2033. Slugs

Slugs and SNAILS are great enemies to every kind of garden-plant, whether flower or vegetable; they wander in the night to feed, and return at day-light to their haurts; the shortest and surest direction is, "rise early, catch them, and kill them." If you are an early riser, you may cut them off from their day retreats, or you may lay cabbage leaves about the ground, especially on the beds which they frequent. Every morning examine these leaves, and you will find a great many taking refuge beneath; if they plague you very much, search for their retreat, which you can find by their slimy track, and hunt there for them day by day; lime and salt are very annoying to snails and slugs; a pinch of salt kills them, and they will not touch fresh lime; it is a common practice to sprinkle lime over young crops, and along the edges of beds, about rows of peas and heans, lettuces and other vegetables; but when it has been on the ground some days, or has been moistened by rain, it loses its strength (See 1305, 1306.)

2034. Caterpillars And Aphides

A garden syringe or engine, with a cap on the pipe full of very minute holes, will wash away these disagreeable visitors very quickly. You must bring the pipe close to the plant, and pump hard, so as to have considerable force on, and the plant, however badly infested, will soon be cleared without receiving any injury. Every time that you use the syringe or garden engine, you must immediately rake the earth under the trees, and kill the insects you have dislodged, or many will recover and climb up the stems of the plants.

2035. Grubs on orchard trees and gooseberry and currant bushes, will sometimes be sufficiently numerous to spoil a crop; but, if a bonfire be made with dry sticks and weeds on the windward side of the orchard, so that the smoke may blow among the trees, you will destroy thousands; for the grubs have such an objection to smoke, that very little of it makes them roll themselves up and fall off; they must be swept up afterwards.

2036. Wasps destroy a good deal of fruit, but every pair of wasps killed in spring eaves the trouble and annoyance of a swarm in autumn; it is necessary, however, to be very careful in any attempt upon a wasp, for its sting is painful and lasting. In ca6e of being stung, get the blue bag from the laundry, and rub it well into the wound as soon as possible. Later in the season, it is customary to hang vessels of beer, or water and sugar, in the fruit-trees, to entice them to drown themselves.

2037. Butterflies and Moths, however pretty, are the worst enemies one can have in a garden; a single insect of this kind may deposit eggs enough to overrun a tree with caterpillars, therefore they should be destroyed at any cost of trouble. The only moth that you must spare, is the common black and red one; the grubs of this feed exclusively on grounsel, and are therefore a valuable ally of the gardener.

2038. Earwigs are very destructive insects; their favourite food is the petals of roses, pinks, dahlias, and other flowers. They may be caught by driving stakes into the ground, and placing on each an inverted flower-pot; the earwigs will climb up and take refuge under it, when they may be taken out and killed. Clean bowls of tobacco-pipes placed in like manner on the tops of smaller sticks are very good traps; or very deep holes may be made in the ground with a crowbar, into these they will fall, and may be destroyed by boiling water.

2039. Toads are among the best friends the gardener has; for they live almost exclusively on the most destructive kinds of vermin. Unsightly, therefore, though they may be, they should on all accounts be encouraged; they should never be touched nor molested in any way; on the contrary, places of shelter should be made for them, to which they may retire from the burning heat of the sun. If you have none in your garden, it will be quite worth your while to search for them in your walks, and bring them home, taking care to handle them tenderly, for although they have neither the will nor the power to injure you, a very little rough treatment will injure them; no cucumber or melon frame should be without one or two.