USES AND MANAGEMENT OF COLD FRAMES. 45 



frame or box may be regulated by the position in which 

 it is placed ; a convenient length is fifty or sixty feet, re- 

 quiring eighteen or twenty sashes. 



Shelter from the north-west is of great importance, and 

 if the ground is not sheltered naturally, a board fence six 

 feet in hight is almost indispensable. The sashes should 

 face south or south-east. Each sash will hold fire hundred 

 plants of Cabbage or Cauliflower, and about eight hun- 

 dred of Lettuce. These numbers will determine the proper 

 distance apart, for those who have not had experience. 

 It should never be lost sight of, that these plants are al- 

 most hardy, and consequently will stand severe freezing 

 without injury; but to insure this condition they must be 

 treated as their nature demands; that is, that in cold 

 weather, and even in clear winter days, when the thermom- 

 eter marks 15 or 20 degrees in the shade, they must be 

 abundantly aired, either by tilting up the sash at the back, 

 or better still, when the day is mild, by stripping the sash 

 clear off. By this hardening process, there is no necessity 

 for any 'other covering but the sash. In our locality, we 

 occasionally have the thermometer from 5° to 10° below 

 zero for a day or two together, yet in all our time we have 

 never used mats, shutters, or any covering except the 

 glass, and I do not think we lose more than two per cent. 

 of our plants. Some may think that the raising of plants 

 in this manner must involve considerable trouble, but when 

 they are informed that the Cabbage and Lettuce plants so 

 raised and planted out in March or April, not unfrequently 

 bring a thousand dollars per acre before the middle of 

 July, giving us time to follow up with Celery for a second 

 crop, it will be seen that the practice is not unprofitable. 



