196 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



netting should be kept from brushing against the blossoms by poles, as above mentioned. 

 Woollen netting with a ^-inch mesh is, perhaps, the best textile material for protecting 

 blossom. This, from its openness, does not prevent the air from reaching the trees, 

 but is sufficiently close to prevent the deposition of dew on the flowers, which is very 

 often converted into ice by morning. Canvas or other close material may be best 

 during a night of severe frost, but if continued over the trees throughout the day it 

 does harm in excluding light and air, and as there are times when protection is 

 required as much by day as by night, these canvas coverings are not so good as wool 

 nets. Whatever material is used, it should be made of sufficient width by sewing the 

 necessary breadths together to reach from the top of the wall, immediately under the 

 coping, to within 18 inches or 2 feet from the ground. 



The chief essentials in protecting wall trees are dry materials applied before 

 moisture descends, continuing the shelter until the frost has departed. Protection must 

 commence with the appearance of the blossoms. In the bud state, wrapped as they are 

 in their scaly envelopes, the flowers are safe, but when the blossom buds swell, and the 

 petals enclosing the tender fructifying organs appear, these are liable to destruction by 

 frost. The sheltering medium should be retained for use when needed until the season 

 is advanced, the weather genial, and the leafage of the trees abundant, as the tender 

 young fruits are liable to injury, and crops of apricots and peaches have been ruined 

 even after the blossoms have been preserved. 



Pyramid and bush trees may be protected by a light awning of tiffany, brown 

 hessian, or scrim canvas, kept clear of the blossoms by stakes at the sides or around 

 the trees with laths across to form a roof. The late Mr. Thos. Eivers advised an 

 opening to be left at the top and bottom for the admission of air. This is imperative, 

 for when trees are enwrapped in close material, moisture is. deposited on the organs of 

 fructification and setting prevented. Detached trees are the most economically pro- 

 tected separately. Stout stakes should be driven into the ground around them, about 

 18 inches apart, clear of the branches, a little taller than the top of the tree, and there 

 made level. A central stake, taller than the rest, is an advantage, as by tacking a piece 

 of waterproof canvas on the top of the stakes, a dew and rain proof roof is formed. 

 Tiffany or other light material should be wound round outside the stakes, commencing 

 about 3 inches lower down than the level of the lowest blossom, bringing it up to within 

 6 inches of the top, and tacking it securely to the stakes. Air is thus freely admitted 

 by the bottom and top apertures, as shown in the figure (page 194), but during severe 



