202 



soil was properly prepared newh' plan led roses should not need 

 adtlilional fertilizer th<' first year. 



Wdlerin^. Roses like plenty of water at the roots so lont; as 

 it is not stat2,nanl. Whenever the soil shows signs of becoming- 

 dry, water thoroughly so that the soil is wet to the depth of at 

 least one foot. Apply the water to the soil and not to the 

 foliage. W'et foliage allows the sjxires of "black spot" to ger- 

 minate. 



Pests. Perhaps the most dreaded pest of the rose grower in 

 these parts is "black spot," a fungus disease which produces 

 unsightly black and yellow areas on the leaves and subsequent 

 defoliation. We are satisfied that the Massey dust, if faithfully 

 used, affords an adecfuate measure of protection against this pest. 

 This dust was devised by Dr. L. M. Massey, of Cornell Univer- 

 sity, and consists of 90 parts of dusting suljohur and 10 parts of 

 arsenate of lead. W'e use a commercial preparation of this, con- 

 taining colloidal sulphur, and a green d>'e which makes it less 

 conspicuous on th(^ foliage. It is applied ])relerabh' when the air 

 is still and when the foliage is tlry. We endeavor to coat both 

 sides of the leaves w th a fine film of the dust, which is not 

 difficult when a duster of the "blower" type is used. The fre- 

 cjuency of application is dej^endent upon the number of rainy 

 days — during dry periods less dusting is necessary. The first 

 ])rotective coating is applied as soon as leaves are formed and we 

 try to give the bushes a coating before every rainy period. Mas- 

 sey dust, when i)i-o])e:'ly applied, does not disiigure the foliage 

 to any great extent. It does sometimes cause discoloration of 

 blossoms, but it is usually ])ossible to a\'oid dusting while the 

 roses are at the height of their bloom; and we accept the draw- 

 back ot a few injured liowers as being infmitely preferable to 

 defoliated and weakened l)ushes. 



Massey dust also (-ontrols to a large extent stem cankers, 

 mildew, and leaf-eating insects. Those insects that feed within 

 the flower, such as Rose Chaters and Ja[)anese Beetles, are best 

 dealt with by hand picking and by grub-j^roofing with lead 

 arsenate the lawns and grassy areas in the vicinity of the rose 

 garden. 



Ai)hids are extraorchnaril}' lond of the young succulent grow th 



