THE COUNTRY HOME [CHAPTER 
which is really at the root of our fruit industry and 
spoiling our country homes has not been poisoned, 
and cannot be punched out of existence. We have 
not even discussed him and found out where he 
hibernates; neither do we know his life history. 
“We could send scores of specimens from any 
county to the experiment stations to illustrate their 
blighting effects. All others combined cannot be- 
gin to do the damage that is done by ignorance. 
The untaught engineer lands his passenger in the 
morgue, but the ignorant farmer lands himself in 
the tenement-house or the poor-house. Ignorance 
is the worst worm that breeds in the country.” 
In the flower garden we have pests enough to vex 
the patience of any lover of the beautiful, yet they 
are mostly managed with patience and petroleum. 
Kerosene emulsion must be always on hand for the 
grower of roses. The white fly and the slug, 
which are sure to appear in May and early June, 
should be promptly met by a thorough sprinkling of 
weak emulsion and hellebore. If the first applica- 
tion proves to be too weak, try it a little stronger, 
but go very slow or you will blister the foliage. I 
am happy to say that I have no personal experi- 
ence with the rose chaffer or beetle on my roses. 
[270] 
