The Rose Garden 303 



numbers, suck away the plant's vitality. Inasmuch as they, like 

 the poor, are likely to be always with us, the rosarian will prepare 

 half a barrelful of whale-oil-soap solution before their first appear- 

 ance, and spray the pests regularly until they disappear. If the 

 fight begin in time, a victory is easily won which, indeed, may be 

 said of any warfare waged for roses. Enemies sometimes multiply 

 a thousandfold in a single day. For the slugs which skeletonise 

 the rose leaves use powdered white hellebore. Dissolve one 

 heaping tablespoonful of the poison in a pailful of boiling water 

 and after the decoction has cooled, sprinkle it on the under side 

 of the leaves from a whisk broom. To get at them properly bend 

 over the top of the plant until the hiding-place of the slugs is 

 exposed. One application usually discourages them for the season. 

 Old wood may attract the bark louse or white scale, which is best 

 treated during the winter. Fifteen grains of the deadly poison, 

 corrosive sublimate, dissolved in a pint of water, make a wash 

 that they cannot withstand. Brush it over the woody old canes. 

 So much for insect pests. 



Bordeaux, powdered or in solution, and potassium sulphide 

 are our staunch allies in the eternal warfare waged against mildew, 

 rust, and the lesser evils of a fungous nature resulting from a wet, 

 hot season. The more energetically one fights these at the outset, 

 the less need one do later. Thrifty, clean foliage, the lungs of the 

 plant and the setting for the roses, contributes very greatly to 

 their health and charm. The results of our efforts are cumulative: 

 well-tended, vigorous rose bushes have very few troubles indeed. 

 Let not the doubting heart of the novice be afraid. All the possible 

 evils that have been enumerated never come, perhaps, to the same 

 garden, but any one might appear. Emphasis of the strongest 

 kind is laid on the joy of growing healthy roses. 



