TROUBLE 265 



thousand million descendants. In Dean Hole's "Book 

 About Roses" the following interesting facts concerning 

 the aphis are quoted: 



"Insects in general come from an egg; then turn to a 

 caterpillar, which does nothing but eat; then to a chrys- 

 alis, which does nothing but sleep; then to a perfect 

 butterfly which does nothing but increase its kind. But 

 the aphis proceeds altogether on a different system. 

 The young ones are born exactly like the old ones but 

 less. They stick their beak through the rind and begin 

 drawing up sap when only a day old and go on quietly 

 sucking for seven or eight days; and then, without love, 

 courtship, or matrimony, each individual begins bring- 

 ing forth young ones and continues to do so for months, 

 at the rate of from twelve to eighteen daily." Tobacco 

 seems a slight thing to pit against such determined 

 fecundity. 



Rose Beetle. A detestable creature with the mislead- 

 ing appearance of a firefly. It comes in swarms when 

 the lovely Rose buds are at the point of unfolding, and 

 tears and devours until, instead of the fair blossoming of 

 our dreams, there remains only a mangled, agonized 

 frame. It seems agreed that there is no hope against 

 this plague save hand picking a loathsome task, and 

 we are not apt to remember in our rage that the rose 

 beetle, like Shakespeare's "poor beetle," 



"In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great 

 As when a giant dies." 



