PROTECTION FROM FROST. 



257 



that are more tender may have their roots and crowns 

 protected with moss, straw, or coarse stable manure, not 

 placed so thick as to heat. If leaves are used a little soil 

 or brush should be thrown over them to keep them in 

 place. Tender bulbs are protected in the same way. If 

 the foliage is evergreen, it must not be smothered with 

 too thick a covering. 



Shrubby plants may have their roots well covered thus, 

 and their stems bound with straw or moss. For small 

 shrubs, a few evergreen Roughs thrown 'over them is a 

 good protection; larger ones may have their branches 

 drawn together and wound with straw. Tender roses may 

 have tan-bark or sawdust banked up about their stems, 

 to be removed in spring. 



Climbing plants, if tender, must be taken down and 

 laid upon the soil to be covered with leaves or earth. 



There is some danger where much litter is used, of 

 harboring vermin. Many things are better protected by 

 bending a few hoops across the bed with three or four 

 laths lying on them, on which is thrown a cloth or mat- 

 ting in severe weather. Pansies, carnations, and stocks, 

 are thus generally protected, giving them light and air in 

 mild weather. Flower pots, sun shades, vine shields, and 

 wooden frames, covered with canvas or oiled paper, are 

 all useful in protecting low plants. Boxes and barrels 

 are convenient for larger ones. None of these must touch 

 the plant they cover, as they w T ould conduct the heat away 

 from what they touched. The main object of these 

 coverings is to confine the air and protect the surface 

 from radiating heat. 



All plants will endure more frost uninjured in a dry, 

 well-drained soil. In low, damp locations, plants, else- 

 where considered hardy, are frequently killed by frost. 

 They are also much more easily injured directly after a 

 mild term starts them into growth. 



