SLUG DAYS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 282, 22 August 1908, Page 3

SLUG DAYS.

THE CHAMPION PEST OF THE CARDEN. TWELVE CURES. " The. slug season has begun; We will soon notice the strange white 'streak that represents the; "footprints'" -__of jMadamo Slug as "she draws* her plump ■ over the garden toward her favourite. plant. Soon - we shall see cabbage plants that cost money toppling-'over because' tho •slugs- have 1 been at ,work on the stem. ' Or the central-leaf stalk will be found bent over arid one more cabbage, on which high hopes of a good dinntfr by and by had been based, will have to be counted among i the derelicts. \ Peas will peep through the soil, and disappear —the slug will seo to that—while wo sleep. ' A nice largej neat, appetising bed' of neivlyplanted lettuces, which cost,threepence. at i the seedsman's, will gladden: the heart of tho wife as ! an energetic .husband points •• out' to her; this evidence :of his thoughtful provision for the future'. But 'those lettuces won't be there nest week, if :, all's well. And 1 the slug .will be fatter. Later on, : French beans will push up a'proud pair . of leaves from well-sown' seeds, and then they, too,. will bond their ■ heads: humbly before King Slug. Beds of seedlings'' will make brave beginnings, ■ and 1 then vanish, ' and hard things: will perhaps be said against' the men who sold the. seed. Madame Slug is rarely discovered. She is rarely seen. She does her pirating, , riot. in ths broad daylight under the -light of a blazing sun, but at night, or under tho 'gentle rains of cloudy' days, ( when gardeners. shelter int doors; The slug hides '< by day in cosy quarters, under lumps of. dirt, under stones °u P' oces of ™ od ' insido hollow sticks, at the bottoms of wooden fences,: or in the midst of sheltering grass or other vegetation; In these,retreats she draws'herself ■ up into a. round ball, with the instinct that' ! causes tho in Newtown! Park to bury their.noses in their bosoms to escapo the gaze of the Sunday crowds; But when the: air grows; .humid, and raindrops splash', over her .sleeky moist skin, she rouses herself : and sallies . forth to oat a little 'and destroy much. • 'In _a gairden .'of plenty she needs not to avoid waste. One good piece out' . of the stem of a choice plants is enough for' one course in • the meal, and as it is also-enough to mako the; plant bend over - and die, why . should she' waste • more time :■ on,.it while other plants-.'are near' " So she travels on. Preferably, although I 'she i S , , . hiding place to , be . amidst lumps and debris,- she likes her travels to be on smooth soil. : :Well : hocd soil ''distresses her, because the littlo ■ pellets of •' soil stick to her body, and'.hiridbr "her natural mode of locomotion. .Dry- sawdust, is agony. ; It pricks, doubtless. It covers hor under -Bide with-the irritating woody fragments, ' and prevents, her head from getting a grip of the soil to pull her tail along. , Her supply . of sticky , fluid no sooner casts off one fragment, than another takes its'place;-and-fin--1 ally she Hops, exhausted, intolerably dry; and Tying, ;n tho tangle of a. sawdust trap. Lime • also kills, and so does salt; but salt kills • '.he plants, too,, when it soaks down to their roots. The man—or woman—who . wants to grow plants, and givo up running a slug • farm, will get a good return from a morning spent m examining the undersides of stones and slabs of .wood, lumps ■' of soil, and the insides of crevices: in the. soil. Slugs, large and small, black and white, may bo hauled into publicity and sandwiched into harmless-, noss. _ carcasses make good fertilising material,. mixed, m the soil of a flower pot. iJut the business will make your back ache, and you may prefer a choico of other systems of warfare. Here, then, are twelve wap of fighting against slugs and snails 1. Dram the- soil, becauso slugs liko dampness. . 2. Avoid using "long manure" or any organic material on the surfaco of tho soil. It harbours slugs. ~3." Dust'.tho ground with (a) soot and limn;.(>) salt and limo; (c) limo and caustic soda; (d) powdered coke. Tho limo must be quite frosh, and very finelv powdered. Stale limo won't- hum tho little creatures ;: sufficiently. After the first dusting, give another about. fifteen minutes later. Tho first dusting mny put some of them on the move, and drive ,them from cover; tho' second will stimulate them. Lime and'soda aro best of all —90 parts limo and 4 parts soda, well mixed. Apply .early in the inorn.'iiß, if parly rising is not too difficult. 4. Make rings of slacked limo round any ■ 'Vnts that aro worth the trouble. V '. Place littlri lumps of bran mash or ' ■ "ist nat.nie.il among the plants. The slugs M ra' '..this, and will gather thero to thank for it. Then you can get rid of A'.i 1100 "few cabbage leaves on tho ; Rhigs, and particularly snails, will . ■'.iriicr . thoni," and may bo killed.-

<7. Strow sawdust around tho plants, and along insido tho fences. It will form an impenetrable, barrier bo long as it is dry. B.' Examine the undersides of stones in rockeries, borders, etc. • remove accumulations of twigs and loaves. 9. In digging new ground, bury tho grass and other weeds at the bottom of tho soil, ■ 10. Place flat pieces of wood on tho gardon, to.'ontico tho slugs there to be slaughtered. , 11. Encourage blackbirds, thrushes, and starlings • when the strawberries aro not ripe. 12. Finally—other circumstances permit— let the hens and ducks in. Ducks are good at slug catching, and are fond of picking snails out of fences.