THE STRENGTH OF SNAILS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1649, 30 August 1887, Page 2

THE STRENGTH OF SNAILS.

Perceiving a oommon eaail, Helix aspersa, crawling op ]the window blind one evening, it ocourred'to me to try what It could draw up perpendicularly. Accordingly, 1 attaohed jfco iti shell four reels pf oof. top, fastened one after the other, Qntll I ascertained that a greater load would exceed the limit of Its strength, I then weighed the entire load, and found tfiat It weighed 21 ounoes, whilst the snail weighed only f ounce. Thus It was able to lift perpendicularly nine times iti weight. I then made an experiment with a larger snail, weighing one-tbird of an ourlDO) ths lead befog composed chiefly of the same material " ay the last;, but bo placed aa to be drawn m a borfyontal < position on the table. Reels of cotton to ' the number of 12 were fattened to It, with a pair of icissors, a sorew-driyer, . a k«y, and $ knife ? weighing altogether 37 ounce*, or 6$ times tfte wejght of the snail; ' The same " snalj, wpen placed on the oelllng, was ablo ' to travel with a weight of four ounoes suspended from jits ■hell. X next tried Jt on a piece of common thread, smpended and hanglpg loose, with another snail of his own weight, which It carried up the thread with apparent ease. After this I tried it on a single horsehair strained In a horizontal position, but It hud then enough to do to orawl over thlß narrow bridge without a load.— E. Biadford, m ZoAoglti, it