MUSHROOM PESTS AND HOW TO CONTROL THEM, H 



numbers aggregating a pint or more in quantity might have been 

 collected from a shovelful of material. 



REMEDIES. 



Where the mushroom house is small in extent it is possible mate- 

 rially to reduce the numbers of sowbugs by means of hand picking. 

 The house may be visited at night, when by the aid of a lantern 

 numbers of sowbugs may be seen crawling about on the earthen casing 

 of the beds and upon the boards and supports of the benches. These 

 may be destroyed with a small wooden paddle. 



It is also possible to secure good results by pouring hot water along 

 the cracks in the boards and in other places where the " bugs "' may 

 be concealed by day. This is effective in small establishments, but is 

 somewhat difficult of application in large houses. In such a case 

 fumigation with hydrocyanic-acid gas is an effective remedy. 



Another method is to cut small pieces of raw potato, plastering 

 the Avet surface with Paris green, and laying them about on the beds 

 in the localities affected by the sowbugs. This method is frequently 

 successful in entirely ridding houses of this pest. 



A modification of this treatment successfully used by the writer 

 in the destruction of sowbugs in greenhouse benches is the applica- 

 tion of the ordinary poisoned-bran mash commonly recommended 

 for the destruction of cutworms and grasshoppers. This bait is pre- 

 pared as follows : 



Bran pounds.- 25 



Paris green or white arsenic do 1 



Oi'anges or lemons do 6 



Cheap sirup or molasses quarts 2 



Water gallons__ 4 



The bran should be placed in a washtub or similar container and 

 the poison added while dry. These should be thoroughly mixed and 

 then the water, to which has been added the sirup and the finely 

 chopped fruit, should be stirred into the mixture until a wet mash 

 is formed. After the mash is allowed to stand an hour or two, it 

 may be scattered thinly on the infested beds. 



SLUGS. 



The appearance of conspicuous, ragged holes eaten into the caps of 

 mushrooms (see illustration on title page) during the night may 

 often be traced to the presence of the large imported garden slug.^ 

 These unpleasant creatures are extremity fond of mushrooms, issuing 

 from their hiding places toward evening, and, leaving a trail of slime 

 behind them, proceeding in search of their favorite food. 



1 Limax maximus L. 



