162 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



probably save some trouble and loss. On the other 

 hand some of the flies may be ichneumons, which 

 lay their eggs in the bodies of caterpillars and there- 

 fore do good. But it is a safe rule to suspect all 

 insect life ; foes are numerous and friends are few, 

 and the more free the Roses are from insects of 

 any sort, the better they will be. Bear in mind, 

 however, that, next to the aphis or green fly, certain 

 small moths are the commonest enemies of Eose 

 plants, and if any such innocent-looking flutterers 

 be seen among them they should be hunted and 

 destroyed. 



Earliest in appearance among the moth larvae is 

 what is generally known as the black grub. This 

 is "the worm i' the bud," the Bose grub par 

 excellence, being the larva of a pretty and delicate- 

 looking moth (Tortrix). It may be found in April 

 or even earlier, the inserted buds on what are to 

 be maiden standards being often infested, even 

 before they have begun to grow. It is more like a 

 fat brown maggot than a caterpillar, but has the 

 power of spinning a thread with which it fastens 

 the leaves together to form its concealment ; and it 

 can let itself down to the ground when disturbed, by 

 a line which serves for a ladder on its return. A 

 little experience of the proper appearance of healthy 

 Bose foliage and of the twisted and folded leaves 

 which betray the presence of this pest will sufiice 

 for its discovery on a developed shoot, but it is not 

 always so easy to detect it on the precious first 

 pushing bud of a maiden plant. As soon as there 

 is any warmth in April, these dormant buds on 

 Standard Stocks should be examined, at least every 

 other day, with a magnifying glass, spectacles, or 



