60 ON THE ROSE. 



shoots and leaves, on which they rest, to suck the nutriment of 

 the plant. 



These flies may be known by a yellow body and a black head, 

 with four wings edged with black. Another species of rose-fly 

 has a head and breast of violet colour, with a body of yellow, and 

 legs and wings of pale violet. It may be seen in a summei s morn- 

 ing, working on the branches of the rose tree, and from its slug- 

 gish nature will suffer itself to be taken between the fingers. The 

 branches where it has deposited its eggs are so vitiated by ft, that 

 they are easily discovered, as they generally swell to a greater 

 size than the parts above or below, and they often become black 

 on the under side : when examined with a glass, the eggs may be 

 discovered. These branches should be carefully cut off; and 

 when the plants are covered with these insects, it is desirable to 

 to brush them off with a bunch of feathers or young elder bran- 

 ches, as they fix themselves too fast to be washed off by water. 



Insects may be destroyed by placing a chafing dish with lighted 

 charcoal under the bushes, and then throwing a little brimstone 

 on the coals ; but this must be done in small quantities, and care- 

 fully, lest the sulphur injure the plants. 



The lady bird, so named, from the points or specks on its shell 

 wings, haunts rose bushes to feed on the small insects commonly 

 called blights. The brier and Scotch roses are frequently attacked 

 by the Cynips rosae, which, by puncturing the bark, occasions the 

 production of those singular and beautiful flossy tufts, which are 

 so frequently seen on wild roses. These rose galls contain seve- 

 ral little cavities, in each of which is a small maggot. This sub- 

 stance was formerly used in medicine, under the name of Bede- 



guar. 



The rose is too important a flower to have been overlooked 

 by iEsculapius, who in old times used every part of this plant, 

 from the root to the yellow anthers within the blossom, for some 

 particular purpose in medicine, as may be seen in all the ancient 

 medical authors. The kinds of roses principally used in modern 

 practice, are the red and the damask. The latter is considered a 

 safe and gentle purgative for children, when administered in in- 

 fusion or by way of syrup. 



The red roses are astringent, and particularly so when taken 

 before they are fully blown ; conserves are made of both these 

 kinds of roses. 



Ladies may make their own milk of rosos, by simply adding 



