HELIX. 
105 
nucopla Gmelin, Serpula helicina Solander. Cor- 
nucopia helicina Shaw^ Nat Misc. xiv. 568. Cor- 
nucopia monstrosa Chemn. 
The internal spicula or darts, which this species 
ejects in the spring of the year, are about a quarter 
of an inch long, slender, and tapering to a fine point, 
exactly square, with four sharp angles, rounded and 
hollow at the top like the socket of a joint. A mag- 
nified figure may be seen in Lister^s anatomical tables 
at the end of his Conchology^ t. 2, 3. f. 1, 2. 
The snail which inhabits this shell seems to be 
more influenced by the weather than many of the 
smaller sort ; for upon the first appearance of cold 
they creep into crevices and under stones, clustering 
together and clinging to each other, as if they were 
capable of communicating warmth by association. 
They are the pest of gardens, especially such as are 
inclosed by hedges and old walls. Upon many of 
them are found a series of thin circular layers placed 
horizontally ; these are the laminar foliations of the 
winter epiphragm left by another of the species which 
had been attached to it. 
This snail is collected and sold in Covent Garden 
and other markets, as a cure for diseases of the chest, 
boiled in milk ; and quantities of them are collected 
and packed in old casks, and sent to the United 
States of America as delicacies. In this manner 
they travel very well, as they fix themselves on one 
another round the circumference of the cask, leaving 
a vacant space in the centre. 
The glassmen at Newcastle once a year have a 
snail feast; they generally collect the snails them- 
