3 34 ^S'/zd'// Life 



buzzas was a favourite haunt of L. onaximiis, and I 

 was constantly killing them, finding a little later that 

 other individuals of the same species were feeding on 

 the remains. This destruction was necessary on my 

 part, for the slugs, content with the cool niche in the 

 day, would ascend at even to a shelf above and make 

 for the milk-jugs with a view to sipping the cream 

 from them. The family joint for to-morrow's dinner 

 hung from a nail in the wall until I observed a couple 

 of Great Slugs racing up to it. Then I fixed a hook 

 to the roof for the purpose, for though still accessible 

 to these creatures it was more remote. 



But what Mr. Cooke ^ has characterised as " perhaps 

 the most singular instance of a liking for a particular 

 food," came within my experience about a quarter of 

 a century since. In the rear of the publishing house 

 of Messrs. Isbister on Ludgate Hill, London, there 

 was an old house used by them for receiving and 

 storing new books from the binders. During a period 

 of nearly twelve months one or other of the piles of 

 new books was constantly found paiiially damaged 

 in the morning, though left all right the evening 

 before. There were slime trails on shelves and 

 counters, and many of the book - backs exhibited 

 marks which showed that a slug had been working 

 at their surfaces with his rough tongue for the sake 

 of the colouring matter, the glossy finish, or both. 

 The trouble was laid before me, and a very slight 

 investigation served to satisfy me that the culprit was 

 a slug ; but a very long and patient search — assisted 

 by slime-tracks — failed to reveal his hiding-place. I 

 shared the general view of slugs in those days, and 



1 Camhriihjc Natural History : " Molluscs," p. 37. 



