58 



THE FLOEAL WOELD AND CIAEDEN GUIDE. 



for when, in the common method, a quan- 

 tity of clung is thrown together in a some- 

 what rank state, it heats violently for a 

 short time, and perhaps burns or scahls 

 the roots of the cucumbers, if put in before 

 it has had time allowed it to spend itself to 

 no useful purpose. Tlie object attempted in 

 the accompanying plan is to save both 

 time and material, as, in the first construc- 

 tion, less dung is used, as the space c only 

 is at that time filled, which, whilst the 

 dung is fresh, will give siifRcient heat, and 

 what dung is thus saved may be reserved, 

 aud be got into a proper state of fermenta- 



weeks, water should be applied to any part 

 found to be dry ; and if, at the last turn- 

 ing, a portion of good oak or beech-leaves 

 can be added all the better. The process 

 above described should be repeated for the 

 linings to the bed, and if the bed and 

 linings are protected from wet and wind 

 by a coating of dry littery hay, it will 

 greatly economize the heat. On referring 

 to the Ground-plan, Fig. 1, and Section, 

 Fig, 2, it will be seen that a, a, a, a, repre- 

 sent two rows of stout stakes, from 2^ to 

 3^ inches in diameter, driven in a sloping 

 direction into the ground ; I represents a 



GROUND 



tion to form linings e with, about a fort- 

 night afterwards. Aud here I may remark, 

 for the benefit of those who are at present 

 unacquainted with dung-beds, that whilst 

 the dung remains in the heap as thrown 

 from the stable, it will only heat in propor- 

 tion to the amount of moisture it coutams, 

 and will often heat itself dry ; but three 

 weeks befoi-e it is wanted for a bed, it 

 should bo thoroughly slaken over, and 

 a moderate amount of water thrown upon 

 it through the rose of a watering-pot ; 

 and at each turning over, which should 

 take place four times during the three 



mass of stones as drainage, and for admit- 

 ting heat to penetrate the bed from the 

 linings e ; c a mass of dung well beaten in 

 with a stick one foot higher than the 

 stakes, to allow for settling, when the 

 frame d will rest upon the stakes a, a ; 

 f,f,f,f, indicate the drain-pipes, laid into 

 the bed as its construction goes on, for the 

 purpose of conducting heat from the 

 linings into the bed ; e represents the space 

 for hnings, which may be filled with dry 

 litter until hot linings are required. 



H. HOWLETT. 





SPRING-WORK IN THE GARDEN AND THE HOUSE. 



Ur SHIRLEY HIBBEKD. 



With all the promises of spring about us, 

 let us once more be thankful for the per- i 

 petual fulfilment of that blessed promise j 

 of our Almighty Benefactor — " I will not 

 again curse the ground any more for 

 man's sake, for the imagination of man's j 

 heart is evil from his youth ; neither will 



I again smite anymore every thing living, 

 as 1 have done. While the earth remainetb, 

 seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, 

 and summer and winter, and day and night 

 shall not cease." I think it was Chalmers 

 who said, " God literallycreates the uni- 

 verse every moment, every instant is a 



