of the United States are mostly rather small, although several very 

 large species live in the states of the Pacific coast. Some of the smaller 

 species, notably Limax campestris, have the curious habit of suspending 

 themselves from some object by a thread of mucus. Some of the larger 

 European species of Limax and Arion have been introduced into this 

 country, and are now found in many of the greenhouses of the larger 

 cities. In some localities they have invaded the cellars of private 

 residences, where they feed upon meat and vegetables. Occasionally 

 a housewife finds one in her milk-pan. In one city in the state 

 of New York, Limax maxwius has escaped from the greenhouses, and 

 may be found in almost any yard, under boards, barrels, or boxes, 

 and even under board sidewalks. 



" These slugs, as well as some shelled snails, are very injurious 

 to farmers and horticulturists, as they eat the tender shoots of plants 

 and vegetables. In the greenhouses, these animals are sought after 

 daily and killed by being placed in boiling water. The story is told 

 of a man who tried to raise tomatoes on one of the Florida Keys. 

 He noticed that as the fruit became ripe it was eaten by some animal 

 which left nothing but the skin. Investigation revealed the fact that 

 every night a host of slugs, called Veronicella, issued from the holes 

 in the sponge-like coral and devoured the fruit. Against this invin- 

 cible enemy, the raiser of tomatoes could not fight and he was forced 

 to give up his gardening. 



" A good way to keep slugs out of a cultivated patch, is to spread 

 a belt of dry ashes, about two feet in width, around the plot of ground. 

 When the mollusk meets this obstruction it will secrete mucus so fast 

 that it will soon die from exhaustion. The slugs, as well as all land 

 shells, are preyed upon by birds, reptiles, and other animals, which 

 in a measure keep their number within reasonable bounds. Turtles 

 are particularly fond of some varieties of snails, and a large number 

 of beetles have been observed feeding upon the succulent mollusk. 

 It is an unvarying law among the lower animals that the small indi- 

 viduals eat those still smaller, and they in turn are eaten by the larger 

 animals." 



As we were leaving the gallery, George inquired how long land snails 

 live. Professor Parker answered and said : u The large majority live 

 but a year or two. The desert snails, which spend half of their lives 

 in hibernation, live much longer, probably six or eight years. Instances 

 are known of the desert snail living without food for five years while 

 in a state of hibernation, and specimens which have been glued to tab- 

 lets in a museum have apparently come to life after being on exhi- 



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