346 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



for the larva. The latter has the property of repro- 

 ducing the spittle if it is removed. The simplest 

 mode of destruction is to carefully remove the froth, 

 and the larva found in its centre or at its hase. 

 Dustings of quicklime, soot, and sulphur also tend to 

 check the cuckoo- spit, and every possible means 

 should be taken by 

 hand - picking and 

 these dressings to 

 clear the Roses of 

 this unsightly and 

 unpleasant insect 

 and its appendages. 



Thrips. — Unless 

 on very dry and 

 poor soils, these sel- 

 dom put in an ap- 

 pearance out of 

 doors. The insect, 

 however, frequently 

 attacks Roses under 

 glass, especially 

 when subjected to a 

 high temperature 

 and a dry atmos- 

 phere. A dip in 

 tobacco-liquor sa- 

 turated with soft- 

 soap, and a more 

 humid atmosphere 

 and abundance of 

 water at the roots, 

 will mostly make 

 an end of Thrips on 

 Roses. 



Red Spider 



[Acarus teHa7'ium). 

 — Unless on dry 

 sites or -soils, or 

 in exceptionally hot 

 seasons, this sel- 

 dom seriously in- Fig. 54. 

 jures Roses in the 

 open air. It fre- 

 quently, however, infests them on south walls, and 

 especially if the borders are dry. Root-soakings 

 and overhead deluging are the best antidotes against 

 Red Spider ; persistent dusting with sulphur, first 

 damping the surface to make it stick, will also 

 speedily either suffocate or poison this small but 

 destructive insect. Unfortunately it generally accu- 

 mulates most thickly under the leaves, where there 

 is most difficulty in reaching it or keeping it 

 smothered with sulphur-dust, or wet through. Thus 



Eose Scale. 1, scale of natural size 

 3, brandies encrusted. 



kept dry by the waterproof canopy of the leaves, it 

 returns the service by eating into the parenchyma 

 of their lower surfaces and arresting their vital 

 functions. The water must be sprayed upwards to 

 the spider, and the leaves be turned up to give them 

 a full dose of sulphur Like Thrips, however. Red 



Spider on Roses is 

 mostly the proof of 

 neglect or bad treat- 

 ment. 



Insect Friends. 



— Ants. — Yes, so 

 have written many. 

 Save the Rosarian 

 from such friends ! 

 Ants are not only a 

 real pest, not to say 

 danger, among 

 Roses, but they 

 help, not hinder, 

 the enemy to the 

 utmost of their ca- 

 pacity. The popular 

 fallacy that they 

 kill and eat Aphides 

 has long been ex- 

 ploded. On the con- 

 trary, they find them 

 legs until the 

 winged ones appear, 

 which can very well 

 dispense with the 

 Ants as carriers. 

 The Ants make a 

 thoroughfare of our 

 Rose - trees, form 

 nests among the 

 roots, worry the 

 bole, eat the Rose- 

 blooms, convert our 

 best blooms into 

 drawing - room 

 lounges, and not 

 seldom startle or 

 sting our fair sisters 

 while they are luxuriating among the Roses. Away 

 with them from Rose-trees ! Allure them with sugar 

 and honey, or disgust them to a distance with 

 guano and sulphur dressings, dose them with weak 

 solutions of paraffin, and, when the distance is 

 safe, scald them out root and branch with boiling 

 water. 



The Lady-hird {CoccinelUana septemptmctata) is 

 of quite a different character. This does not seem 

 to injure the Rose in any way, and it assuredly eats. 



2, larva magnified ; 



