308 ■ THE GARDENER. [July 



some divergence of opinion as to the extent of protection necessary; but 

 the ahnust universal prevalence of frost, or equally destructive winds, 

 up till a late period in spring, should leave little room for doubt as 

 to the expediency of the practice to some extent. Perhaps too much 

 protection is as bad in its results as no protection ; and thus the non- 

 protectionists may find some justification of their views in the failures 

 of those that coddle their trees, under the impression that they are 

 retarding them, till they become unnaturally sensitive of every change 

 that occurs in our fitful spring weather. It is quite possible to pro- 

 tect overmuch as it is possible to clothe ourselves overmuch. The 

 Hibernian gentleman who put on his entire wardrobe, consisting of 

 three suits and an overcoat, and yet felt cold, neither succeeded in 

 making himself more comfortable nor in bracing himself up to a 

 better state for enduring cold. So with our fruit-trees ; we may 

 clothe them to the extent of frustrating our own object, and weaken- 

 ing their powers of endurance. Much ingenuity has been displayed 

 in devising fabrics for the purpose of protecting fruit-trees. Some of 

 these fabrics are wel], others ill, adapted for the purpose ; yet each 

 has its advocates. Some prefer a dense or heavy covering, such as 

 canvas or frigidomo, along with the attendant labour and trouble of 

 daily removing in the morning and putting it on at night. Others 

 think the lighter kinds of protecting materials, such as Haythorne's 

 hexagon netting and the thinner kinds of tiffany, the most effective 

 protectors for either blossom or fruit. Perhaps no kind of material 

 in use for the purpose meets all the requirements. Haythorne's 

 netting, the least dense and most elegant of all, is, I believe, too 

 thick, too obstructive of light, and too bad a conductor. The object 

 of protection should not be to increase artificially the temperature 

 around our trees, but to prevent excessive loss of heat by means of 

 radiation or blasting winds. A much slighter covering than any in 

 use is sufficient to eff'ect this. It is no uncommon thing to find a 

 tender Peach or Apricot under an overhanging leaf quite safe, while 

 those exposed directly to the action of radiation are destroyed. The 

 thin leaf, with its tissues charged with moisture, is a pretty good con- 

 ductor, yet it is quite suificient protection for the fruit it shelters, and 

 the fact is suggestive. Some apply their protection long before their 

 trees are in any danger, and believe they are retarding them. The 

 use of this it is difficult to see ; for supposing that it is possible with 

 safety to retard trees that are stirred into activity, say in February or 

 early March, by the slight increase of the mean temperature of day 

 and night that takes place so early in the year, is the application of 

 protection, as soon as they are suspected to be on the move, the 

 proper means to adopt in order to accomplish this object? I am not 



