brane. Thus in some species of our com- 

 mon snails there are seventy-one teeth in 

 a single row, and the whole radula is 

 made up of a hundred rows of teeth, mak- 

 ing a grand total of seventy-one hundred 

 teeth in the mouth of a single snail ! 



Land snails are found almost every- 

 where, in valleys, high up on mountains, 

 and even in deserts. They may be found 

 in the cold climate of Alaska or in the 

 tropical zone under the equator. As a 

 rule, they prefer moist localities, where 

 there is an abundance of vegetation and 

 where the ground is strewn with rotting 

 logs, beds of decaying leaves or moss- 

 covered rocks. Open woodlands may be 

 said to be their best habitat in the north- 

 ern part of the United States. 



The shells of the Pulmonata vary to a 

 wonderful degree in size, shape and col- 

 oration. Some are so small that they can 

 scarcely be seen with the unaided eye, 

 while others attain a length of six inches ; 

 some have the aperture of the shell armed 

 with numerous folds or teeth, while 

 others are smooth and the colors vary 

 from whitish or horn-colored to the gor- 

 geously colored helices of the tropics 

 with their bands and blotches of red, 

 brown, white or green. With all this di- 

 versity the land shells or helices may al- 

 ways be distinguished from their salt or 

 fresh-water relatives. The land snails 

 breathe by means of a so-called lung 

 which is a sac lined with a network of 

 blood vessels and occupying the last turn 

 or whorl of the shell. The air taken into 

 this lung purifies the blood. 



Much is written at the present time up- 

 on our new possessions, the Philippine 

 Islands, but few people are aware that 

 these islands are tenanted by the most 

 interesting and beautiful group of all the 

 land shells, the Cochlostylas, or tree 

 snails. The animals live for the most part 

 in the trees and bushes of the islands, the 

 island of Luzon having, probably, the 

 best known fauna. The animals are large 

 and quite bold and the shells are of sur- 

 passing beauty, with their colors of 

 white, green, brown, etc. Now that these 

 islands have come into the possession of 

 the United States it is to be hoped that 

 these handsome creatures will receive the 

 study they deserve. 



The land shells of the United States, 



while numerous in species, are not as 

 conspicuous in color-pattern as those of 

 Europe, South America or the islands of 

 the Indian and Pacific Oceans, although 

 California produces some highly- colored 

 species, as will be seen by consulting the 

 figure of Helix fidelis, on our plate. The 

 majority of our species are uncolored, 

 like the figure of Polygyra albolabris. 



One of the largest and most interesting 

 of American shells is the Bulimus, found 

 in South America. The shell of Bulimus 

 ovatus attains a length of six inches and 

 the animal is correspondingly large. In 

 the markets of Rio Janeiro this mollusk 

 is sold as food and is eagerly sought by 

 the poorer people, among whom it is con- 

 sidered a great delicacy. Another inter- 

 esting fact in connection with this species 

 (as well as others of the genus) is the size 

 of the eggs which it deposits, they being 

 as large as pigeons' eggs. These are also 

 eaten with avidity by the negroes of Bra- 

 zil. 



One of the most beautiful of the land 

 shells found in the United States is the 

 Liguus fasciatus, found in Florida and 

 Cuba. The shell is about two inches long 

 and is encircled by bands of white, brown 

 and green. This species lives in great 

 numbers at Key West, associated with 

 many small shells of the Bulimus 

 group. Closely related to the last-men- 

 tioned shell (Liguus) is the agate shell 

 (Achatina), which attains a length of 

 seven inches and is the largest of the 

 land shells. Like the Bulimus men- 

 tioned above it lays eggs of large size 

 with a calcareous shell, some being over 

 an inch in length. Both the animal and 

 the egg are eaten by the natives of Africa. 

 The shells are very attractive, being var- 

 iegated with different colors, like agate, 

 from which they receive their common 

 name. 



Another of our new political posses- 

 sions, the Hawaiian Islands, has a mollus- 

 can fauna peculiar to itself. This is the 

 family Achatinellidae which is confined 

 solely to the Sandwich Islands. There 

 are no shells which can compare in 

 beauty with the Achatinella with their en- 

 circled bands of black, yellow, white, red, 

 etc. They live on the bushes, generally 

 rather low and near the ground, and re- 

 cently they have been threatened with 



