Concrete for the Country Home 



iCoiitimu-d fnnii the Jid\ \' umber.) 

 September and October are the niontiis to prepar 



the hotbed. To avoid annual repairs, and to .secure the 

 best results build it of concrete. Locate the bed un the 

 sunny, wind-protectetl side of a building. A four-sash 

 bed is usually large enough except for commercial pur- 

 poses. A standard hot-bed sash is 3 feet by 6 feet. Lay 

 out the bed 6 feet 8 inches wide by 12 feet 10 inches 

 long. The concrete walls are C) inches thick. Dig the 

 foundation trenches 2 feet 6 inches deep within the lines 

 given above. Make forn:s of 1-inch lumber to carry the 

 south (front) wall 6 inches and the north (back) wall 

 14 inches above ground, h'ornis are nut re(|uired below 

 ground level. The tojis of the end walls slope to the 

 others. liefore filling the forms with concrete, test the 

 dimensions of the bed liy means of the sash. See that 

 the sash lap the forms 2 inches on all sides. 



.'\D.\riRABLE I.()C.\TI()X I'OU COLl )■ FR,\ MKS. 



Ali.x 

 of 1 



the concrete musln wet in t'le prii|)i irtion 

 bag of Portland cement to 1- ^ cubic 

 feet of sand to .^ culiic feet of crushed rock, 

 or 1 liag of cement to ,^ cubic feet of bank-run 

 gravel, h'ill the forms without stopping for anything. 

 Tie the walls together at the corners b}- laving in them 

 old iron rods bent to right angles. While placing the 

 concrete set ^2-inch bolts about 2 feet apart tn bold the 

 wooden top-framing of the bed to the concrete ; or make 

 grooves in the t0[) of the concrete for counter-sinking 

 the sash to the level of the walls with an allowance 

 of one-quarter inch for clearance. This can be done by 

 temporarily imbedding in the concrete wooden strips of 

 the necessary dimensions. During this operation, b\' 

 n^eans of blocks nailed to the strips, make provision for 

 the center-bars described below. Remove the strips as 

 soon as the concrete stiffens. Take down the forms 

 after five days. The extra 2Ss inches in length of the 

 bed is allowance for the three center-bars betw-een the 

 sash. These sash-supports are of dressed 1-inch stuff, 

 shaped like a capital "T" turned upside down. The 

 length of the stem of the "T" is equal to the thickness of 

 the sash and the top is 3 inches wide. Sufficient ma- 

 terials for the concrete will be supplied by 14 bags of 

 I'ortland cement, lj4 cubic yards of sand and 2'/> cubic 

 yards of crushed rock. 



If the bed is to be used as a cold-frame, it is finished 

 when covered with Hass. For a hot-'^ed. dig out the 

 dirt to the depth of 2 feet, tramp in 18 inches of fresh 

 horse manure well mixed with leaves or bedding and 

 cover it with 4 to 8 inches of rich soil. Bank the ex- 

 cavated earth around the outside of the bed. Put the 

 sash in place, hang a thermometer on the in-^ide and 



allow the bed to heat up. After a couple of days, when 

 ihe icni];erature has dropped to 85 or 90 degrees, plant- 

 nig may be safely done. 



During the midda\. in bright weather, the bed will 

 become too hot and nnist be ventilated for a short period 

 by raising the sash un the side away from the wind. 

 Water the ])lants in the morning only and ventilate later 

 to remove the moisture from the foliage. On winter 

 nights it will often be necessary to cover the bed with 

 matting and boards. 



It is a genuine pleasure to grow winter vegetables and 

 llow ers for home use. 



PREPARING THE HOTBED SOIL. 



The preparation of the soil is one of the most im- 

 portant operations in hotbed work. And it is the 

 main factor on wliich success depends, especialh" in 

 the case with certain crops. .^ good hotbed soil is one 

 that has a liberal supply of plant food in it. and at the 

 same time is mellow and friable, so that the water 

 permeates it uniformly and leaves it dry and loose on 

 to]i. .\ soil with a large ])er cent, of silt and cla\- in 

 it, it watered with a garden hose, tends to run to- 

 gether or bake and pack in such a way that the plants 

 make rather a spindling growth if they grow at all. 

 .'^uch a soil necessitates frequent watering, and it is 



Tin-; iioTiu:i) kkahv for its pricp.xreh soil. 



usually onl_\- the surface that becomes wet. On the 

 other hand, any soil that has an over-aljundance of 

 humus in it will be so open and porous that the water 

 will drain right through it and the soil will not retain 

 sufficient \\ater to supply the needs of the growing 

 plants. 



The best kind of a soil for hotljcds is one that has a 

 fouuflation of good loam, and that is made loose loy 

 the use of rotted sods, rotted manure and sand. .\ 

 clay soil must be opened up by the use of sand and 

 fiber, while a distinctly sandy soil must be made more 

 retentive of moisture by the ap])lication of liberal 

 supplies of manure. The soil which the writer ha'; 

 used has given excellent results. Sods are skimmed 

 from old jiasture lands, where cattle have lain at 

 nights for years : these are piled up in layers with 

 stable manure and t(.)bacco stalks. The tobacco stalks 

 are high in potash and when piled in alternate layers 

 with the manure and sods, the pile becomes a mass of 

 decaved vegetable matter, and at the end of 12 to l.'i 

 months we have one of the best soils for starting 

 seedling plants that can be found. .Another method 

 of prei)aring the soil for hotbeds is as follows : The 

 sods are skimmed from old fields rich in vegetable 



