Manure Hot-Beds. 61 



flats hold one dozen plants each, or of various sizes and contain- 

 ing various quantities as may be desired by the purchaser. 

 More and more ventilation is given as the season advances, and 

 the plants must be perfectly hardened off by exposure, transfer 

 to open cold frames or otherwise, before they can be safely 

 placed into the open ground. This is a matter of greater 

 importance than most people imagine. Millions of early started 

 and well-grown plants are annually set out, that in transplanting 

 before they have been properly accustomed to the hardships of 

 outdoor life, receive a check from which they do not recover soon 

 enough to prevent much later plants, or even natural seedlings, 

 from getting ahead of them, and producing fruit much the earliest. 

 The proper hardening off of plants is one of the secrets of success, 

 and perhaps a leading one, in the production of early crops of 

 garden fruits. 



SOIL FT>R FLATS. The most important item of annual 

 expense connected with running manure hot-beds is the manure 

 used for fuel. But, after all, this costs nothing in reality, since it 

 loses very little fertilizing substance by the process of slow com- 

 bustion in the hot-bed, and when dug" out next fall, or in the 

 spring following, is worth fully as much to the gardener as when 

 first put in, if not more. It went into the pit a raw and 

 unreliable manure ; it comes out a fine, rich compost, and when 

 mixed with the soil in the hot-beds, and perhaps still increased 

 in bulk by additional admixture of sandy loam, then fined and 

 sifted, makes the very best imaginable soil for the "flats" spoken 

 of, or for hot-bed and cold frame use generally, and this is worth 

 to the gardener even more than first cost of the manure.* 



While therefore the item of expense alone is decidedly in 

 favor of manure hot-beds, there are, on the other hand, serious 

 inconveniences, and sometimes obstacles connected with it. The 

 right kind of manure is not always to be easily obtained, or not 

 in the required quantities ; the heat is only partially under the 

 control of the gardener, and the whftle thing connected with 

 many uncertainties, especially for the less experienced manager. 

 Then there is the annual digging, and composting, and refilling, 

 and with all these inconveniences, your fuel will last only for a 

 few weeks. For this reason I have always looked with some- 

 what of disfavor upon manure as fuel for hot-beds, and have had 

 an open eye for a more steady and controllable heating method. 

 In some respects I consider the fire hot-bed a great improvement 

 on the manure hot-bed. 



*If hot-bed and cold frame making is a new undertaking, and soil was not prepared, as it should 

 be, the summer or fall before, nor compost from hot-beds to be had for the purpose, it is often difficult 

 to find just what is wanted in the winter with the ground frozen solid. It may then be necessary to 

 look for a supply in the cellar, under barns, sheds, other outbuildings, or under the manure heap. 

 Cart from any source at hand, mix and sift, through a coarse sieve first, and thrcugh finer ones as the 

 stuff becomes drier and finer. 



