Hugh Dickson.Hugh Dickson, 1904. Crimson, shaded scarlet.
Hugh Watson.Alex. Dickson, 1904. Crimson, shaded carmine.
J. B. Clark.Hugh Dickson, 1905. Deep scarlet, shaded plum.
Jean Soupert.Lacharme, 1876. Deep velvety purple.
Jules Margottin.Margottin, 1853. Bright cherry red.
Lady Helen Stewart.Alex. Dickson, 1887. Bright crimson, shaded scarlet.
Le Havre.Eude, 1871. Vermilion red.
Louis Ricard.Boutigny, 1902. Velvet crimson, shaded vermilion and black.
Louis Van Houtte.Lacharme, 1869. Deep crimson, shaded maroon.
Madame Crapelet.Fontaine, 1859. Beautiful light crimson.
Madame Victor Verdier.E. Verdier, 1863. Bright cherry red; still one of the best.
Maharajah.B. R. Cant & Sons, 1904. Large single flowers, deep velvet crimson; a very fine pillar rose.
Marie Baumann.Baumann, 1863. Soft carmine red.
Marie Rady.Fontaine, 1865. Brilliant red.
Maurice Bernadin (syn.Exposition de Brie).Granger, 1861. Shaded crimson.
M. H. Walsh.Alex. Dickson, 1905. Velvety crimson, suffused scarlet.
Oberhofgartener A. Singer.P. Lambert, 1904. Pure carmine, darker centre.
Prince Arthur.B. R. Cant, 1875. Rich deep crimson.
Prince Camille de Rohan.E. Verdier, 1861. Crimson maroon.
Reynolds Hole.Paul & Son, 1873. Maroon, shaded crimson; an exhibitor's rose.
Ruhm der Gartenwelt.Jacobs, 1904. Dark pure red.
Senateur Vaisse.Guillot, 1859. Fine dazzling red; one of the best still.
Sir Rowland Hill.Mack, 1888. Rich port wine, shaded maroon.
Star of Waltham.Wm. Paul & Son, 1875. Deep crimson.
T. B. Haywood.Paul & Son, 1895. Crimson scarlet, dark shading.
Tom Wood.Alex. Dickson, 1896. Cherry red.
Ulrich Brunner.Levet, 1881. Bright cherry red; fragrant, excellent.
Urania.Walsh, 1906. Cherry crimson.
Victor Hugo.Schwartz, 1884. Dazzling crimson.
Xavier Olibo.Lacharme, 1864. Velvety black, shaded amaranth.
Rose.
American Beauty.Bancroft, 1886. Deep rose; needs fine weather.
Annie Laxton.Laxton, 1872. Clear rose, flushed cherry.
Countess of Rosebery.Postans, 1879. Deep salmon rose.
David R. Williamson.Wm. Paul & Son, 1905. Soft rich carmine rose.
Duchesse de Morny.E. Verdier, 1863. Delicate bright rose.
François Michelon.Levet, 1871. Deep rose, reverse of petals silver.
Heinrich Schultheis.Bennett, 1882. Delicate pinkish rose.
Helen Keller.Alex. Dickson, 1895. Rose cerise.
John Hopper.Ward, 1862. Bright rose, reverse pale lilac.
Madame Eugène Verdier.E. Verdier, 1878. Bright silvery rose.
Magna Charta.Wm. Paul & Son, 1876. Bright rose.
Marie Finger.Rambaud, 1873. Light salmon rose, deeper centre.
Marie Verdier.E. Verdier, 1877. Pure rose.
Marquise de Castellane.Pernet, 1869. Bright clear rose.
Suzanne Marie Rodocanachi.Lévêque, 1883. Glowing rose; one of the best.
Ulster.Alex. Dickson, 1899. Salmon pink.
Pink.
Baroness Rothschild.Pernet, 1867. Light pink.
Clio.Wm. Paul & Son, 1894. Pale flesh, deeper centre.
Dr. William Gordon.Wm. Paul & Son, 1905. Brilliant satin pink.
