WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 39 



annoy him. This, however, takes time. It takes 

 all day and part of the night. For he flieth in 

 darkness, and wasteth at noonday. If you get 

 up before the dew is off the plants, it goes off 

 very early, you can sprinkle soot on the plant 

 (soot is my panacea : if I can get the disease of 

 a plant reduced to the necessity of soot, I am 

 all right) ; and soot is unpleasant to the bug. 

 But the best thing to do is to set a toad to catch 

 the bugs. The toad at once establishes the most 

 intimate relations with the bug. It is a pleasure 

 to see such unity among the lower animals. The 

 difficulty is to make the toad stay and watch 

 the hill. If you know your toad, it is all right 

 If you do not, you must build a tight fence round 

 the plants, which the toad cannot jump over. 

 This, however, introduces a new element. I find 

 that I have a zoological garden on my hands. It 

 is an unexpected result of my little enterprise, 

 which never aspired to the completeness of the 

 Paris &quot;Jardin des Plantes.&quot; 



