CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 33 



The worst enemies of the rose belong to the insect 

 world. Of these there are four, which, in this part of the 

 country, cause far more mischief than all the rest combined. 

 The first is tie aphis, or green fly ; the second is the rose- 

 slug, or larva of the saw-fly ; the third is the leaf-hopper, 

 sometimes called the thrip; and the fourth is the small 

 beetle, popularly called the rose-bug. The first three arc 

 vulnerable, and can be got rid of by using the right means. 

 The slug is a small, green, semi-transparent grub, which ap- 

 pears on the leaves of the rose about the middle of June, 

 eats away their vital part, and leaves nothing but a brown 

 skeleton, till at length the whole bush looks as if burned. 

 The aphis clings to the ends of young shoots, and sucks 

 out their sap. It is prolific beyond belief, and a single one 

 will soon increase to thousands. Both are quickly killed 

 by a solution of whale-oil soap, or a strong decoction of 

 tobacco, which should be applied with a syringe in the 

 morning or evening, as the application of* any liquid to the 

 leaves of a plant under the hot sun is always injurious. 

 The same remedy will kill the leaf-hopper, which, being 

 much more agile than the others, is best assailed on a cold 

 day, when its activity is to some degree chilled out of it. 

 Both sides of the leaves should be syringed, and the plant 

 thoroughly saturated with the soap or tobacco-water. 



