THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GAR DELL 
278 
One of the most destructive insects the gardener has to 
wage war against is the “ Daddy Longlegs ” (Tijpula oleracea), 
the grub of which may be likened to a minute sausage of a 
black colour, with almost invisible feet. This “ leather- 
jacket ” wretch feeds at the surface of the soil; usually above 
ground, never below. The result of this marauding is that 
the plants he feeds upon are nipped through “ between 
wind and water,” as a sailor would say, and they perish very 
soon afterwards, very much sometimes to the bewilderment 
of the inexperienced gardener. This is a most difficult pest 
to deal with, and unfortunately it occurs in profuse abun¬ 
dance in some seasons, and is so very partial to grass turf, 
that it will pretty well destroy a lawn in the course of a week 
or two if allowed. When garden plants are seen to fall over 
mysteriously, the cultivator should carefully stir the earth 
about their roots, to hunt up the dark leather-jacket buried in 
the soil, an inch or so deep. If he is found to be the cause of 
the death of the plant, the best course to pursue will be to hoe 
the soil carefully all over the bed, and finally to remove the 
soil with a piece of stick, so as to form a shallow basin around 
every plant. This simple course of procedure is remarkably 
effective in reducing the numbers of the daddy-longlegs 
grubs, and we are quite unable to explain the reason why; 
though we have always supposed that the small birds, the 
robins perhaps in particular, having a propensity to examine 
newly-disturbed soil, make a rush to the bed that has been 
operated upon in this way, and find the leather-jackets before 
they have time to hide themselves in new burrows. When 
these marauders take possession of a lawn and threaten to 
destroy it, they can be dealt with in a most direct and des¬ 
tructive manner. Every night the lawn should be rolled with 
a heavy roller, and every morning at earliest dawn the lawn 
should be sprinkled with quicklime. The roller will crush 
myriads that have come out to feed, and the lime will kill 
myriads that have escaped the roller. 
It is by no means an unwise plan to feed some kinds of 
vermin, for that plan, when it can be adopted conveniently, 
makes an end of a vast amount of bother. For example, we 
are about to plant out a bed of dahlias, and we know that 
snails and slugs will pounce upon them the very first night 
they are planted, and probably make an end of them for ever. 
To prevent that, we plant the whole piece with lettuces first, 
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