176 



THE GREEN-HOUSE. 



either in the green-house or the open air, with a 

 little care. Either hand-pick them early in the 

 morning, when it is hardly light ; or strew over the 

 floor of the green-house, and on the shelves of the 

 stage, leaves of any of the cabbage tribe just begin- 

 ning to decay. The snails will hardly fail to prefer 

 the under sides of these leaves both for feeding on 

 and as places of repose, as they can find both these 

 at the same time, and they can be picked off every 

 morning and the leaves replaced : or, to preserve a 

 sightly appearance, remove the leaves during the day, 

 and replace them at nights. In this way the market 

 gardeners collect immense quantities of snails in the 

 open air, and some nurserymen in their pits of half- 

 hardy plants. Any decaying vegetable matter will 

 do ; but it is best in a state of incipient decay as 

 being then sweeter : nothing answers better than 

 pea-haulm. 



The common earth-worm, when it infests plants 

 in pots, may be picked out by turning out the ball ; 

 but it may also be destroyed in the pot by watering 

 with any bitter, acrid, or acid infusion, or solution, as 

 of water of walnut leaves or tobacco, or salt-water, 

 lime-water, or vinegar. Lime-water is the best, both 

 as being the cheapest, and least injurious to the roots 

 of the plants. Salt is equally effectual, but it destroys 

 vegetation : it is excellent for watering garden walks, 

 as it destroys not only vermin but moss and weeds — 

 the two latter often very troublesome in gravel. 



The common spider is sometimes abundant in 



