158 BULBS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



time, then rolling them in powdered red lead before 

 planting. 



Sparrows, These feathered vagabonds possess the 

 bump of wilful destructiveness. In spring, when the 

 crocuses are in flower, they peck off the petals and destroy 

 the beauty of the blossoms. 



EEMEDIBS. To guard against this injury, stretch lines of 

 black cotton fixed to short sticks a few inches above the 

 flowers. This will frighten the mischievous creatures 

 away. 



Moles (Talpa europaea). These creatures often do 

 much harm in gardens by burrowing beneath lawns and 

 in beds and borders. Their natural diet consists of earth- 

 worms, wireworms, grubs, and slugs, so in this sense they 

 render service to the gardener; and, as they are voracious 

 feeders, the number of worms they dispose of must be 

 great. However, there is no getting away from the fact 

 that they do serious harm by burrowing in the garden, 

 and therefore cannot be tolerated. 



REMEDIES. (1) Trapping is the surest way of getting rid 

 of moles, but it requires a good deal of skill to do this, as 

 the Mole is a wary creature. His sense of smell, more- 

 over, is very acute. Iron mole- traps are the best kind to 

 use, and these should only be handled by gloved hands. 

 Find out the principal runs, open the soil with a spud or 

 trowel, not with the hands; set the trap, and fix it directly 

 across the run ; then cover with soil. We may here men- 

 tion that it is no use setting a trap in a mole-hill ; leave 

 this alone. If a trap be set in every run the culprit is 

 bound to be caught ere long. (2) Collect half a pint of earth- 

 worms, take them to a chemist and get him to add one 

 drachm of powdered strychnine to them. Stir them up 

 well for a few minutes ; then find out the runs, make a 

 hole here and there with a stick, and drop in one of the 

 worms, closing the hole with soil. The greedy mole will 



