THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
285 
THE ROSE-CHAFER: A DESTRUCTIVE 
GARDEN PEST. 
A BOUT the time of the blossoming of grapes. 
/ roses, and many garden flowers a long-legged 
beetle of a light ochre or yellowish-brown color, called the 
rose-chafer or "rose-bug," makes its appearance in cer- 
tain sections of the country and strips bushes and vines of 
blossoms and foliage. 
These insects appear suddenly and in vast swarms 
in certain years, usually toward the middle of June in 
the Northern States and about two weeks earlier in 
the southern range, and overrun the garden, vineyard, 
orchard, and nursery. In about a month or six weeks 
from the time of their first arrival, generally after they 
have done a vast amount of damage, the beetles disap- 
pear as suddenly as the}- came. 
Light sandy regions are greatly preferred by the 
insects as breeding grounds, and clay lands, unless 
near sandy soil, are seldom troubled with them. 
For some time after the rose-chafer was first 
noticed it confined its ravages to the blossoms of the 
rose. In later years it has extended its range of food 
plants until now it is nearly omnivorous. The rose 
and grapevine especially suffer from its depredations, 
but it is almost equally destructive to fruit, shade, and 
other trees and shrubs. In times of great abundance 
these insects completely destroy flowers and cither or- 
namental plants of many sorts even attacking berries, 
peas, beans, and nearly all garden fruits and vege- 
tables, corn, wheat, and grasses. Almost every form 
of vegetation is devoured. 
The beetles do not confine their ravages to any par- 
ticular portion of a plant, but consume alike blossoms, 
leaves, and fruit. 
In their attack upon the grape they first devour 
the blossoms, then the leaves, which they completely 
strip, leaving only a thin network, and later the young 
berries are eaten. Whole vineyards and orchards 
are often devastated, and the fruit crop of certain sec- 
tions of country destroyed. It is no uncommon sight 
to see every young apple cm a tree completely covered 
and obscured from view by a sprawling, struggling 
mass of beetles. 
The rose-chafer is one of our most difficult insect 
enemies to combat successfully. Almost every ap- 
propriate method that has ever been employed against 
other insects has been tried against this one. and much 
has been written about this insect, but a thoroughly 
effective remedy is jet to be discovered when the in- 
sects appear in excessive numbers. 
The greatest difficulty encountered is that any ap- 
plication that may be made is unsuccessful unless ap- 
plied almost continuously. Poisons that will kill the 
beetle are not satisfactory when the insects are 
abundant, because of their comparatively slow action. 
The blossoms have already been entirely destroyed be- 
fore the poisons have taken effect, and the dead beetles 
are constantly being replaced by others that come 
from the ground or fly from neighboring places. Every 
beetle on a plant may be destroyed one day. but on the 
day following the plant will again be completely cov- 
ered by them. Moreover, it is difficult to spray an en- 
tire garden so that every bud and blossom will be 
coated with the poison. 
The old-fashioned remedy of hand picking is of ser- 
vice when the beetles infest rose bushes, grapes, or 
other low-growing plants. The beetles may also be 
jarred from trees and bushes over sheets saturated 
with kerosene, but these methods are tedious and must 
be practiced daily in the early morning or toward sun- 
down to be effective. A number of useful mechanical 
appliances formed on the plan of a funnel or inverted 
umbrella, with a bag or can containing kerosene at 
the bottom, have been devised for the collection of the 
beetles as they are jarred from the plants. 
Choice plants may be securely protected by a cov- 
ering of netting, and when the process of bagging mav 
profitably be employed, this method should be fol- 
lowed. Ragging, as is well known, prevents fungous 
or bacterial infection, and, in addition, flowers so pro- 
tected are of superior appearance and quality. Bag- 
ging of grape clusters for protection against the rose- 
chafer is often practiced and affords protection against 
other insert pests as well. — From Farmers' Bulletin 721, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
DELPHINIUMS— POPULAR PERENNIALS 
pKW plants contribute so much to the beauty of tin 
garden as these five plants of the Crowfoot Or- 
der. There are in cultivation many species both 
annual and perennial, but the most important are the 
tall hybrid perennials. They are valuable for their 
wonderful range of lovely color and great variety in 
height, from one to ten feet. The colors range from 
almost scarlet to pure white, from the palest lavender 
up through every shade of blue to deep indigo; and 
for the variety and size of their individual blooms, 
some of which are single, some semi-double and some 
perfectly double, and all set on spikes ranging from 
one to six feet in height. About a dozen species have 
given rise to the cultivated forms. 
The combinations in which they can be placed are 
numerous. They may be used in the mixed border, in 
masses or groups, in one or several colors, or asso- 
ciated with flowering plants or shrubs. Perennial 
Larkspurs thrive in almost any situation or soil; they 
are easily increased and are quite hardy. A deep fri- 
able loam, enriched with decayed manure, is a good 
soil for them, but they will grow in a hot sandy soil 
if it be heavily manured and watered. Every three or 
four years they should be lifted, divided and replanted, 
and this is best done in Spring, just as they are start- 
ing into growth. They may be divided in Summer 
after flowering; if this is done, cut down the plants 
before they produce seed, let them remain a week or 
ten days until they start afresh ; then carefully divide 
and replant them, shading and watering until they are 
established. Late autumn division is not advisable. 
Delphiniums can be made to bloom for several months 
by continually cutting off the spikes after they have 
done flowering. If the central spike be removed the 
side shoots will flower and by thus cutting off the old 
flowers before they can form the base and keep up a 
succession of bloom. Another plan is to let the shoots 
remain intact until all have nearly done flowering, and 
then to cut the entire plant to the ground, when in 
about three weeks there will be fresh bloom. In this 
case, however, to keep the plants from becoming ex- 
hausted they must have a heavy dressing of manure, 
or applications of fluid manure. Bonemeal applied in 
Spring and lightly forked into the soil is beneficial. 
Top dressings of manure keep the soil moist and cool, 
give the plants a healthier growth, increase the num- 
ber and improve the quality of the flowers. — W Saville 
in Southern Florist. 
In shipping cut blooms of Gladioli it is absolutely essen- 
tial that they be shipped dry, after standing for a while 
in water. 
