108 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ May 
them more compact and bushy ; and even E. Cavendisjiiana should be subjected to 
this treatment occasionally, when it shows a tendency to get thin at the bottom; 
but the majority of hard-wooded Heaths should never be pruned, or the growth 
stopped, except for the purpose of checking any over luxuriant shoots that may 
be taking too strong a lead. Young plants will require a shift annually, but in 
the cultivation of this class of plants large shifts should always be avoided. 
Plants in 13-in. pots and upwards will not require to be shifted for two or 
three years. If these instructions are attended to, the plants will have a healtlry 
appearance, will bloom abundantly, and will seldom be attacked by mildew.— 
Henry Chilman, Somerley Gardens. 
MOUSE-TRAPS FOR GARDENS. 
lEEPINGr into an old number of the Florist the other day, I saw some 
Jfj pictures of bricks meant to represent mousetraps, and reading the accom¬ 
panying communication, I was struck with the following remark :— u I 
have tried all other known means for destroying these little ravagers, with 
but partial success, but with this trap I have caught no less than forty-two mice 
within the last fortnight upon two rows of peas.” I should be sorry to find such 
a number on all our premises in a year. We keep our place clear by means 
of my improved figure-of-4 trap. It seems to be a part of man’s nature, from 
the boy in the nursery, to the patriarch of threescore-and-ten with his 
grey hairs, to be contriving to trap something or other, and we may consider 
ourselves exceedingly fortunate if we ourselves escape being caught, for 
“ As many traps there are for men as mice.” 
I propose to explain in a few words wherein consists my improvements on the 
figure-of-4 trap. The old plan is to use a single tile, the ground being smoothed 
and made firm, so that the trap might stand upright; this answers very well in 
dry weather, or under cover, but if a shower comes, the ground softens and down 
goes the tile, greatly to the disappointment of those who attend to the traps. 
An improvement on this plan consists in placing a small piece of slate or any hard 
substance, so as to keep the upright stick from settling down sideways. A still 
further improvement consists in using two tiles, which, if they fit together, 
answer very well; but, to save disappointment, they should be placed against 
some fixed object, or should have two sticks placed behind them in the ground, 
to prevent the tile falling sideways, while the mouse escapes as it passes over him. 
As to setting the trap, anybody may do that so that it will keep up, but the 
object should be to do it so that it may fall with the slightest touch on the right 
place. If the upright stick is placed half an inch from the edge of the tile, it will, 
when the sloping stick springs up, most likely stick there, keeping the tile just 
where it was, and permitting the mouse to run away with the bait and the stick ; 
but if the upright stick only just takes hold of the edge of the tile, or, instead of 
being upright, leans a little outwards at top, it is next to an impossibility for 
anything to escape. 
