WINTER PROTECTION. 



later. Then about the end of November 

 or December when winter weather has 

 set in or is about to, fill up among your 

 rose bushes with dry forest tree leaves 

 which you had before then raked up 

 into a pile, keeping them for this pur- 

 pose, till the bushes are all covered 

 over and the leaves worked in among 

 them, and over all strew a little strawy 

 litter to keep the leaves from blowing 

 about, and if you have if, lay some ever- 

 green branches, of spruce, pine, or arbor 

 vitne over the whole. 



A heavy mulching of manure on the 

 ground is a great protection to the roots 

 and the crowns of roses. Straw or hay 

 is a good enough covering but objection- 

 able because it harbors mice. Board- 

 ing around the beds and over them is 

 very safe, but expensive. In this case 

 provide ample ventilation. We very 

 often see tall rose bushes wrapped up 

 with straw as an out door pump is 



wrapped about to protect it from frost. 

 This is good if the covering is not very 

 thick. We would advise in these cases 

 to tie the rose bushes and some pea 

 'brush or evergreen branches all up to- 

 gether, and wrap the straw covering 

 around the whole. The brush keeps 

 the inside space open and allow free 

 ventilation. All these high bushes 

 should be firmly staked too, to save them 

 from being shaken by wind in hard 

 frosty weather, which is very injurious to 

 them. 



Where a person has only a few roses 

 the easiest way to protect them is to 

 cut them back a little, mulch the ground 

 about them heavily, and place inverted 

 barrels or dry goods boxes over them, 

 cutting a hole in these near the top on 

 the south side. If the rose canes have 

 been bent down as already mentioned, 

 before being covered by the boxes so 

 much the better. — Gardening. 



Fig. 1475.— Rosaky and Main Approach to Shrubbery. 

 461 



