•M2 THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



THE ENEMIES AND FRIENDS OP THE EOSE. 



j^HE u consuming canker " that secretly hollows out the 

 plump red buds, and leaves it as a shell to wither on 

 the tree, may be regarded as the leader of a host of 

 harpies that wage war against the welfare of the rose. 

 The amateur will soon become familiar with them all, 

 and happy will he be if they disturb v not his rest, nor press upon 

 him the cruel suggestion that rose growing is accompanied with 

 greater plague than profit. The "grub," the "fly," the "mildew" 

 are the captains of the army of enemies, and they lead a formidable 

 host that have for allies the east wind, the summer drought, the 

 winter frost, and the blundering human hand that will do wrong, 

 and generally errs most gravely by attempting too much. In 

 respect of the principal insect enemies of the rose, a golden rule 

 maybe offered for the comfort of the anxious amateur. Ignore them! 

 Do full justice to the trees in respect of soil, planting, watering, 

 etc., etc., and you will be but rarely troubled by these plagues, 

 for they seek out first the starving roses ; they want the trees that 

 have been badly used ; they swarm to the garden of the sluggard, 

 where the "thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher; " and, 

 generally speaking, are to be regarded as proofs that the trees are 

 not thriving, and need some amendment at the root. 



Aphis, or Green-Fly, is the most frequent and destructive 

 enemy of the rose. Although to prevent this plague is too often a 

 sheer impossibility, it is nevertheless true, that trees in full vigour 

 of growth with abundant healthy leafage, are not so soon or so 

 destructively attacked as those that are insufficiently nourished, or 

 have sustained some serious check. It cannot be doubted, that 

 many of the destructive visitations of " fly and grub " on roses, 

 " American blight " on apple-trees, and " black-fly " on the young 

 shoots of plum and cherry, are prepared for by the frosts that usually 

 come in the middle of May, when the sap is flowing freely, and 

 development of leaf and wood is in full activity. The sudden 

 check occasioned by unseasonable cold corrupts the juices, and 

 renders them more palatable to the insects thau the juices of an 

 unchecked healthy tree would be, while, concurrently with the 

 destruction that rapidly ensues on the settlement and multiplication 

 of the insects, the growth of the tree is arrested, and it cannot 

 quickly outgrow the destruction as a healthy tree will do, if we 

 remove some portion of its leaves, or even cut off' a considerable 

 number of its branches. Therefore, we may properly begin to 

 advise, that to prevent the spread of aphis, the trees should be by 

 every possible means encouraged to grow vigorously. Late pruning 

 and shelter afford protection from the May frosts that are the pre- 

 cursors of " blight" in the rose garden and the orchard, and liberal 

 manuring and watering will carry the trees through many a trial 

 with little harm, when, by the proper advance of the season, they 

 are capable of appropriating considerable supplies of sustenance. 

 There is considerable injury done to roses by endeavours to forestall 



