THE DAWN OF SPRING 



with the advice of the manufacturers, will destroy the March 

 enemy in the ground. It is called Apterite, and it can ^~^5 

 be bought from nurserymen. One often sees it adver- 

 tised in gardening papers. 



And a Hint about Slugs. — What the wire worm is 

 under ground, the slug is above it — a voracious, ex- 

 asperating enemy, with no limits to its appetite. The 

 slug has its favourite dishes, but if they are not about 

 he will make shift with something else, and the some- 

 thing else may be a special plant. I countenance no 

 parley with slugs — no armistice, no white flag. It is war 

 to the bitter end — a war of extermination. The slug 

 gives no quarter, and must receive none. Alas ! that 

 anything associated with gentle gardening should arouse 

 this spirit of destruction in us ! I will listen patiently 

 to any homily which a humanitarian may think fit to 

 address to me because of this bloodthirsty talk, but no 

 slug had better presume on it to get in my way after- 

 wards. The mildest human being can boil up on 

 occasion ; it is only a case of getting provocation 

 enough, and of all aggravating things the destruction 

 of a bed of seedlings by slugs is the worst. One can 

 better endure an all-round decline in one's investments. 

 The particular hint that I was going to offer about slugs 

 was to scatter Sanitas powder on the soil among the 

 plants. Slugs simply loathe it, and if it is used will 

 retreat on neighbours' gardens in disgust. We can all 

 endure slugs in our neighbours' gardens very well. 

 Failing Sanitas, try repeated dustings of dry lime at 

 night. Both require renewal after rain. 



Violas for Beds and Borders. — The Viola is on the 



same plane as the Carnation. It is a hardy plant that 



is often grown under glass during part of its life. It 



is common, for instance, to take cuttings of Violas in 



129 I 



