A SPRING TROUBLE . 89 



the variety of breed added interest to the stock. 

 But it did detract from the pleasure of having 

 so many animals on one's estate, all doing well, 

 to think that they could be turned to no sort 

 of use. 



Of course, this utilitarian spirit can be overcome. 

 One can educate oneself to the point of appre- 

 ciating snails for their own sake just as one used 

 to rear rabbits and cherish sticklebacks without 

 any ulterior purpose in view. But this state of 

 mind is not reached in a ,day. Old ideas will 

 keep on asserting themselves. You put down 

 lettuces, and, in spite of yourself, keep on expect- 

 ing a crop of lettuces ; and when your snails 

 eat them all up before they are an inch high an 

 unreasonable sense of disappointment will not 

 be kept back. But when once you have taught 

 yourself that a success with snails is better than 

 a failure with the finest vegetable that ever grew, 

 all goes well ; then you put down seeds with a 

 sure and certain faith that you will not be dis- 

 appointed. If, on the other hand, you stick to 

 the idea of raising flowers instead of snails and 

 their little brothers the slugs, there are means 

 which may be adopted. You can surround your 

 most precious plants with defences of soot, which 

 no snail will rush so long as the soot is dry ; or 

 you may get up before sunrise and collect the 

 browsing herds, popping each individual as you 

 find him into a vessel containing salt. In the 

 early morning they are very tame, trustful, and 

 approachable. But this is a cruel business. 



