THE ROSE AXD ITS CULTURE. 



345 



■or plants, such, as the flowers of the Poppy. The 

 hees whisk round the Rose-hushes for a few minutes, 

 apparently looking out for a suitahle leaf, when they 

 light upon it, grasp hold witli their feet, and cut out 

 a large, roughly semi-circular piece, often as large 

 again as the base of the bee, and fly off with it to 

 their nest, returning again and again so rapidly that 

 half a dozen or so of them will seriously disfigure a 

 Rose-tree in the course of a day. 



The only remedy consists in the destruction of 

 the bees, for it is impossible to check their ravages 

 should they happen to have a nest, generally an old 

 mouse's hole, or some such place under ground near 

 to the Rose-trees. It is somewhat dangerous to tease 

 the Carpenter Bees, as their sting is sharp, prompt, 

 and venomous, but they may be followed and easily 

 overtaken and destroyed when beavily weighted 

 with a fi-agment of Rose-leaf many times the size of 

 themselves. The nests may be taken in the usual 

 way by smears, smothers, or explosions, such as tar, 

 turps, and gunpowder. 



Galls and Gall-flies.— These seldom abound 

 to such an extent as to become a nuisance. On 

 the contrary, a few of them are so interesting as to 

 add to the enjoyment of any Rosary. Rose galls or 

 burrs, as they are sometimes called, are really among 

 the most curious and interesting of natural pheno- 

 mena, rather numerous on the Dog-rose and Sweet- 

 briar, but rare among garden Roses. No one seeing 

 the curious rosette of crumpled leaves, arranged 

 mostly in circular form, very much resembling the 

 largest moss of the most richly- clothed Moss-rose, 

 greatly extended and tastefully arranged, could 

 imagine that this object of interest and beauty was 

 ■not only the home of a small worm or a colony of 

 such, but in some mysterious way was tbe product of 

 their instinct or genius. The perfect fly only mea- 

 sures a line and a half in length, and the maggot 

 that lives under this ricb canopy of green is smaller 

 ■still. Tbere seem to be several species if not dis- 

 tinct families of Gall-flies, such as the Rhoditis rosa- 

 riini, and the eglantcrice ; but the best-known Rose 

 Bedeguar, or Rose Gall-fly, is the Cunips rosce. The 

 term Bedeguar was the common name for these galls 

 when they were used in medicine. The small fly makes 

 a slit in the bark, somewhat in the same Avay as the 

 Saw-fly, and it is supposed that not only does the 

 fracture check the sap, but possibly the insect poi- 

 sons it, and so deranges its circulation at the same 

 time. Be that as it may, the punctures, the deposit 

 of the eggs, the presence of line-like maggots, either 

 separate or all combined, result in the production of 

 one of the most beautiful and complicate products 

 within the whole range of vegetable life. Nothing 

 'Can be easier than to cut off and destroy the galls by 



bm-ning, should they increase to an extent and in 

 directions where they are not wanted. 



The Earwig {Forjicula auricidaria). — These 

 are so well known that description is useless ; they 

 are somewhat closely related to tbe beetles, and 

 like some of them, are most destructive in the perfect 

 form. They are furnished with a powerful project- 

 ing forceps, a most formidable weapon of defence 

 and offence. They increase rapidly, and are most 

 formidable in their destructiA-e and consumptive 

 power, eating Roses, fruit, and almost anything that 

 comes in their way. They also choose the choicest 

 Rose-blooms for laying-places as well as feeding- 

 grounds, especially in the auturon, and thus mar 

 the enjoyment of many a Rose in hand or vase of 

 Roses on table. They abound especially in old 

 neglected gardens in the close vicinity of thatched 

 houses, barns, or other buildings, and wherever 

 neglect, decay, and slovenly gardening finds a 

 home. They hate constant disturbance, the rooting 

 out of their lairs in decayed boughs or branches, 

 hid away under old shreds, in holes in walls, even 

 in the ground near the boles of trees. Using the 

 hoe freely among and around Roses, bothers the 

 Earwigs into shifting their quarters. They may 

 also be routed out or snared in dry cut reeds and 

 the hollow stems of any umbelliferous plants, 

 trapped in pots baited with cold potatoes covered 

 with hay ; all traps and decoys to be examined, 

 and the contents destroyed daily. Such tactics 

 pursued with diligence will speedily make an end 

 of the troublesome pest of Earwigs among the Roses. 



Scale on Roses [Chermes rosce) (Fig. 54). --This 

 — either AVhite, which is emphatically the Rose Scale, 

 or Brown, which is far less common — is mostly a proof 

 of neglect either just then or at some pre\dous period 

 in the history of the Rose. The illustration shows 

 an exaggerated example of TSHiite Scale allowed to do 

 its worst, and when a Rose gets in such a condition 

 it is rather difficult to clean it. A hard, dry brush, 

 or a small one dipped in soft-soap lather or a 

 powerful mixture of Gishui'st, is the best means of 

 cm-e. These should be applied when the Roses are 

 in a dormant state, and there is no complication 

 with green leaves and tender shoots. 



Frog - hoppers {Cicadas sjmmarea). — Theso 

 do comparatively little harm to the Rose, though 

 they will greath^ mar their enjoj-ment in gardens 

 where they are prevalent. The white masses of 

 froth are what are called the cuckoo-spit, or toad's 

 spittle. They are really the products of a small 

 brownish -green insect, about a fourth of an inch in 

 length ; the froth is simply a concealment or baulk 



