418 



HOT BEDS. 



MAKING THE PLANT BED IN CONNECTICUT. 



harrow in two-thirds of the fertilizer to be used ; rake the 



bed perfectly level, 

 then rake in the other 

 third ; roll once, and 

 another slight raking 

 will fit the bed for 

 sowing, after which 

 it should be rolled 

 down hard. If the 

 soil is handled in dry- 

 ing weather, it should 

 be done quickly, be- 

 cause damp ground, 

 if prepared and rolled 

 down before drying, 

 will c set' like mor- 

 tar, and remain damp 

 on the surface. 



Moisture and darkness are essential to the germination of 

 the seed, and these conditions can be secured only by making 

 the surface compact while damp. The disintegration of the 

 deeper lumps, and the decomposition of fertilizers, will cause 

 the surface to grow gradually softer. The effect of plowing 

 is to break the ground into lumps, which lie upon each other, 

 giving free admission to the air between them. Harrowing 

 makes finer the lumps near the surface, and mixes the fertil- 

 izer deeper than a rake can be used. The first raking is to 

 pulverize and level, so that rains will neither collect in ponds, 

 nor run off, but penetrate the soil evenly. The second 

 raking is to mix the fertilizer equally through the soil, to the 

 depth of an inch or less, and reduce the lumps to the size of 

 peas, which is as fine as a medium loam can be made without 

 danger of a tough crust. Too much working destroys the 

 healthy grain of the soil, and reduces it to a paste, which the 

 roots of the tobacco plants can penetrate but slowly. 



"The bed should not be watered before nor after the 

 plants come up. The ground will be cold enough without 

 any extra evaporation, and if the place is suitable for tobacco 

 plants, and rightly fitted, the surface will be damp in the 

 morning, even in very dry weather. If the plants need 

 stimulating, sow on them a coat of Peruvian guano or super- 

 phosphate at the commencement of a rain, regulating the 

 quantity used by the amount of the water likely to fall. 

 Superphosphate makes dark-colored, thick-leaved, stocky 



