OCTOBER. 293 



In arranging a forcing ground for vegetables there should be a 

 series of beds four feet wide, the sides of which may be four and a 

 half inches brick-work, with supporting piers or rubble stone ; a space 

 between each bed should be left three feet six inches wide, as a path to 

 attend to the crops, and to admit a wheelbarrow ; the side walls should 

 be carried up 12 or 14 inches higher than the surface, and should be 

 finished off with a wood coping securely fastened and braced now and 

 then across the bed. Two, three, or four-inch pipes should run the 

 length of these beds ; the depth at which these should be placed, and 

 their arrangement in regard to the boiler, will of course depend on 

 circumstances. Good drainage should likewise be provided before laying 

 down the pipes. Over these pipes a few inches of drainage should be 

 placed, and on that the soil. 



Where the plants to be forced are of perennial growth, as Rhubarb, 

 Seakale, Asparagus, &c., the soil should be made rich, and the plants 

 should be planted one year at least previous to forcing them, while in 

 the case of Potatoes, Carrots, Lettuce, &c., a hghter soil may be used, 

 and the pipes should be nearer the surface. The wooden coping to the 

 walls will be convenient to adjust the framing to, for during winter and 

 early spring a glass frame will be required for most of the crops, which 

 as spring advances may be dispensed with in many cases, and the 

 successional crops may be carried on by the assistance of bottom heat 

 alone, to produce an uninterrupted succession from mid-winter, or even 

 earlier, till the natural produce of the season comes in. 



That a division of ground arranged in a somewhat similar manner to 

 that just described, and heated by hot water pipes from one or more 

 boilers, would be a vast improvement in this department of gardening, 

 no one who has had any practice in the matter can for a moment doubt ; 

 while instead of the litter, dirt, and trouble now experienced, we really 

 should show a very interesting quarter, calculated for use, and which 

 would pay itself in a short time. 



A set of glass frames made either span or elliptic roofed, to fit over 

 the beds, will be required ; these should be made to fit on the coping, 

 which should be rabbited out to receive them, and might be in five or 

 six feet lengths, so as to shde backwards or forwards as wanted ; and for 

 such things as Potatoes, French Beans, &c., a pipe for top heat could 

 be carried round a portion of the beds, for keeping up the proper 

 temperature. The frames for the glass should be either cast or wrought 

 iron, and if the beds are arranged due north and south they would 

 have all the benefit of the sun and Hght, ventilation being effected by 

 tilting them up from the coping by a contrivance for the purpose. 



We have said enough, we hope, to show both the utility and economy 

 of the plan we suggest, founded on the principles laid do\vn in the 

 beginning of our article, and although we have considered these f )rcing 

 pits especially in reference to the growth of garden vegetables during 

 winter, yet they need not be confined solely to that, for they would be 

 found equally useful for propagating and raising annuals, and a variety 

 of other purposes we need not mention. A plan and section of these 

 pits will be given with the concluding paper. 



{To be continued.) 