Her Majesty.Bennett, 1885. Pale rose pink.
Jeannie Dickson.Alex. Dickson, 1890. Rosy pink, edged silvery pink.
Lady Overtown.H. Dickson, 1906. Pale salmon pink, centre silvery pink.
Laurence Allen.Cooling, 1896. Clear soft pink, lighter shading.
Madame Gabriel Luizet.Liabaud, 1877. Light silvery pink.
Marchioness of Downshire.Alex. Dickson, 1894. Beautiful satin pink.
Mrs. Cocker.Cocker, 1899. Soft pink.
Mrs. John Laing.Bennett, 1887. Soft pink; one of the best.
Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford.Alex. Dickson, 1894. Clear rosy pink; one of the best.
Mrs. Rumsey.Rumsey, 1897. Rosy pink.
Pride of Waltham.Wm. Paul & Son, 1881. Delicate flesh, shaded bright rose pink.
Rosslyn.Alex. Dickson, 1900. Delicate rosy flesh.
White and Blush.
Bertha Giemen.Wm. Paul & Son, 1899. Creamy white sport from Marchioness of Dufferin.
Boule de Neige (Noisette).Lacharme, 1867. Pure white.
Frau Karl Druschki.Lambert, 1900. Snow white.
Mabel Morrison.Broughton, 1878. Pure white, not much substance.
Mademoiselle Renée Denis.Chedane, 1907. White, shaded rose.
Marchioness of Londonderry.Alex. Dickson, 1893. Ivory white.
Margaret Dickson.Alex. Dickson, 1891. White, pale flesh centre.
Merveille de Lyon.Pernet, 1882. White, centre slightly rosy peach.
Perfection des Blanches.Schwartz, 1873. Pure white.
White Baroness.Paul & Son, 1883. Pure white.
BOURBON, CHINA, AND POLYANTHA ROSES
Besidesthe three great races of perpetual flowering Roses, the Teas, Hybrid Teas, and Hybrid Perpetuals, on which the chief interest of the modern rose-world is centred at the present time, there are other perpetual flowering roses, which are of great importance both for their value in the past and their beauty in the present. For although the modern hybrids have somewhat obscured the fame of their ancestors, many of them owe their origin to the Bourbon and China roses, which, in the early years of the nineteenth century, before the advent of Hybrid Perpetuals, were almost the only autumn flowering roses on which to depend.
The Bourbon Rose,R. Bourboniana.
According to that invaluable book,[7]to which I owe an untold debt of gratitude since first I began to study rose-growing seriously—the original Bourbon, "a beautiful semi-double rose, with brilliant rose-colouredflowers, prominent buds, and nearly evergreen foliage," was discovered in the Isle of Bourbon.
Bourbon. SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON.Bourbon.SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON.
Bourbon.SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON.
It appears that the land there was—probably is still—enclosed by "hedges made of two rows of roses, one row of the common China Rose, the other of the Red Four Seasons, the Perpetual Damask." In planting one of these hedges, a proprietor found a rose quite different in appearance to the rest of his young plants, and transferred it to his garden. Here it flowered, and proved to be a new type, evidently a seedling from the two sorts, which were the only ones known in the island. "M. Bréon arrived at Bourbon in 1817, as botanical traveller for the Government of France, and curator of the Botanical and Naturalization Garden there. He propagated this rose very largely; and sent plants and seeds of it in 1822 to Monsieur Jacques, gardener at theChâteaude Neuilly, near Paris, who distributed it among the rose cultivators of France. M. Bréon named it 'Rose de l'Isle Bourbon,' and is convinced that it is a hybrid from one of the above roses, and a native of the island."
