28 HOT BEDS AND COLD FRAMES [CH. 



thrown over it, into which the seed-boxes and pans can 

 be plunged. 



The treatment of such a hot bed requires, as I have 

 said, a good measure of skill, and beginners would need 

 the help of some nurseryman or gardening friend, not 

 merely as to the method of sowing their seeds, but as to 

 their after culture, and more especially as to the details 

 of watering and the regulation of temperature, light, and 

 air. 



Until the first violent heat has spent itself, neither 

 cuttings, nor bulbs, nor seeds must be allowed into the 

 frame. 



The most convenient things in which to sow seed or 

 propagate cuttings are shallow earthenware pans, or 

 raisin boxes with holes pierced below drainage of 

 cinders or potsherds to the depth of an inch, over that 

 2 or 3 inches of coarser compost, and some finer 

 stuff on the surface. When the pan has been filled to 

 within an inch of the top, water freely with a rose, let 

 it stand for an hour or two, then sow thinly, cover lightly, 

 and plunge into the mould on the hot bed. 



As weeks pass and the heat becomes less, another 

 hot bed may take the place of the first, in which to keep 

 up the vigorous growth of the young seedlings and 

 cuttings, many of which by that time shall have been 

 transferred to other boxes (pricked out) or thumb-pots, 

 still plunged in the warm compost, and in this way their 

 tender roots protected from blasts and variations of 

 temperature, until after a while they are strong enough 



