THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



235 



stems of leaves and plants; but, if they 

 were to prey upon the green-fly (as wasps 

 do upon flies and bees) why, they would do 

 good service, and would be welcome guests ; 

 for aphides are, without exception, the 

 greatest pests of the greenhouse. Sings can 

 be got rid of more easily, as their numbers 

 are never great in a house that is well looked 

 after — their slimy track, and nibbling pro- 

 pensities cannot long escape the eye of the gar- 

 dener. Woodlice, again, are very destructive 

 creatures, they will devour a whole pot of 

 young seedlings in a night ; and, he who, hav- 

 ing had a batch of young plants thus de- 

 stroyed, in which great hopes and expectations 

 were centred, would have good grounds for 

 waging a war of extermination against the 

 delinquents. And, to accomplish his pur- 

 pose, he could not do bettor than keep a 

 few hungry toads in his greenhouse; and, 

 moreover, that would be the most humane 

 way of getting rid of his pests. Slugs and 

 woodlice are the natural food of the toad, 

 and, therefore, in allowing them to be dealt 

 with by that useful, but illused little fellow, 

 the balance of creation would not be dis- 

 turbed. 



Hedgehogs are recommended to be kept in 

 greenhouses for the same purpose, but I 

 believe, without a good reason. Those who 

 recommend this prickly gentleman, cannot 

 be aware of his habit, and mode of life. If 

 lie was content with eating slugs and wood- 

 lice, it would be very well, but such is not 

 the case. He can make a dinner of vegeta- 

 bles as well as woodlice, and, therefore, 

 in resorting to his aid to rid your house of 

 slugs, &c., you will rind the remedy more 

 annoying than the complaint, so much so, 

 that I question if any one will try the experi- 

 ment a second time. I tried it once ; but 

 never again will I put a hedgehog in my 

 greenhouse or garden either. And, perhaps, 

 I may as well give a sketch of his doings, as 

 a warning to others. — One evening, as I 

 was taking a walk, Rose (a favourite dog), 

 brought me a hedgehog; I saved his life, 

 carried him home, and put him in the green- 

 house. Xext morning, I went up to have a 

 peep at him. The first thing I saw, was a 

 beautiful young fuchsia (Duchess of Lan- 

 caster) lying on the ground. I immediately 



raised her highness as gently as possible, but 

 was grieved to find that the injuries she had 

 sustained, were of so serious a nature as t<> 

 be past recovery. In fact, she had been 

 thrown down and nearly devoured by the 

 hedgehog. On looking round on the stage 

 (a flat one) there I saw pots strewed about 

 in all directions, the plants broken and nib- 

 bled to pieces; some two or three dozen 

 potted balsams, that I raised and nursed 

 with care, were bitten in two; and many other 

 things, totally ruined. I looked about for 

 the despoiler of my pets, but could not find 

 liim. I seai-ched again and again with the 

 same result. At length I carried up Rose, 

 and she soon told me where the black rascal 

 was hid. I could never have thought it. In 

 a space three inches wide, between the 

 horizontal Hue and the front brickwork of 

 the house, my gentleman had taken up his 

 " snuggery." To pull him out was impossible, 

 and Kose could not reach him. I tried to 

 poke him out with an iron rod, but he was 

 immoveable; so I thought the better plan 

 would be to let him come out himself. But 

 the idea of his remaining there another night, 

 with the chance of feeding again upon my 

 nurslings would be monstrous, so I was 

 determined to watch for him, even if I lost 

 a night's sleep. No landed proprietor was 

 ever more anxious to eject a bad tenant, 

 than I was to get rid of my troublesome 

 one. However, after patiently awaiting till 

 a late hour, I heard some pots go to rack 

 on the stage ; and on running in I discovered 

 Mr. Hedgehog to be the cause of the upset. 

 " Hallo, old fellow — you're at it again, are 

 you ? " I exclaimed. " How did you get up 

 on the stage, eh ? " As he made no answer 

 to my queries, I popped him into a barrel, 

 and shut him up. Next day, I gave him in 

 charge of a baker, with whom he became 

 quite tame and earnt his lodging by devour- 

 ing cockroaches. But he couldn't be content 

 with his floury demesne, but must needs find 

 his way to a neighbour's garden, and nibble 

 the hearts out of the cabbages, for which, 

 that neighbour, taking him for a rabbit, 

 shot him dead in the act of destruction. So 

 much for aphides and hedgehogs as friends 

 or enemies to the garden. 



Wells. M. Westcott. 



OCTOBER WORK IN THE GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE. 



The past month has been favourable 

 to all the occupations of the season, 

 and there is no excuse for any com- 

 plaints against the weather by those 

 ■who have not yet secured sufficient 

 bedding- stock, or whose fruit trees 



have not thoroughly ripened their 

 wood. Such a bright and warm Sep- 

 tember prepares everything for safely 

 enduring the rigours of winter, and, 

 from this time till frosts come, it is the 

 gardener's duty to take advantage of 