The true Bourbon roses are thoroughly perpetual, with rose, blush, or white flowers, smooth solid stems, and dark, almost evergreen, foliage. One has only to mention the well-known and well-belovedSouvenir de la Malmaisonto recall the type.Gloire de Rosamènes[8]is a hybrid, as I have said: butHermosa,orArmosa(1840), and the charmingMrs. Bosanquet(1832), often classed among the China roses, are pure Bourbons, and so areMme. Isaac Pereire,Mrs. Paul(1891),Queen of the Bourbons,Boule de Neige,Setinaa climbing form ofHermosa, andZephirine Drouhin(1873), a good climbing rose.Hermosa, which is constantly mistaken for a very full, globular pink China, is an excellent rose for massing in the garden, as it is in continuous bloom from spring till late autumn, the dwarf, bushy plants being covered with flowers. The charming hybrid Tea rose,Camoëns, which resembles it in habit, but is a rather larger flower of a rich China pink, may also be used in the same way. A group of small beds arranged in a simple geometrical pattern, and planted with either or both these roses, is an extremely pretty feature in the garden.Hermosahas been for years largely used in this way on the Continent and in England; for instance, 20,000 have been planted in the Sandringham gardens alone. But I was told last year in Luxembourg, that in Holland, where it is most popular,Camoënsis almost superseding it; one Dutch lady who had a large portion of her garden planted with nothing butHermosa, is now using hundreds ofCamoënsin the same way, as it is equally generous in bloom, richer in colour, and as neat and strong in growth.
The China Rose,R. Indica.
The Crimson China Rose,R. Semperflorens.
These old favourites were introduced into England in the eighteenth century. TheOld Blush Monthlycame first, in 1718; and in 1789 theOld Crimson(R. Semperflorens), a much less vigorous plant, arrived. It is not surprising that both should have found instant popularity; for roses which in warm situations are practically in flower the whole year through, must indeed have been precious adjuncts to the gardens of those days. In England they were popularly known as "Monthly roses"; while in France they are known asRosiers du Bengal.
The "Common" China, or Monthly Rose(1796),
though it has many newer rivals, is one of those which has never gone out of favour, and justly so; for what can be more pure and lovely than it is when well grown. Either as a bedder, or a bush in the herbaceous border, or, still more, when grown as a dwarf hedge, its fresh loveliness is a never-ending delight. Indeed, one wonders why it is not more generally used in England in this last manner; for both in the South of France and Switzerland, hedges of the pink Monthly rose are common, and of exceeding beauty.Cramoisie Supérieure(1834), a form of the Crimson China, should be grown in masses, as its weak and straggling growth is unsuited to the above purposes. But many of thenewer varieties are admirable in whatever way they are used.Laurette Messimy(1887), rose, shaded yellow, andMadame Eugène Resal(1895), copper and bright China-rose, are two of the very best of these, and are brilliantly effective as bedding roses. So are the rosy-apricotQueen Mab(1906), and the yellow-apricot and orangeArethusa(1903).Comtesse du Cayla(1902) is a fine carmine crimson, with orange on the outer petals, varying to orange-yellow shaded carmine.Corais a pretty clear yellow, often tinted carmine, a rose of a charming habit.Le Vesuvebears some flowers rich crimson and some rosy pink.Ducher(1869) is the best white;Frau Syndica Rœloffs, yellow, shaded coppery-red and peach;Nabonnand, a large flower, velvety purple-red, shaded coppery-yellow.Souvenir d'Aimée Terrel des Chênesis a small, beautiful, and well-shaped flower, coppery-pink, shaded carmine, the pointed buds being golden yellow.Climbing Cramoisie SupérieureandField Marshalare both deep crimson climbers, but the last does best under a glass or in a warm position out of doors.
China. LAURETTE MESSIMY.China.LAURETTE MESSIMY.
China.LAURETTE MESSIMY.
