Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Some Very Small Snails

"I wish we had a little pet snail!" said Nan.

Uncle Tom told her, "There are snails in the marsh at the farm. I will take you to visit them."

Don and Nan went to the farm with Uncle Tom on Saturday.

"It is easy to find some snails in the day time," said Uncle Tom. "But these hide while it is light."

"It will be fun to visit them at night!" said Don.

They found a snail moving on a sedge leaf.

"You may have it for a pet," said Uncle Tom, "if you will give it all the food it needs."

Nan put the snail into a glass that had a cover. Then she dug up a young sedge for it.

Don put some mud from the marsh into the glass.

Uncle Tom gave the snail some soft white leaves and stems and roots that he found under a wet stone in the marsh.

The snail laid some eggs on the mud. They were nearly round and they had no shells.

The baby snails lived in the eggs until they were three weeks old. Tiny shells grew on their backs before they came out of the eggs.

The young snails were so small no one could see them very well. They looked like moving specks.

Uncle Tom gave Don and Nan a reading glass to help them see the snails.

He said, "A reading glass is not flat. It is thicker in the middle than around the edge. Some people use one to read small letters in a book."

They looked at the grown snail and the young snails through the reading glass.

Each snail had one flat foot. It put its foot out of its shell to creep. The foot was soft and wet. The snail could creep up the side of the glass.

It had four feelers in front. They looked like tiny soft horns. Two were longer than the others.

Each snail had two dark eyes. They were on the ends of the longer feelers.

The snail could pull its eyes inside of its feelers. It could pull its feelers inside of its body. It could pull its body inside of its shell.

So it had a good way to hide. It could hide in its own shell.