252 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



the aphis is widespread over the entire country, as well as abroad, it 

 is easily controlled. Careful spraying of tlie plants with solutions of 

 nicotine will remove all danger and neither the expense nor the trouble 

 involved is sufficiently great to be a real obstacle. 



The rose aphis is a small insect with a body about one-twelfth 

 of an inch long. The young and some adult forms are wingless, but 

 certain adults develop wings from time to time. The color varies from 

 green to pink. By means of its slender beaTv the aphis sucks out the 

 juices of the plant on whose buds and unfolding leaves it feeds. These, 

 prevented from attaining their perfect form, become curled and dis- 

 torted and the beauty of the flowers is in a large measure ruined. 

 Moreover the RDhi.s secretes a sweet sticky liquid called honey dew 

 which spoils the appearances of the foliage on which it is deposited. 



I Under favorable conditions it propagates rlapidly throughout 



the year. For example, some recent investigations conducted in Cali- 

 fornia by the Department of Agriculture showed that one female gave 

 birth to fortyeight young in six days. At the end of that time, the 

 mother aphis was knocked from the rose and perished. 



This is not at all an uncommon fate. A heavy rain, which 

 washes the insect away is one of the most natural checks, though birds 

 and other insects prey upon the aphis to a considerable extent. 

 Extreme heat is also unfavorable to the aphis. 



The rose lover should not .however, depend upon nature to rid 

 his garden of the pest. A 40 per cent solution of nicotine is much 

 surer and not much trouble. One part of the solution to from 1,000 

 to 2,000 parts of water with the addition of one pound of whale-oil 

 soap to every 50 gallons of the mixture is recommended in Bulletin 

 90, "The Rose Aphis," which the U. S. Department of Agriculture has 

 just issued. A more convenient recipe, when there are only a few 

 bushes to be treated, is a teaspoonful of 40 per cent nicotine solution 

 to 2 gallons of water and one half ounce of whale-oil soap. The soap 

 should be shaved fine and dissolved in hot water. 



Mixtures of this character should be applied as a fine, penetrat- 

 ing spray by means of a compressed air sprayer or bucket pump. 

 Such a pump costs from $3.50 to $15.00. Together with nicotine so-' 

 lutions it can usually be obtained at seed storpe ^' no pump is to be 

 be had, however, the infested twigs should be dipped in a pail of thfr 

 jniution. Care should be taken to use these solutions at strengths no 

 greater than those mentioned above, since injury to the foliage may 

 result through the use of too much soap, or mildew be favored by too 

 strong a nicotine solution. 



Application if insecticides should be made on the first appearance^ 

 of the pest which varies from the time that the leaves are put forth 

 until the buds begin to form. Applications should be repeated as- 

 found necessary. — U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



