HALF-HARDY ANNUALS. 27 



It may appear trivial to attempt to explain so simple an affair as the formation 

 of a hot-bed, but the novice in Horticultural matters may need to be informed, that 

 the manure should on no account be at once made up ; before being finally arranged, 

 it should be turned and shaken at least twice, at intervals of two or three days ; 

 this will prevent too violent a fermentation, which would not only prove injurious 

 to the seeds, but also very quickly subside. It should be from nine inches to a foot 

 larger every way than the frame, and should be stationed, if possible, in a sheltered 

 situation, open to the south. When the bed is constructed, the frame may be at 

 once placed on it, and if on settling the surface becomes unequal, a little fresh 

 material should be added. 



As soon as the first violent heat has slightly subsided, a layer of sandy soil about 

 six inches deep must be placed over the surface of the bed, and it will then be fit 

 for the reception of the seed-pans. Nothing is more common among desultory 

 gardeners, than a light in which the broken squares are at least as numerous as the 

 whole ones, but in these days of cheap glass, such a state of things is inexcusable. 

 Even a cracked pane should be replaced, for the rain would surely find an entrance, 

 and cause the destruction of the seedlings beneath. 



The seeds may be sown either in pots or pans ; the last are preferable, and would 

 be still more so, if they were made with an opening at the bottom. "Whichever are 

 used, they should be filled to one-third of their depth with broken crocks, and then 

 nearly to the top with sandy loam, in a moderately damp state. The surface of 

 the soil should be slightly pressed, and the seed sprinkled thinly upon it, and 

 finally covered with a very thin layer of fine soil; very small seeds will be 

 sufficiently covered by being gently pressed into the surface. Before placing 

 them in the frame, they must be carefully watered from a very fine rose ; and to 

 avoid the necessity of the too frequent use of this, it is a good plan to cover the pots 

 with a thin compressed layer of damp moss. During the first week or ten days, 

 the frame may be kept closed, but as soon as the young seedlings appear, air must 

 be cautiously given, if the weather be mild. In severe weather it will be necessary 

 to provide some covering for the frame at night ; a thickness or two of matting 

 with a piece or two of old floor-cloth over it, will in most cases be sufficient. 

 When the seedlings are two or three inches high, they should be potted off into 

 pots of light soil, and gradually inured to a full exposure, previously to 

 turning out. 



We can easily imagine that some of our readers may be unable to command the 

 use of a hot bed; and in this case, we know of no better substitute than a box or 

 trough of spent tan, in which small pots may be plunged, and placed upon a warm 

 window. .Many of the seeds will even vegetate in such a position, without the aid 

 of the warmth generated by the tan ; but the Thunbergias, Portulacas, Cleome, and 

 a few otlicrs, will not succeed without the aid of artificial heat in the early stages of 



