SOIL PESTS 101 



The two families, Slugs (Limacidce) and Snails (Helicidce) 

 are closely allied, and belong to the class Invertebrates, 

 or animals with no backbone. 



The commonest species is the Grey Field Slug {Limax 

 agrestia), which devastates all kinds of crops from grass 

 to corn, and also destroys flowering plants, and the young 

 shoots of bush fruit. The general form of the mollusc 

 is seen in the sketch. There is also the Black Slug, the 

 Yellow or House Slug, and a small kind known as the 

 Bulb or Root-eating Slug. They are all of much the same 

 form and the same remedies apply. The method of 

 propagation is by means of eggs, which are laid during 

 the summer months in the soil or under rubbish. The 

 eggs are circular, milky in colour, and occur in batches 

 of ten to fifteen. Needless to say, moisture is indispens- 

 able to slugs and snails, which are aHke also in that 

 they do their mischief by night, the former hiding in 

 crevices and under stones during the daytime. This 

 habit may be taken advantage of by placing cabbage 

 and lettuce leaves on the ground in"^ the evening, and 

 taking them up early the next morning, when the slugs 

 which have crept in underneath mav be captured and 

 given to the fowls. (See Plate 22.) " 



Snails are quite an interesting family in their way. 

 Some of their shells have very beautiful markings, and 

 structure, and are collected for that reason. Also, 

 particularly in France, snails reared on a milk diet are 

 esteemed a dehcacy for the epicure. English people 

 do not fancy them as a rule. The Common Garden 

 Snail {Helix aspersa) is a destructive creature, feeding 

 greedily on the tender green shoots of vegetables and 

 flowers, almost indiscriminately ; the dahlia for instance, 

 with Its acrid flavour, will often have its first shoots 

 gnawed off by these creatures so as to spoil the plant 

 entirely. The eggs of the Snail, laid in batches in the 

 earth, are white and similar to those of the Slug. There 

 IS Uttle to distinguish between the young of these molluscs 

 in the early stages of their development. 



