20 
EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLUSKS. 
large baskets of snails^ often have to traverse great tracts 
of hilly countrj^, and are obliged to go ont very early in 
the morning, before sunrise, in search of these crea- 
tures, as they are then to be found in more abundance. 
Much amusement vt^as afforded to the Spaniards, by 
Rossmassler throwing away the delicate animal, and 
only retaining its shell, which to them was worthless, but 
most valuable to him as a conchologist. Upon one oc- 
casion, on arriving at a posada, he found the hotel 
people sitting down to their midday meal, before a great 
dish full of snails. He says : — One look satisfied me 
that they were of a rare kind, for which I had sought 
in vain; and I immediately seized upon some of the 
empty shells, which caused a universal laugh. I did 
not care at all for this, but 1 had actually to pay a real 
(about 2s. 4id,) for the empty shells, which, when living, 
I could have got for nothing.’^ This was thoroughly 
Spanish. 
Dr. W. Gottlob Rosenhauer, in his Die Thiere An- 
dalusiens,’ says that Helix lactea, which is very abun- 
dant, and readily found close to stones amongst grass, 
near Malaga, and San Fernando, is brought in great 
numbers to the markets in Andalusia, and that the 
empty shells may be seen there all about the streets. 
Both Helix aspersa and Helix lactea are used abundantljr 
for food, but the latter tastes better, and is more deli- 
cate. They are generally cooked in rice, with butter or 
some other greasy substance, and held in a napkin 
whilst the animal is picked out with a pin; or some- 
times the mouth (or head) is first cut off, and the ani- 
mal is then drawn out by suction,“a proceeding not 
very elegant, at least according to our English ideas. 
Helix lactea may also be classed among the edible snails 
