March, 1912 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



69 



Melon Frames as Used at Macdonald College, Que. 



nate forking over and compacting for 

 two days is advisable so that every part 

 will be heating uniformly, or the bed will 

 burn out in spots while the remainder is 

 cold. 



Put in the manure in layers and tramp 

 it down before another layer is put on. 

 Twelve inches of manure is enough in 

 the springtime, but it may be necessary 

 to use twice that amount at some sea- 

 sons. Above the manure a layer of leaf 

 mould is often placed, which serves as a 

 distributor of heat. On this, five inches 

 of rich garden loam, in which the seeds 

 are planted, is thrown in and carefully 

 levelled. The sash are placed in posi- 

 tion, but the seeds are not sown at 

 once. 



During the first days the heat goes up 

 to ninety degrees, but it is not safe to 

 sow the seed until the mercury drops be- 

 low eighty, and much below that for such 

 cool crops as lettuce and radish. Bank- 

 ing the bed with manure or soil is ad- 



Crosi Section of Permanent Hotbed with Enlarged Pit ' 



visable if run during cold weather, and 

 covering the bed at night with burlap, 

 or like material, is essential during the 

 early season. Various hotbed mattings 

 are sold by dealers in gardener's sup- 

 plies. 



There is no branch of farm work which 

 needs greater attention than that of 

 handling hotbeds. An hour's delay, 

 when the plants need water, or ventila- 

 tion, or heat, or shade, or the thousand 



and one other little operations which go 

 to make up the daily routine of the mar- 

 ket gardener's life, is usually fatal. 



He must see to it that he has sufficient 

 heat and that he will be able to maintain 

 it so long as required. The water supply 

 must be abundant and constant ; the sash 

 must move easily to facilitate watering 

 and ventilating. A wind break, such as 

 a hedge or board fence between the beds 

 and the prevailing wind, is a great con- 

 server of heat. Lastly, they must be 

 near the house. This saves time and 

 energy and should not be neglected. 



The frames are usually made eighteen 

 inches high on the back and twelve inches 

 on the front. They are always placed so 

 that the glass is sloping toward the 

 south. The six inches of fall provides 

 for this. The frames may be made by 

 the grower, but as a rule the sash can 

 be purchased cheaper than it can be 

 made locally, and are on sale by seeds- 

 men and dealers in garden supplies. 

 White pine and Cypress is commonly 

 used in the construction. Cypress will 

 cost more than the pine, but is more 

 durable. 



OOLD FRAMES 



Cold frames are exactly the same as 

 hotbeds except that they are not provid- 

 ed with bottom heat. The heat of the 

 sun is quite sufficient at this time for 

 the purpose. Plants are taken from the 

 hotbed to the cold frame and are thus 

 hardened before going to the open field. 



The question of double glass has re- 

 ceived some attention of late years. It 

 has been claimed that if sash are used 

 with glass on either side, and an inch air 

 spare between, that all covers may be 

 dispensed with. Our own experiments 

 with double glass would show that too 

 much has been said in favor of these. 

 The double glass has the advantage of 



about two degrees and not more. The 

 sash cost more, are heavier, and the ad- 

 vantage of two degrees is more than 

 offset by these disadvantages. True, 

 two degrees of heat are often of great 

 importance, but we think that it may be 

 obtained much more easily by a burlap 

 cover, and with less expense. 



Hotbeds are worth the trial. They 

 are interesting, and thousands of gar- 

 deners will testify that they pay. 



Fertilizers for Potatoes 



Recently the average gain from 750 

 pounds of a complete fertilizer used in 

 107 experiments in Canada was 85 

 bushels per acre, which at 50c. per 

 bushel for the potatoes and retail prices 

 for the fertilizer would leave a gain of 

 $28.00 per acre after deducting the 

 price of the fertilizers. The fertilizer 

 used was a mixture of 150 pounds of 

 nitrate of soda, 400 pounds of acid phos- 

 phate and 200 pounds of sulphate of 

 potash, which will analyze out about 35^ 

 of nitrogen, 71^ phosphoric acid and 13 

 per cent, of potash. This latter can be 

 taken as a good general, all round 

 potato fertilizer, and will probably give 

 results on a greater variety of soils than 

 any other combination. 



In Maine, which produces the highest 

 yield per acre of any state in the Union, 

 a 4-6-10 fertilizer is very generally used. 

 I remember some years ago in talking 

 with a manufacturer of fertilizers in the 

 Maritime Provinces, he told me that he 

 did not license a formula like the above 

 in Canada, but did in Maine ; and when 

 asked the reason, he said that the Maine 

 people knew what they wanted and were 

 willing to pay for it. The Maine potato 

 grower uses from 1,500 pounds to 3,000 

 pounds per acre. 



In New York State, another heavy 

 potato growing state, a 2-8-10 fertilizer 

 is more generally used than any other. 

 Where barnyard manure is available, a 

 thousand pounds of a 10-8 goods, ten 

 per cent, of phosphoric acid and eight 

 of potash, is generally used. 



Most of the successful vegetable grow- 

 ers I know are men who were at one 

 time plasterers, brick-layers, masons or 

 engaged in other similar lines of work. 

 Finding that they were not making 

 headway in the city they secured a little 

 cheap land outside the city where they 

 scratched away for a year or two until 

 they began to get on their feet. Now 

 they have good homes and are well-to- 

 do. — T. W. Rush. Humher Bay, Ont. 



Test the seeds if it has not already been 

 done, and order early. 



Start the hotbed and be sure that the 

 temperature is uniform before sowing 

 seed. 



