4 
er ee eres «ct 
NOTICES. 
ALL COMMUNICATIONS, literary 
or business, must be addressed to the 
Managing Editor * Australian Gardener,” 
corner Wyatt and Pirie Streets, Adelaide, 
and not to any individual member of the 
staff. 
SUBSCRIPTION.—Posted to any 
address in Australasia, 3/6 per year, in 
advance. Subscriptions can commence 
at any time during the year. Specimen 
copy free. 
WHOLESALE AGENTS have been 
appointed in every State in the Com- 
monwealth, viz. : 
ADELAIDE: Messrs. Atkinson & Co. and 
W. C, Rigby 
Sypnry : Messrs. Gordon & Gotch 
MeELBouRNE: Messrs. Gordon & Gotch 
Hopart: Messrs. J Walch & Son and 
Gordon & Gotch 
Pertu: Messrs. Gordon & Gotch 
Brispane: Messrs, Gordon & Gotch ; 
also 
Wetiineton, N.Z.: Messrs. Gordon and 
Gotch : 
CANVASSERS WANTED in every 
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liberal commission. 
TO ADVERTISERS.—Particulars of 
rates wili be supplied on application. 
Alterations of advertisements must be in 
our hands not later than the 15th of the 
month, F 
Questions and Answers. 
QUERIES.— Readers are invited to send 
us queries on any matters on which they 
want information. No charge is made for 
the insertion of questions, but the following 
conditions should be borne in mind, 1. 
‘One question only should be written on 
one sheet of paper. 2. One side only of the 
paper should be written upon. 3, Querists 
must forward their names and addresses 
(not necessary for publication). 
ANSWERS TO QUERIES.—The queries 
sent us will be answered by men who know 
the subjects, but at the same time we shall 
be glad to receive answers to any published 
from readers who can give the information 
asked for. Our aim is to get our readers 
to help one another, and no one is better 
able to help a small gardener than another 
owner of asmall garden who has gained 
experience in dealing with the many diffi- 
culties that have to be faced. 
POULTRY MANURE. 
A.B., Unley.—You can use poultry 
manure in the garden generally. Mix it 
with good dry loam, and use it for 
onions, or indeed any other crop that 
needs help, Remember it is very 
powerful, and do not give a very heavy 
dressing. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
November 1, 1909 
LIQUID MANURE. 
‘Enquirer, Parkside—Have a cask 
or other vessel almost filled with water. 
Suspendin it a baz of convenient size 
filled with manure, and stir it occasion- 
ally. Use the clear water. D> not, as you» 
appear to intend, put the manure loose 
into the water. You will be able 
to see when the manure in the bag 
is exhausted, and should then replace it 
with a fresh lot. 
ee EE 
Slug Pest. 
The inquiry of ‘ Disheartened,’ (Park- 
side) in our September issue for a 
reliable method of ridding his garden of 
slugs, has brought forth replies from 
three of our readers, which we publish 
with many thanks to the writers. 
‘Never Despair,’ Rose Park, writes :—’ 
‘I can sympathise with those who are 
tormented by slugs. Last year I had 
the greatest difficulty with my Dahlias 
but at last got over it by putting small 
heaps of bran, in every direction, among 
the plants. No slug will condescend to 
Dahlia when he can get bran; so every 
evening, about ten, and every morning at 
dawn, I sallied forth, armed with a pair 
of scissors, and, at night, a lantern, and 
slew the slugs by scores; the first few 
days the bran-heaps were perfectly black 
with them.’ 
D.A.H., Mount Barker, writes:—‘ In 
attempting to kill slugs with lime that 
has been stored for any time gardeners 
are only wasting their time. Good 
quicklime, fresh slaked and hot, is the 
first condition of success in this mode of 
slug-killing. The second is to apply it 
at the right time. It is somewhat diffi- 
cult to settle this by the clock; but 
easy by observation to determine the 
right time by the state or condition of 
the slugs. When they are feeding slugs 
are most vulnerable. Dash the burning 
powder upon them when fully distended 
and open-mouthed ; ‘a sudden and, cun- 
sequently, a merciful death puts an end 
at once to their ravages and sufferings. 
When partially burnt, slugs often change 
their position, or cast their coats, and 
when dosed a second time, in this semi- 
helpless and vulnerable state, they perish 
at once. Two small dressings are better 
than one heavy dose. It may be added 
that the most active feedlng times with 
slugs are soon after day dawn in the 
morning, and just after twilight fades 
into darkness at night. Any time, too, 
after soft showers of rain, the slugs come 
out inforce, seeking what seedling germs 
or green things they can devour, It 
must be borne in mind that all such 
dressings lose their destructive potency @ 
few moments after touching the ground ; 
the moisture of the earth slakes the lime, 
and there is a speedy end of its powers as 
a slug destroyer. Little and often is 
therefore the great secret of success. 
Another point of great moment in our 
war against the slugs is to attack them 
over the entire surface of the garden. 
Not a few attack them on seed-beds, or 
several patches of plants only ; but where 
slugs abound, grass, gravel, vacant ground 
and especially living edgings of Box, 
Saxifrages, ‘Pansies, Sedums, Violets, 
Thrift, etc., must be carefully and 
frequently sprinkled, if we would come 
off conquerors in this warfare.’ 
SH, North Adelaide, has the following 
advice to give :—‘ Having suffered much 
from the rapacious slug, and being unable — 
to seize the best hours of the day—viz., 
early morning and dusk—for the execu- 
tion of justice upon the freebooters, I 
offer my fellow amateurs two suggestions 
of plans, which I have found practicable 
and fairly successful. The first is to 
search among the leaves and just about 
the roots of such plants as show signs of 
being attacked, or appear likely harbours 
for the enemy, whenever the ground is ab 
alldamp. Then follow up the search day 
‘after day, for where a slug has been, 
another probably will be. Leave any 
plants they may have destroyed for # 
little while, to serve as traps. Next, 
where tiny slugs are seen,$look in the 
ground for the nest whence they came 
stirring the soil with a small stick of 
fork. There you will probwbly find # 
number of tiny transparent globules, like 
grains of sago, These are the eggs 
which can be easily destroyed ere theit 
inmates have tasted Carnation at 
Campanula, Although for every slug 
slain an army appears to advance +t? 
avenge its death, yet perseverance must 
at length reduce the numbers, for dea 
slugs produce no families. 
