44 



The American Gooseberry Mildew. [april, 



" Pieces of board smeared with fat on. the underside are laid 

 down in infested places, with room beneath for the snails to col- 

 lect. Cabbage leaves with rancid butter on one side, melon 

 rinds, and the leaves of the common acacia are useful in attract- 

 ing the snails. 



" For trapping slugs a very useful trap may be made of earthern 

 flower-pots provided with a cover and having a row of holes 

 round the middle. These pots are sunk into the ground so that 

 the holes come about at the surface. The inside of the pot is 

 smeared with beer, a small amount of which is put into a dish 

 at bottom. 



" Another useful trap is made of a cone of galvanised iron, with 

 many perforations, which is sunk into the ground, leaving only 

 the top row of holes above the surface. Pieces of potato, carrot, 

 and apple have been found to be attractive baits in this trap. 



" When snails and slugs have been trapped, they may be killed 

 by being left for five hours in a 5 per cent, solution of copper 

 sulphate in water, or a 2 per cent, solution of lime in water. 



"These pests maybe kept away from a nursery or garden 

 plot by means of a rope of twisted grass or fibre soaked in a 10 

 per cent, solution of copper sulphate and stretched around the 

 'border. Bands of cloth soaked in this solution and fastened 

 around the trunks of trees may be used to prevent the ascent 

 of slugs and snails, while a solution of iron sulphate, 25 per 

 cent, to 50 per cent., applied in a ring 4 in. wide around the 

 trunk of the tree, is said to stop the passage of these small 

 animals. They may be killed in weeds, hedges, &c, by spray- 

 ing with a 1 per cent, to 4 per cent, solution of copper sulphate 

 or a 1 per cent, solution of common salt. 



" Snails and slugs are eaten by geese, and the species of one 

 genus of carnivorous snails (Glandina) are known to attack those 

 that feed on plants." 



During the winter of 1906-7 the presence of the x\merican, 

 gooseberry mildew (Sphcerotheca mors-uvae) in certain gardens 

 in Worcestershire has been definitely con- 

 The American firmed, and the cases investigated under 

 Gooseberry Mildew, the auspices of the Worcestershire County 

 Council. The reports which have been 

 sent to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries show that 

 the extent and seriousness of the disease are much greater 



