412 On the Habits of the Paludina. [Sept. 



through the moistened earth, and crawling over its surface beneath the 

 water in search of food. I gathered up several of them, and took 

 them home, where they were placed in a tumbler for future examina- 

 tion. 



In about an hour afterwards I returned to the same spot, in search 

 of more, but by this time the water had all dried up, and with it had 

 disappeared the shells also. From that time up to the 1st July, we 

 had no more rain, and the weather became in consequence very sul- 

 try and oppressive ; the heat once more put to flight the various insects, 

 &c. which were just preparing to sally forth, and although I was a dai- 

 ly visitor at the mangoe grove, I made no addition to my museum. 



On the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days of July, the rain descended in torrents, 

 so much so, that the plain all round my bungalow, for some hun- 

 dreds of yards, was a sheet of water for several hours after. 



This state of things gave new vigor to my spirits, for I knew, that 

 when the water should have sufficiently subsided to allow of my going 

 out a rich harvest awaited me : and I was not disappointed, for my 

 usual haunt the clump of mangoe trees, alone, furnished me with a 

 good supply, not only of the above-mentioned shells, but also with two 

 line specimens of the wood scorpion and a fresh-water crab. 



With regard to the shells, I perceive that in the 9th No. of the 

 Gleanings in Science, Mr. Benson has made some observations on a 

 small species oi Paludina, found by him in localities somewhat similar 

 to those observed by me ; but as that gentleman seems uncertain of their 

 abode and habits during the hot season, I shall here mention a few ob- 

 servations which I made on finding shells in the situation above describ- 

 ed. At the roots of several trees, the water was lying in puddles, and 

 thinking that this might have been occasioned by the droppings from 

 the tree, I stooped down to see if there were any insects or land snails 

 washed down with it, and I there saw, for the first time, the little Pa- 

 ludince crawling on the dead leaves, &c. beneath the surface of the wa- 

 ter ; several of these I took home and placed in a tumbler without any 

 water, where they remained forgotten for a week or more, but on look- 

 ing at them at the end of that time, they were all firmly closed and 

 shut in by their little calcareous opercula ; on putting them into 

 water, however, they began to open and crawl about in apparently 

 good health. 



On an after-occasion I had the good fortune to observe them push- 

 ing aside the moistened earth, and coming forth from their retreats ; but 

 on the disappearance of the pools of water, not one of them was to be 

 seen above ground j wishing therefore to ascertain what had become 



