Experience is a good teacher, and it has taught us that the action of severe frosts, followed by rapid thaws on the surface roots and crowns of trees, creates very great in-jury, often resulting in death. We have known trees healthy on approach of winter, and the same when dug in spring; we have found them with all the top and the lower roots uninjured, but the crown and surface roots entirely blackened and dead. This is often a result with grapevines - in fact, we have seen hundreds of vines exhibit this condition. During the past autumn we have repeatedly urged the earthing up to the crowns of trees and plants, with a view to prevention of this result. We now say, look over your trees carefully, and if you have not turned the earth toward them, thus covering the surface roots and crowns two or three inches deeper than their position during the growing season, you should now do it by a mulch of some sort. In the forest, Nature herself performs this act by the dropping of the leaves; but in the open ground, unless the trees stand in turf, and the fall growth of grass is left, no such protection is had.

Surface-rooting plants, such as the quince, Paradise apple, etc., and all newly-planted vines Or plants, suffer greater injury, because of the greater number of surface roots than older or stronger rooted plants; but all are affected, and the severity of the winter and number of changes of frost and thaws will tell the result the next season - sometimes in enfeebled growth, sometimes in complete death.