THE HOTBED IN VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



iently in one row. Supposing this first row 

 to be on the north side of the yard (which 

 is the usual way), put the second 14 or 16 

 inches south and parallel with the first. Fill 

 this walk or space between the rows with 

 manure, dry, or frozen of you have it; any- 

 way have the top 4 inches of this dry stuff. 

 The wet manure will freeze in a foot, when 

 if covered with dry 4 inches it will not freeze 

 at all. I once tried to save labor by filling 

 the frame with manure when I built the 

 beds, and then take out enough to bank the 

 walks with of the wet, hot manure. It froze 

 to the bottom of the frame, and I had to re- 

 move it. Bank the ends of these rows well 

 2 feet or more. 



In from five to seven days these beds 

 should be hot and ready for earth. Then 

 remove the sash and tread the manure until 

 it is quite solid and fill the soft places. If 

 this is well done the earth will come oif 

 much nicer in the fall, and if the manure is 

 level and the top of the earth level you will 

 have it the same depth all over. Spank the 

 loose straws down so that they will not stick 

 up into the earth and be caught by the rake. 

 Put in 6 inches of earth, and when it is nice- 

 ly warmed through, probably in one or two 

 days, your bed is ready for plants or seeds. 

 If it is about the first of March, and you 

 have good plants raised in the greenhouse or 

 earlier beds, you can have fine lettuce for 

 market or the table in 25 or 30 days. 



The sash should be covered with shutters 

 on cold nights. They should be opened a 

 little in the morning when the thermometer 

 shows 70 to 75 degrees, when it will proba- 

 bly drop back to 60 or 65 degrees. If in 

 the middle of the day it should go to 80 to 

 85 degrees, open a little more ; by 4 o'clock 

 if it is not above 80 degrees it will be safe to 

 close the sash. If the wind is freezing, open 

 the sash on the side or end away from the 

 wind. 



CROPS B'OR THE HOTBED. 



A crop of radishes can be raised in bed of 



this kind in 30 days. Sow the seed in drills 

 y2 of an inch deep, the drills about 4 inches 

 apart. It would be well to test radish seed. 

 If it all grows, a seed every ^ inch is 

 plenty; if only 50 per cent, is good, sow it 

 twice as thick. I believe that all seeds used 

 by gardeners for forcing purposes should 

 be tested the year before, so that you may 

 know that they will grow and also that they 

 are true to name. This is especially true 

 as to lettuce and cucumbers, for 15 cents' 

 worth of these seeds will produce $500 

 worth of vegetables, while if your seeds were 

 not true to name you might expend the same 

 amount of labor, the use of your sash, and 

 grow a poor crop, which would bring half 

 price or less, and always hard to sell. April 

 I is about as late as radish seed can be sown 

 in hotbeds and get the crop to market before 

 the outside crop gets in. But if you have 

 good plants you can keep putting in lettuce 

 up to May i with a good chance of market- 

 ing it in advance of outside lettuce. 



About March 15 sow cucumber seed for 

 hotbed crop. Sow the seed either broad- 

 cast or in drills, in greenhouse or hotbed ; 

 cover with sand. They will come up quicker 

 covered with glass pressed down on the 

 sand ; remove this glass when the plants are 

 plainly seen under it. Transplant into 4- 

 inch earthen pots or berry boxes when plants 

 are just starting the third leaf. This will be 

 about April i to 5. May i you will have 

 nice plants. Remove the plants and dirt 

 from the pots or boxes and plant them in 

 center of sash, place having been made for 

 them by leaving out four or six lettuce 

 plants. I have always had the best success 

 with both lettuce and cucumber plants when 

 they have been kept growing right from the 

 start. Lettuce plants I would keep at 40 

 degrees if possible at night and on cloudy 

 days, and 70 to 90 degrees when the sun is 

 shining. Cucumbers I like at 80 degrees at 

 night and 100 degrees in the sun. — Ameri- 

 can Agriculturist. 



