. They were safely re- 

 interred about three inches below ground. 



The larger of the two snails weighed one ounce, 

 its diameter was 1 1 in. ■ ij in., girth 5 in. ■ 4! in. ■ 

 the smaller one weighed f ounce, diameter ii in. x 

 i{ in. : girth 4) in. 3} in. 



In the spring of 1S96 the larger snail emerged on 

 April 24th, while the smaller one did not appear 

 till May 23rd. During the summer the larger snail 

 laid a batch of eggs and the smaller one two batches. 

 Early in July the larger snail died. I was deter- 

 mined, it possible, to rear some young snails ; so I 

 put some damp moss in a biscuit tin, and placed the 



M 2 



