Snails

Slugs thrive in the wet of the Pacific Northwest. There are treatments, of course, but most gardeners I know are resigned to the fact of these little pests and pay their annual tithe of bitten lettuce and hollowed out strawberries.

When I was in Nantes, France I was captivated by the fact that our hosts had snails in their garden. Snails are just as much a pest as slugs but they seem so much more civilized, perhaps because they have the decency to wear a shell. I collected two empty shells from that French garden, which I brought home as souvenirs. They looked exactly like the shells from which I had once or twice extricated escargot in very fine restaurants and so seemed to me a decidedly French symbol.

I kept my French snail shells on my kitchen window sill for about a year, then I put them in a small jar. I like the look of them. Now, I don't know if it was just the existence of those shells or the fact that I began (because I'm extremely affected and like all things French) to refer to my kitchen garden as "potagers" but I no longer have slugs in my garden. I can't remember the last time I saw one. I do, however, have snails. I don't know if this is some sort of region-wide ecological advancement or just some sort of magie francaise but it certainly is an improvement.

I am confirmed in my view that snails are far more attractive and civilized than slugs. You can nip one off a pot or rock, toss it in a bowl of salt and never once say, "Eeewww". I have brown garden snails, like the lad above, who I met this morning. (I suppose I should say "him/her", as they are hermaphrodites). Turns out these are the culinary variety so if I were so inclined I could cook them up with some garlic, parsley and butter and snack away. I picked 4 this morning. Not quite enough for an appetizer. Actually, I don't know if I could bring myself to cook them. Escargot is the sort of thing I think I'd rather order out. But the ones I found are frothing in salt and when they've gone to their reward I will clean out the shells and add them to my collection.