Froissart, Jean

frois'art, Jean (1333-1410), a French writer and traveler. His principal work is a history of his own time, generally spoken of as Froissart's Chronicle. It covers a period extending from 1326 to 1400. This writer gives a series of vivid pictures of events connected with the history of France, England, Scotland, and Spain. He is considered a fair-minded, truthful chronicler of events. In the absence of newspapers or even printed books, historians are much indebted to Froissart for descriptions of the manners, customs, and modes of thought of his day; but he is not considered altogether accurate as to matters of fact.

Frost. As distinguished from freezing, a frost is frozen dew, and may be local. If the air cools below a certain point dew collects on objects, especially plants; and, if cooling continues, a frost is the result. A frost comes from the escape of heat, not from a cold wind. Any means,--a cloud is best,--that blankets the field or locality keeps in heat and prevents a frost. A fog from a river or lake answers the purpose, and certain localities favored in this respect are famous for fruit. Gardeners sit up all night to keep fires going, not for the heat they produce, but to cover their gardens with a smoke blanket to keep the garden warm. In fact, smudges, not bright fires, do the work. Grape raisers, with thousands of dollars' worth of half ripened fruit, surround their vineyards with old straw to keep up smudges all night long to save their fruit; and in some localities tar is made ready for autumn protection as a regular part of the year's preparation. The damper the straw, provided it will burn, the more smoke it makes. Sprinkling a garden with water is said to be a preventive. Newspapers held down with clods are excellent to keep plants warm over night. Frost drainage has come to be well understood. Cold air condenses and becomes heavier. Thus it seeks the lowest place. If a vineyard, garden, or orchard be so situated that the cold air may drain or settle off into a nearby hollow, it has frost drainage. See Fog; Dew