122 The Hotbed and Cold-Frame 



boards should be about a foot higher than those 

 at the front, and the sides should slope accordingly. 

 This gives a slant and the water will run off quickly. 

 Manure should be thrown into the hotbed pit in 

 layers, each layer being tramped down before the 

 next is added. This should be continued until the 

 pit is filled to within six inches of the top. Place 

 a glass over the hotbed and leave it alone for two 

 or three weeks. Keep a thermometer inside and 

 when the temperature has risen to 120 degrees 

 Fahrenheit and then dropped to ninety degrees, 

 place four or five inches of soil on top of the man- 

 ure. It will be better to have just a little manure 

 mixed with this soil, but this manure should be 

 well rotted. The soil is then ready for seed to be 

 planted. 



Double sash is recommended for a hotbed in the 

 coldest weather, but straw mats laid over the sash 

 at night will serve very well. 



Hotbeds for growing lettuce, radishes, parsely, and 

 other vegetables of a like nature may be pre- 

 pared in the following manner: 



Prepare beds in the usual way. If you have not 

 old sash of proper size, make light wooden frames 

 and nail projecting strips upon all four sides to be 

 fitted over the hotbed frame in the order of a 



