50 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



more stunted appearance, having a much shorter spine and 

 being more ventricose than the typical form found in the woods, 

 where, however, abbreviated aberrations frequently occur also. 

 I call this variety submontana (mihi). 



Of the arboreal forms there are four distinct varieties, viz, : 

 (1) var. pellucida, and (2) var. albida, which are both of frequent 

 occurrence, the latter occurring in the proportion of about ten 

 per cent, to the whole. The typical form (3), by the way, here 

 as elsewhere is pale brown and fairly pellucid. In addition to 

 the preceding is a pale yellowish brown form, sometimes passing 

 into whitish in the upper whorls — var. (4) oolitica (mihi) — con- 

 stituting a somewhat parallel aberration to the var. nelsoni of 

 Clausilia biplicata, originally found near Hammersmith by Mr. 

 J. W. Taylor. 



Among the highest ascending species in the Cotteswolds is 

 the common Helix aspersa, which abounds in gardens at close 

 upon 1000 ft. above the sea-level at one small village. Here it 

 is much sought after by certain men who make a practice of 

 coming round periodically and obtaining permission from the 

 cottagers to look for it among the stone walls, where it hyber- 

 nates in clusters, and thence the snails are taken to Gloucester, 

 where they are commercially known by the cognomen of "wall- 

 fish," and find a ready sale in this disguise in the various fish- 

 mongers' shops. 



The form occurring at the highest elevation is considerably 

 smaller and darker than the one found in the vale. The beauti- 

 ful variety exalbida I have collected between the altitude of 

 400 ft. and 750 ft. above the sea-level. 



As may be expected from the fact that they are all of Arctic 

 distribution, the following species range up to the highest alti- 

 tudes in the Cotteswold Hills, viz. : Pyramidida rotundata, Punc- 

 tual pygmceum, Eucomdus fulvus, Vallonia piulchella, and Cochli- 

 copa lubrica, which, with other Cotteswold species, have been 

 recorded for Arctic Norway, Lapland, and Siberia by Dr. Mid- 

 dendorff, Nilson, and others. With them may be mentioned the 

 following species of a less boreal nature, viz. : Jaminia secale, 

 Clausilia bidentata, Enaobscura, Hygromia hispida, Vitrea crystal- 

 Una, V. alliaria, Zonitoides nitidus, Vitrina pellucida, and Pyrami- 

 dula rupestris, which latter sometimes occurs in thousands on 



