86 GENERAL ADVICE 



reinforced by a square carriage -corner, such as is 

 used by carriage -makers to secure the corners of 

 buggy boxes. These corners can be bought by 

 the pound at hardware stores. 



Some protection, other than the glass, must be 

 given to hotbeds. They need covering on every 

 cold night, and sometimes during the entire day 

 in very severe weather. Very good material for 

 covering the sash is matting, such as is used for 

 carpeting floors. Old pieces of carpet may also 

 be used. Various hotbed mattings are sold by 

 dealers in gardeners 7 supplies. Gardeners often 

 make mats of rye straw. Such mats are thick and 

 durable, and are rolled up in the morning, as 

 shown in Fig. 78. There are various methods of 

 making these straw mats, but Fig. 88 illustrates 

 one of the best. A frame is made after the man- 

 ner of a saw-horse, with a double top, and tarred 

 or marline twine is used for securing the strands 

 of straw. It is customary to use six runs of this 

 warp. Twelve spools of string are provided, six 

 hanging upon either side. Some persons wind 

 the cord upon two twenty -penny nails, as shown 

 in the figure, these nails being held together at 

 one end by wire which is secured in notches filed 

 into them. The other ends of the spikes are free, 

 and allow the string to be caught between them, 

 thus preventing the balls from unwinding as they 

 hang upon the frame. Two wisps of straight rye 

 straw are secured and laid upon the frame, with 



