LAND SNAILS. 
117 
stated to be a compound of the juices of this 
snail and the green matter of ivy-leaves, as a 
plaster for corns. 
Perforations of two or three inches in depth 
on the under surface of projecting masses of 
limestone, in which H . aspersa, H. nemoralis , 
and a few other species, are found tenanting as 
winter-quarters, are regarded as the result of 
the constant resort to the one spot for shelter 
by the snails, winter after winter in the course 
of ages. It is usually accepted that the erosion 
is due to the action of the foot, aided by an acid 
secretion. Another theory is, that the snail works 
with its shell, after the manner of an auger. A 
more probable solution is, that the snails abrade 
the walls of these limestone cells with their 
tongues, for the purpose of obtaining the car¬ 
bonate of lime. H. aspersa possesses 105 teeth 
on each transverse row, of which there are 135. 
We must not forget the poetic allusion by 
Gay to the pretty conceits of the English rustic 
beauty, of the power of the snail to reveal to 
her the name of her destined lover. May-day 
morning is the auspicious occasion on which the 
tender-hearted maidens can read their fortunes 
in the meanderings of the snail:— 
Last May-day fair I search’d to find a snail, 
That might my secret lover’s name reveal. 
