DISEASES OF THE ROSE. 201 



of the first three rings behind the head ; and the latter is covered with 

 a horny shell of a pale rust color. In October they descend below the 

 reach of frost, and pass the winter in a torpid state. In the spring they 

 approach toward the surface, and each one forms for itself a little cell 

 of an oval shape, by turning round a great many times, so as to com- 

 press the earth and render the inside of the cavity hard and smooth. 

 Within this cell the grub is transformed to a pupa, during the month 

 of May, by casting off its skin, which is pushed downward in folds 

 from the head to the tail. The pupa has somewhat the form of the 

 perfected beetle ; but it is of a yellowish white color, and its short 

 stump-like wings, its antennse, and its legs are folded .upon the breast, 

 and its whole body is inclosed in a thin film, that wraps each part sepa- 

 rately. During the month of June this filmy skin is rent, the included 

 beetle withdraws from its body and its limbs, bursts open its earthen 

 cell, and digs its way to the surface of the ground. Thus the various 

 changes, from the egg to the full development of the perfected beetle, 

 are completed within the space of one year. 



" Such being the metamorphoses and habits of these insects, it is ev- 

 ident that we cannot attack them in the egg, the grub, or the pupa 

 state ; the enemy, in these stages, is beyond our reach, and is subject 

 to the control only of the natural but unknown means appointed by 

 the Author of Nature to keep the insect tribes in check. "When they 

 have issued from their subterranean retreats, and have congregated 

 upon our vines, trees, and other vegetable productions, in the complete 

 enjoyment of their propensities, we must unite our efforts to seize and 

 crush the invaders. They must indeed be crushed, scalded, or burned, 

 to deprive them of life, for they are not affected by any of the applica- 

 tions usually found destructive to other insects. Experience has proved 

 the utility of gathering them by hand, or of shaking them or brushing 

 them from the plants into tin vessels containing a little water. They 

 should be collected daily during the period of their visitation, and 

 should be committed to the flames, or killed by scalding water. The 

 late John Lowell, Esq., states, that in 1823, he discovered on a solita- 

 ry apple-tree, the rose-bugs ' in vast numbers, such as could not be 

 described, and would not be believed if they were described, or at least 

 none but an ocular witness could conceive of their numbers. Destruc- 

 tion by hand was out of the question' in this case. He put sheets 

 under the tree, and shook them down, and burned them. Dr. Green, 

 of Mansfield, whose investigations have thrown much light on the his- 

 tory of this insect, proposes protecting plants with millinet, and saya 

 that in this way only did he succeed in securing his grape-vines from 



