20 ki.xxie's agriculture. 



the single and double varieties it is simplv a matter 

 of choice. Both make a magnificent display, and 

 Darwin tulips are excellent for late flowering or for 

 cutting for table decoration. A few Hyacinths in a 

 flower bed, in addition to their beauty, add a 

 pleasant odor. It is not necessary to continue the 

 list of bulbs suitable for outdoor planting, as full 

 illustrated lists may be had free from any seed store. 

 Fall-planted bulbs will continue in bloom from earlv 

 spring until the beginning of June, when the flower 

 beds should be refilled with bedding-out plants, such 

 as Cannas, Geraniums, Asters. Petunias, Phlox, etc., 

 which will continue to bloom until late in the fall. 

 How to Make a \\ j s no t necessary to buv either flower or vege- 



Hot-bed. - - ° 



table plants when you can buy the seed for a mere 

 trifle, and by making a hot-bed, grow all the plants 

 required at little cost. See III. j. The situation 

 for a hot-bed should be dry underneath, and shel- 

 tered on the north and north-west by some kind of 

 wind-break, and be fully exposed to the sun. It 

 should be built up from two to two and a half feet 

 high, and wider by one foot on each side than the 

 frame which is to be placed on the heating material 

 that forms the beds. This heating material should 

 be fresh manure from the horse stable, with the usual 

 amount of litter. This is thrown into a pile, and, 

 in a few days, when fermentation has taken place, 

 it is turned over and carefully shaken out, and 

 formed again into a pile. This is left until the 

 second fermentation takes place. It may then be 

 placed in position for the hot-bed, shaped and 

 trodden down, so that it will remain uniform. If the 

 frame is six by nine feet, twelve inches high at the 

 back, and eight inches high at the front, facing the 

 south, the manure bed should be eight by eleven 

 feet. It is not necessary to cover the frame with 



