equally a want of rain in those localities; and
that, in the more arid parts of Peru, the
shells had a colder aspect than those of the
same latitude in Brazil, on account of the
very scanty nature of the vegetation, the
less degree of humidity in the atmosphere, and
the cold precipitated from the cold antarctic
drift-current, which flows in a northerly
direction along the western shores of South
America nearly to the equator. The effect
of moisture, and consequent amount of
decaying vegetable matter, in promoting the
formation of shell, was curiously illustrated by
the presence of a stout, richly-coloured species,
of large size, on the rainy border of Peru,
where they crawled up the stripped trees in
great abundance; and by another species—
dwelling on bushes and garden-walls, on the
Bolivian side of the Andes, at an elevation of
nine thousand feet:—which had a robust, dark-
painted shell, similar to those of the lofty
Venezuelan type. Mr. Slitherhouse had also
the pleasure of making the acquaintance of
a family which inhabits a wide range of
country, extending from the environs of
Valparaiso, near the sea, to Cocapata, in
Bolivia; crouches under stones in the sand,
in the first-named locality; and has a pale,
smooth, calcareous shell. In the woods of
Cocapata—where the family reside in more
humid situations, among the trunks of trees
—he found the shell larger, stouter, more
richly coloured, and with more of epidermis:
the change which characterised different
species, presented in the same species under
different conditions, thus became apparent.
Another remarkable instance was presented
in a kind of zebra-marked shell. This species
inhabited an area of Central America,
enclosing Honduras, Nicaragua, the West Indies,
and Pernambuco, reaching to the shores of
Peru, and produced a shell varying so much in
character, according to the physical conditions
under which it was formed, that it has been
described as several species; but Mr. Slitherhouse
perceived very clearly that such
descriptions were deficient in research and
accuracy.

Our naturalist now took a careful view of
the provinces of Bolivia, of Central America,
and of the islands of the Western Hemisphere,
particularly the Gelapagos; but he found
that the Polynesian Islands were among the
most wretched places on the face of the globe
(so far as snails are concerned), and the
Marquesas, Friendly, and Society Islands not
very much better.

Becoming impatient at the lamentable
deficiency of snails in the above places,
Mr. Slitherhouse turned to the quarto; and,
without reference to any learned description
or comment whatever, feasted his eyes, plate
after plate, on the numerous and beautiful
varieties which were there set out before him,
—the choice products of the Eastern
Hemisphere, the Caucasian, Malayan, and
African provinces—in addition to those at which
he had previously glanced. He examined,
with great curiosity the tiger-striped snails
of Africa, and other shells whose form and
colours suggested with equal force the
presence of wild beasts of different kinds, some
of the shells being marked with dark spots,
stripes or clouds—and of a vivid brown, dark-
yellow,—black and tawny,—or dusky grey
colours; and others having mouths set all
round with ugly fangs. Some were pale,
white, or dun coloured, suggestive of arid soils,
hot and sandy; others of rich chestnut, or of
deep sea-weed green, showing that they
belonged to the luxuriant undergrowth of
woods, and were huge feeders upon the leaves
of trees. Here, he found a snail with a house
as bright as the brightest yellow of a canary-
bird; there, he saw one all covered with the
most minute work and tracing, a sort of
mosaic, which (in the real shell) is revealed
to be more perfect and minute in proportion to
the power of the magnifying glasses through
which it is examined: here, he regarded with
delight the golden-haired shells from the
Phillipine Islands; there, he beheld with
wonder the immense shells of the largest
species of snails, and pictured to himself what
would be the effect of walking in a wood, and
suddenly perceiving a snail with his state-
coach, or van of a long helmet shape, solemnly
advancing to meet him with uplifted and.
inquiring horns! Finally, he examined a
variety of snails' eggs, many of them little
round yellow balls, many in size and shape
exactly like white sugar plums; some the size
of peas, others like fine porcelain beans; and
a few of the shape, colour, and size of pigeon's
eggs. The size of the eggs, he perceived,
were curiously disproportioned to the size
of the creatures; the largest eggs by no
means belonging to the larger sort of shells.
Not less interesting were the infant snails,
which in some species are produced from the
maternal shell, of a minute size; yet, in all
respects, perfect creatures.

It is not to be denied, but that the reading
of the quarto and the pamphlet on this
subject, with the examination of the map and the
contemplation of the plates, did produce a very
considerable excitement in the imagination of
Mr. Slitherhouse, so that (he confessed this,
subsequently, to his friends) he had begun to
form a project for starting off to the Phillipine
Islands, as the most prolific of all localities for
the discovery and collection of all sorts of
shells. But the result of his first inquiries put
an end to his dream. He found that Mr. Hugh
Cuming, the conchologist, had, some time
since, hired a yacht with a crew, and
that he had passed ten years on board this
little vessel, assiduously dredging for shells,
and cruising, day by day; especially among
the Phillipine Islands. At this news the
great Camberwell naturalist drew in his
horns, and resolved in future to content
himself with the reality of his little garden,
while he indulged his imagination in the