122 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



destructive. In the latter respect they are more 

 particularly beneficial to gardeners in promot- 

 ing the destruction of their enemies. The only 

 British species is the Ear-shelled Slug {Testacella 



Fig. 158.— Ear-shelled Slug (Testacella halotidea). 



), readily distinguishable by a small 

 ear-shaped shell attached to its back, just above 

 the tail. It is also of large size (2 J inches long 

 when crawling), and deep -yellow, so that by 

 these characters it may readily be recognized 

 by the most casual observer. Usually it occurs 

 most frequently in soil of a heavy, or even 

 clayey, nature, and inclined to be moist. It 

 roams abroad at night when the common slugs 

 are most active on their mischievous errands. 

 During the day it retires into the soil, some- 

 times to a considerable depth, but often gets 

 turned up by the spade. A foreign species (T. 

 Maugei), a native of South Europe, has become 

 established in the neighbourhood of Bristol, and 

 may in time spread over the southern counties 

 at least. It is dark-brown, with a larger shell 

 than that of the native species. No other slugs 

 in this country have a small shell upon their 

 back. Plant cultivators would do well to re- 

 cognize these two friends of the garden, wher- 

 ever found. 



Spiders. — The British species of spider are 

 very numerous, and to be met with everywhere, 

 but more particularly in summer, and in autumn 

 they are even more abundant. They are wholly 

 carnivorous, and whether in the open air, in 

 plant-houses, outhouses, or dwellings, they must 

 be reckoned amongst the best friends of man. 

 The principal or only objection to them in 

 houses and trimly-kept places is the unsightli- 

 ness of their webs. Some catch their prey by 

 hunting and speed of foot, or by leaping, others 

 lie in wait, concealing themselves till some 

 unsuspecting fly or other insect comes within 

 their reach, but a large proportion, and the best 

 known of them, construct webs, often of singular 

 beauty and ingenious design, with which to 

 catch their prey. The Red Spider, so called, is 

 not a true spider, and does hot come within this 

 category. The most conspicuous, and one of 

 the more common species coming within the 

 range of cultivated plants, is the Garden Spider 

 {Ejx'ira diademata), most abundant in September. 



Fig. 159.— Epiblemum sceni- 

 cum (twice natural size) 



The webs are of large size, and suspended per- 

 pendicularly from shrubs and bushes by means 

 of strong silken threads, to which the radiating 

 ones, on which the concentric lines are spread, 

 are attached. The owner, when undisturbed, 

 takes up its position in the centre of the web, 

 waiting for victims to become entangled. It is 

 a large spider of a gray hue, beautifully marked 

 with white spots on the back of the globular 

 abdomen, and lives upon small moths and large 

 flies. When not immediately in want of food, 

 it can wind some threads round its victim, thus 

 keeping it quiet, alive, and fresh till wanted. 

 The cocoons are formed in October, and consist 

 of a roundish ball of yellow silk enclosing a 

 flattened mass of eggs, which do not hatch till 

 spring. There is a family 

 of leaping spiders that run 

 with great speed, and seize 

 their prey by leaping upon 

 them. One of the most com- 

 mon is Epiblemum scenkmn, 

 of medium size, oblong in 

 shape, and gray with oblique- 

 ly transverse white bands on 

 the back of the abdomen and 

 the legs. It may often be 

 noticed hunting about and leaping amongst 

 pots and plants, both under glass and out of 

 doors. Many of the smaller spiders are valu- 

 able, inasmuch as they feed upon aphides, 

 devouring large numbers of them. Wherever 

 spiders can be tolerated, they should be left 

 unmolested, as they are perfectly harmless to 

 plants. 



Weasel (Mustela vulgaris). — This is the 

 smallest animal of its kind, at least in this 

 country, being only 8J inches to 9 inches long 

 from the nose to the tip of the tail. It is reddish- 

 brown above and white beneath. Its food con- 

 sists of rats, mice, rabbits, birds of any size, 

 including poultry, or indeed any animal which 

 it can succeed in killing, and to such it is a most 

 formidable enemy. On purely agricultural land, 

 in gardens and orchards, it is truly a friend to 

 cultivators in ridding them of such vermin as 

 rats, mice, and voles. Where lambs are reared 

 and pastured, also on game-preserving estates 

 and in the neighbourhood of the poultry-yard, 

 the owners have a great aversion to the weasel 

 tribe, and wage incessant war against them 

 on account of their destructive habits. In all 

 such cases it would be more satisfactory to en- 

 courage owls to take up their residence and 

 I breed, even in proximity to gardens and home- 

 | steads. [j. r.] 