We now come to a quite modern class of perpetual flowering roses, which is as yet too little known, except among those ardent rose-growers who keep closely in touch with the marvels of modern hybridization. And this special race is indeed one of its most extraordinary results. For
The Dwarf Polyantha Roses,R. Multiflora,
are derived from the summer flowering, climbingMultiflora, and in them we get a first cousin of, say,Crimson Rambler, so dwarf as to make a charming two-feet high edging to an ordinary rose-bed, and so thoroughly perpetual, that from May to December it is thickly covered with its hundreds of miniature flowers in clusters. How these tiny roses, which remind one of the "Fairy Rose" of long-ago nursery days, came into being is not exactly known. But they were evidently the result of crossings with the Tea rose strain. M. J. B. Guillot developed the first,Ma Paquerrette, pure white, flowering in large bunches, in 1875. In 1879, Rambaux followed with the charmingAnna Maria de Montravel, one of the best known of the class. The next year Ducher brought out the lovelyCecile Brunner, blush, shaded pink, and the race was fully recognized. Since then nearly every year has seen fresh varieties; and the charming little plants are growing in favour.
These roses may be roughly divided into two classes: one showing the Polyantha blood very strongly; the other the Tea blood.
In the first, the flowers, whether double or single, are borne in dense upright clusters, after the manner of the trueMultiflora. Some of the best of these areGloire des Polyantha;Schneewittchen;the fineMme. N. Levavasseur, really a miniatureCrimsonRambler;the even more attractiveMrs. W. H. Cutbush, a bright pinkCrimson Rambler;and the exquisite littleBaby Dorothy, which has created such a sensation as a pot plant since it was shown in the spring of 1907. These are all admirably fitted for planting in masses. In the famous Pépinière, or Public Gardens of Nancy, beds ofMadame N. Levavasseurlast autumn (1907) were remarkably effective. In one the ground was thickly covered among the plants with a very dwarf grey-blue Ageratum; and the effect of the erect crimson clusters of the rose over the soft grey flowers was most striking; while another bed of the same rose was edged with a dwarf bronze-foliaged fibrous Begonia. Even more charming was a whole bed ofMrs. W. H. Cutbush, which I saw in MM. Soupert et Notting's garden at Luxembourg, the rich rosy colour being much finer.
Dwarf Polyantha. PERLE D'OR.Dwarf Polyantha.PERLE D'OR.
Dwarf Polyantha.PERLE D'OR.
In the other class the Tea blood is shown as strongly; the flowers are borne singly, or at most in heads of four or five, on smooth and delicate yet firm little stalks; while the foliage is that of a miniature Tea rose. These as to the actual blossoms are perhaps even more attractive. For what can be prettier than a perfectly formed flower the size of a Fairy rose—and sweetly scented too—such as those ofÉtoile d'Or, lemon shaded with sulphur; orPerle d'Or, nankeen yellow with orange centre; orEugénie Lamesch, coppery pink; or the beautifulCecileBrunner, its well-shaped flowers blush with a deeper pink centre?
In one or two we get an example of the double strain. For the velvety crimson flowers ofPerle des Rougesare borne in clusters, though in substance and foliage the plant appears to take after the Tea rose.
But I deprecate the tendency which I see among some varieties, to produce much larger flowers such as those ofClothilde SoupertandGeorges Pernet. This quite alters the character of the pretty little plants; giving us a rose that is neither one thing or another, neither a fine bedding rose or a miniature edging rose.
Bourbon Roses,R. Bourboniana.
Baron Gonella.Guillot père, 1839. Violet rose.
Baronne de Maynard. One of the best white roses.
Catherine Guillot.Guillot fils, 1861. Purple red.
Comtesse de Barbantane.Guillot père, 1859. Flesh colour.
Gloire de Rosamènes.Vibert, 1825. Scarlet crimson, semi-double.
Hermosa (Armosa).Marcheseau, 1840. Deep pink. J. B. M. Camm. Pale salmon pink.
Kronprinsessin Victoria.L. Späth, 1888. Milky white outside, sulphur-yellow centre.
Lorna Doone.Wm. Paul & Son.Magenta carmine, shaded scarlet.
Madame Isaac Pereire.Margottin, 1880. Rosy carmine.
Madame Pierre Oger.Oger, 1879. Cream white, shaded and edged lilac.
Marie Paré.Pavie, 1880. Flesh colour, deeper centre.
Mrs. Allen Chandler.Chandler, 1904. Pure white sport from Mrs. Paul.
Mrs. Bosanquet.Laffay, 1832. Salmon white.
