The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-20

and long tongue like a ribbon. with
teeth which work against the upper Jaw
and crunch the weeds it feeds on. 1t is an
air breathing animal and has a little sac
which answers for lungs The pond snail
working on the river bottom comes to the
top occasionally, sets free the bubble of
air II has used, takes fresh bubble and
returns TO its work
THE HABITS OF THE CREATURE.
The land snail has four feelers or
horns, two above and two below, and has
It's eyes at the end of its horns, which it
can draw in and out at pleasure while
the pond snail has only two horns. and
wears its eyes at their base. If the snail
gets its shell broken it throws out sticky
mud across the fracture, and soon a
horny patch has grown as good as ever.
SnalIs remain torpid during the cold
weather, the land snail early in the fall
creeping under log and fastening itself
tolt oy forcing out little glue or saliva
at the edge of the SHE'LL which soon
hardens SO that no air can pass in or out
or The shell there it remains Theoretically
sealed until the warm weather returns.
The pond snail seals up its mouth in
the same manner and sinks to the bottom
of the. pond, where it lies buried in the
mud IN the same way as frogs. Although
so careful to protect themselves thew can
bear intense cold, and are often frozen
solid without being killed. They have no
sense OF smell, and, as their blood is
whltei they are not sensitive to pain, as
red-blooded animals are.
They can live long time without food.
DIR. Newcomb, of Cornell University, il is
said, kept snails shut up in a pill box for
seven years and they were resuscitated
by very little moisture.
RIVALS OF OLD PROPS.
color changing on the approach of rain.
Some kinds prophesy rain seven or eight
days before by tubercles that appear on
their bodies, seemingly for the purpose of
i'm billing moisture, and they are often
seen some days before. a rainstorm climb
ing bushes and trees and seeking shelter
under the leaves.
.When black snails do cross your path
Then black cloud much moisture hath"
wasa common saying in England
Snalls were much valued in olden times
for their supposed medicinal qualities;
boiled In milk they were thought to be an
untail1ng remedy for lung troubles, and
She water in which they had been boiled
was considered a sovereign cure for many
ailments, as was also their oil.
An old medical journal gives this recipe:
'Tak the red snyle that crepis houseless
and seeth it in water and gedir. the fatt
ably used for amounting the joints of ath-
Ietes after wrestling.
q, In The Queen s Closet Opened" a book
much priced by the New England col
onists, snails constitute the chief ingre-
dient for making "snail pottage;" also
1.-THE admirable and most famous snail
water" Take a peck of garden snails,
wash well in small beer and put them in
an oven till they have done making a
noise; then take them out and bruise in a
stone mortar; then take a, quart of earth
worms, lay at the bottom of your distilled
jar, angelica two handfuls, two of celan-
dine, to which add rosemary, agrimony,
betony and rue, one handful each; then
pour in three gallons of ale; let it stand
all night, whereof take two spoonfuls for
ricketts, To anoint the ''ricketed child's
limPs" take peck of garden suails,
bruise them and use the liquor to anoint
the child in every joint"
AS AN ARTICLE OF DIET.
In Paris the common snails are eaten
and considered a rare tidbit by gour-
mands, In some parts of France they
have regular snaileries or snail parks,
where snails are raised and fat
tened for sale. Snails are well
liked, too, by our friend the
house wren, which often feeds its young
almost entirely on the shelless snail, thus
lDC4uS d DBnC4dGbOI W Tue ldTUleT anu
gardner, for the sfugs, as the shelless
snails are called, are very destructive to
green wheat and vegeta bles, often de-
stroying whole gardens of plants.
Many illusions are ma to the snail as
a type of slowness by old writer's In the
Comedy of Errors" Luciano chides
Dromio for his slowness: Thou snail,
thou slug" The same Greek word means
both snail and tortoise, 1 suppose because
both are slow.
The saying "a snails gallop' is often
used by school children, who, as we all
know, generally creep to school like a
snail and run home like hare As
Shakespeare said: Then the whining
/ schoolboy, with his satchel and shining
morning face. creeping like snail, IN
willingly to school"
But after all, the snail is not so slow
considering 1t has only one foot and has
to carry its house on It's back.