22 Mr. W. Thompson's Catalogue of the Land and 



few individuals of H. hortensis. When shown to Mr. Gray in the 

 following spring he considered the specimens to be H. hybrida. 

 Judging from the shell alone, I should not be disposed to consider 

 this Helix more than a variety of H. nemorulis. 



4. Helix nemoralis, Linn. Gray, Man. p. 132. pi. 3. f. 23; Drap. 

 p. 94. pi. 6. f. 3—5 ; Mont. p. 411. 



This Helix, presenting its endless and beautiful varieties in colour 

 and the number and breadth of bands, is more commonly distributed 

 over Ireland than any other species. When on the extensive rabbit 

 warren or marine sand-hills at Portrush on the 10th of July 1833, I 

 remarked it, together with H. aspersa, H. ericetorum, and/7. Bulimus 

 a cut us, to be not only abundant, but huddled together in heaps : the 

 animals were alive in all, and of the H. nemoralis several had the 

 apertures closed up. Among the individuals of this species some 

 were of the white-lipped variety, which has not uncommonly been 

 mistaken for H. hortensis ; others had the lip of a rose colour, mar- 

 gined with white (H. hybrida) : the specimens, which were so nume- 

 rous, that every variety of shade in the lip, from white to the darkest 

 brown, could be traced, seem to prove that the colour of the lip no 

 more than that of the shell is of any specific value. The absence of 

 the Thrush genus (not an individual belonging to it could be seen 

 on this occasion), of which some species feed very much on these mol- 

 lusca, may be one cause of their being permitted to increase and 

 multiply to such an extent. Considerably the largest specimens of 

 H. nemoralis that I have collected were obtained in the South Islands 

 of Arran off the coast of Clare. This species is generally noticed as 

 inhabiting " woods and hedges," but to myself it has never occurred 

 so abundantly in the vicinity of either wood or hedge (about which 

 its enemies " most do congregate"), as entirely remote from them ; 

 or among the debris of limestone or chalk cliffs and quarries, and 

 on marine sand-hills. 



The Rev. R. Sheppard has observed in Suffolk that the plain co- 

 loured, the single-banded, and the many-banded, do not mingle with 

 each other in coitu, but that each is true to its banded or bandless 

 mate. (Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. p. 163.) In Ireland those so differing 

 have no such scruples ; such as I have seen in connexion and dis- 

 playing each other's spicula or love-darts, have been very dissimilar 

 in colour and markings ; they have so occurred to me from the 

 middle of April to that of September. Mr. Hyndman once found a spi- 

 culum of this species stuck through the leaf of a dandelion (Leonto- 

 don Taraxacum) ; if there be but the one use in this missile, it would 

 thus seem that the animal will occasionally miss its aim. 



A H. nemoralis of ordinary size which I found near Belfast, ex- 

 hibits a prominent tooth where the basal margin joins the whorl. I 

 have in the month of May detected the blackbird preying on this 

 Helix. 



