rn that snail
culture was practiced by the Romans at the time of the Civil War
between Caesar and Pompey, as Jacques Boyer says in_ American Homes
and Gardens._ The snail lays from fifty to sixty eggs annually. They
are deposited in a smooth hole prepared for them in the ground and
hatched within twenty days. So rapidly do they grow that they are
ready for market six or eight weeks after hatching. The snail park
is made by inclosing a plot of damp, limy soil with smooth boards
coated with tar to prevent the snails climbing out, and held in
place by outside stakes strong enough to withstand the wind. The
boards must penetrate the soil to the depth of eight inches at
least, and at a level with the ground they must have a sort of shelf
to prevent the snails from burrowing under them. When the snail
encounters an obstacle in its path, it lays its eggs, sensible
beast. Ten thousand snails can be raised on a plot of land one
hundred by two hundred feet. The ground is plowed deeply in the
spring, the snails are placed on it and covered with from two to
four inches of moss or straw which is kept damp. They must be fed
daily with lettuce, cabbage, vine leaves, or grass; as they eat at
night, they are fed shortly before sunset. Aromatic herbs, like
mint, parsley, etc., are planted in the inclosure to improve the
flavor of the snails.

In October, the snails having become fat through the summer, retire
into their shells, the mouths of which they close with a thin
gelatinous covering. They are now ready for picking, and are put on
screens or trays which are piled together in storehouses, where they
remain several months without food. When the fast has been
sufficiently prolonged, the shells are brushed up and the snails
cooked in salt water in a great pot holding about ten thousand. When
cooked, they are immediately sent to the consumer in wooden boxes
holding from fifty to two hundred. The business is a very profitable
one, as the snail is considered a great delicacy by epicures.

Perhaps the silkworm is not exactly in place in a chapter on Novel
Live Stock. It is at present not much more than an interesting
experiment, but there will be money in silkworm culture as soon as a
market for the product is developed. The main difficulty is lack of
food, as the worm thrives best on the leaf of the white mulberry
tree. Until a substitute is found, it will be necessary therefore to
set out young trees, which in two years will bear enou