INSECT AND OTHER ENEMIES. 129 



January or February are about as scarce as mushrooms 

 themselyes. A dressing of salt is distasteful to slugs, 

 and not injurious to mushrooms. Strong, fresh lime 

 water may be freely sprinkled oyer woodwork, pathways, 

 walls, or elsewhere where slugs might gather and hide 

 themselves ; but this solution should not be used upon 

 the mushroom beds. Bigid cleanliness, however, about 

 the mushroom house, and an ever-alert eye for slugs, 

 should keep them under. 



Wood Lice. — These are sure to be more or less 

 abundant in every mushroom house, even in the cellars. 

 They crawl in through doors, ventilators, or other inter- 

 stices, and are brought in with the manure, and find 

 shelter about the woodwork, manure, or any bits of dry 

 litter that may be around. They attack the pinhead 

 and small button mushrooms by biting out little patches 

 in their tops and sides ; and although these patches are 

 small to begin with, the blemish spreads as the mush- 

 room grows, and is an objectionable feature. Trapping 

 and killing the insects is the chief remedy. Put part of 

 a half boiled potato (for which no salt had been used) 

 into a little pasteboard box, and cover the potato with 

 some very dry swamp moss, lay the box on its side, and 

 open at the end on the bed. The wood lice will gather 

 to eat the potato, and remain after feasting because the 

 dry moss affords them a cozy hiding place. Several of 

 these little boxes can be used. Go through the house in 

 the morning, lift the little traps quickly, and shake out 

 any wood lice that may be in them into a tin pail (an 

 old lard pail will do), which shomd contain a little water 

 and kerosene. These traps may be used for any length 

 of time, merely obsemng to change the potato now and 

 again to have it in appetizing condition. Hot water or 

 strong kerosene emulsion may be poured about the wood- 

 work, walls, and pathways, to destroy the wood lice, but 

 should not be allowed to touch the beds. Poisoned 

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