PESTS AND DISEASES. 51 



severe attack, remove the whole of the manure and soil right 

 away from the neighbourhood of the beds, and then spray 

 the roof, walls and floor of the mushroom house with a 

 solution of one pound of sulphate of copper to fifteen gallons 

 of water. The spraying should be done three times, at 

 intervals of ten days. During this period keep the house 

 warm and moist to encourage the fungi to grow and be more 

 easily killed by the copper solution. 



Slugrs and Snails. — These are very partial to mush- 

 rooms. Trap them by placing heaps of bran or brewer's 

 grains about the beds. Examine the heaps at night, and 

 collect and destroy the slugs or snails found thereon. 



Woodlice (Oniscus Armadillo). — These creatures some- 

 times do a great deal of injury to mushrooms and to the 

 fruits of cucumbers grown in frames. They have also been 

 known to attack young tomato plants. 



Remedies. — Being night feeders they are difficult to de- 

 tect. As they congregate when not feeding among rubbish 

 and in crevices of walls and floors, their numbers may be 

 considerably reduced by pouring boiling water on the inib- 

 bish and walls. Traps, consisting of dirty flower pots half- 

 filled with moss and laid on their sides, and potato tubers 

 or mangolds with their interiors scooped out, form an ex- 

 cellent means of catching woodlice. Beetle poison spread 

 on bread and butter and laid about the beds will lure them 

 to destruction. 



