in depth from a few. inches to upwards of four feet, and have two, or occasionally several, apertures, of which one is the vent, whence they eject those vermicular pellets of earth that have passed through the intestine, and are in fact moulded and fashioned within it."

Wishing to burrow, and having selected a soft, moist earth, the worm stretches forward the anterior portion of its body and stiffens it. It now pouts out the upper lip, and rendering it, too, tense and elastic, the worm pushes it under the soil or clod, raises it and casts it aside; then again it digs and loosens another portion of the earth, until, by many repetitions and much patience, the tunnel is insensibly yet speedily completed. As the worm swallows the greater proportion of the soil raised in the progress of the work, nature has furnished it with no instruments for the removal of the obstacle, such as have been given to many other boring insects.

Their favourite residence is a recent vegetable mould heap, the under side of a flat stone in damp situations, and the earth immediately below half-dried cow-dung. It deposits its eggs in capsules at a considerable depth in the soil.

Gardeners and farmers express their detestation of worms, and yet even worms have a 'mission which gardeners and farmers fail to comprehend.

CHAPTER XVI.

SLUGS AND SNAILS.

WE almost despair of exciting any sympathy in the attempt to develop an interest in "Slugs and Snails." Every one has for himself arrived at the conclusion that they are nasty, slimy things, which could not possibly exhibit any redeeming feature. Prejudice is a very powerful enemy, still we are bound to ignore it in dealing with natural objects, affirming meanwhile that nothing which has been created is without fitness for the station it is designed to fill, or without use in the great economy of which it forms a part. We possess no privilege to despise the meanest thing which crawls, and undoubtedly we know least of the objects we dislike the most. We should rather distrust ourselves in regarding any living thing as beneath our notice, because, accurately interpreted, it only means an expression of our own ignorance. It may be taken for granted, that those who estimate most highly the Creator's works, even the humblest, are those who investigate them most and know them best.

Snails and slugs, especially the former, have few personal attractions for strangers, yet they improve upon acquaintance; and we venture to think that

whoever will take upon himself the task of investigating them, comprehending their history, and unveiling the mysteries of their existence, will ultimately cease to despise them, and even become their champions.

Slugs are not all alike. The little Grey Slug, so common in gardens, is very different from the two kinds usually found in woods. One of these is a large, black creature, which when contracted into a quiescent attitude has longitudinal grooves, or wrinkles, down its body. It is abundant in wet weather, and when in motion is often three or four inches in length, sometimes more. The snail carries his shell on his back, and so does the slug, but in the latter case it is only a small plate imbedded beneath the skin. Like the snail, the slug has four tentacles, called horns by juveniles, which are retractile, and two of them have eyes at their extremities. The natural food of the black slug is green vegetables, and of these it will consume a considerable quantity; hence all cultivators, whether farmers or gardeners, treat them with slight respect.

The other wood slug is sometimes called the Tree Slug, because it is usually found under decayed wood, on which it is said to subsist. It much more nearly resembles the common garden slug, is of a tawnygrey colour, and is narrowed towards the tail. These are the only two common slugs that we are privileged to mention, and these are by no means confined to woods, whilst others resort by preference to gardens, yet are by no means rare in woods. It requires some little practical knowledge to distinguish the different

kinds of grey slugs from each other, but this is soon acquired. Snails and slugs should be sought early in the morning whilst the grass is still wet with dew, or after a shower.

The ancient Romans, and some modern nations, held the larger snails in esteem as a great delicacy. They fattened them for the table until they are said to have attained an enormous size. The largest

British snail, called

the Apple Snail,1 is reported to have been a great favourite with the Romans. Some assert that it was brought to this country first by the Roman conquerors, and is only now found in the south, where the shells are discovered buried in the

vicinity of old Roman encampments. Others say that Sir Kenelm Digby introduced them for medicinal purposes. Others, again, that they were brought to Albury, in Surrey, by Mr. Howard, in the sixteenth century. Whichever account be true, it is admitted that they are not indigenous, and even now are only found in chalky districts. Several Continental nations retain snails as a fashionable delicacy. In France

Helix pomatia.

they abound in the vineyards, and are consumed regularly in the restaurants of Paris. The proprietor of one snailery near Dijon is affirmed to clear annually three hundred pounds by his snails. In Switzerland there are established gardens for their cultivation. In Austria and some parts of Italy they are consumed regularly as a matter of course. About sixty thousand pounds of snails are annually exported from the island of Crete for consumption. The taste for this delicacy has also extended to North America. That they were eaten in Spain is evident from a picture by Murillo, in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire, of a beggar boy eating a snail-pie. A writer, passing through the markets of Rome in March, states that he saw exposed for sale "baskets of frogs and shell snails; these were crawling about,

and were pushed back by the boys." Why may these not be as good food as the sea-snails, called whelks and periwinkles, which are consumed in enormous quantities, even in England, where the land-snail is despised?

If it should be conceded that living snails are not the most agreeable creatures to collect and study, the same objection will not hold against their shells;