REMEDY FOR APHIS ON ROSES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 21, 23 November 1910, Page 44

REMEDY FOR APHIS ON ROSES.

Here is the remedy suggested by Mr. Theobald in his valuable article: — "Aphis may easily be kept in check on roses by spraying, but this must be done with care. Tile writer has seen roses as badly damaged by the washes used as by the green fly. "The reason is the rose will not stand any strong corrosive spray. A particular rose may do so at one time, but at another it will have its foliage ruined. “Moreover, a strong corrosive wash is

not necessary to kill aphides. All that we have to do is to block up the breathing pores, and so asphyxiate them. This may be done with simple soft soap and water. For the spraying of roses you must get the best soap, and not use more than one pound to twenty-five gallons of water. To this may be added two and a half pounds of quassia chips. The effect of the latter is undoubtedly mo-t beneficial, for it acts as a stimulant ami cleanse to the leaves, and by many growers is said to have a direct effect on the aphides. The soft soap, of course, has some corrosive power, for it contains caustic soda (about 4 per cent.). "This soft soap and quassia wash is made as follows: Dissolve the soap in boiling soft water; boil the quassia chips, amt let them simmer for about twelve hours, adding water enough to keep them covered. Every now and then strain off the liquid extract ami pour into the dissolved soft soap, and well stir, and lastly, add the full quantity of water of dilution. "This is all that is required to kill aphis. . . . To clear the roses we must spray twice in succession on two consecutive days. “Nicotine is an excellent insecticide, and may be safely used with soft soap.”