The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-12-26

ance, and only by killing some from
] dryness and almost drowning others
was the correct medium reached.
Another difficulty to be overcome was
in the treatment of the snails of can
nibalistic tendencies. One morning,
after having placed some of these
snalls in the "snailery" the concholo-
gist found, to his dismay, that dozens
of the shells of other species of snails
were empty. And so he had to pre-
pare a separate box for the cannibals,
and even then they We're co carnivorous
in their habits that they often con-
sumed thir own kind
When young, snails are very active,
and it is necessary to- observe the
greatest care to keep them in captiv-
ity. If the screen top is once left off
the box the snails will crawl out, and
though the species of the United States
are less gregarious than those of Eu-
rope( and the largest number in this
collection are from our own country,
they still like company well enough to
follow their leader and escape i'm
| prisonment. Imagine the consterna-
ton of the snail raiser to enter his con-
seryatory at evening and find the box
almost empty, and snails on the table,
flower pots, leaves and windows and
curtains This is what did happen,
and will always happen unless the nee
essary precautions are taken.
One fthe first questions that pre-
sents itself to the visitor to this odd
collection of little animals a rough
guess, the scientist will tell you that
there are 600 at present, representing
twentw species. And these have come
from all parts of the world-Cuba,
| Mexico, Louisiana, New York, Kansas
and other places. OF the United States
varieties, there are dozen, from as
many different states, and about the
same number are natives of San Fran
cisco.
This enthusiastic collector of snails
when passing a restaurant one evening
observed a live snail in a glass in the
window He went in and asked the
proprietor o fthe restaurant If he would
sell it. The proprietor answered in the
affirmative, and stated his price of fff-
ty cents. The scientist gladly placed
the necessary half dollar on the count
er and went off with his prize.
He Immediately made a study of the
animal and found that 1t belonged to a
Mexican edible variety, Helix (poma-
tia) buffoniana. 1t was very large,
measuring nearly three inches when
stretched to full length.
When making his daily visit to the
"snailery" one morning he discovered
dozens of tiny, yellow shells moving
about the box very actively. Upon
| IL.
sixty-two in all of this odd Mexican va
riety. They were not so large as a
small pea, and some were even then
just making their appearance above
the groud where the parent snail had
bored hole and deposited the minute
eggs.
1t was then the owners special care
to watch the growth of these little
creatures. He found that they de-
veloped fasteh than any other species
in his collection, and that while some
grew to be quite large, none have yet
reached maturity. The original snail
lived for many months afterwards and
may then have been several years Of
age. 1
There is one other, interesting species,
Bullimulur PaHidior. from Lower Cal
ifornta, presented to the owner by the
Academy of Sciences. This Is one Of
the prettiest and most distinctive va
rieties represented in the snailery,"
The shell is a pure white spiral, point
ed, an inch long and greater in length
than In breadth. 1t resembles very
| closely a sea she'll The animal Is in
active and has been in the "snailery'
only a few months9C
The most common of the San Fran
cisco species Is the Lyslnoc Nickliniana
variety reeticulata. 1t is about as
large as medlum-sized button, and
may be found on doorsteps or garden
walls 1t does not inhabit gardens.
The largest of the native San Fran
cisco snails, Helix Qysinoe) Aurora, is
found only in the southern portion near
the county line. 1t is banded with a
dark chestnut ring and is lined with
lavender. The lip of this snail is as
white as the purest china, and the size
of the animal compares with that of a
walnut, although full-grown ones may
be much smaller 1t is found under
and around lupin bushes
The Pupa California, found on Lone
| mount ln, also 1HIeSIS lupln DuSneS
principally But this little creature
is as small as a pinhead, and is there
fore not easily seen. 1t was found and
named by DR.. Rowell.
| Another rare shell, of which there are
only two living. has a hairy epidermis.
1t is dark colored large and fiat and is
catalogued at fifty cents. 1t may be
found in Marin county.
The snails of the Helix Armigera va
riety attract some attention, perhaps
because we are told that they some
times have a little white tooth in the
aperature, and perhaps because they
are rarity in the "snailery." The sci
enlist has not discovered why they do
not seem to thrive well. They are
found in very moist places, usually
along the banks of streams, and are
very modest creatures, withdrawing
| into their shell at the slightest touch,
and not issuing from it again for a
long time.
Freaks in nature appear among
snais as they do in any other form of
natural life, and we have albino forms
of the reticulata. These are pale lem
on color with no band, and are found
about one in every thousand speci-
mems. You may see only about half a
dozen alblons in the ''snailery'' at pres
ent, and many hundreds of reticulata