ii2 A GARDEN OF PLEASURE 



affected the flowers themselves also suffer, 

 and look pale and stunted. Far worse 

 than blight are the ravages of that cruel 

 caterpillar which skins the leaves. He 

 seems to prefer the old Blush rose to all 

 others, and its leaves are the first to be 

 attacked. I confess I hate the skinner, 

 and destroy as many as I can lay my 

 finger on. He is as wily as he is destruc- 

 tive, and being the same colour as the leaf 

 is very hard to find. He has a way of 

 lying close along the very edge of a leaf, 

 or stretched out in such a position as to 

 be almost indistinguishable from the veins. 

 At mid-day, when the skinner has turned 

 in under the leaf for shade, it is useless 

 to hunt for he cannot possibly be seen. 

 The best time for a successful massacre 

 is in the morning, as early as you please. 

 A little patch of fresher colour betrays a 

 fresh-skinned portion of a leaf; there the 

 enemy lies, invisible, except to the long- 

 practised eye. As soon as he is discovered 

 turn the leaf over and squeeze him tight ,- 

 there are grounds, however, for a dismal 

 suspicion that unless the head be crushed 