Mrs. Paul.Paul & Son, 1852. Pinkish white; a fine rose.
Paxton.Laffay, 1852. Fiery rose.
Philémon Cochet.Cochet, 1896. Bright rose.
Queen of the Bourbons.Mauger, 1852. Salmon rose.
Queen of Bedders.Nobbe, 1878. Deep crimson.
Reine Victoria.Schwartz, 1878. Bright rose, perfect form.
Setina.Henderson, 1879. Pink, a climbing Hermosa.
Souv. de la Malmaison.Beluze, 1843. Tender flesh white.
Souv. de la Malmaison rose.Verschaffelt, 1862. Fine rose colour.
Zephirine Drouhin.Bizot, 1873. Bright silvery pink.
China or Bengal Roses,R. Indica.R. Semperflorens.
Abbé Cretin.Mille-Toussaint, 1906. Light rose, shaded salmon.
Alexina.Beluze, 1854. Almost pure white.
Alice Hamilton.Nabonnand, 1904. Bright velvety crimson reflexed madder.
Antoinette Cuillerat.Buatois, 1898. Electric white on copper base.
Arethusa.Wm. Paul & Son, 1903. Yellow, tinted apricot.
Aurore.Schwartz, 1897. Creamy yellow, tinted salmon rose.
Baronne Piston de St. Cyr. Pale flesh, distinct and attractive.
Bébé Fleuri.Dubreuil, 1907. Varying from China rose to currant red.
Cardinal.Welter, 1904. Dark red, centre yellow.
Common (old Blush Monthly).Parsons, 1796. Pale pink.
Comtesse du Cayla.Guillot, 1902. Coppery-carmine, shaded orange and yellow.
Cora.Vve. Schwartz, 1899. Clear yellow, tinted carmine.
Cramoisi Supérieur.Coquereau, 1832. Velvety crimson, large clusters.
Cramoisi Supérieur. A climbing sport.
Crimson China (Sanguinea).Evans, 1810. Dark crimson.
Ducher.Ducher, 1869. Pure white.
Duke of York.Wm. Paul & Son, 1894. Variable from white to red.
Eugène de Beauharnais.Fellemberg, 1838. Amaranth.
Fabvier.Laffay.Scarlet crimson, finest of its colour.
Field Marshall.Wm. Paul & Son.Blood crimson, shaded amaranth.
Frau Syndica Rœloffs.Lambert, 1900. Bright yellow, shaded copper red.
Irene Watts.P. Guillot, 1896. White, tinted salmon pink.
Jean Bach Sisley.Dubreuil, 1899. Silvery rose, outer petals salmon-rose, veined carmine.
Le Vesuve.Sprunt, 1858. Bright red and pink.
Madame Eugène Resal.Guillot, 1894. Nasturtium red or bright red, on yellow base.
Madame H. Montefiore.Bernaix, 1900. Salmon yellow, shaded apricot and carmine.
Madame Laure Dupont.Schwartz, 1907. Vivid carmine, reflexed silver rose.
Madame Laurette Messimy.Guillot fils, 1887. China rose, shaded yellow.
Martha.P. Lambert, 1906. Copper red, flowers in large corymbs.
Queen Mab.Wm. Paul & Son, 1896. Rosy apricot, shaded orange and rose.
Red Pet.Paul & Son, 1888. Miniature rose, deep crimson.
Souv. d'Aimée Terrel des Chênes.Schwartz, 1897. Coppery rose, shaded carmine.
Unermüdliche.Lambert, 1904. Crimson, shaded red, always in bloom.
Dwarf Polyantha Roses,R. Multiflora.
Aennchen Mueller.J. C. Schmidt, 1907. Large clusters, brilliant rose.
Amélie-Suzanne Morin.Soupert et Notting, 1899. White, yellow centre.
Anne-Marie de Montravel.Rambaux, 1879. Pure white, immense cluster.
Aschenbrodel.Lambert, 1903. Peach, centre salmon.
Bébé Leroux.Soupert et Notting, 1901. White, centre canary yellow.
