70 



GENERAL ADVICE 



use of the hand -box, as shown in Fig. 72. This 

 is a rectangular box, without top or bottom, and 

 a pane of glass is slipped into a groove at the top. 

 It is really a miniature coldframe. The earth is 

 banked up slightly about the box, in order to hold 

 it against winds and to prevent the water from 

 running into it. If these boxes are made of good 

 lumber and painted, they will last for many years. 

 Any size of glass may be used which is desired, 

 but a ten-by-twelve pane is as good as any for 

 general purposes. 



After the plants are thoroughly established in 

 these forcing -hills, and the weather is settled, the 

 protection is wholly removed, and the plants grow 

 normally in the open. 



A very good temporary protection may be given 

 to tender plants by using four panes of glass, as 

 explained in Fig. 73, 

 the two inner panes 

 being held together at 

 the top by a block of 

 wood through which 

 four nails are driven. 

 Plants are more likely 

 to burn in these glass 

 frames than in the hand- 

 boxes, and such frames 

 are not so well adapted to the protection of plants 

 in very early spring ; but they are often useful 

 for special purposes. 



73. Panes of glass used 

 for a forcing-hill. 



