KEW : NOTES ON ARION ATER AND OTHER SLUGS. 105 



on the two following days parts of the leaves were eaten. The 

 poisonous fungus Russula emetica, of which Dr. Cooke kindly sent 

 me a number of specimens, was eaten with impunity.* Bread was 

 devoured greedily, and once the slug took it from my hand. 



On the 17th July the slug gnawed a roundish hole, about sh mm - 

 in diameter, in the linen covering the mouth of the jar, through 

 which it tried to escape, but appeared to be unable to do so. A new 

 piece of linen was supplied, but on 29th July another hole, about 

 8 mm. in diameter, was made, through which the slug crawled out of 

 the jar ; and it escaped again in September, at a time when it had 

 not been well supplied with suitable food, through a hole 5 or 

 6 mm. in diameter. 



Sixty-two eggs were deposited in September. On the morning of 

 the 23rd, thirteen or fourteen had been laid. The deposition was 

 •continued during the day, and completed the same night, the slug 

 having crawled away from the eggs by the following morning. 



The faeces were frequently eaten, even when there was a good 

 supply of food in the jar. They vary much in colour, as was noticed 

 by Lister, according to the food. When the slug was feeding on 

 fresh foliage, they were dark green ; on flowers of Ranunculus, deep 

 yellow ; on apple, amber-coloured ; on berries of Arum, scarlet ; on 

 Ramalina, pale greyish ; on bread, yellowish white. 



My friend Mr. G. K. Gude informs me that a specimen of this 

 species, kept by him, devoured slime, detached from its own body, 

 when offered to it. 



From the peculiar twitching movement exhibited by Arion ater 

 -when handled or annoyed, it would appear that it is one of the most 

 irritable of our slugs. 



ARION SUBFUSCUS. 

 By the sides of the Muswell Hill Road, near Highgate Woods, 

 this is the most plentiful slug, and individuals attain a good size.j 



* Lister, in the ' Historic Animalium Anglise,' mentions that certain slugs 

 delight in biting fungi ; and in a note, dated 1672, which forms part of his 

 'Letters and divers other mixt discourses in Natural Philosophy,' he relates 

 having seen certain odd mushroms, full of juice not to be endured upon the 

 tongue, much eaten by the 'grey meadow naked snail.' And see the writings of 

 M. Recluz (Revue Zoologique, 1841, 10, p. 307), and many others. 



t These from Muswell Hill were decidedly amongst the largest examples of 

 A. subfuscus that have come under my observation. One of them was — although 

 banded — extremely like Arion ater in size, foot-fringe, and in the well-known 

 irritability when handled or disturbed, so like that it was for precaution's 

 sake submitted to Mr. Ashford, who by dissection proved it to be true 

 A. subfuscu s. — W. D. R. 

 April 1889. 