Blanche Rebatel.Bernaix, 1889. Bright carmine, reverse white.
Canarienvogel.Welter, 1904. Golden yellow, flaked orange and rose.
Cecile Brunner.Ducher, 1881. Bright rose, yellowish centre.
Clara Pfitzer.Soupert et Notting, 1889. Light carmine.
Clotilde Soupert.Soupert et Notting, 1890. Pearly white, rose centre, rather large flowers.
Dr. Ricaud.Corbœuf-Marsault, 1907. Rosy salmon, copper base.
Étoile de Mai.Gamon, 1893. Nankeen yellow, rather large.
Étoile d'Or.Dubreuil, 1889. Citron yellow, shaded sulphur.
Eugénie Lamesch.Lambert, 1900. Orange yellow, passing to clear yellow, shaded rose.
Filius Strassheim.Soupert et Netting, 1893. Rosy cream, orange base.
Georges Pernet.Pernet-Ducher, 1888. Rather large, bright rose, shaded yellow.
Gloire des Polyanthas.Guillot fils, 1887. Bright rose, white centre.
Golden Fairy.Bennett, 1889. Clear buff, yellow and white.
Hermine Madele.Soupert et Notting, 1888. Cream, reflexed yellow.
Katherine Ziemet.Lambert, 1901. Pure white, very fragrant.
Kleiner Alfred.Lambert, 1904. Ground colour red, suffused ochre yellow.
Le Bourguignon.Buatois, 1901. Electric madder yellow.
Leonie Lamesch.Lambert, 1900. Bright copper red, golden centre.
Liliput.Paul & Son, 1897. Cerise carmine, flushed crimson.
Little Dot.Bennett, 1889. Soft pink, flaked deeper on outside petals.
Madame E. A. Nolte.Bernaix, 1892. Buff yellow, passing to rosy white.
Madame N. Levavasseur.Levavasseur, 1904. Bright carmine red; the dwarf Crimson Rambler.
Madame Zelia Bourgeois.Vilin, 1907. Small double white flowers.
Ma Fillette.Soupert et Notting, 1898. Peach rose, yellow ground.
Ma Petite Andrée.Chauvry, 1899. Deep carmine red.
Marie Pavié.Alégatière, 1889. White, rose centre, large.
Martha.Lambert, 1906. Strawberry pink, coppery buds.
Maxime Buatois. Copper yellow, changing to carmine yellow.
Mignonette.Guillot, 1881. Soft rose, changing to white.
Mosella.Lambert & Reiter, I 896. Yellowish white, centre rose.
Mrs. W. H. Cutbush.Levavasseur, 1907. A pink Mme. N. Levavasseur.
Pâquerette.Guillot fils, 1875. Pure white; flowers in immense panicles.
Perle d'Or.Dubreuil, 1883. Nankeen yellow, orange centre.
Perle des Rouges.Dubreuil, 1896. Velvety crimson, reflexes bright cerise.
Petit Constant.Soupert et Notting, 1900. Deep nasturtium red.
Petite Léonie.Soupert et Notting, 1893. Rosy white, carmine centre.
Philipine Lambert.Lambert, 1903. Silvery pink, centre deep flesh.
Primula.Soupert et Notting, 1901. Bright China rose, centre snow white.
Rosalind.Paul & Son, 1907. Bright pink, with deeper buds.
Rosel Dach. 1907. Bright cherry rose.
Schneewittchen.Lambert, 1901. Creamy white, passing to snow white.
Schneekopf.Lambert, 1903. Snow white, in large clusters.
ROSE PESTS
Theenemies of the rose are many. They are of two classes; the insect foes, and diseases caused by Fungi. And their prevention and destruction are tasks, as every rose-grower knows only too well, which call for ceaseless vigilance and constant work, more especially in the early months of the season. For if remedies are applied in good time, the pests of both kinds give comparatively little trouble after May and June until the early autumn, when a fresh crop of both appears.
