15< 



the roots of plants, being pulled to i 

 the operator ; and the thrust or 

 Dutch hoes, which are principally i 

 used for loosening the ground and 

 destroying the weeds, and which j 

 the operator pushes from him. j 



Hoeing is an operation used for | 

 loosening the earth, and destroying I 

 weeds, where both digging and j 

 forking would be injurious to the j 

 roots of the plants forming the j 

 crop. It is also used to draw the j 

 earth up to those plants which send I 

 out numerous fibrous roots close to | 

 the surface of the ground. This 

 last operation is called hoeing up, 

 and it is generally practised with 

 annual culinary crops. 



Holly. — See I'lex. 



Hollyhock. — See Alth^^a, 



Honesty. — See Luxa'ria. 



Honey Dew is a clammy sub- 

 stance often found on the leaves of 

 trees and shrubs in hot weather ; 

 and it is by some supposed to be 

 produced by insects, and by others 

 to be exuded by the tree. What- 

 ever may be its cause, it does injury 

 by stopping Tip the pores of the 

 leaves ; and it should be washed off 

 as soon as it is discovered. 



Honey-flower. — See Melia'n- 



THUS. 



Honeysuckle. — See Caprifo'li- 

 IJM and LoNi''cERA. 



HoNEYWORT. — See Ceri'nthe. 



Hoop-petticoat. — A kind of 

 Narcissus, N. Bulbocddmm. 



Hop. — See Hu'mxjlus. 



Horn of Plenty.— See Fe'dia. 



Horn-poppy. — See G-lau'cium. 



Horns. — See Fe'dia. 



HORSE-CHESNUT. — See .^'SCULUS 



and Pa'via. 



Hotbeds are formed of dung, or 

 any other vegetable fermenting ma- 

 terial ; but stable dung is in most 

 general use, and is by far the best. 

 When newly brought from the 

 stables, it should be laid in a heap 



or ridge, five feet or six feet in 

 width, and four feet or five feet in 

 height ; and after lying three or 

 four days, till a brisk fermentation 

 has taken place, it should be turned 

 over, taking care to place what was 

 outside in the interior ; and after a 

 few days more, when a second 

 fermentation has taken place, and 

 the straw has become so tender as 

 to be easily torn asunder with a 

 fork, the dung may be made up 

 into a bed. This bed should be 

 formed on a platform of soil, six or 

 eight inches above the general sur- 

 face, to preserve it from wet ; and 

 it should be of such a length and 

 breadth as to suit the frame or 

 bottomless box which is to be 

 placed upon it. For raising tender 

 annuals, or striking cuttings, the 

 depth of the bed of dung need not 

 be more than two feet, if it be early 

 in the season — for example, in 

 February ; but if the bed be not 

 prepared till April, it need not be 

 made above one foot in tluckness. 

 When the bed is formed, the upper 

 surface should be perfectly level, or 

 slightly sloping to the south ; and it 

 shoxild be three or four inches wider 

 than the frame on every side. After 

 the frame is set, the surface of the 

 bed may be covered with six inches 

 of light soil, on which the seeds may 

 be sown ; or, what will generally be 

 found preferable, the seeds may be 

 sown in pots, and plunged in this 

 soil, care being taken that the heat 

 of the bed is not too gi'eat, and that 

 I the seedlings, when they come up, 

 ; do not suffer for want of air. There 

 j are thermometers for trying the 

 temperature of earth or dung by 

 I plunging them into it ; and there 

 j are others for trying the tempera- 

 I ture of the air ; but a very little 

 experience will render these un- 

 necessary. The soil should not be 

 warmer than 60°, or the air than 



