xni LETTERS TO MARCO 83 



beds and lawns being covered with them and 

 debris of all sorts. At this time I am busy 

 cutting down, cleaning up, dividing, and trans- 

 planting, and am much amused by the general 

 sort of feasting that is going on amongst the 

 birds, worms, snails, etc., all anxious to lay 

 up as much nutriment as possible before the 

 approach of winter. The worms are having 

 a grand time gathering over their holes heaps 

 of leaves which are gradually drawn below 

 with a sort of funnel-shaped twist. The light- 

 coloured end of the worm, which is its tail, 

 is capable of being flattened out very broad, 

 and affords the creature a fulcrum to work 

 from, as it keeps it below in its hole, stretch- 

 ing out to its work with the rest of its body. 



Then there are the innumerable host of 

 small flat snails : little scraps of things, some 

 black, some gray, and some yellowish in 

 colour. The common tabby snail has already 

 begun to hibernate. I found five or six 

 stowed away, a day or two ago, behind a 

 heap of flower-pots. I do not know whether 