No such powerful weapon has ever before been put in the hand of the rose-grower, as the remarkable handbook on theEnemies of the Rose, published this spring (1908) by the National Rose Society. For here the veriest tyro can recognize the diseases which puzzle him and the insects which drive him to despair in all stages of their mischievous existence, figured in exquisitely drawn and coloured plates; while in the terse and admirable letter-press he is told how to combat their destructive ways. This little book can be obtained by non-members of theSociety for 2s.6d., through any member; and it ought to find a place on the shelf of every rose lover.
Mildew, of all Fungoid diseases, is the worst we have to contend with. Some roses, such as the lovelyH. T. Killarney, theCrimson Rambler, theH. P. Margaret Dickson, and others, are specially subject to this pest; and unless measures are taken against it when the very first sign appears, it quickly spreads to other roses. Two seasons ago a plant ofMargaret Dicksonhad it badly in my garden, and infected its neighbour,Frau Karl Druschki, to an alarming extent.
This odious disease, though more or less always present in the garden, appears generally in marked strength twice in the season—first in spring, when the foliage is just fully developed, and secondly after the midsummer shoots are grown.
It must be attacked early before it gets any hold, in fact, before it actually shows, if we have reason to suspect its presence.Flowers of Sulphuris the most usual and effective preventive. It is blown over the plants with bellows made specially for the purpose. Floating like a fine cloud all over the garden it settles on every part of the plant. The early morning before the dew is gone is the time to apply it, as the evaporation of the dew has some subtle effect on the sulphur which greatly increasesits efficacy. Rev. F. Page-Roberts strongly recommendsBlack Sulphurinstead of the ordinary yellow, used with one of the "Ideal" Powder Bellows, made by W. Wood & Son, Wood Green.
Another preventive, which is advised in the National Rose Society's handbook as extremely efficacious, is syringing withPotassium Sulphide,Liver of Sulphur—half an ounce to a gallon of water. The handbook advises adding a tablespoonful of liquid glue, or the whites of two eggs to every gallon of water, as this causes the solution to adhere better to the foliage. If thoroughly and carefully applied with a very fine syringe, such as the Abol Syringe, using the bend attached to get at the under-side of the leaves where the fungus first appears, this wash acts rapidly upon the pests.
Mo-Effic, a new preparation, has been highly recommended in the last two years. I have not tested it myself. But Mr. Mawley considers it most successful.
Black Spotis another troublesome pest. It attacks the foliage alone, and not only spoils the appearance of the leaves, but so injures them that they fall off prematurely. The disease can be best checked by spraying with theLiver of Sulphurwash, beginning early in the spring and going on at intervals.
Rose RustandRose Leaf Scorchmay also be combated withLiver of Sulphurwash.
But in all these three last diseases, it is a matterof the greatest importance to collect the badly diseased leaves on the plant, and especially to pick up every one lying on the ground, and to see that they are burnt at once and not thrown on the rubbish heap, where they will only infect the soil.
Sooty Mould, the unsightly black stuff which often covers the foliage, is a parasitic fungus not upon the leaf itself but upon the "honey dew" deposited by Green Fly. If therefore the honey dew is kept off by destroying the Aphides which secrete it,Sooty Mouldwill not appear.
Insect Pests.
Green Fly, orRose Aphis, is alas! too well known in every garden to need much description. But the reason why it is so difficult sometimes to get rid of this pest is not so commonly known. The Aphides breathe through pores at the sides of their bodies. And in order to kill them, some substance must be used which will close these pores. Therefore syringing with water or any clear liquid is absolutely useless; for if a few Green Fly are knocked off one shoot they will only settle on some other. We often hear people say after a thunderstorm, "This will clean the roses and wash off the Green Fly nicely." Far from it. They only increase the faster; while the caterpillars rejoice, and flaunt themselves openly on every bush. Then in despair some one usesparaffin or some violently caustic wash for spraying the Green Fly, and destroys his roses thereby.
