68 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
PROTECTION 
But the tender and delicate Teas are to be pro- 
tected from frost, and how is this best to be done ? 
Long manure is unsightly and unclean, and 
difficult to get away properly, while clean straw 
looks untidy and messy and is not a good protection, 
For a long time bracken (the common brake-fern) 
has been recommended by nurserymen, and good and 
useful it is where it can be had. If it can be pro- 
cured at a reasonable price per load, a stipulation 
should be made that it be cut before it has got quite 
sere, In fact just when it begins to turn. In this 
case the leafy parts will adhere much longer to the 
skeleton stalks; but care must be taken that it be 
not laid before use even in small heaps, or it will be 
sure to heat to a certain extent and steadily rot. It 
should be put hghtly yet thickly around and amongst 
the dwarf Teas and into their heads: there is no 
fear of its blowing away, but after a heavy snow it 
may get beaten down a little too much, and a 
further supply, which should be kept in sheaves, 
standing in stooks, may be added. For standards it 
is a capital protection, tied tightly together at the 
top, and allowed to hang down all round, as a sort 
of rough thatch; but in making it secure against 
wind,it should not be fastened to the stem underneath 
the head, as anything that will hold the damp that 
does get through the protection will do more harm 
than good: wheat straw makes a still better job in 
skilful hands, but if fir or laurel boughs be the pro- 
tecting material chosen, the plant may be too 
