52 



spider, bj a mbcous thread, formed from tbe slimy 

 secretions of their bodies. 



This tribe are much more hardy than the Helix 

 family, being frequently noticed, during the winter 

 months, in an active state. 



Mr. Morris has found them in a fossil state in the 

 mammaliferous crag on the banks of the Thames, near 

 Loudon. 



LiMAx Agrestis (The Milky Slug). Muller. 

 Figure 25. 



i 



25. 



This very common slug, which was first discovered 

 by Dr. Lister, ia 1678, is perhaps the most destructive 

 of all the molluscous animals; it is not content with 

 eating the leaves of plants, as it devours tbe roots with 

 an equal avidity. Formerly it was much sought after 

 as a cure for consumption. 



Limax agrestis is in colour sometimes a yellowish 

 grey, at others reddish grey; it is indistinctly speckled 

 with brown. The tentacles are short, and the keel is 

 small, oblique, and carinated. It has a large mantle. 

 The usual length of the animal is about an inch and a 

 half, yet large specimens are as much as two inches 

 long. 



The shell is very minute, being only three lines in 

 length, swollen and convex above. It is strong and 

 thick. TLe colour a yellowish white. It is most pro- 

 lific, breeding several limes a year. The eggs are pel- 

 lucid and round. M. Bouchard Chautereaux informs 

 us he noticed two individuals which deposited three 

 hundred and eighty eggs. 



