extinction because of the cattle which 

 have been introduced into the islands. 

 In feeding on the bushes, they also con- 

 sume large quantities of these snails. A 

 bush inhabited by these little creatures 

 must be a beautiful sight, with the green 

 foliage set ofif by the handsomely colored 

 shells, like jewels on a costly dress. 



Among the edible snails none excel in 

 public favor the common edible snail of 

 Europe (Helix pomatia). The cultiva- 

 tion of this animal has become an estab- 

 lished business, like our oyster fisheries, 

 and thousand's are consumed annually. 

 The early Romans considered this animal 

 a dainty dish, and the inhabitants of 

 France, Spain and Italy have inherited or 

 cultivated a liking for the succulent 

 "'Shell-fish." This species has been in- 

 troduced into New Orleans where it is 

 eaten by the French inhabitants. Helix 

 nemoralis, an edible snail of England, 

 with a beautifully banded shell, is sold in 

 the streets of London and eaten much as 

 we eat walnuts, by picking out the animal 

 with a pin ! The edible snails, as well as 

 many others, make good and interesting 

 pets in captivity, the Helix pomatia being 

 of such a size that it may be easily 

 studied. It is interesting to watch one of 

 these snails feeding upon a piece of let- 

 tuce. First the jaw is seen to protrude 

 and to cut off a small piece of the leaf, 

 which is drawn into the mouth and re- 

 duced to still smaller pieces by the rasp- 

 like radula. A large piece of lettuce, after 

 this snail has made a meal upon it, looks 

 as if an army of worms had been at work. 

 The pomatia is also of an inquisitive dis- 

 position and will wander about the snail- 

 ery (or even the whole house if he can 

 get out), examining everything in a very 

 curious manner. No m>ore interesting ob- 

 ject can be placed in a library or study 

 than a snailery with several species of 

 snails. They are far superior in interest 

 to goldfish or canaries. 



The most interesting snails are by no 

 means the largest. Frequently the small 

 snail shells with their animals have habits 

 or shell structures of absorbing interest. 

 Among these are the Pupas, whose tiny 

 shells frequently reach the astounding 

 size of one-sixteenth of an inch in length ! 

 It is not until we place these mites arder 

 the microscope that their interesting 



characters are seen and appreciated. By 

 such an examination we find that the little 

 apertures are armed with many teeth and 

 folds, and sometimes we wonder how it is 

 that the animal ever gets in and out 

 through such a labyrinth of apparent ob- 

 structions. These teeth serve in a man- 

 ner to protect the little animal from its 

 enemies. These tiny shells are always to 

 be found plentifully under starting bark 

 and under chips, stones and debris, in 

 more or less moist localities. 



In another genus of Pupidae, Clausilia, 

 nature has provided the aperture of the 

 shell with a little valve called a "clausil- 

 ium," which acts as a spring door to close 

 the shell against all its enemies. This 

 door is an additional safeguard as the 

 aperture is already provided with nu- 

 merous teeth and folds. In this manner 

 does Mother Nature look after her chil- 

 dren. 



It is a curious fact that in all the larger 

 groups of animals there are one or more 

 genera which have the cruel and blood- 

 thirsty propensities of the shark. The 

 Mollusca are no exception to this rule, 

 and we find in the genus Testacella an 

 animal having all the ferocious propensi- 

 ties of the terrible man-eating tiger. This 

 moUusk has a long, worm-like body, the 

 shell being very small and rudimentary, 

 ear shaped, and placed on the extreme 

 posterior end of the animal. Its princi- 

 pal food consists of earth-worms, al- 

 though it will attack other mollusks and 

 even its own species. It has been likened 

 to the tiger and the shark in its cunning 

 while pursuing its prey and in its ferocity 

 when attacking it. The poor earth-worm 

 stands but a slight chance of escape when 

 Testacella scents it and starts in pursuit. 

 The worm tries to escape by retreating 

 into its underground galleries, but this is 

 of no avail because the mollusk has a 

 long, narrow body and can go wherever 

 the worm does. If the worm, perchance, 

 has the opportunity of retreating far into 

 its galleries, the mollusk will dig tunnels 

 to intercept it. Frequently the mollusk 

 will make a sudden spring upon its vic- 

 tim, taking it by surprise. This slug-like 

 snail will frequently devour a snail much 

 larger than itself, but if the victim is too 

 large for one meal it will be broken in 

 the middle and one half eaten and di- 



