50 The Garden. 



half an inch. It should be bedded in soft puttj, and the sash 

 •well painted. The sashes should be made to slide in grooves, 

 so as to be conveniently moved whenever the bed may require 

 to be opened, either wholly or partially, to the air.* The 

 whole should be kept under cover when not in use. Directions 

 for preparing hot-beds will be found in the next chapter, under 

 the head of " Forcing." 



Trellises. — Every garden should have one or more trellises 

 for vines. They are of different kinds to adapt them to differ- 

 ent situations and purposes. The posts should be made of some 

 durable wood. Eed cedar is the best. Under the head of the 

 grape we shall describe the construction of the trellises required 

 for their support. Designs for ornamental trellis-work may bo 

 found in " The House." 



* Instead of the sashes for covering the frames, the following mode, called 

 the German plan, may perhaps be adopted with advantage ; but we have not 

 tried it : 



" Take white cotton cloth, of a close texture, stretch, and nail it on frames 

 of any size you wish ; take two ounces of lime-water, four ounces of linseed 

 oil, one of white of eggs, two ounces of yellow of eggs ; mix the lime and oil 

 with very gentle heat, beat the eggs separately, and mix them with the former ; 

 spread this mixture with a paint-brush over the colton, allowing each coat to 

 dry before applying another, until they become water-proof. The following 

 are the advantages this shade possesses over glass ones : 1. The cost being 

 hardly one fourth. 2. Repairs are easily and cheaply made. 3. The light. 

 They do not require watering ; no matter how intense the heat of the sun, the 

 plants are never struck down or burned, or checked in growth, neither do they 

 grow up long, sick, and weakly, as they do under glass, and still there is 

 abundance of light. 4. The heat arising entirely from below is more equable 

 and temperate, which is a great object. The vapor rising from the manure 

 and earth is condensed by the cool air passing over the surface of the shade, 

 and stands in drops upon the inside, and, therefore, the plants do not require 

 as frequent watering. If the frames or stretchers are made large, they should 

 be intersected by cross-bars about a foot square to support the cloth. These 

 articles are just the thing for bringing forward melons, tomatoes, flower-seeds, 

 etc., in season for transplanting." 



