ENEMIES IN THE GARDEN 91 



than a neglected potato field, all the leaves 

 devoured and nothing left but the bare stems. 

 Were it not for the lucky fact that arsenic is as 

 deadly to bugs as to human beings, the potato 

 would have been extinct decades ago. A middle- 

 aged woman told me that when she was a little 

 girl her father used to give her a nickel for every 

 quart of these beetles, so they must have been 

 as abundant then as they are now. 1 



ROSE BUGS AND GRAPE BLOSSOMS 



Next to the potato beetles the rose bugs are 

 perhaps the greatest of insect -nuisances in the 

 garden. With the possible exception of the 

 hideous green worms which eat their way right 

 through the lovely buds, they are the chief 

 enemy of the rose. While no flower or leaf 

 comes amiss, they seem to prefer fragrant 

 blossoms, such as the gloriously colored and 

 deliciously scented rose peonies. They are also 

 specially fond of wild-grape blossoms, the scent 

 of which is as voluptuous as that of the rose or 

 peony. I shall never forget the thrills of delight 

 that overpowered me one night in the Grand 



1 The habit of using separately Paris green to kill potato beetles 

 and Bordeaux mixture to prevent blight is being superseded by 

 spraying (or dusting, which is cheaper and easier), with liquids or 

 powders which do both of these jobs at once. Begin early and keep 

 it up late. "Most people do not spray late enough," writes Philip 

 S. Rose in the Country Gentleman. "The last few weeks of 

 growth make the big yields." He mentions one case where the 

 yield was increased from 2,000 bushels to 3,700 by a late spraying; 

 which, he adds, "looks like good pay for a few hours' work." 



