108 THE BOOK .OF THE ROSE chap. 



danger is great all hands should be roused and 

 encouraged to noble efforts, even though the work must 

 be continued by lamp-light well into the night. 



The first thing to remember is that the greatest 

 danger is to those buds that are just formed, hardly 

 visible ; forwarder buds that have got hard will stand 

 some frost without injury, and shoots where the bud is 

 not yet formed, even though apparently crippled at the 

 time, will often eventually grow through it and com- 

 pletely recover. 



Protecting material nuist evidently be very light, as 

 there will be little time to spare for driving stakes 

 into the ground to support it above the highest shoots. 

 Anything in the shape of light muslin or similar 

 material should be hunted out and spread as gently as 

 possible over the plants ; bent shoots can easily be 

 straightened again, but of course care must be taken 

 that they are not cracked or broken. The frost is not 

 likely to be dangerous at that time of year if there 

 is wind, as that will probably bring cloud, the best and 

 safest of all coverings ; so even old newspapers or any 

 large sheets of thin paper may be made useful in such 

 cases. 



For remedial measures, when serious May frost has 

 come and caught us unprotected, I would recommend, 

 first and foremost, patience. Touch nothing at first : 

 no one can tell for some little time, till the sun has shone 

 warmly on the plants, how much or how little damage 

 has been done. Then it may be plain perhaps that 

 some shoots, utterly blackened and shrivelled at the 

 tips, are done for ; but still I would advise the removal of 

 nothing till such time as fi^esh growth has commenced. 



The soil should be well stirred, and a little nitrate 

 or some other stimulant applied ; this will hasten the 



