The Rose-Chafer 



to object to the dust of the road and to a 

 sprinkling of coal-ashes ; but on our own 

 windy hill neither of these deterrents can 

 be made to stick. 



Another legend belongs to the potato- A legend. 

 beetle, which some of the farmers in this 

 neighborhood vow will not trouble pota- 

 toes planted in a hill with beans ; but 

 this is merely a legend. We have tried it, 

 and find the creatures as lively as ever. 



To return to sludgite, I would say that 

 its highest practical use is upon trees and 

 shrubs without blossoms, for the sticky yel- 

 low fluid cannot be sprinkled upon roses 

 without spoiling their fairness. So far it 

 does not seem to damage foliage, but we 

 cannot answer for the effect of such a vis- 

 cid decoction if used many times a day. 

 We have never tried it more than twice in 

 twenty-four hours. It kills or drives away 

 the insects that are there, but others ap- 

 pear immediately, so that such insecticides 

 are little better than substitutes for hand- 

 picking. 



Our struggles with the hated rose-bug, 

 and the hopeless nature of any prolonged 

 encounter with an inferior organism of 

 187 



