288 



NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



forms of animal life. From the foregoing remarks one may note 

 that the temperature, degree of humidity, and the wind are 

 some of the physical agencies at work exercising an influence 

 over the life of animals and plants, and in other chapters I 

 have shown the reciprocal relation that some of the insects 

 bear to plants. In nature's laboratory will be found an endless 

 chain of circumstances that show the intricate adaptations 

 wrought during the evolution of organic life. 



Animal Life ix Rainy Weather 



HILE the pouring rain is often destructive 

 to many forms of in.sect life, on the other 

 hand it is really favorable to the existence 

 of many other aninuds. For instance, it is the 

 i^ gala time for snails and slugs, as may be found by 

 observation in the woods. On humid days in the beech 

 forest^ I have noticed that each one of the old stumps has its 

 slow moving inhabitants. In the holes made by the wood- 

 boring insects, a good opportunity is presented of becoming 

 acquainted with the large grayish slug, Pliylomj/us carolienensis. 

 On my approach I found that some of these slugs had drawn 

 themselves up into robust oval bodies and were hiding just 

 within the holes. Others were welcoming the rain and crawl- 

 * Diary Notes, Lakeside, Michigan, August. 



