A LITTLE LAND 188 



AND A LIVING 



but will last only two or three seasons. Cement 

 walls extending to the bottom of the manure 

 are best. Bank them with earth or straw to 

 keep out the cold, and have mats or shutters for 

 extra cold weather. The best material to heat 

 the bed and the most easily obtained is fresh 

 horse manure in which there is a quantity of 

 straw and litter. This will give a slow, moist 

 heat and will not burn out before the plants 

 mature. Get all the manure you need at one 

 time. Pile it in a dry place and let it ferment; 

 every few days, work the pile over thoroughly 

 with a dung fork; sometimes two turnings of 

 the manure are enough, but it is better to let it 

 stand and heat three or four times. 



The soil should be equal parts of garden loam 

 and well-rotted barnyard manure; tramp well 

 the first layer of three inches ; to make it entirely 

 safe for the seeds add another layer of the same 

 depth. Use no water with garden loajn and 

 manure if you can help it. 



Before sowing the seeds, put a thermometer 

 three inches deep in the soil of the bed. If it 

 runs over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, do not sow. If 



