THE RED SLUG, OR LAND SOLE. 



335 



WE now come to the CHRYSALIS-SHELL. This shell belongs to a large genus, containing 

 about one hundred and sixty species, and has received its popular name from its shape, which 

 bears some resemblance to that of a chrysalis. This animal has always a short foot, pointed 

 behind, and very short lower tentacles. 



WE now arrive at the great family of Limacidse, or Slugs, a race of beings which many a 

 gardener doubtlessly wishes extinct. 



In these creatures the foot and body are indistinguishable from each other ; the head is 

 retractile ; and the whole creature can be gathered into a short rounded mass, looking so like a 

 pebble that it would escape a casual glance. At the first view, the Slugs appear to be destitute 

 of shell, but on a closer examination, the shell is found upon the fore part of the body, and either 

 entirely or partially buried beneath the integuments. When removed, it is not unlike the oper- 

 culum of many mollusks, being small, flattish, and with an evident nucleus. They have four 

 tentacles, like those of the snails, the eye-dots appearing, as in those mollusks, on the tips of 

 the upper and longer pair. The respiratory orifice is placed on the right side of the body. 



The GREAT GRAY SLUG is the largest of the European species, and when furnished with 

 abundant food, on which it can fatten itself during the night, and a secure hiding-place, 



AGATE-SHELL. Ac/iatina mauritiana. 



whither it can retreat during the day, often attains an enormous size. The careless gardener, 

 who has suffered heaps of old rubbish to collect in his dominions, is often horrified, when he 

 at last removes the stones or sticks, to find under them a number of huge Gray Slugs, that 

 have been silently consuming his flowers and vegetables, and lie slimy and obese at his mercy, 

 bewildered with the unaccustomed light, and unable to escape their impending and deserved 

 fate. It is true that Slugs, snails, and all similar creatures, must have been created for some 

 useful purpose, and, in their proper place, discharge the duty for which their forms were 

 designed and their instincts implanted ; but it is clear that a garden is not the proper place for 

 Slugs, and that if they make their appearance within its precincts, they must be extirpated; 

 just as rats, which are useful in a sewer, are noxious in a house, and must pay with their 

 lives the penalty of their intrusion. 



The well-known BLACK SLUG (Limax ater) belongs to the same genus as the preceding 

 species, and is very common during the summer, coming out of its hiding-place during the 

 evening, and making its appearance along the sides of roads, in hedgerows, and similar situa- 

 tions. It is nearly, but not quite so large as the gray species. 



The common RED SLUG, or LAND SOLE (Arion rufus], is another member of this family. 

 It may be known by the deep red-brown of its body, which sometimes approaches to black. It 

 is very plentiful in gardens, and as, on account of its color, it is not readily seen in the dark, 



