HOTBEDS 



77 



in composition and texture, that it come from 

 highly -fed horses, and is practically of the same 

 age. The best results 

 are generally obtained 

 from manure from liv- 

 ery stables, from which 

 it can be obtained in 

 large quantities in a 

 short space of time. 

 Perhaps as much as 

 one -half of the whole 

 material should be of litter or straw which has 

 been used in the bedding. The manure is piled 

 in a long and shallow square -topped pile, not 



79. Portable coldframe. 



80. Portable coldframe. 



more than four or six feet high as a rule, and is 

 then allowed to ferment. Better results are gen- 

 erally obtained if the manure is piled under cover. 

 If the weather is cold and fermentation does not 

 start readily, wetting the pile with hot water may 

 start it. The first fermentation is nearly always 

 irregular; that is, it begins unequally in several 

 places in the pile. In order to make the fermen- 



