LAND REGISTRATION. See RECJS TRATION OF PROPERTY TITLES ; TORRENS LAND SYSTEM.
an air-breathing terrestrial gasteropod mollusk, or snail of the family Helicida• or some nearly related pulmonate. These mollusks possess a well-developed, usu ally globose and more or less spiral, horny and brightly colored shell (except in slugs, q.v.), into which the whole animal may be withdrawn, and which has, usually, a Innate aperture, not closed by an opercultim. Four retractile ten tacles exist, the upper pair being the larger and possessing eyes at their tips. A distinctly de veloped so-called is present. The aper ture by means of which air is admitted to the lung-chamber for the purpose of breathing ex ists on the right side, under the edge of the shell. The mouth possesses an upper mandible of horny consistence and toothed structure, and, as in other gasteropods, there is a tongue or lingual ribbon bearing many teeth. The food is generally of a vegetable nature, and snails are capable of doing great mischief in gardens, but none in the United States is noticeably harm ful. The sexes are united in the same individ ual; but the copulation of two such hermaphro dite individuals is necessary for impregnation, which becomes mutual. The eggs are globular or oval, have coriaceous shells, and are laid singly in damp places, as under leaves, stones, etc.; Bulimic, (q.v.) is noted for the compara tively large size of its eggs. These eggs and the snails themselves are eaten by birds, turtles and other enemies, especially in the tropics, where land-snails are more varied, numerous and conspicuous than in temperate regions. Some species, however, live in very cold cli mates, far to the north or high on mountain ranges. Those of cold climates hibernate in winter, creeping into sheltered places, and clos ing the aperture with one or more air-tight drum-head-like curtains of hardened mucus. In hot and dry places they protect themselves in midsummer against undue loss of moisture in the same manner.
The land-mollusks offer very interesting problems in geographical distribution, as they are easily disseminated and hence widely scat tered; and are easily affected by the environ ment, so that species have developed in very limited areas, as on certain islands and in val leys close to one another yet very distinct in their molluscan faunas.
The family Helicider, which embraces not only the terrestrial genus Helix, but the bush climbing, long-spired Bulimus (q.v.), and sev
eral smaller genera, includes thousands of species. Specimens are always most numerous in moist woods and in a limestone region than elsewhere. Many small terrestrial mollusks, properly called land-snails, belong to families other than Helicide, as the Orthalicider, Bull mulidcr and Pupidcr, the last containing many minute American species, not larger than a pin head, shaped like a grain of rice, and beauti fully chased; Stenogyridee, in which are found the great agate-shells (Achatina) and sundry others of the tropics; Succineader, represented by many small, glassy expanded forms of great beauty; and others, some of which contain shell-less and slug-like forms.
Utility of Snails have been made of use medicinally in the past, and curative virtues are still attributed to them among European peasants. Among the Romans mails were held in high esteem as articles of food and even of luxury; and special parks or es tablishments named *cochlearie were con structed for the purpose of fattening these mollusks. The practice of eating snails has never been very common in England, but Howard, the prison philanthropist, tried to en courage it; Howard cultivated the H. varronis, the largest of European species. In modern Europe, as in many parts of France, and in Vienna, especially during Lent, snails are largely consumed, especially among the lower orders. The proletariats of Naples are exceed ingly fond of a soup made from H. nemoralis. The most valued species among modern epi cures is the H. vermiculata or little hermit snail, found at Montpelier; and H. aspersa, the *garden-snail* of the English, is also regarded as very delicate when properly cooked. H. pomatia has a wider range as an edible snail, especially in France, where this species is ex tensively cultivated for market in appropriate enclosures called escargotiires; thousands are also gathered from the vineyards and sold in the larger towns of southern France and Italy. The taste for these mollusks has been brought to the United States by immigrants, and in the Italian quarters of New York and other large cities great quantities of living snails are ex posed for sale, among other mollusks, in the food-shops. They are also extensively imported in pickle. Consult Lovell, (British Edible Mollusks' ; Cooke, (Vol. III, Cam bridge Natural History, 1895); Binney and Bland, and Fresh-water Shells of North America.)