THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST' 
323 
Such common forms like DLplotaxis erucoides 
D. C., and viminea D. C-, Fumariae, Geraniums , 
Beilis, Erodiums, Cerastiums and Silene bipartita 
D'sf in particular, cover now all the ground but 
lately mantled by the Ranunculus bullatus L., and 
gladden the sight by their varied tins. 
Moss collectors must also make the best of their 
time now if they wish to have a good crop of 
mosses and liverworts in fructification, the same 
ought to do persons interested in fungi and lichens. 
The sea on its part offers a good amount of deep 
sea algae which the gregale throws on beaches, 
besides many interesting species in fruit amongst 
the littoral ones. 
If to this be added the lovely weather which 
generally favours excursionists at this season of the 
year, it will be seen that for lovers of flowers as 
well as for botanists there is plenty of work to do 
at present and there will be a good deal more to be 
done in a few weeks. 
Conchology. 
The same cause that has created an unusual 
abundance of caterpillars, and hence of butterflies, 
has acted similarly on slugs and snails which have 
been and are still infesting our country. 
In September we have generally the first rains 
which awaken mollusc life from its summer torpor. 
The snails then begin to lay their eggs. The chance 
of hatching these depends much upon the weather 
that follows. Sometimes the rains hold off for a 
long time, the soil then dries again and plants 
grow very slowly. In such cases snails do not 
fare well and from the drying up of their eggs 
and the dying of the young there is no reason to 
expect any alarm from extra numbers. But if 
the soil continues moist on account of frequent 
raius and the crops offer a precocious growth, 
as we have had this year, the snails under these 
favourable circumstances make themselves very 
obnoxious to the poor countrymen. I regret to 
say that this season has been for snails an annus 
mirabilis, and their numbers are seriously damag- 
ing our vegetable products. 
The species which I have seen in greatest 
abundance are, as it was to be expected, the most 
damaging ones, viz those which prefer field 
products to weeds; these are Helix aperta , vernii- 
culata, and aspersa. 
One has simply to go into a cabbage or clover 
field and see for himself the incredible number of 
young snails he will find feeding on every bit of 
green. When adult their habits are different, the 
H. aperta burrows a hole in the ground and hides 
itself there, and If. vermicidata and aspersa stick 
under stones or on walls; but in their young state 
all of them live on vegetables, destroying the more 
delicate parts of the plants and spoiling whole 
crops. If their extraordinary quantity were to be 
the occurrence of every year, it would be a serious 
threat to our products, and it would be a matter 
of great consideration, but we are not likely to 
have often such wet winters as this, and our long- 
summers are all but favourable to the extra crowd- 
ing of molluscs — it may be therefore hoped that 
snails will not bring upon us the necessity of 
proposing them, as to is continually being done 
to the inhabitants, an emigration. 
A. C. G. 
The Collection and Preparation of 
Foraminifera. 
By Edw.ard Halkyard, F.R.M.S. 
(continued) 
Not having had any personal experience in .the 
collection of Foraminifera by dredging, I will in 
connection with this class of work, only describe 
briefly a dredge which I imagine will be found 
useful in securin g specimens. The dredge, con- 
sists of the common naturalist’s dredge, with the 
addition of a bag made of canvas or some 
other material of open texture, partially covering 
the ordinary net-bag of the dredge. The canvas bag 
is not sewn up at the bottom, but securely tied 
by means of a piece of cord or spun-yarn. In using 
this dredge the larger objects taken will remain 
in the net-bag (which is closed at the bottom), 
whilst the sand, and small objects will be washed 
through the netting into the canvas bag, and when 
the dredge is hauled up can be emptied out by 
untying the bottom of the bag. 
Fossil Foraminifera should be searched for in 
sandy deposits, soft shales, clay partings between 
beds of limestone or sandstone, and in clay-beds of 
a marine or estuarine nature. The chalk forma- 
tion is often written about as yielding many 
