98 FRUIT TREES IN POTS [ch. 



an occasional watering if the soil is dry, but the 

 watering should be discontinued after the third 

 week of this month. 



Watch the weather, and have covering mate- 

 rials in readiness, should severe frost set in. Let 

 the house be freely ventilated from morning till 

 night, unless frosty. 



December. — The best materials for covering 

 trees are barley straw or meadow hay, but, of 

 the two, the former is the best. Cinder ash is 

 sometimes used as a covering, i.e. the trees are 

 massed together, and then the ashes are thrown 

 against the pots, and also on top of the pots, 

 to the extent of 2 or 3 or even 6 ins. above 

 the rims ; but I should never advise the use of 

 ashes if either of the above-mentioned materials 

 can be obtained. The covering of the trees 

 during frosty weather should be performed in 

 the following manner : Cover the pots to the 

 extent of 1 ft. all round them, taking care to put 

 plenty of the covering material between the spaces 

 from pot to pot. Wedge this firmly in, to prevent 

 frost passing through, and cover the tops of the 

 pots to the extent of 9 ins. to 1 ft. This will be 

 sufficient covering. 



Oak leaves and beech leaves form a good 

 covering for trees out-of-doors in pots. All the 

 hardy fruit are better wintered out-of-doors, if 



