so . THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



roses when there is a good protection of snow on the ground. The 

 Brinkle's Orange berry is considered to be one of the most delicate 

 flavored of fruits, and is highly remunerative when it does well, the 

 berries selling readily for twenty cents per quart; it requires, however, 

 a convenient market, as it is too soft to carry far. Tlie reds also 

 suffered more or less, and even the Philadelphia was a good deal frost- 

 bitten. 



The action of the frost downwards as well as upwards is very 

 j)eculiar, and it may not be uninteresting to mention a curious fact, 

 ^\•hich may account for some of the oddities of the vegetable nature. 

 At the end of last August, Mr. Greenfield, of this city, had a Trans- 

 cendant Crab tree which was apparently in the last stages of existence; 

 in order that he might ascertain the cause of its coming end, he set 

 himself to work to remove the soil very carefully, so as to get at the 

 root of the evil and the roots of his tree at the same time. He was 

 much astonished to find that the severe frost, which almost every one 

 has observed to heave fence-posts, &c., had heaved his tree, and had 

 broken off the small roots or spongioles, so that the tree was unable to 

 assimilate its food, and, like a starving man, died of inanition. This 

 examination has to my mind let in a flood of light on those diseases 

 called " blight," and I feel certain a number of trees might be annually 

 saved from a premature death by the application of a heavy mulch. 

 It also shews conclusively how it is that all trees pass through the 

 severest winters when there is a large amount of snow fall, especially 

 if that snow remains on the ground well into spring. A heavy coating 

 of the "beautiful snow" when it comes early, not only keeps the frost 

 from entering the ground, but should the soil be frozen before it 

 arrives, it keeps more from taking effect ; and the warmth of mother 

 earth or the capillary attraction which draws the water from below 

 towards the surface, which is constantUy going on, keeps continually 

 reducing the crust from the underneath side, and when spring appears 

 little or no frost is to be found. I have seen a fall of two inches of 

 snow protect gi-ound from six degrees below zero of frost ; so that a 

 pliant cane walking-stick could be readly thrust into the earth. There 

 is at the time of writing four feet of snow on the level about here, 

 and there has been good snow roads since the middle of November, 

 consequently if we have anything like an ordinary spring, we anticipate 

 a first class yield of fruits, especially of the strawberry, next .season. 



