1628 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



It is enough to say that the temperature under the glass should not be 

 allowed to rise above 75 in the daytime or to fall below 50 at night 

 for average plants. Many gardeners watch the glass, and, if moisture 

 condenses on it, more air is admitted by raising the sash. The sash is 

 never raised so that a direct wind will blow in on the plants, but is raised 

 away from the prevailing wind. 



Under the above conditions the seeds will have the correct environment 

 for germination and growth. 



As soon as the first true leaf is developed (the first true leaf is generally 

 the third leaf appearing, the first two being seed leaves, or cotyledons), 

 those plants that are to be given more space for . development are trans- 



Fig. 22. — Commercial hotbeds of the cheapest construction. Laborers harvesting a crop 



planted to another hotbed in rows 3 to 4 inches apart, the plants being 

 2\ to 3 inches apart in each row. In the case of tomatoes and other plants 

 that make a large growth, these will again be transplanted, when the outside 

 weather is settled, to their permanent places in the field. Lettuce, however, 

 can be set 7 x 7 inches apart in the hotbed and allowed to mature there. 



Many other plants can properly be brought to maturity in hotbeds. 

 Sweet corn and snap beans are often thus planted and matured. In 

 their early stages of growth these plants do not require the space that is 

 needed later. This space can very wisely be used for a more quickly 

 maturing catch crop, such as radishes or lettuce, and the early waste of 

 space is thus avoided. 



There are many combinations of vegetables that can be grown in a 

 hotbed. Radishes, lettuce, beets, and carrots seem to be well adapted 



