French Gardening or Intensive Cultivation 209 



In the second place, the pathways are narrow to economize manure, 

 and so that a more regular heat can be maintained when they are filled 

 right up with hot manure u> severe weather. These important facts have 

 been overlooked in some English market gardens where the French system 

 has been " tried ", or rather misapplied. 



To carry manure about, a peculiar kind of wicker basket, called a 

 hotte, is used by French gardeners. The general appearance of it may 

 be seen in fig. 519. It is essential to have this basket, 

 and to carry it on the back by means of the two leather 

 straps that go over the shoulders, as it would be quite 

 impossible to use a wheelbarrow in the narrow path- 

 ways (1 ft. wide) between the frames and beds of cloches. 

 Ordinary Jtottes hold more manure than a big box wheel- 

 barrow, and the French gardeners say they would rather 

 carry manure a whole day in a hotte than they would 

 wheel it for half a day in an ordinary English wheel- 

 barrow. Such is taste and custom! 



To fill a hotte with manure it is placed on a tripod 

 stand, made of wood or iron, quite close to the manure 

 heap. When full, the workman places a strap over each 

 shoulder and marches off with the manure to the desired 

 spot. An expert can unload the basket quite easily, 

 but the novice, in attempting to unload, will be probably 

 turned " head over heels " in the manure itself, and get his feet entangled 

 in the straps. Novices, therefore, should not be employed to carry or 

 deposit manure between rows of frames and cloches. 



Frames. The frames used are made of rough deal boards 1 in. or 

 more thick. The length is invariably 13 ft. The back board is 8 or 

 9 in. high, and the front one about 7 in., so that when covered with lights 



Fig. 519. French Manure 

 Basket (hotte) 



Fig. 520. A Three-light Frame as used in French Gardens 



there is just a sufficient slope to carry away the water into the narrow 

 pathways. There is a stout post at each corner, those at the back being 

 13 or 14 in. long, those in front a couple of inches shorter. In many 

 cases the boards and post are nailed together as fixtures for years, and 

 are still further strengthened by a piece of hoop iron at the corners. 

 An improvement on the fixed frames is to have the two end boards with 

 staples that come through holes in the front and back planks, to which 



VOL. IV. 



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