THE GARDEN SLUG AND STRAWBERRY SNAIL. 57 



THE GARDEN SLUG. 



Anon hortensis, Fer. 



This species has been reported as damaging Violets, Pansies, 

 and other garden plants to a considerable extent, especially 

 where grown on borders. 



Ordinary paling boards were laid over night along the sides'of 

 the beds, and next morning turned over and the slugs picked off. 

 For some days up\vards of a thousand specimens were found 

 each morning, after a week or more there were only a few hun- 

 dred, later the number became less and less, the boards, however, 

 were used until the number of slugs found each morning was too 

 small to do any serious mischief.* 



THE STRAWBERRY SNAIL. 



Hygromia rufesce/is (Pennant). 



A correspondent writes from near Leamington, " I am plagued 

 with numerous specimens of a small snail, which is doing consider- 

 able damage to my strawberries." Upon examination these 

 proved to be the well-known Strawberry Snail, which fortunately 

 is anything but common in the Midland Counties. 



After a shower of rain the snails may easily be picked off the 

 plants, or traps in the form of cabbage' or lettuce leaves placed 

 amongst the strawberry plants, will be found, if collected in the 

 evening to have attracted large numbers. 



CARNIVOROUS SLUGS. 



Many inquiries have reached me during the year requesting 

 live examples of any of the three species of Testacella found in this 

 country, viz. : T. haliotidea Drap., T. scutulum Sowb., and 

 T. maugei Fer. Living specimens of all three species have 

 been introduced into greenhouses and nursery gardens with very 

 beneficial results, I regret, however, that my supply has not been 

 equal to the demand. 



These slugs may easily be distinguished from others by the 

 presence of an external shell overlying the tail region. During 

 the day they remain beneath the surface, coming forth at night. 

 Their food consists of earthworms, threadworms, slugs, snails, 

 millipedes, etc. 



Of the three species above mentioned T. haliolidea is by far 

 the commonest in the Midland Counties. 



Three specimens kept in confinement, deposited in April, ten, 

 twelve, and fifteen eggs respectively. The eggs are oblong-oval 

 in shape, covered by opaque, creamy-white calcareous shells. The 

 first young hatched out in fourteen days, and others ^appeared 

 on the sixteenth and seventeenth days. 



* A writer in the U.S.A. Exp. Stn. Record, 1901, vol. xii, p. 1,063, records that after many experi- 

 ments with various insecticides, it was proved that white hydro-oxide of calcium in a i to 2 per cent, 

 solution in water was the most destructive agent. The most satisfactory time for applying this 

 remedy was found to be between eight and nine o'clock p.m. 



