Evening star., 1947-08-11
This and That
By Charles Z. Trace1uell.

SdER1DAN STREET.
Dear Sir:
II once read with interest your story about
Templeton Jones and the thousand-leggers and
his way of catching them with vacuum
cleaner, but doubt that he ever experienced q
nightly visit from snail
This fellow is about S inches long and
appears about midnight in the double laundry
tub sometimes on one side, other times in the
other section.
Does he serve purpose or shall I destroy
him; also where does he hang out in the day
time?
AN admirer of your style. am
Sincerely, K. L."
A slug is a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod
IN which the shell Is replaced by an internal
plate oyerlying the respirational cavity
Slugs or snails come In two sorts in this
country, the large European gray snail, intro
duced many years ago, and the small American
species.
The big gray one may be as much as 4 to s
inches long, whereas the little one Is not more
than an inch.
Both are eaters of vegetable matter. In
Europe the big one is a great destroyer of
crops but in this country, probably because it
llnds more food to its liking, it is no such pest
ihat these queer creatures serve any real
useruI purpose, at least from mans standpoint,
is doubtful.
AAObo1AS CAiS 11itCACot G1lcy CIcNLc Ill SOME
questing minds is as much reason for being
tat least from mans viewpoinD as they pos
Sess; they are not beautiful, certainly: the
slime they exude cannot be said to look very
wholesome and their presence in otherwise
clean quarters must be suspect.
Our correspondents slug probably lives on
the underside or back of the laundry tubs.
careful inspection by daylight may show
him neatly and quietly taking his ease.
These are nocturnal, feeding at night, gen.
orally on plants
It may be that this specimen finds some
fungus to his liking in the tub. If there is q
window with screen above the tubs he prob
ably gains entrance there.
Sometimes they enter at doors, and especial
ly like to live on the underside of boards placed
as runways to some Easements constructed
with the old type cellar steps from the outside
Just what snails and centipedes find in tube
Is somewhat of mystery, but both like to &c.
into such places and are often found in them
The latter may be washed down, but the slugs
would not 60, and, besides, no one would relish
the idea.
1t may be that both creatures seek water: at
least they are attracted by damp places This
comes about, at least in the case OF the slugs,
because of their composition. They are made
of jellylike stuff, and one of their great feats
is to secrete the thread" Of material by which
they sometimes let themselves down from trees.
"!ooks," the snails or slugs are capable things,
interesting in their way fully capable of getting
along in the world.
Let no one despise them, because they prob
ably will be around long after mankind has
blown itself OF the face of the earth
Only on cloudy damp days are they likely
to show up in the daytime. Mostly they like
the cool Of the night, when, they leave the
silvery trails which are their trade marks to
most OF us.
There is no harm In them as far as is known
They are just one Of the strange living things
an inexhaustible nature turned out and then
leS go on by itself.
Some persons pour salt on them and watch
them disintegrate. 1t is cruel death and un-
worthy of even snail. The best way is to
scoop them up and put them out in the vege-
table matter they love. They do no particu-
lar harm there and must get kick out Of
living In their odd way. In the daytime they
sleep on the undersides Of leaves, which act
as umbrellas for them In case of sudden
storms. This is just . little way In which
nature takes care Of her own.