74 THOSE OTHER ANIMALS. 



upon his return to his hiding-place at daylight double and 

 twist until his trail is a very labyrinth which Daedalus 

 himself could not solve. Men have been known in the 

 enthusiasm of the chase to sprinkle finely powdered char- 

 coal over a trail of this kind. The use of a bellows 

 removes all the particles save those adhering to the shiny 

 trail, which is thus rendered permanent, and can then be 

 studied at leisure. But even under these favourable con- 

 ditions the problem has proved insoluble, and medical men 

 cannot too strongly dissuade their patients from under- 

 taking a pursuit which experience has shown will eventually 

 terminate in madness. 



People who write books about gardening give instructions 

 for guarding plants from snails, and often recommend a 

 circle of sawdust, soot, or lime to be spread round each plant. 

 The villa gardener knows that one might as well try to 

 keep a fox from a hen-roost by making a chalk mark on the 

 door. He has tried the experiment. He has spent hours, 

 and nearly broken his back, in applying these pretended 

 remedies, and in the morning his most cherished plants 

 have fallen before the destroyer. He knows that there is 

 no prevention, and that the only cure is the persistent 

 hunting down of the enemy. There are various methods 

 of attaining this end. Pieces of orange peel, if laid on the 

 ground, may be searched in the morning with a fair chance 

 of success ; for the slug is so fond of them that, instead of 

 returning to his home at daybreak, he clings to them, and 

 may be found underneath, gorged with over-much eating. 

 Pieces of board six or eight inches square, pressed firmly 

 into the ground, are a good trap, as these keep the soil 

 beneath them moist, and the slug loves moisture and takes 



