34 THE BOOK OF PEARS AND PLUMS 



injured fruit. Mr Cheal in his " Fruit Culture " recom- 

 mends that galvanised wire netting be put over the whole 

 ground. This may do for small plantations, not for 

 large, nor for places where the trees rise beyond J feet. 

 Many use the Cloister Fruit Protector of perforated 

 celluloid. This protects peaches, apples, pears, etc., 

 from birds, wasps and snails, but the cost is heavy. 

 Muslin bags kept carefully from year to year are good. 

 The fruit rests in them and grows. Nets made in dif- 

 ferent sizes might be put over bush trees on stakes. 

 They last if kept dry. The gardener, too, should have 

 a gun and use it at dawn and daily. Messrs Bunyard 

 recommend a trap like a lobster pot made by Gilbertson 

 & Page, Hertford, to be baited with soaked bread. 

 This trap takes birds alive. The house-sparrow and the 

 bullfinch are the chief, but not the only, enemies. Robins, 

 hedge-sparrows, 1 etc., might be released. Cut ivy care- 

 fully back, and encourage winter nets and sparrow clubs. 

 Frost is another foe. Cordons might be protected by 

 hoops covered with tiffany, Russian canvas, mats, or 

 netting ; bushes by nets, mats, etc. A movable coping 

 over a wall is often useful. But if strong colonies of 

 bees are close at hand, they will rarely fail to fertilise 

 some blossoms. In fine intervals bees come out in 

 crowds, and do great good. Queen wasps and wasps' 

 nests should be sought and destroyed. Country children 

 will find them for a small reward. 



WINTER AND SPRING WASHES 



If the fruit-blossoms survive frost, cold winds and 

 rain, enemies of a different kind await them. It is 

 necessary to spray or wash the trees if these enemies are 

 to be kept at bay. 



1 Hedge-sparrow smaller, duller in colour, eggs bluish green, builds 

 in hedges ; house-sparrow, eggs white, with brown spots, nests in 

 trees and buildings. 



