132 



Descriptive Zoology. 



Most kinds of snails lay their eggs in strings, masses, or 

 clusters ; but the land snails deposit theirs singly, burying 

 them or depositing them in moist places. 



The French follow the usage of the Romans in eating 

 the land snails, and they are now imported into the United 

 States from Europe by Eastern dealers. 



In Europe snails do considerable damage in gardens, but 

 they do not seriously affect us. 



Slugs. Slugs are air-breathing, terrestrial gastropods, 

 almost always destitute of a shell. They are to be found 

 in moist woods, especially under the bark or in the decaying 

 trunks of fallen trees. 



On the anterior dorsal surface is a fleshy plate, the mantle, 

 and near the right edge of this is the breathing pore, lead- 



Mamie 



FIG. 84. SLUG. 



Near the lower border of the mantle is the respiratory pore. 



ing to the lung. As in the land snail, there are two pairs 

 of tentacles, with eyes at the ends of the upper (longer) 

 pair. The body is elongated ; but when the animal is dis- 

 turbed, it draws up into a short, compact lump. 



Slugs are nocturnal, hence are less conspicuous than 

 snails. They do considerable damage in gardens, rasping 

 off the surfaces of the leaves. Their presence is also in- 

 dicated by the slimy trails which they leave behind. One 

 of the most effective ways of checking them is to sprinkle 

 coal ashes over and around the plants they are attacking. 



