188 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



sods can be set into the ground as soon as the soil 

 can be worked. 



Hotbeds. Hotbeds are box-like frames sunk in 

 the ground and covered witli a sash filled in with 

 glass or cloth. Some of the soil in the frame is 

 taken out, and horse manure is put in its place. 

 When packed solidly in the pit, the manure rots and 

 produces heat. Over the manure is three or four 

 inches of fine garden soil in which the seeds are 

 planted. The manure keeps the soil above it warm. 

 Hot air or hot water pipes are s.ometimes used under 

 the hotbeds instead of manure. A well-drained spot, 

 sheltered from the cold winds and sloping to the 

 south, is best, because the sunshine is very helpful. 

 It takes care and judgment to handle a hotbed prop- 

 erly, because plants must be aired and watered at 

 proper times. 



Cold Frames. The cold frame is like the hotbed, 

 but has no manure in it and therefore no bottom 

 heat. A combination hotbed and cold frame may 

 be made of a large drygoods box partly filled with 

 horse manure well trampled down and covered with 

 clean straw. Small, shallow boxes are nearly filled 

 with soil. After the seed has been planted in them, 

 they are placed on the top of the manure and cov- 

 ered with a pane of glass. Thus each box becomes 

 a little hotbed. The glass is removed now and then 

 for air. If the manure becomes too warm, the small 

 boxes are raised on bricks. When the heat of the 

 manure is gone, the hotbed becomes a cold frame. 



