Mine Enemies 121 



stitutional after a full meal. So I take any convenient dewy 

 morn for my operations, as I have to battle with them inter- 

 mittently from early spring until other pests arrive to divide 

 my attention. 



The white grubworm is, in a way, worse than the brown 

 cutworm, for it works below ground, eats the roots of plants, 

 and cuts through the stem so near the roots that a plant seldom 

 recovers from its tooth. It is a wholly unnecessary by-product 

 of a garden, provided one takes the precaution never to use 

 fresh manure directly in the beds. Prepare a compost heap 

 where loads of sand, leaf mold, loam and well-rotted manure 

 are deposited and worked over from time to time. When a 

 year old, add this mixture as a fertilizer and you will have no 

 grubs. During my first two years of gardening I made the 

 mistake of using fresh horse-dressing, and the white grubs 

 were everywhere. Since I have established a compost 'heap, 

 the grubs have entirely disappeared. They have to be dug out 

 and despatched, unless you are fortunate or unfortunate 

 enough to have moles also, which follow a worm as the day the 

 night. 



If animals could only be taught how to use a garden prop- 

 erly all would be well with my world: but dogs do not stand 

 at the edge and wag their tails in mute admiration of its 

 beauty; cats will not avert their eyes from birds and concen- 

 trate on mice and moles; and moles will not pick their way 

 guardedly between rows of plants and shoo their prey in well- 

 defined runways. Hence, dogs, cats and moles are anathema, 

 and I will have none of them. 



"Ah, very nice," exclaims the gentle reader, "we do not 

 like moles either, but what can you do to drive them away?" 

 Before I answer that question, let me relate my early experi- 

 ences with the mole. 



My garden was constructed from a stone heap, and a stone 



