Hotbed Construction and Management 



1621 



of the end boarding and nailed firmly. These tapering pieces correspond 

 to the fall, or slope, of the sash when it is laid on the bed. 



The bed is now ready for the crossties. These are generally strips of 

 boards 4 inches wide and 6 feet long. They are counter-sunk into the 

 top of both the back and the front of the bed, being spaced so that 1 \ inch 

 of the outer edge on each side is for the use of the sash, the middle inch 

 allowing for a small 1x2 -inch strip of wood to be nailed upright and 

 to serve as a separator between sashes, and the remaining half -inch allow- 

 ing room on each side for swelling of the sash. (Fig. 14.) 



The bed is now finished and ready for the filling in of the dirt and 



Fig. 15. — Hotbed made of a pile of manure and a cold-frame top. 



with seedlings. For the farm garden 



Flats inside filled 



for the grading. As the dirt is filled in it should be firmed, making a 

 tight connection between the surrounding soil and the bed. Care must 

 be taken, however, that the dirt is not filled in on one side more than on 

 the other, as this is likely to throw the bed out of plumb. The soil all 

 around the bed should be graded so that all water is drained away from, 

 not toward, the bed; but the grading should be gradual, not sharp. Coal 

 cinders, used for a top layer near the bed, make a very good walk. 



construction of hotbeds not made of wood 



Not only may hotbeds be constructed entirely of wood, as described 

 above, but other materials, such as concrete, brick, stone, or combinations 

 of these, may be used. 



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