PREFACE. 
S LUGS and Snails ! What interest can there 
"be in such slimy, crawling things, from 
which we turn away in disgust ? Yet these 
humble creatures are far from uninteresting to 
those who devote a little leisure to their exami¬ 
nation. Many of our leading Naturalists ac¬ 
quired a taste for the pursuits of natural history, 
when but youths, in collecting and studying 
them. 
We are only familiar with the common species 
of Snails, and the natural history of the majority 
of them is imperfectly known to us. There is 
here, then, a field of research open to lovers of 
nature. 
In order to render this little volume instruc¬ 
tive and interesting, as well to the general 
reader as to the young student, a familiar 
