442 A DESCRIPTION OP 
the animal pushes out or draws back, like telescopes, as 
most convenient to itself, are blackish knobs, which 
have been supposed to be the eyes, though it appears most 
probable that they are only gifted with a most exquisite 
sense of touch ; as the animal never draws them in unless 
they are slightly pressed. The Snail lays eggs, which 
are about the size of small peas, semi-transparent, and of 
a soft substance. By closely examining the eggs which 
a Water Snail, kept in a bottle of water, had de- 
posited against the glass, with the help of a magni- 
fying lens, the young Snail was seen in the egg, with its 
embryo shell on its back ; two have also been observed in 
one egg, each of them with the rudiments of the shell. 
The Garden Snail is extremely tenacious of life, and 
remains in a state of torpor every winter. It is said, in- 
deed, that it can remain in this state for many years, and 
the following instance of its doing so is probably without 
parallel in any other animal. Mr. S. Simon, a merchant 
of Dublin, whose father, a fellow of the Royal Society, 
and a lover of natural history, left him a small collection 
of fossils and other curiosities, had, among them, the 
shells of some Snails. About fifteen years after his 
father's death, (in whose possession they had continued 
many years,) he gave to his son, a child of ten years old, 
some of these Snail-shells to play with. The boy placed 
them in a flower-pot, which he filled with water, and the 
next day he put them into a basin. Having occasion to 
use this, Mr. Simon observed that the animals had come 
out of their shells. He examined the child respecting 
them ; and was assured that they were the same which 
had been in the cabinet. The boy said he had a few more, 
and brought them. Mr. S. put one of these into water, 
and, in an hour and a half afterwards, he observed that it, 
had put out its horns and body, which it moved but 
slowly, probably from weakness. Major Valiancy, Dr. 
Span, and other gentlemen, were afterwards present, and 
