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Same Rose as Fig. 29 Properly Pruned: Aphides

It will be found that all the young buds and leaves are covered with little, light green insects-Green Flies or Aphides, which are common pests in rose gardens. There is a very effective remedy for them which will greatly check their future development; this is to spray with a solution of tobacco stems and whale oil soap. The best proportions are as follows: Two ounces of tobacco stems to a bucket of water, to which add an ounce of whale oil soap, first dissolved in a small quantity of hot water. It will take about three hours for this to dissolve. It should then be added to the tobacco mixture. Doctor H.

A. Surface, the Zoologist of the State of Pennsylvania, recommends a mixture of one ounce of Blackleaf No. 40 with five gallons of water. This is more convenient than the infusion with tobacco stems and gives the same result. It may be bought at seed stores.

Add 71/2 oz. of soft soap to the above so that the spray will adhere to the foliage. The Aphides are quickly destroyed with this spray and a gallon of the mixture by careful application is enough for from fifteen to twenty-five rose plants; by applying with an ordinary whisk broom it will take care of fifty plants and can be done as well, but it requires more time in applying than with the sprayer. Spray three days in succession.

By this time the ground will naturally need weeding. It seems hardly necessary to go into details FIG. 34 FIG. 33 Aphis at work on the young shoots.

FIG. 35 At the left, thrip on the under side of the leaves; at the right, the results of the thrip's inroads showing on the upper side of the foliage Both these enemies easily destroyed by use of tobacco water regarding the proper method. An ordinary scratch hoe, as the gardener terms it, will quickly take out the weeds and also destroy some of those not yet up. Care must be taken not to hurt the rose roots.

As the days become warmer and the ground drier take more care of the plants. Keep the earth broken up in the beds and do not permit it to form a hard cake or crust, as it will do if left alone. This breaking up should be done twice a week. In addition to this consider feeding the roses further for the very best blooms. For this purpose ordinary manure water, as described above, is the best possible food and perhaps easiest to secure in most places. When the roses are fully formed, withhold manure water until after the first crop, apply again as each succeeding crop of buds commences to develop. Roses need a slight rest between crops. If a mulch has been used, there will be very little weeding and no breaking up of dried earth necessary and the moisture should be well conserved in the beds.

Watering is necessary in very dry weather if the ground becomes thoroughly baked, but never water late in the day. The plants should go to sleep with dry foliage, otherwise mildew will develop. Roses should always be watered early in the morning before the temperature rises-it is unnatural to water them during heat-they are accustomed to cool temperature with rain. Mildew is a disease of the leaves which appears when there is too much moisture.

The use of peat moss will render watering to some extent unnecessary.

One other plague to watch for is the rose slug, which chews the leaves. This pest must be destroyed by a stronger preparation than tobacco leaves, as it is very hardy and not as quickly disposed of as the little green bug. The very best remedy is powdered white hellebore. Make a solution of two tablespoonfuls in a bucket of boiling water, and after it has cooled apply it with a whisk broom under the leaves. For the larger leaf eaters and borers it is necessary to pick by hand.

Watch carefully for any sprouts of the Manetti or other stock, on which the roses themselves are budded or grafted. The cutting off of these suckers from the root itself is the proper remedy for this enemy to the growth of the plant.

Rose bugs or beetles are really the worst pests.

The only cure has been to pick by hand, dropping them into kerosene.

Recently some growers claim success with the following kerosene emulsion: % lb. (202) hard soap. 1 qt. water. 2 qts. kerosene oil.

Dissolve soap in hot water and while hot add the oil Shake 5 to 10 minutes in jug until it becomes a creamy mass. Use 1 qt. emulsion to 6 qts. water. Spray roses from May 1st to June 15th every week, also spray ground under rose bushes. FIG. 36 This borer has been taken from the hole in which he had concealed himself FIG. 37 Commencement of work by the rose slug, showing two of his kind FIG. 38 Two other leaf eaters and their destruction Powdered hellebore is best for the slug-the other pests should be picked by hand For larger quantities: ½ lb. hard soap. 1 gallon water.

CULTIVATION 2 gallons kerosene oil-shake as before.

Use 3 gallons emulsion to 17 gallons water.

At the end of this chapter will be found a list of recipes for the diseases of roses.

So the plants work on through the hotter part of the summer and now towards its close the nights commence to become cooler and the days are still quite warm; the air itself is very moist and humid.

This occurs usually in the latter part of August, and this change from eighty degrees or more in the daytime to sixty degrees or less in the night is one which the rose foliage does not like. When there is also great humidity mildew is liable to occur. A good remedy is grape dust, which can be obtained in any seed store. Another fine remedy is a solution of sulphide of potassium, one-quarter of an ounce to a gallon of water, to which add one and one-half ounces of common soft soap or one-half ounce of Fels-Naphtha soap. The soap should be boiled before being added to the solution. Always spray early in the morning, and if mildew has already appeared, spray early in the morning after each heavy rain.

During the past year Bordeaux Mixture has proved the best preparation for the prevention of mildew.

This may be purchased already mixed and with directions for use, at any seed store.

Black spot is another disease which sometimes comes towards the end of the summer. It is experienced mostly in potted greenhouse plants. If only dormant field-grown stock is used the disease is not so prevalent. Dr. Huey concurs in this opinion and, as a cure, advocates picking off and burning affected leaves as soon as they appear. Last year a formaldehyde solution was used with fair success, but black spot is most difficult to eradicate.

The "American Florist," in its issue of June 14, 1914, has a very interesting article on black spot treatment, taken from publications of the National Rose Society of England. The main point in the article is that black spot is a fungous disease which invades the living tissues of the plant and there reproduces itself by means of spores on the leaves.

To combat the disease formaldehyde is suggested and is supposed to be absorbed by the tissues of the plant and to kill the spores on the leaves. This article further states that it is considered advisable to use the formaldehyde as a spray, not only on the leaves and stems, but also to have the solution reach the plant through the soil. To accomplish this result it is advised that "the cool of a calm evening in summer when the soil had been previously loosened, and moistened if necessary, would be ideal." In the treatment referred to above it is necessary, in FIG. 39 A plant which has lost all its foliage from black spot. No new growth shows and the plant is practically in a dormant condition FIG. 40 What will happen if the leaf eaters are left undisturbed. Note how low this plant was pruned and the fine long stems for cut flowers resulting from such treatment order to secure the proper results, to spray as soon as the buds begin to open early in the spring, and for this early spraying two tablespoonfuls of commercial formaldehyde are diluted in a gallon of water; for later spraying when the plant is in full growth one-half strength is used, i. e., one tablespoonful to a gallon of water, and the weaker spray used at intervals of a week or ten days through the growing season. Where black spot has gained a firm hold on the plants, it is also advocated that a solution of double strength be used in February.