FERN FOES, BRITISH AND EXOTIC. 



175 



Caterpillars cannot be said to be very particular as to the nature of the 

 Ferns on which they feed, for we have frequently had the opportunity of 

 observing the same individual going from the soft-textured Lady Fern, on 

 which it was hatched, to the more succulent Asplenium lucidum and Poly- 

 podium aureum, and thence to the leathery Lomaria procera (ehilensis), 

 oftentimes even attacking the harsh foliage of Dichsonia antarctica, and 

 that hi a house where any amount of softer or tenderer foliage was at 

 hand. Consequently, it is no easy matter to allure these pests towards any 

 particular bait, and the only way of getting rid of them is to pick them off by 

 hand. A great deal of anxiety later on can, however, be avoided by acting 

 on the axiom that prevention is better than cure, and by paying special 

 attention during the summer to the destruction of all moths and butterflies 

 making the Fernery their headquarters or their rambling-grounds. 



For woodlice, scooped-out pieces of potato, turnip, &c, or traps consisting 

 of pots laid on their side, with a little moss in them, to which they will 

 retire for a hiding-place, may be laid with success. For slugs and snails, 

 pieces of lettuce and cabbage leaves are said to be attractive, but by far the 

 best material is fresh bran, which should be disposed in small quantities about 

 the house, and to which it will be found that they go in preference to any 

 other bait. As it is usually at night that these pests come out, it is 

 indispensable to search diligently for them by lamplight, when many of 

 them will be found making their way to, or already buried in, the bran. 

 Searching for the above foes will also afford 

 an opportunity of catching cockroaches, if there 

 are any about the house, as these seldom come 

 out before night. They usually infest warm- 

 houses only, and they select for resting- 

 places the warmest corners, whence they direct 

 their nocturnal visits, retiring to their haunts Fig. f$, Female Cockroach. 



before daylight. Cockroaches (Fig. 18) are 



seldom found in greenhouses, or in places where the temperature is allowed 

 to fall below 50deg. ; and when accidentally found under such conditions, their 

 running powers, which under the influence of a warm temperature are excessive, 

 seem paralysed, and their destruction then gives very little trouble. However 

 destructive to Ferns, and although feeding, as they generally do, on the young 



