PESTS AND SPEAYING. 105 



rule, dry seasons bring- the most trouble, and in a neg- 

 lected garden it is astonishing how soon a valuable 

 tree is ruined for the year by numerous pests and 

 plagues. Gardeners are too forgetful of the fact that 

 loss of foliage means damage to the tree, and damaged 

 foliage is detrimental to good growth. When you cut 

 a Rose, remember that every leaf is of value to the 

 tree, whose very existence depends upon its foliage. 

 The more we think over this fact the more impressed 

 we become as to the necessity of spraying with clear 

 water during drought, and also insecticide whenever 

 necessary. I have seldom, if ever, had to spray to 

 ward off the attacks of insect pests, and this should be 

 able to be said by every amateur; but with fungoid 

 diseases it is a very different matter. 



For Rose Mildew, Rose Rust, Black Spot, Rose 

 Leaf-Scorch, and Sooty Mould, you must spray. These 

 plagues are worse than insect pests, for they are far 

 more devastating in their ways and far harder to get 

 rid of. I have seen beds of Killarney, white with mil- 

 dew, and leaves of other varieties falling off by the 

 thousand from rose-rust and black spot. 



How essential it is to take all diseases caused by 

 fungi in their early stages is hardly realised by gar- 

 deners. The very first signs of mildew or rose-rust 

 should make the grower start to spray, for it is very 

 active, and soon spreads to all parts of the tree. Mil- 

 dew is largely due to a check in the young and tender 

 growth of a tree ; a cold night or a cold shower of rain 

 after a warm day will soon start the trouble, and weak, 

 soft wood will be the result. 



Under glass, flowers of sulphur put into a muslin 

 bag and dredged over the foliage is a splendid cure, 

 and is one much used in our nurseries, although spray- 

 ing is a more up-to-date method of dealing with this 

 scourge. 



Rose Rust is often found upon the foliage of the 

 wild Rose growing in the hedgerow and the field, and 

 it is also a great enemy to cultivated varieties. This 



