WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 35 



as bugs go, but utterly dastardly, in that he 

 gnaws the stem of the plant close to the 

 ground, and ruins it without any apparent 

 advantage to himself. I find him on the 

 hills of cucumbers (perhaps it will be a chol- 

 era-year, and we shall not want any), the 

 squashes (small loss), and the melons (which 

 never ripen). The best way to deal with 

 the striped bug is to sit down by the hills, 

 and patiently watch for him. If you are 

 spry, you can annoy him. This, however, 

 takes time. It takes all day and part of the 

 night. For he flieth in darkness, and wast- 

 eth at noonday. If you get up before the 

 dew is off the plants, it goes off very early, 

 you can sprinkle soot on the plant (soot 

 is my panacea : if I can get the disease of a 

 plant reduced to the necessity of soot, I am 

 all right) ; and soot is unpleasant to the 

 bug. But the best thing to do is to set a 

 toad to catch the bugs. The toad at once 

 establishes the most intimate relations with 

 the bug. It is a pleasure to see such unity 

 among the lower animals. The difficulty is 



