Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-12-01
QUEER FACTS ABOUT SLUCS.
One Carntvorous Species That Il Fierce
Tiger Shark.

The uses of slugs are various. Some
ING the day by persons addicted to
alcoholic stimulants. They are liquid.
Other kinds, very solid. are applied
externally by gentlemen who follow
the craft which Mr.. John L. Sullivan
has done SO much to adorn Both of
these species of slugs are apt to pro-
duce a bad effect on the nose. saws the
Washington Star.
Yet another sort of slug. to the dis
cussion of which this writing will be
limited. EN- braces a large family of
mollusks without shells. More accu-
rately speaking. they possess shells.
but wear them inside and not outside
of their bodies. Like the macine
skids, they have each a single small
bone. which is so far rudimentarv that
in certain varieties it has all but dis
appeared. Roughly speaking. they
may be classed in the animal kingdom
as shelless snailS.
One species, called the "testacella,"
plentiful in Europe. is one of the most
ferocious of living creatures. 1t is a
true predaceous moIlusk, representing
on the land the cutie fish of the sea.
In cunning and tierceness it is not in
ferior to the tiger or the shark. It's
prey is chiefly earth-worms, which it
hunts under the ground. When the
worm has the start of its pursuer the
slug will often intercept it by tunnel
ing across its line Of retreat.
The testacella will devour a worm
| MI mr. oh lnprar- tba, ;tcnlf - h1-
the middle and holding it until the
quarry is exhausted by its efforts to
escape. Then the captor pulls off and
swallows One-half of the victim, and
after that is digested it finishes it's
meal with the other portion. For this
purpose its mouth is furnished with
strong and sharp recurveI teeth, which
enable it to keep a firm hold and to
tear the flesh of the game it catches.
When the testacella has scented
prey it glides softly toward it so as not
to cause alarm. and fastens its Jaws
upon an unprotected part of the worm.
The latter has its body rings furnished
with stiff bristles. SO that the slug
tries to get its bite in between the
rings. Then it simply holds on until
the captive succumbs. Other slugs
and snails also are attacked and COB
bled by this predatory mollusk, which
is nocturnal in its habits, sallving
forth in the night on its marauds.
This curious animal frequents gar
dens, where the rich earth contains
worms in plenty. 1t lives to be or
years old. In winter it buries itself
deep in the ground, where it remains
torpid. Its eggs look like hens eggs
on small scale. If they are taken
out of the earth, where they are laid
and exposed to the air they burst into
pieces like diminutive bomb-shells. the
fragments flying for quite a distance.
Most species of slugs are vegeta BILE
feeders. In Europe they are very nu-
merous and do great damage to yege-
foreign varieties have all been i'm
ported to this country, but they seem
to intlict no injury here. conditions,
presumably, being unfavorable for
their propagation. 1t is hardly neces-
sary to say that they were not brought
over by design. One kind, which NAV
have been fetched on wine barrels, has
become unpleasantly numerous in
damp cellars on this side of the water
1t attains length of four inches and
is called climax maXimus."
In Portugal is found giant slug six
inches long. It's first cousin. the
"ariolimax," isquite as BIG and is very
plentiful on the Pacific coast and espe-
cially in the state of Washington,
where it has disagreeahle way of
dropping from the trees. The climax
campestris" is smaller variety. found
all over the interior of this country, in
the woods, beneath the bark of trees
and wherever it is damp. An import
ed kind that has become fairly numer-
ous here, likewise of moderate size, is
called the climax agrestis." There
are many other species in this part OF
| the world, both native and exotic.