92 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



Location and Making. — Selecting a well-drained location, and one never 

 flooded by rain, excavate a pit one or two feet deep, and one foot longer and 

 one foot broader than the box. Into this place six inches of rough barnyard 

 manure, corn stalks, leaves or straw, for drainage, and on it lightly fork in the 

 fermenting dung and tramp it firmly down to a depth of two feet. Place on the 

 box and fit the sash lightly, cover with mats and allow fermentation to again 

 proceed, banking up with hot manure on the outside all around at an angle of 

 45°. Place on top of the manure a layer of three inches of rich, moist, finely 

 pulverized soil. In a day or so the temperature will rise to 120°. When the 

 temperature has fallen to 90^ destroy all the weeds which have sprouted, and 

 sow the seed for which the bed is intended. Cover every night with mats to 

 exclude frost, and give air during the day, never allowing the temperature to fall 

 below 70° or rise above 90°. The secret of growing good plants is to give plenty 

 of air, else the plants will be sickly, spindly specimens. Short, stocky plants are 

 what are desired. Sow the seed in rows three inches apart and one-quarter to 

 on^-third inch deep, and cover by sifting on fine earth. 



: Care of Hotbeds. — Water every evening. Remove the mats every 

 morning about nine o'clock, give air about ten o'clock. Cut off the air in the 

 afternoon as soon as the air becomes the least chilly. Cover with mats before 

 ?unset. Hotbeds should be covered early in the evening, to retain their heat, 

 and in the morning uncovered when the sun rests upon the glass, as every effect 

 should be made to give the plants all the sunlight possible, as its rays are vivify- 

 ing to a degree beyond the amount of its heat, it having a chemical and 

 physiological effect beyond explanation. Even dull light is better that no light, 

 consequently it is a bad plan to cover sashes with mats, except for the direct 

 purpose of keeping out cold. Pepper and egg plants require more heat than 

 other plants. Success depends on bottom heat from the manure, top heat from 

 the sun, water from daily application, and air at midday. Without plenty of air 

 the other requisites will be fruitless. All seedlings should be transplanted into 

 other hotbeds or intermediate beds when two inches high. Hotbeds may be 

 used for forcing lettuce, radish, egg plant, pepper, tomatoes, cabbage, cauli 

 flower and ornamental flowers. 



Artificial Heat. — We have known locations where stable manure for hot- 

 beds was not readily obtained, and to meet such conditions we give the follow- 

 ing directions for manufacturing a fermenting material for the production of a 

 moderate and continuous heat, the quantities named being sufficient for a box 

 twelve by seven feet. Take as the crude materials, 500 lbs. of straw, three bush, 

 powdered quicklime, six lbs. muriatic acid, six lbs. saltpetre. Having prepared 

 the excavation of proper dimensions, spread three or four inches of forest leaves 

 or old hay in the bottom. Upon that spread eight inches of the straw, tramp it 

 down and sprinkle with one-third part of the quicklime. Dilute the six pounds 

 of muriatic acid with twenty gallons of water, and, by means of an old bloom, 



