216 HOW TO FORCE FLOWERS IN WINTER. 



is, the inclination of the frame should be in that 

 direction. 



Have some straw mats, board shutters, or other warm 

 covering (the mats are the best), with which to cover the 

 frame at night, and on cold, stormy days. 



This mat should be removed on pleasant days, unless 

 very cold for the more light the better flowers and on 

 warm, cloudy days. Guard against frost, and on very 

 cold days the beds should not be uncovered ; it is neces- 

 sary to preserve the heat as much as possible, as bur ojily 

 reliance is on that obtained from the sun. 



The violets, in planting, should be about four inches 

 from the glass; if the beds are deeper, your bloom will 

 not be so early, though the flowers, by being drawn, will 

 have longer stems. 



With good weather, the flowers will begin to open from 

 three days to a week after being uncovered. Every sunny 

 day they will come forward wonderfully, and with a few 

 frames, there need not be a day, from January to May, 

 when you cannot gather a bunch of violets. The plants 

 will require but little water, unless the earth becomes dried 

 by the heat of the sun ; if kept too wet, the plants will mould 

 and rot. When the spring opens, and the plants have done 



