CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 39 



their history. They come forth from the ground during the 

 second week in June, or about the time of the blossoming of the 

 damask-rose, and remain from thirty to forty days. At the end 

 of this period the males become exhausted, fall to the ground, and 

 perish ; while the females enter the earth, lay their eggs, return to 

 the surface, and, after lingering a few days, die also. 



" The eggs laid by each female are about thirty in number, and 

 are deposited from one to four inches beneath the surface of the 

 soil : they are nearly globular, whitish, and about one-thirtieth of 

 an inch in diameter, and are hatched twenty days after they are 

 laid. The young larvae begin to feed on such tender roots as are 

 within their reach. Like other grubs of the Scarabaeians, when 

 not eating they lie upon the side, with the body covered, so that 

 the head and tail are nearly in contact : they move with difficulty 

 on a level surface, and are continually falling over on one side or 

 the other. They attain their full size in the autumn, being then 

 nearly three-quarters of an inch long, and about an eighth of an 

 inch in diameter. They are of a yellowish-white color, with a 

 tinge of blue towards the hinder extremity, which is thick, and 

 obtuse or rounded. A few short hairs are scattered on the surface 

 of the body. There are six short legs ; namely, a pair to each of the 

 first three rings behind the head : and the latter is covered with a 

 horny shell of a pale rust color. In October they descend below 

 the reach of frost, and pass the winter in a torpid state. In the 

 spring they approach towards the surface, and each one forms for 

 itself a little cell of an oval shape by turning round a great many 

 times, so as to compress the earth, and render the inside of the 

 cavity hard and smooth. Within this cell the grub is transformed 

 to a pupa during the month of May by casting off its skin, which 

 is pushed downwards in folds from the head to the tail. The pupa 



