June, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



140 



The Control of Enemies of the Rose 



F. 



'HE rose is troubled with manj^ en- 

 emies. It is no exception to the 

 rule that every living thing has 

 enemies. Being "Queen of the 

 lowers," its enemies are not the less 

 it greater in number than of many 

 imbler flowers. 



The beauty and worth of the rose, 

 Bwever, make the task of defending it 

 jainst its enemies more interesting 

 lan irksome. Although its enemies 

 Ire numerous, but few are serious. The 

 i^hole secret of successfully fighting its 

 enemies might be implied in these six 

 words: 



Be prepared. Be thorough. Be cheer- 

 ful. 



Its enemies may be placed within 

 three groups : 



Group 1 — Insects which chew or feed 

 on its leaves and buds. 



Group 2 — Insects that weaken its vi- 

 tality by sucking the sap from its leaves 

 and growing shoots. 



Group 3 — Fungous diseases which at- 

 lack leaves, growing shoots or mature 

 branches. 



Be Prepared. 



To be prepared is to have on hand, as 

 a good housewife would have simple 

 remedies on hand for household trou- 

 bles, a few mixtures to meet all emer- 

 gencies of the rose garden in their earl.y 

 stages. Prevention, not cure, should be 

 the first aim of the rose lover. 



The recommended preventatives are 

 of three types : 



First — A poison to apply to the 

 leaves so that any insect which feeds 

 on the leaves will immediately succumb 

 to its effects. 



Second — A soapy or caustic (smoth- 

 ering or burning) solution to apply in 

 the form of a fine spray, or dry, and 

 very fine powder, so that any insects 



E. Buck, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa 



which injure the plant by sucking its 

 juices will be killed by contact. 



Third — Some chemical compound, 

 preferably one containing copper, 

 which can be applied to the foliage in 

 the form of a spray and which will ad- 

 here to the foliage and prevent the 

 growth of mildews and other fungous 

 diseases or blights. 



The poisons generally used to effec- 

 tively prevent the ravages of insects 

 of the first type are either paris green 

 or lead arsenate. Both are sold by seed 

 stores, the first generally as a powder, 

 the second as a paste or powder. Both 

 are easily mixed and it requires a very 

 small quantity to be effective. About 

 one teaspoonful of paris green or two 

 of lead arsenate to a gallon of water is 

 all that is required. 



The compounds used to combat the 

 second type of insects, of which the 

 green aphis or plant lice are typical, 

 are either a mixture composed of nico- 

 tine (tobacco extract) and sulphur, or 

 a simple soap solution. The first is very 

 effective and is sold as nicotine sul- 

 phate or under other trade names. The 

 second may be made at home by using 

 any soap which contains a percentage 

 of oil, such as fish oil soap, or "Ivory" 

 soap. 



The compounds used to prevent or 

 destroy fungous diseases or mildews, 

 etc., consist of copper compounds or 

 sulphur compounds. In as much as 

 some forms of the commercial nicotine 

 sulphates (used to kill green fly), con- 

 tain a small percentage of sulphur, it 

 is often found that this spray is helpful 

 in keeping down fungous diseases as 

 well as insects. However, ammoniacal 

 copper carbonate is a good spray to 

 prevent "leaf spot," and liver of sul- 

 phur (potassium sulphide) is another 

 spray used to prevent "mildew." 



Be prepared by having on hand the 

 following : 



A. Paris green or lead arsenate. If 

 the plants are few, picking off these 

 insects by hand will answer equally 

 well. B. Nicotine sulphate. C. Liver of 

 sulphur. D. A spray outfit. 



Total cost, from two to five dollars. 



Watch for chewing or feeding insects 

 in May and June. 



Watch for sucking insects (green fly 

 or plant lice) in June, July and some- 

 times later. 



Watch for fungous diseases in July, 

 August, September and in JUne if the 

 spring is wet or cold. 



Be Thorough. 



Thoroughness is essential. For in- 

 stance, one plant louse may increase 

 from one to sixty-five millions in about 

 six to eight weeks. In fact, the rate 

 of increase of this pest is so extraor- 

 dinarily wonderful and rapid that it 

 can be best emphasized by citing what 

 would actually happen if Nature was 

 not kind enough to help us fight the 

 pest by means of birds, the lady bird 

 beetle, and in other ways. One female 

 produces about eighty to ninety young 

 ones. Each one of these producing 

 young in the same proportion and at 

 the maximum rate of increase will pro- 

 duce aphids enough to cover the four 

 walls of about twelve rooms thirty by 

 twenty feet. And this even when they 

 are packed very close together as sheep 

 in a pen are packed. Be thorough for 

 the reason that unless all are destroyed 

 spraying appears to be ineffectual. It 

 is the extraordinary breeding habits 

 that account for the continuance of this 

 pest. 



By cheerfully performing these ser- 

 vices for our garden friends we gain 

 additional interest in their habits and 

 needs. If the work is performed grudg- 



A bRnk of roses In the rose garden of Mr. John MaoGrady, Polnte Gatineau, Que., near Ottawa. Many Ottawa citizens visit this garden each year 



while the ro.ses are In bloom. 



