i 



SNAILS AND EARWIGS. 27 



thickly round any plant : they equally dislike a 

 fence of sticks placed around a plot, with bits of 

 white paper or card fastened to each stick ; or a 

 string carried around the sticks a foot or two high. 

 If they cannot creep under a slight fence, they 

 never attempt to leap over it. If a stick is run into 

 the ground close to a plant, and other sticks are 

 slanted from the ground towards that centre, the 

 plant will remain untouched, be the frost of ever so 

 long duration. 



Snails are disagreeable intruders, but the follow- 

 ing method is an exterminating war of short dura- 

 tion : 



Throw cabbage leaves upon your borders over 

 night ; in the morning early, you will find them 

 covered underneath with snails, which have taken 

 refuge there. Thus they are easily taken and 

 destroyed. 



Earwigs are taken in numbers by hanging galli- 

 pots, tubes, or any such receptacle, upon low sticks 

 in the borders over night. In these they shelter 

 themselves, and are consequently victimized in the 

 morning. The gallipots, broken bottles, &c. should 

 be placed upon the stick like a man's hat, that the 

 vermin may ascend into them. 



Ants are very great enemies to flowers ; but I 

 know no method of attacking them, except in their 

 own strongholds, which I have always done with 

 cruel intrepidity and success. My only plan was 

 to lay open the little ant-hill, and pour boiling water 

 upon the busy insects, which destroyed at once the 

 commonwealth, and the eggs deposited within the 

 mound. In some places ants are extremely large 



