REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 287 



give cabbage u lower temperature than he would tomatoes or peppers — the 

 former 85° and the latter 90^. 



Geo, W. Parks gave his plan as follows : lie dug out a trench eighteen inches 

 deep and six feet wide on a side lull where he could get a rise from the arch to 

 the chimney about one foot in twenty. He used a stove for an arch, setting it 

 on the ground and running a brick flue, 6x10 inches on inside, in center of 

 trench fifty feet to chimney. The chimney may be made of boards, 0x10 

 inches on inside and twelve feet high. Now tlie bed must be made by taking 

 2x4 lumber and posts thirty-six inches long for back side, and thirty inches for 

 front side. The cross stringers should be oak plank six feet long and l^^xS 

 inches. Xail the stringers to posts, raising them one inch above flue. The 

 brackets thus made should be six feet apart alter they are placed in position. 

 The floor should be laid of coarse lumber to receive the dirt, which should be 

 six inches deep, of rich soil, com})osed of decomposed sods, leaves, etc. Before 

 putting in dirt the sides should be boarded up from the cross strings on the 

 inside and from the ground on outside to the top of posts. The space between 

 posts should be filled with leaves or fine straw, using dire from trench to bank 

 up with on outside. It is now ready for the sash. He said he used the end 

 nearest the arch for tomatoes, putting cabbage and other plants requiring a 

 lower temperature nearer the chimney. A portion of the bed should be kept 

 for boxes or fiats to transplant into, so they can be taken out aiid moved with- 

 out disturbing plants. It will be necessary to build a furnace house for fur- 

 nace, which should be made tight, and can be made of coarse lumber, and if 

 well lighted and large enough it could be utilized as a tool-house. 



School ground embellishment was discussed somewhat, and on motion of 

 Mr. Johnson, the following resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote: 



Resolved, That we, the members of the horticultural society, are in sympa- 

 thy with the efforts of the State Horticultural Society in encouraging the 

 embellishment of school grounds throughout the State, and we and each of us 

 agree to do all we can to encourage the embellishment of school grounds in 

 our respective school districts to which we belong by properly fencing and a 

 judicious planting of trees, shrubbery, and flowers. 



The April meeting was occupied with a discussion on 



KITCHEN GARDENING. 



Mr. Kobert Mann read a very excellent paper upon the topic. Among other 

 things he said: 



The most common error people make is planting too much land, and the 

 second mistake is planting too many kinds. Much better satisfaction will be 

 given at tiie end of the season if a few varieties are planted and well culitivated. 

 One of the most necessary things is to have good plants and have them early, 

 therefore a hot-bed is very convenient to start seeds in. If that takes too ranch 

 attention, make a cold-frame, which is nearly as good, but not quite as early ; 

 in fact, I think a person not familiar with a hot-bed will have better success 

 with a cold-frame, as he will probably get better plants if not quite so early. 

 If the garden is small a person can get along without either, as the seeds can 

 be planted in boxes of earth and kept in the house and set out in the sun on 

 warm days. Be careful and not let them suffer for want of water, as they will 

 dry out very quickly if only a slight wind is blowing. We water at any time 

 of the day if dry, but prefer evening if the weather is mild. If cold we water 

 in the morning. Use shallow boxes to plant in, — two and one-half inches is 

 deep enough and will be much easier to handle than deeper ones. 