Nature has mercifully provided some enemies to prey on the Green Fly—and these help in some small degree to keep the pest down. The chief of these is the Ladybird, which both in its adult and in its larval state devours them ceaselessly. The pretty green Lace-wing Fly or Aphis Lion is also useful, as its larvæ are provided with "large sickle-shaped jaws for picking the Green Fly off the plants."
The Hover Fly—which looks like a small, slim two-winged bee or wasp—lays its eggs in the thick of a mass of Green Fly, and its green and grey leech-like maggots feed upon them. And the Ichneumon and Chalcid Flies lay their eggs in the bodies of the Aphides and their maggots feed on them from within.
But all these are of comparatively little help to the unhappy rosarian, who must therefore devise unnatural means to clear his plants.
As far as I know, with the exception of an Aphis brush—a useful invention, but one which needs very gentle handling—there are only two safe remedies for this universal plague. The usual one is a wash of soft-soap and quassia, in these proportions—
Best soft-soap1 lb.Quassia chips2½ lb.Water25 gallons.
Even this wash, excellent as it is, will sometimesfail to get rid of the scourge in a bad year. But I have found "Abol, White's Superior," a never-failing remedy. It is also much easier to use, as one only has to mix it with cold water according to the directions on each can, and it is ready in a minute.
If either of these remedies are used the moment the Green Fly appears, and the dose repeated a couple of days later in order to kill any that may have escaped the first spraying, we have very little more trouble until the second crop of Green Fly appears in September. It is well to syringe the plants thoroughly with pure water a few days after the second dose of either of these washes, as this knocks off the dead Aphides, and leaves the foliage clean and sweet.
Although paraffin in various forms is often recommended, let me urge upon my readers that it is a most dangerous substance to use upon the rose—a naturally delicate plant—as any remedy of a caustic nature is sure to do it far more harm than good.
Tobacco wash is recommended by the Continental rose-growers for Aphis, 1 part of tobacco-juice to 15 parts of water. If a little soft-soap is added it makes a better wash. This is also a good wash for
Cuckoo SpitorFrog-Fly.—This frothy substance if washed off will be found to contain a yellow creature, often closely wedged into the angle of leaf and shoot, or at the base of a flower bud. This isa "nymph" or young Frog-Fly—a most destructive insect—and unless removed it will so quickly suck the sap of the leaf and bud that it dies and falls off.
To get rid of them requires patience. We must either hand-pick the roses—or if we spray with the tobacco wash it is necessary to syringe the plant with plain water first, using some force, to wash off the white froth—and then spray with the tobacco wash to kill the "nymph."
This leads us to the more active and the worst of all the pests we have to fight against.
Beetles, Bees, Flies, and Moths,
which either in their adult form or as maggots and caterpillars prey upon the rose.
Four Beetles are among the enemies of the rose. The beautiful greenRose BeetleorRose Chaferdoes harm in both stages. As a grub it feeds underground on the roots; and as a beetle eats the foliage and the petals and anthers of the flowers. I find it is particularly fond of the delicate blossoms of theYellow Persian Briar.
TheCock Chaferalso eats the foliage, and its large white grubs devour the roots of the roses to such an extent that they often kill the plant. As the grubs remain for three years in the ground the damage they can do is incalculable; and they attack other plants besides roses. Among the roots of a herbaceous Spiræa I lifted this last winter, I caughtforty of these grubs, and found they had so honey-combed the roots that the plant had to be burnt.
TheSummer ChaferandGarden Chaferalso attack roses.
Where these four chafers are prevalent there is no cure but hand-picking. The beetles must be collected off the bushes; and the grubs carefully picked out of the roots, if we have reason to think they are present from the rose appearing unhealthy. Or they may be tempted out of the soil by placing grass turves upside down close to the plants, when they can be picked out and killed with a little boiling water.
TheRose Leaf-cutting Beespoils the foliage by cutting semi-circular pieces out of the leaves to line its nest. A few years ago I found that a fine young plant ofTea Ramblerwas so relished by this bee that hardly a leaf was left intact. There is no cure but to watch the bee going into her nest and there to destroy it after dusk.
Of all pests that the rose-grower has to fight against