84 HOW' TO GROW' ROSES 



BANISHING BUGS 



Fighting Insect Enemies. — Eternal vigilance is the price of 

 perfect flowers, because "prevention is better than cure." Vig- 

 orous, healthy plants are seldom troubled much. 



The two golden rules to remember, says Edward Mawley, 

 one-time President of the National Rose Society of England, 

 are these: "Keep sharp watch out for the first appearance of 

 insect or fungoid pests and adopt measures for destruction at 

 once. Then persevere with the remedy adopted until a cure has 

 been effected." 



Our Lady Rosa likes cleanliness above all things, and will 

 respond generously to these attentions. Keep your roses clean 

 and healthy and that will go a long way toward making them 

 vigorous and happy. The beginners need not be dismayed at 

 the array of troubles that may happen; if they do, these hints 

 are offered as a "first aid." As a matter of fact, not all the pests 

 are likely to appear in the same garden. Rose-growing is not 

 so complicated or difficult as might appear. 



Among the insect enemies to the rose, about the earliest to 

 appear is the rose aphis, which can easily be controlled by an 

 application of "Black-Leaf 40" or whale-oil soap in solution, 

 applied with a sprayer, and the sooner the better. 



There follow the rose slugs, including the American rose 

 slugs, bristly slug, and the coiled slug, so called, all of which 

 can be overcome by the use of a solution of 1 ounce of arsenate 

 of lead in Vy4 gallons of water. The rose-leaf roller may also 

 be treated with the same spray and by hand-picking. The 

 rose-leaf hopper may be controlled with the same treatment 

 as the rose aphis. Perhaps the worst enemy to roses is the rose 

 chafer (or rose beetle or rose bug). Hand-picking these into 

 kerosene is thoroughly effective, but is irksome. The little 

 chap avoids poisons. You may ensnare him by adding some 

 glucose or molasses to arsenate of lead, to make it stick to the 

 foliage and to make it more tempting to him. There are on 

 the market commercial preparations also claimed to cure, but 

 none of these have we found to be thoroughly effective. It is 

 even worth while covering very valuable plants while blooming 

 with mosquito netting. 



