810 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICKTUM. PART 111. 



and their wood is ripened ; they should then be pruned and potted, and kept 

 in a shady situation till taken into the house. Moss roses, introduced into a 

 pit or hot-house on the 1st of October, will blossom by Christmas-day; those on 

 the 1st of November, from the middle of January to the middle of February ; 

 those on the 1st of December, from the middle of February to the middle of 

 March ; those on the 1st of January, from the middle of March to the middle of 

 April ; those on the 1st of February, from the middle of April to the middle of 

 May; and those on the 1st of March, from the middle of May to the middle 

 of June; when some of the earlier varieties of moss rose will be in bloom in the 

 open air. (See the details on forcing the rose, given in the Card. Mag., vol. i. 

 p. 122.) During the forcing season, the plants ought to be supplied liberally with 

 water of the same temperature as the air in which they are kept, and with as 

 much light and air as can be admitted without chilling them ; they may also be 

 watered occasionally with liquid manure. Where a regular system of forcing 

 roses is carried on, there should not be less than four houses or pits ; viz. 

 one for commencing the process, in which the temperature should not exceed 

 50, and where the plants may remain a fortnight ; another, to which they 

 ought to be removed, where the temperature may be 60 or 65 ; a third, in 

 which they ought to remain six weeks, or till they begin to flower, when they 

 ought to be removed to the fourth house or pit, where they should be kept 

 at a temperature of 60 (which is about that of living-rooms), to prepare 

 them for being removed thither. (See Encyc. of Gard., edit. 1835, 6045.) 

 Those, however, who are contented with Rosa i. odorata, or any other sweet- 

 smelling variety of China rose, may have roses all the winter, without a tithe 

 of this trouble and expense, by keeping them in a house or pit, at the tem- 

 perature of 50. 



Insects. The insects that attack rose trees are of several kinds, all very 

 destructive, and all very difficult to destroy ; principally, because the means 

 for their destruction are' seldom resorted to till their ravages have commenced. 

 The most numerous of these are the aphides, commonly called green flies, or 

 plant lice, which are well known to all rose-growers. These insects lay their 

 small black eggs in autumn, generally near the axils of the buds, so that the 

 young brood may be conveniently placed for feeding on the tender shoots 

 when they appear. In mild seasons, these eggs are hatched about the latter 

 end of February, and the insects produced are few and inconspicuous, many 

 being generally destroyed by the cold. Those that remain, after twice casting 

 their skins, arrive at their full growth about April, when they begin to breed. 

 " According to Richardson., the first brood consists entirely of females ; and 

 each of these produces a numerous progeny without the assistance of the 

 other sex. These, though themselves produced from eggs, are viviparous. 

 A third generation appears in May ; and the months of June and July each 

 supply two more. In the autumn, the eighth, ninth, and tenth generations 

 are produced; two of them in August, and the last, which consists of both 

 males and females, about the middle of September. From the females of 

 this latter race the eggs are produced which are intended to perpetuate the 

 species for the following year. The parent insects deposit their eggs as near 

 as possible to the branch buds, that the future young may be the more easily 

 supplied with nourishment (as before mentioned) ; and some continue to lay 

 till the beginning of November. The eggs, at first, are green, but soon become 

 perfectly black : they adhere to the branches by a viscous matter that sur- 

 rounds them, and remain uninjured by the frost of winter." (Phil. Trans., 

 vol. xli.p. 182.) 



It will be seen by the above, that the best time for destroying the aphis is 

 while it remains in the egg state, as, if suffered to breed, it multiplies to a 

 frightful extent. For this purpose, wash the stems and branches of the rose 

 bushes, during winter, with a composition of strong tobacco water and soft 

 soap; or, if this be thought too expensive, with water heated to a temperature 

 of 200 ; in both cases, cleaning the branches, after the composition or hot 

 water has been applied, with a "small painter's brush. Should this prccau- 



