GARDEN FRIENDS. 



119 



pillars have taken up their abode. The tongue 

 is also very long, and adapted for fetching out 

 the insects. None of the true woodpeckers are 

 at all common. The Common Creeper (Certhia 

 familiaris) is a plentiful and active bird, that 

 climbs from the base to the top of trees, search- 

 ing the bark with great diligence for insects and 

 their larvae. The Wren {Troglodytes eurqpaeus) 

 is well known to everyone, feeds upon insects, 

 and is comparatively harmless to any garden 

 crop. The Nuthatch (Sitta europea) is another 

 extremely active tree-climber, and often comes 

 to the ground as well in quest of seeds, nuts, 

 and insects upon which it feeds. 



Earthworms. — The most common, the 

 largest, and best-known British species (Lumbri- 

 cus terrestris) is a little-prized and much-slighted 

 creature, and even if regarded as harmless, it is 

 ignored as useless. This is better, however, 

 than an organized raid against a comparatively 

 inoffensive and unaggressive benefactor. The 

 numerous burrows it makes in the soil allows 

 the surface water to pass away quickly, thus 

 constituting a very efficient natural drainage, 

 provided the subsoil is fairly open and not 

 water-logged. The large quantity of soil and 

 humus which it passes through its body in the 

 course of a year, and casts on the surface, con- 

 stitutes an excellent natural top-dressing, which 

 is particularly beneficial to grass and other 

 dwarf vegetation whose roots are near the sur- 

 face. The castings are richer in soluble and 

 readily soluble plant-food after passing through 

 the body of the worm than it was previously. 

 When the drainage of pots gets stopped up by 

 worms, means should be taken to evict them by 

 means of clear lime-water, or by turning the 

 plants out of their pots to secure the offenders. 

 Soils excessively infested by worms show that 

 they contain too much humus for the well-being 

 of plants, and will be ameliorated by a dressing 

 of lime. Lawns rendered unsightly and incon- 

 venient on account of the number of castings 

 in spring or autumn, may be watered with brine 

 or a solution of salt and water, or, better still, 

 with lime-water. The worms will rise to the 

 surface, and may be swept up and removed. 



Frogs and Toads and Lizards. — The 

 Common Frog (Rana temporaria), though formerly, 

 and frequently yet, a much-persecuted animal, 

 is not only harmless, but a great benefactor to 

 all who have in hand the cultivation of the soil. 

 It lives upon various insects and small slugs, 

 and even swallows large, hard-cased beetles and 

 large insects, taking several at a meal. The 

 Common Toad (Bufo vulgaris) has been the 



innocent victim of even much greater perse- 

 cution than its near relative, the frog, merely 

 through ignorance, prejudice, and superstition, 

 now happily being dissipated by the light of 

 | science. Its food is similar to that of the frog, 

 but it also devours worms, sometimes of large 

 size; it declines to swallow anything not living, 

 and even waits till its victim commences to 

 move as a rule, when the tongue is darted forth 

 in an instant, and the living insect swallowed at 

 ! a gulp. Large worms entail more deliberation 

 ; before they are overcome and despatched. The 

 , toad can live in drier places than the frog, being 

 j mostly terrestrial in habit. Both are now 

 j frequently kept in plant-houses, especially where 

 ' Orchids are grown, to help in keeping down 

 vermin. Small, green, exotic frogs are also very 

 often imported, and find buyers amongst Orchid 

 growers for the same purpose. They take up 

 their station upon a leaf, or upon the beams or 

 I supporting bars of the roof, and being out of 

 the way are neither very noticeable nor so likely 

 to be trodden upon as our native representatives 

 of the two tribes above mentioned. The Com- 

 mon Lizard (Zootoca wvipara) lives upon dipterous 

 insects, and others of the beetle and grass- 

 hopper orders, provided they are not too large. 

 Hawkflies. — This name is given to a tribe 

 of dipterous or two -winged flies, from their 

 peculiar habit of hovering over wild or culti- 

 vated flowers of various kinds, after the manner 

 of a hawk. They are on the wing during spring, 



Fig. 154— Hawkflies. 



1. Scceva ialteata; 2, Larva with greenfly in its jaws: 3. Pupa. 4. Seaea 

 Pyrastri ; 5, Larva 5 6, Pupa. 7. Scctva Ribesii. 



summer, and autumn, but are generally ex- 

 ceedingly numerous during July, August, and 

 September, in fact much more so than lady- 

 birds or lacewing flies, also avowed enemies of 

 aphides. Besides their habit of hovering, they 

 may also be recognized by the jerky manner of 

 flight, that is, after hovering over some flowers 

 for a time they suddenly dart away for a short 

 distance and then resume their hovering. They 



