GOOSEBERRIES. 55 



Enemies. The greatest of these are birds such 

 as bull-finches and sparrows, destroying the buds 

 in the spring ; and caterpillars, eating the leaves, 

 destroying the crops, and seriously injuring the 

 trees in the early summer. 



Where the bushes are not numerous, and the 

 branches at the distances apart suggested, it is not 

 half so tedious as it seems to smear them with the 

 following mixture, covering every particle of stems 

 and buds with the aid of a painter's brush. Take 

 fresh lime and soot, nearly double the quantity of 

 the former, also some clay, and mix them to the 

 consistency of paint, adding also some melted 

 grease of any kind best obtainable. This mixture 

 adheres for months, and birds seldom pick out the 

 buds, while caterpillars rarely attack the leaves, and 

 the stems are kept free from moss. A quicker 

 method of covering the stems with a bird and moss 

 antidote, is to throw freshly slaked lime amongst 

 them when every twig is wet, after having a heavy 

 mist or fog. If the work is well done, the trees 

 will be quite white when dry, and the lime that 

 falls will be of benefit as a manure. If caterpillars 

 appear, dredge them with Hellebore powder when 

 wet, and it will destroy all that are reached, then 

 syringe well with clear water to wash off the pow- 

 der, which is poisonous ; but where lime is used as 



