FLOWER-BEDS 



mains covered until spring, lying at a depth of 

 from three to six feet on a level. The ther- 

 mometer sometimes drops as low as 40" below 

 zero in midwinter, yet notwithstanding this in- 

 tense cold the ground is never very deeply 

 frozen. Its blanket of snow keeps it warm, 

 and free from frost, and many times I have 

 found the ground ready for cultivation when the 

 remains of a snow-drift still lay but a few feet 

 away. The temperature in summer is never ex- 

 cessive. During the abnormally hot season of 

 1900, the highest range of the thermometer was 

 86° Fah., the maximum record, on the warmest 

 day. Indeed, we rarely have more than a dozen 

 days in a season in which the thermometer rises 

 above 80°. The nights are invariably cool, and 

 one rarely if ever is able to sleep without being 

 covered by a light blanket. Frost is not un- 

 known even in midsummer in this region, though, 

 owing doubtless to the effect of the surrounding 

 water, we never have frost on the island between 

 the 1st of June and the 20th of September. 



In such a region as this none but thoroughly 

 hardy plants can survive. They get the protec- 

 tion of fallen leaves, and the snow which nature 

 provides, but beyond this they receive no cover- 



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