56 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



The frame for a hotbed is made like that of a coldframe 

 and covered with glazed sash or plant-cloth. 



When the frame for the hotbed has been completed, 

 the undecomposed manure is placed in it to the depth of 

 6 to 10 inches. It is usually necessary to remove some of 

 the earth inside the frame ; this can be used to bank it on 

 the outside. As the manure is placed in the frame, it 

 should be thoroughly soaked and tramped down. In two 

 or three days this will begin to heat, and will continue to 

 rise in temperature for eight or ten days, and will often 

 rise high, running considerably over a hundred degrees. 

 If the bed is kept moist (and this can be tested by digging 

 into parts of it), there is no danger of its " burning." This 

 does not mean that there is any danger of its actually 

 generating fire, but the material becomes dry and dis- 

 charges valuable fertilizing quality in the form of gases, 

 and hence is about destroyed. When large quantities of 

 fresh manure are used, the gardeners dump it in piles and 

 fork it over every day or two to keep it cool enough, 

 and at the end of ten days or two weeks place it in the 

 hotbed. 



After the manure has been placed in the frame, an inch 

 of fresh loam should be spread over it, to arrest any gases 

 that may be escaping. After about ten days of fermenting, 

 the manure has reached its highest temperature, and seed 

 can be sown in the loam without danger. From this time 

 on, the temperature falls gradually, until decomposition 

 is complete. 



The only advantage of a hotbed over a coldframe is 

 that the decomposing matter gives off heat, and the 

 amount of heat given off will vary with the amount of 



