68 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



: Protection 



But the tender and delicate Teas are to be pro- 

 tected from frost, and how is this best to be done ? 



Long manure is unsightly and unclean, and 

 difficult to get away properly, while clean straw 

 looks untidy and messy and is not a good protection, 

 For a long time bracken (the common brake-fern) 

 has been recommended by nurserymen, and good and 

 useful it is where it can be had. If it can be pro- 

 cured at a reasonable price per load, a stipulation 

 should be made that it be cut before it has got quite 

 sere, in fact just when it begins to turn. In this 

 case the leafy parts will adhere much longer to the 

 skeleton stalks ; but care must be taken that it be 

 not laid before use even in small heaps, or it will be 

 sure to heat to a certain extent and steadily rot. It 

 should be put lightly yet thickly around and amongst 

 the dwarf Teas and into their heads : there is no 

 fear of its blowing away, but after a heavy snow it 

 may get beaten down a little too much, and a 

 further supply, which should be kept in sheaves, 

 standing in stooks, may be added. For standards it 

 is a capital protection, tied tightly together at the 

 top, and allowed to hang down all round, as a sort 

 of rough thatch ; but in making it secure against 

 wind, it should not be fastened to the stem underneath 

 the head, as anything that will hold the damp that 

 does get through the protection will do more harm 

 than good : wheat straw makes a still better job in 

 skilful hands, but if fir or laurel boughs be the pro- 

 tecting material chosen, the plant may be too 



