4 EFFECT OF SEVERE FROST ON THE 
them, by obtaining a greater supply of food, to 
support a proportionately greater luxuriance of 
foliage. 
The two last weeks in April and the two first 
of May form a very interesting and anxious per- 
iod to the gardener, as the buds of most of our 
useful fruit trees then begin to swell out and 
unfold themselves; and a severe frosty night, 
after rain or snow, may very much diminish the 
hope of a crop. 
The following brief observations may perhaps 
assist us in determining the easiest and cheapest 
way to preserve some of our fruits and vege- 
tables on such occasions. 
The excellent markets which Manchester and 
the surrounding towns afford for choice vege- 
tables, and especially for early potatoes, has 
induced our gardeners to pay great attention to 
raising them, and in doing this their first object 
is to throw their ground into a succession of 
beds all sloping to the south. 
These are trenched two feet deep at the latter 
end of the year, and lie in ridges during the 
winter to get mellowed by the frost. About 
