54 



GARDE^ERS' CHRONICLE 



HOTBEDS FOR EARLY VEGETABLES 



'"THE most useful garden should furnish a continu- 

 ous supply of desirable vegetables throughout 

 the season. This will necessitate some way of start- 

 ing early plants in a protected place such as a hotbed 

 or cold frame. There the conditions for growth may 

 be closely controlled and better care may consec|uently 

 be taken of the young plants. 



Essentially, a hotbed is a box covered with glass 

 and heated by artificial means. Ordinarily fresh horse 

 manure is the most available and best supply of heat 

 for this purpose to be found on the average farm. 

 After a hotbed is planted, it needs to be carefully ven- 

 tilated and watered to provide proper conditions for 

 germinating the seed, and it also needs to be carefully 

 watched on account of the danger of damping-off. if 

 it becomes too wet and is not ventilated enough. Also 

 poor ventilation will cause weak, spindling plants. Be- 

 fore removing plants from hotbed, they must become 

 accustomed to the same conditions they will have to 

 meet in the held. This is called "hardening off." It is 

 done by withholding water and increasing the ventila- 

 tion for about two weeks, until the covers may be left 

 off the bed entirely— all night as well as in the day 

 time. When the plants will stand this treatment with- 

 out danger, they may be safely put in the field. 



In transplanting care must be used not to destroy 

 any more of the small roots than necessary, for the 

 pla'nts take in water through them and are very apt 

 to wilt if anv <ire broken off. Should the tops of the 

 plants have 'too much leaf surface and the roots be 

 broken to a considerable extent, it is necessary to re- 

 move part of the leaves to reduce the transpiration of 

 water and prevent wilting. 



AN OIL HEATED HOT BED THAT WORKS 



FOR the past two or three years the purchase uf ^suit- 

 able manure for hotbed heating has been difficult. 

 So I purchased in January. 1918, a small hot-water 

 heated garden frame, "5 x 8 feet. This is built like a very 

 small greenhouse — a ridge in the middle 28 in. high from 

 'the ground with two sashes fitted and hung on hinges on 

 both sides. The sides are 18 inches high and double 

 glazed — as is the entire house. One end is eiitirely 

 glazed, but in the center of the other, on the outside of 

 The house is built a siuall box which contains the heatmg 

 ajjparatus, a galvanized iron two section boiler holdmg 

 about two gahons of water heated by means of a two- 

 blaze oil burner. The oil tank that supplies this heater 

 holds a gallon. The heating pipe is 2-inch galvanized 

 iron and'runs around all sides of the house and thence 

 back to the boiler. The first season of its use this heater 

 could hardly be called a success. With almost no excep- 

 tion just as'the first true leaves were formed, the seedlings 

 would have a mottled apjiearance thence turning to black 

 and finally withering altogether. T had come gradually 

 to the conclusion that the heater liox was too closely con- 

 nected to the frame as I detected strong odors such as 

 are always associated with kerosene lamps, and by the 

 end of six weeks the glass around the sides of the house 

 was streaked with a brown, greasy substance. Several 

 other objectionable things I found. On either side of the 

 box were six one-inch holes ; three at the bottom to supply 

 fresh air and three at the top to allow the old air to 

 escape. Light breezes blown in at the sides and through 

 these holes caused the blazes to jump up and down and 

 to smoke, and this smoke entered the house. Heavy 

 winds blew the blazes out and several times I went out in 

 the morning onlv to find the fire out and the water cold. 



1 did remedy this temporarily, however, by sheltering the 

 box. I was never able to keep the temperature where 

 it belonged. The highest night temperature would aver- 

 age 40". If the outside temperature went below 7° above 

 it would drop to 32° or 34° inside, sufficient to prevent 

 freezing, but not satisfactory. In the daytime 45°-50° 

 on cloudy and 50°-60° with ventilation on clear days was 

 the best it would do — more often much lower than these 

 figures. During the six weeks' experiment there was 

 an average oil consumption of 3 to 3} 2 quarts a day — • 

 on extreme days a gallon. Success was achieved by a 

 few changes. I moved the box six inches away from the 

 frame, extended the pipe to fit, boxed in the space be- 

 tween and packed with sawdust. This effectually iso- 

 lated the heater. I placed boards over the holes in the 

 box, with holes bored from the bottom up. This made 

 indirect air passages through to the inside, and now, 

 even during an 80 miles an hour gale, the blazes never 

 even flicker. Lastly, the boiler was covered with thin 

 sheet asbestos to stop the loss of heat by radiation in the 

 box. And the toj) opening (5-inch diameter cup-shaped 

 affair), where the boiler was filled and which last season 

 was left open, I fitted with a tight cover to reduce loss 

 by evaporation. The result of these alterations has been 

 (|uite beyond my expectations. The air is clear. The 

 blazes never blow out. The oil consumption varies from 



2 to 2j-2 quarts a day at present. And finally, I keep the 

 temperature at exactly the desired point in nearly all 

 weather — ^2" at night, 60° on cloudy and 65°-70° with 

 air on clear days. The only time I was unable to maintain 

 these figures was during abnormal and extreme cold 

 weather, when the official temperature dropped to 16° 

 lielow zero here. At that time it went to 42° in the little 

 frame. — Cr.AVTox H, r.Kow x. in Garden Mas^acinc. 



PRUNING EVERGREEN SHRUBS 

 L_I I )\\" (if ten do we see choice shrubs spoiled by be- 

 ing cut to pieces by someone who does not ap- 

 preciate their \;diie ' It takes years to grow a good 

 specimen of some kinds, yet a ruthless hand may spoil 

 its beauty in half-an-hour. Some evergreen shrubs 

 are of slow growth, and resent pruning much more 

 than persons who are not thoroughlv acquainted with 

 their character have any idea. It is a pity to see fine 

 specimens sacrificed. .\gain. we often see choice 

 shrubs planted tar too close together or too near 

 walks or other t)bjects, so that bv the time they are 

 interesting thev have either to be luoved or cut back, 

 which in the latter case often spoils their symmetry 

 and too frequently prevents them flowering. In 

 planting shrubs, the size to which they will eventually 

 grow shotild be taken into consideration, and where 

 the s])ace is limited those of slow growth should have 

 the preference. In other instances ample space must 

 be allowed for them to develop. \\'here pruning be- 

 comes necessary it would be far better to have the ad- 

 vice of some ex|)ert than to lop oft' the liranches indis- 

 criminatelv, as each species requires treating dift'er- 

 entlv. and as some kinds resent pruning much more 

 than others, it is necessary for the operator to have 

 a knowledge of the plant, otherwise incalculable dam- 

 age may be done and many years of valuable time 

 lost. 



SUSTAINING MEMBERS 

 Harry B. Clow. Lake Forest, 111. (Janus Wilson, superin- 

 tendent), and General Richard Coulter, Grcensburg, Pa. (N. T. 

 Forsyth, gardener), have become susiaining members of the 

 association. 



