vi.] WEEDS SLUGS MICE 33 



a new plant. The only cure is to fill the ground 

 with some crop which will soon be replaced by another, 

 and in this way will allow several opportunities of picking 

 out the roots during the season. 



Dandelion and other deep-rooted weeds growing on 

 walks and in grass may be killed by applying some 

 drops of vitriol when the crown has been cut. 



Labour may be saved in scuffling garden walks by 

 using a weed-killing mixture which claims to keep a 

 path clear of weeds for eighteen months. 



In some of our gardens one of our worst enemies is the 

 small white or black slug". These creatures bury them- 

 selves in the ground or hide under decaying leaves, coming 

 out after dark to make a clean sweep of young seedlings 

 on their first appearance. I have known them during one 

 winter to devour a large group of Christmas Roses. Their 

 bane is quicklime, but that cannot always be used with 

 safety. A sliced Swede turnip left in their haunts will 

 often attract them in great numbers. Each night or early 

 morning the slices should be turned up, examined, and the 

 slugs picked into a flower-pot containing some lime or salt 

 I have been told that a circle of zinc with copper wire 

 running round the top has been found a destructive 

 agent against any slugs that venture to trespass over it. 



Where mice are troublesome peas should be moistened 

 with paraffin and then dusted with red-lead powder 

 before being sown. 



Small birds will watch for the first sign of germination 

 in cabbage and turnip seeds, so that it is necessary at the 



C 



