1 78 ROCK GARDENS 



were destroyed or kept at bay for more than 

 a few days at most. The only thing I have 

 found really efficacious in warding off their 

 attack is a ring of zinc round the plant. It 

 is not ornamental, but can be removed as 

 soon as the plant has made its growth, when 

 the slugs can do but comparatively little 

 damage, the crucial time being when growth 

 is just commencing. 



These zinc rings are simple to make. Get 

 a sheet of zinc and cut into strips about i^ 

 inch wide, and long enough to go round the 

 plant, and fasten the ends together with copper 

 wire. The theory is that as zinc and copper 

 in contact create a certain amount of electricity, 

 the marauding slug gets a shock on touching 

 this barrier. Whether this is the case or 

 not I cannot say, but the fact remains that 

 they will not cross the zinc. When putting 

 this ring round a plant, make sure there are 

 neither slugs nor snails in the plant or ground 

 around it. If any are within the magic circle, 

 there they will remain and concentrate all 

 their energies on the one unhappy plant, with 

 dire results. 



