THE ROSE 



we must contrive, in some way, to save as many 

 of the last year's branches as possible. Fortu- 

 nately, this can be done without a great deal of 

 trouble. 



Here is my method of winter protection: Late 

 in fall — generally about the first of November, or 

 whenever there are indications that winter is 

 about to close in upon us — I bend the bushes to 

 the ground, and cover them with dry earth, 

 leaves, litter from the barn, or evergreen 

 branches. In doing this I am not aiming to keep 

 the frost away from the plants, as might be 

 supposed, but rather to prevent the sun from 

 getting at the soil and thawing the frost that has 

 taken possession of it. Scientific investigation 

 has proven that a plant, though comparatively 

 tender, is not seriously injured by freezing, if it 

 can be hept frozen until the frost is extracted 

 from it naturally, — ^that is, gradually and ac- 

 cording to natural processes. It is the frequent 

 alternation of freezing and thawing that does the 

 harm. Therefore, if you have a tender Rose that 

 you want to carry over winter in the open ground, 

 give it ample protection as soon as the frost has 

 got at it — ^before it has a chance to thaw out— 

 and you can be reasonably sure of its coming 

 through in spring in good condition. What I 



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