CHAP. VIII. Of the Snail.THe Snails which Dioscorides calls Garden Snails, are found in abundance in the Mountains of Trent, and they are the best. In Winter they are dug up out of the Earth, and in Gardens, with some iron hooks, near to the roots of herbs, the Earth being dug forth. They are covered with a white shell against the cold, it is like to Gip, so they lye under ground, hid, and afterwards they are more pleasant meat, Matthiolus. They have eyes in the top of their horns, and they pull them in when any thing comes near to them, and put their horns into their heads, their heads into their bodies, Albertus. They lay white eggs, as great as the Pikes eyes; and in May they are found to sit upon them, Gesner. Albertus saith, they are bred of corruption and clammy dew, and that that dew hardneth into a shell. Porta saith the same. Phytol. l. 5. c. 4. Pliny l. 9. c. 5. saith, they are bred in Winter. Fulvius Hirpinus made Caves of them, in Tarquinis, a little before the Warr with great Pompey, &c. Pliny, l. 9. c. 56. In the Island Scyathos, the Partridges feed on them; but those that are call'd Ariones, deceive them: For going out of their shells, they feed, leaving their empty houses to the Herns and Partridges, Aelian l. 10. c. 5. Andreas Fulnerus Gallus relates, That a Remedy is made of them to multiply hair: Take 300 Snails out of their shells, and boyl them in water, and take them out again, and gather the fat that swims a top, and put that into a glazed vessell, and pour a Sextarius of water upon it; wherein Bay leaves have been boyled with three spoonfulls of oyl, one spoon∣full of Honey, Saffron one scruple, and a little Venice Soap, and a spoon∣full of common Soap moderately stirred; boyl them altogether. With this li∣quor anoint your hair often, and wash it with a Lye made of the Ashes of burnt Colewort stalks, (the place is obscure, or corrupted) and you shall find your hair increase daily.CHAP. IX. Of the Gnat.IN Aegypt there are great store of Gnats, whence Herodotus calls it Conopaeam, and Bellonius, observat. l. 2. c. 35, writes that he was so vexed with them the first night, that the next day he seemed to have the Measils. In divers parts of India, there are kinds of Gnats, whereof some in Summer time especially, when the fields are cleansed, do lye in the Woods, others lye about the shores. At Myon a City of Jonia, there was a creek of the Sea not very great, which, when Maeander a River of that Country running into it, that was very muddy, had stopped the mouth of it with mud, brought along with it,
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