THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



HOTBEDS 



A temporary hotbed. A temporary hotbed mav be made 

 bv placing a frame covered with sashes on a heap of 

 manure (which should be from grain-fed horses) mixed 

 with one third leaves or straw l>edding. Prepare the 

 manure bv stacking it in a compact heap. Turn it over 

 after three or four days and restack : put what was on 

 the outside of the heap on the inside. Alter three or 

 four davs more, mix it carefully and spread it evenly in 

 a heap about fifteen incites deep, eight feet wide, and 

 as long as required for the number of sashes you intend 

 to use. Tramp down hard and set on the frame. After 

 placing, scatter three or four inches of good garden loam 

 over the area inclosed by the frame. Place the sash in 

 position and allow the bed to heat up. I)o not plant any 

 seeds in it until the temperature begins to subside, which 

 will be about three days after the sashes are put in place. 

 Plant after the teniperature has fallen to 1M) degrees. 



Permanent hotbeds. Fora permanent hotbed where ma- 

 nure is to supply the heat, a pit that is about two and 

 one-half feet in depth is dug. The sides and ends are 

 supported by a lining of plank held up by posts, or by 

 a nine-inch brick wall. The plank frame or the brick- 

 work of the pit should be extended above the surface of 

 the ground eight inches at the front and twenty inches 

 at the back. Prepare the manure as for the temporary 

 hotbed, and tramp it as it is being put into the pit, filling 

 in with six inches of the best garden S01 ^ 



