HELICIDjE. — SNAIL. 13 



being closed with their epiphragm) are kept in pots, 

 jars, or baskets, in a dry cold place. The vine-growers 

 in the neighbourhood of Dijon keep them in a dry cellar, 

 or else dig a trench in the vine-slopes, and place at the 

 bottom some leaves, and then their snails, covering them 

 with more leaves and a few spadefuls of earth. 



In Silesia, the snails are fed with marjoram, wild 

 thyme, and aromatic plants, to give them a flavour. 



Ulm, in Wiirtemberg, is celebrated for its " escargo- 

 tieres," and, according to Marteni, " more than 10 mil- 

 lions of Helix pomatia are sent away to different gardens 

 and " escargotieres " to fatten, and when ready for table 

 are sent to various convents in Austria for consumption 

 during Lent. 



HelicidcB are considered rather poor food, and therefore 

 suitable as Lenten fare ; and this peculiarity has given 

 rise to a singular custom near Bordeaux, mentioned by 

 M. Fischer, who tells us that every year crowds of people 

 direct their steps towards the township of Canderan, to 

 end the Carnival with gaiety, and to have a foretaste 

 of Lent by feasting on snails. The consumption is 

 considerable, and a dish of 25 snails costs 1 franc 50 

 centimes. 



A friend told me he had often seen the large apple- 

 snail on the dinner table at Vienna ; they were served 

 up plain, boiled in their shells, or stuffed with forcemeat. 

 At Naples, snails are generally kept in bran for a week 

 or two, or for two or three days, before they are con- 

 sidered good for the table. They live on the bran, ,which 

 is said to fatten them. 



When first the snails are gathered from the hedges, 

 etc., it is a necessary precaution to starve them for a few 

 days, and not to eat them at once, as they feed on poi- 



