purple-staining whelks (b. lapillus) were forCelebrated on the coasts of the Mediterranean, count of a valuable purple dye which was ced from them. They have, however, of late been entirely neglected, in consequence of the ery of cochineal, from which a dye equally ex, and at much less cost, is to be procured. umber of these shells necessary to have been Eed together for the purpose of dying even a quantity of cloth, must have been very great. ying matter, like the ink in the cuttle-fish, is in a peculiar reservoir, situated in the upper of the body, and on one side of the stomach. reservoir is very small, being seldom so large as all pea. A handkerchief stained with the cog matter of the whelk will retain its brilliancy any years; but the purple tint does not appear he linen has been exposed for some time to the n of the sun and air. In Britain, there are al kinds of shell-fish which furnish a dye of this but these are seldom sought after.-See our ispiece, fig. 3, for the buccinum harpa, or, harp; and fig. 5, for the b. striatum, or striped whelk. -. Strombus, screw-shell; inhabitant, a limax. habitants of the ocean, and usually found upon y shores. 26. Murex, rock-shell; inhabitant, a limax. "ound on rocky shores, within the influx of the e; some few burrow in the sand, and the whole are irely marine. Their shells are mostly rugged, ong and heavy, from which circumstance they have ained the name of rock-shells. The purpura of antients belong to this genus. From these shells, rather from their inhabitants, is furnished the faus Tyrian purple. A single vein situated near the ad of the fish contains this colouring liquor. See 50 p. xx. 27. Trochus, top-shell; inhabitant, a slug. Most kinds are marine, and some few are found o land in moist places; the generality of them resid in deep water, others in shallows, that are left near dry at the reflux of the tide: the species are ve numerous, and several kinds are common to th British shores. The t. conchyliophones possess the remarkable faculty of attaching stones and fra ments of shells to his testaceous covering during t period of its formation. 28. Turbo, wreath-shell; inhabitant, a slug. Some of the species in this and the preceding g nera are very likely to be confounded; but by atte tively observing the round or angular form of the apertures, their proper family may readily be det mined. Most of the kinds inhabit the sea, son fresh waters, and others are met with on land: t most valuable marine species are fished up from de waters, or found adhering to rocks and stones bel high-water mark. This is a very extensive gen and a very considerable number are found on t British shores. The common periwinkle (t. littore is, in this country, more extensively used as fo than any of the other testaceous univalves. T shell is easily gathered, as it is found on all o rocks which are left uncovered by the ebbing of t tide. Children are principally employed in t fishery, and the shells are sold by measure. Th are in general used after being plainly boiled, and a consumed in great quantities by the poor inhabita on the coast. 29. Helix, snail; inhabitant, a slug. Of the land species, almost every place produ some one or other of the kinds: they are found trees, walls, moist mossy banks, under stones, & Of the aquatic species, some are found on the s onds, but mostly in shallow waters: the whole very brittle substance, and exceedingly susle of injury. Some of the kinds are used as the species are very numerous, nearly seventy found in Great Britain. e All-wise Author of Nature has denied to these ls the use of feet and claws, to enable them to from place to place; but he has made them e amends in a way more commodious to their s and mode of life, by the broad skin along side of the belly, and the power of motion h this possesses. By this motion they are led to creep; and by the skin, assisted with the nous slime emitted from their body, they adhere y and securely even to the smoothest surfaces. en the snail is in motion, four horns are distinctly on its head; but the two uppermost and longest ese deserve peculiar consideration, both on acnt of the various motions with which they are ned, and also from their having eyes at the exme ends of them. These eyes appear like two kish points, and, when taken from the body, are bulbous figure. They have but one coat; and vitreous, the aqueous, and the crystalline huurs, are (though not very distinctly) to be seen. e animal is able to direct them towards different ects at pleasure, by a regular motion out of the ly; and sometimes it hides them, by a very swift traction into the belly. Under the smaller horns he animal's mouth; and though its substance may pear too soft to be furnished with teeth, yet it has fewer than eight. With this it chews leaves and her substances, seemingly harder than any part of own body; and with these it even sometimes bites pieces of its own shell. The snail, if its shell be broken, has a power of ending it. Even when apparently crushed to eces, these animals will set to work, and with the imy substance they force from their bodies, which soon hardens, they in a few days close up all the n merous chasms. The junctures, however, are easi distinguishable; and the whole shell, in some me sure, resembles an old coat patched with new piec But, although the animal has the power of repairi its shell, it is not able to form a new one. Sor curious instances of their wonderful tenacity of 1 may be seen in Bingley's Animal Biography, vol. pp. 469-471. An inadvertent step may crush the snail, -The esculent snail (h. pomatia) is the largest all the land-snails produced in this country. It found in the woods and under hedges in Nort amptonshire, and in some of the southern countie At the commencement of winter, it carefully clos up its shell with a thick white cover or operculum tached to its body, that just fills up the opening, a in this inclosed state remains until the commend ment of warm weather, seldom appearing abroad t about the beginning of April. - It is large and fleshy, and, when properly cooke not unpleasant to the taste. Among the Romans constituted a favourite dish; but, if the account Varro is to be credited, they had it of a size infinite larger than any now known; for this writer assur us, that the shells of some of them would hold t quarts: and, we need not (says Mr. Pennant) a mire the temperance of the supper of the young Pliny, which consisted of only a lettuce a piec three SNAILS, two eggs, a barley-cake, sweet wi and snow, in case his snails bore any proportion size to those just mentioned. They kept these an mals in what were called cochlearia, or snail-stew These were generally formed under rocks or em nences, whose bottoms were watered by lakes rivers and if a natural dew or moisture was n hey formed an artificial one, by bringing into ce a pipe bored full of holes, like a wateringrough which it was continually sprinkled. equired little attendance or food, supplying ves, in a great measure, as they crawled the sides or floor of their habitation. To hem, however, they were fed with bran and lees of wine. are even yet much admired in some parts of tinent, and are not always used from economotives; for at Vienna, a short time since, of them were charged the same at an inn as a f veal or beef. The usual modes of preparing or the table, are by boiling, frying them in or sometimes stuffing them with force meat; what manner soever they are dressed, their ess always in a great measure remains. The st quantities, and the finest snails, are brought Suabia. Dr. Brown, who travelled to Vienna a century ago, remarks, that since the markets o well supplied with other provisions,' he was sed to meet with some odd dishes at their tables, as guinea-pigs, and divers sorts of snails and ses. Dr. Townson was shown, at Eylau, a ry, which, the proprietor informed him, was ructed on an improved plan. In our island, he this might have had the denomination of a at Snailery, or Philosophical Snail-sty. It conI only of a large hole, two or three feet deep, a the ground, having a wooden house as a cover. animals in this place were fed on the refuse of garden, which was thrown into them. There s some doubt as to the original introduction of snails into England: Pennant says, it was by Kenelm Digby; and Da Costa, that a Charles ard, Esq. of the Arundel family, brought some em, in the last century, from Italy, in the hope endering them an article of food in England; for this purpose, dispersed them about the woods |