123 



FROST. 



French Marigold. — See Tage'- 



TES. 



Fringe-Tree, — See Chiona'n- 



THUS. 



Fritilla'kia. — Tulipacece. — 

 Hardy bulbous-rooted plants, wHch 

 ■will thrive in any common garden 

 soil ; but whicb do best in sandy 

 loam. Tbere are several species. 

 They are increased by offsets ; and 

 they may remain several years in the 

 ground -n'ithout taking up, and with- 

 out receiving any injuiy. 



Fritillary. — See Fkitilla'eia. 



Frogbit. — Hydrocharis morsus- ' 

 ranee. — A very graceful British 

 aquatic, with white flowers. 



Frost is injurious to plants in pro- [ 

 portion to their natural tenderness, 

 and to their succulency, whether in- 

 duced by art, by culture, or the 

 season, or the accidental or natural | 

 moisture of the soil. Hence, to i 

 protect plants from frost, the first , 

 step is the thorough drainage of the i 

 subsoil ; and the next, the use of a 

 sou composed of materials which wiU ' 

 readily permit the escape of water, I 

 and which, of course, is always I 

 comparatively dry. On such a soil 

 if a frame covered with glass sashes 

 be placed, and covered with mats, 

 thatch, or boards during severe 

 nights, all half-hardy plants will be 

 completely protected. But there are 

 a great many plants in beds, and 

 borders, and against walls, which 

 cannot be conveniently protected by 

 those means ; and the roots or lower 

 parts of the stems of plants thus 

 situated may be covered with leaves, 

 straw, litter, rotten tan, or any other 

 diy non-conducting material which 

 will retain air, and consequently 

 prevent the escape of heat, and yet 

 throw off" water. In general aU 

 herbaceous plants may be entirely 

 covered during winter with such kind 

 of materials ; and all ligneous plants 

 will be saved from being killed, if 



the root-stock, neck, or collar, be so 

 covered. The branches and upper 

 part of the stem, if left naked, may 

 indeed be destroyed ; but if the 

 collar and the ground for two or 

 three feet around it be thus pro- 

 tected, the life of the plant wUl be 

 preserved, and the next spring, if the 

 plant be cut down to the ground, it 

 will spring up again from the collar. 

 In general, the easiest ligneous plants 

 to protect are those which throw up 

 suckers ; and the most difl&cidt those 

 which seldom shoot from the root 

 ' or stool, such as the pine and fir 

 tribe. The plants easiest to protect 

 are those which are placed against 

 I walls : because the branches can be 

 saved from the perpendicular cold by 

 a projecting coping, and the roots by 

 lit+er, leaves, rotten tan, &c. What 

 I are called Alpine plants, which in 

 j their native country are covered 

 I during winter with snow, are best 

 I protected by being kept in pots, and 

 placed in what is called a cold frame : 

 I that is, a box covered with glass, 

 placed on the common soil of the 

 I garden, and consequently without 

 I bottom-heat, but covered in severe 

 I weather with mats, thatch, or boards. 

 I Planting herbaceous plants and low 

 , shrubs in raised masses of soil covered 

 with stone, technically called rock- 

 work, is also a good means of pre- 

 serving plants which are not quite 

 hardy ; because the mass of soil 

 containing the roots is thus always 

 more or less dry. One of the greatest 

 enjoyments in gardening consists in 

 growingthe plants of warmer climates 

 than our own in the open air ; this, 

 in the climate of Britain, is not so 

 much to be effected by communi- 

 cating artificial heat in the winter 

 season, as by protecting them from 

 frost and moisture. If all gardening 

 were reduced to the mere growth of 

 plants which were quite hardy, the art 

 would lose half its interest. The nice 



