VI. LIST OF FRUITS. 



protection but a net, held up by hoops or little forked 

 sticks. The slug is a still more bitter enemy j and, in 

 some seasons, where strawberries are suffered to run 

 together in beds, more than half the fruit is consumed or 

 spoiled by these nasty and mischievous reptiles. The 

 remedy is, to examine the clumps well just as the straw- 

 berries are beginning to be ripe. See that there are no 

 slugs about the stems of the leaves, and then make a 

 little circle of hot lime, at half a foot or so at the ex- 

 tremity of the leaves of the clumps. No slug will enter 

 that magic circle - t but, if rain come, or even heavy 

 dews, the lime becomes slack and powerless, and a little 

 more must be put upon the circle, the least dust in the 

 world being enough. The other precaution -, namely, to 

 keep the fruit from being beaten by the rain down 

 amongst the dirt, short grass -mo wings, or moss, the 

 latter being the best of the two, should be laid round the 

 stems of the plants, just as the fruit begins to ripen. 

 This will completely guard against the evil : come what 

 rain will, the fruit will always be clean. The last thing 

 that I have to mention, is the watering; and a real good 

 watering with rain-water, or pond-water, should be 

 given just when the blossoms are falling and the fruit 

 begins to set. Blacking the ground over with the rose 

 of the watering-pot is of no use at all : the water should 

 be poured out of the nose of the pot, held close down 

 to the plant j and, one gallon of water, at least, should 

 be given at one time to every clump of plants. If the 

 weather be very hot in June, even while the fruit is 

 ripening, and while you are gathering strawberries, they 

 might have another such a watering, and that would be 

 enough. Nothing have I ever found more difficult than, 



