120 The Hotbed and Cold-Frame 



very cold climates, the cold-frame usually receives 

 the young plants from the hotbed for the purpose 

 of hardening them before transplanting to the out- 

 of-doors. A cold-frame which has a high roof 

 is much to be preferred to the cold-frame where the 

 glass is close to the surface of the earth, as ventila- 

 tion will be better and the temperature will be 

 more even. For forcing vegetables, there is no 

 better medium than the cold-frame, though it must 

 be remembered that forced vegetables are never 

 as palatable as those which grow naturally, and 

 often they are lacking in the proper food strength 

 which they should have, even if they are not made 

 positively unhealthy from having been forced 

 with chemical fertilizer. Forcing is a universal 

 practice, but it is not to be recommended. 



When there have been several days of cool, damp 

 weather, and the sun then comes out bright and 

 strong, there is great danger of the hotbed and 

 cold-frame plants becoming scalded or of being 

 withered from lack of moisture. Sudden changes 

 in climate require very careful manipulation of 

 the hotbed and cold-frame, and nothing is so bene- 

 ficial as experience. So many things govern the 

 success of a hotbed and cold-frame, and conditions 

 vary so, that it is impossible to give any certain 

 rules for their general care. 



