HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES NINE MONTHS IN THE YEAR. 165 



A Member: In wet seasons don't your beds get too wet? 



Mr. Rasmussen : No, sir, we are careful about the drainage 

 and don't let the water settle on the plants. 



A Member: What is your subsoil? 



Mr. Rasmussen: A very heavy clay right where the beds 

 are. There is gravel underneath, which makes a good under 

 drain. 



A Member: How about shade in these deep beds? 



Mr. Rasmussen: They are really not deep. In the first 

 place we bring the manure up within twelve inches of the glass. 

 We let the bed slant a little bit with the slant of the glass and 

 then we have about four to six inches of dirt. 



A Member: Do you use the closed sash for the celery? 



Mr. Rasmussen : Not very often. We do at first planting, 

 of course, when We first set them, use the cloth sash. We have 

 canvas sash we can handle easier, and we use them until the 

 plants are well established and form their own shade. 



A Member : How far apart do you transplant them? 



Mr. Rasmussen : The first planting we hold about an inch 

 and then reset from four to eight inches apart, according to the 

 size of the stalk we want to get. We will follow the celery with 

 radishes, which will come on about Thanksgiving. 



A Member: Do you practice shearing the celery plants if 

 they get too sp ; ndling? 



Mr. Rasmussen: Not at any time, except when we are 

 transplanting we cut them off sometimes. 



A Member : Do you cut the roots as well as the tops ? 



Mr. Rasmussen: No, sir, we, never do. I think they get 

 broken off a good deal with the dirt. We do that sometimes 

 without thinking of it, but we do not make a business of it. 



A Member : What do you shade your plants with ? 



Mr. Rasmussen : If we use glass we put on a solution of air 

 slaked lime but as a rule we use the canvas because they are 

 lighter to handle ; we use them all the time we are transplanting. 



A Member : Wouldn't it be better for you to build concrete 

 frames ? 



Mr. Rasmussen: I suppose we will have to come to it. I 

 like the boards because they seem to hold off the cold more than 

 the concrete would, but we will have to come to concrete. 



A Member: Isn't it expensive to have to remove that 

 manure before you put down new beds? 



Mr. Rasmussen: We run our beds east and west in long 

 rows, and we have room for a horse and wagon to go through. 

 We had to get away from hand work. 



A Member: Your land isn't as high as ours. 



Mr. Rasmussen: You have to have space enough to pull 

 your sash back and forth sometimes? 



A Member: Yes. 



Mr. Rasmussen: I think labor is getting as high priced 

 as land. 



A Member: Do you ever take up your hotbeds? 



