212 THE ROSE BOOK 



be dusted over the foliage from a muslin bag, but rose 

 enthusiasts troubled with the fungus should obtain one 

 of the sulphur blowers now on the market. Bad attacks 

 will only succumb to more drastic treatment, and for 

 this potassium sulphide solution or Bordeaux mixture 

 is the best. Potassium sulphide or liver of sulphur 

 solution is the easier to prepare ; one ounce of the brown 

 substance is dissolved in two or three gallons of soft 

 water and sprayed on the bushes. To make Bordeaux 

 mixture one ounce of good copper sulphate is dissolved 

 in a little boiling water in a bowl ; lime water is 

 then prepared in the usual way by dissolving a little 

 lime in water, and a gallon taken and diluted with another 

 gallon of rain water ; the copper sulphate solution, when 

 cold, is then poured slowly into the lime water with 

 constant stirring, and the material sprayed on the plants 

 from a syringe with a narrow nozzle ; keep stirring all 

 the time, and use the mixture the same day as made. 

 It is the best fungicide known to science. 



Wrong methods of cultivation are often the cause 

 of Mildew being so virulent. Roses grown in a draughty 

 position are highly susceptible to attack, and a cold, 

 wet, badly drained soil also tends to encourage the 

 disease. Whenever necessary, see that stones or large 

 cinders are placed in the bottom of the hole in which 

 a rose is planted to prevent water stagnating round the 

 roots. Roses grown in a moist, badly ventilated house 

 suffer from mildew ; a fresh, healthy atmosphere is an 

 absolute necessity for successful forcing. Injudicious 

 watering or manuring is also bad, and every care 



