METHODS UNDER GLASS 1 99 



Mr. Kiiuicy's Plan. — The ground in the betl 

 should be forked up as fine as possible and left soft 

 and loose, according- to the advice of F. L. Kinney, a 

 prominent gardener of Worcester county, Massachu- 

 setts. Forest leaves are perhaps the best thing to put 

 in to keep the frost out, and if there is danger of mice, 

 it might be well to let the ground freeze a little before 

 putting the leaves in, and it would be a good thing to 

 put in a little com and smaller seeds that have been 

 sprinkled with poison while wet, so that the mice, 

 should they find their way in, would not flourish. The 

 bed is now ready to close up with the sash and shutters, 

 and when the sash are all on, put in the last end piece. 

 This work should be done before winter and the bed 

 can be filled with the horse manure at any time. 



Put in plenty of manure and cover with eight 

 inches or so of loam. Lettuce is the one great crop 

 that is grown under glass in winter and early spring, 

 and to grow this to perfection it is very desirable, and 

 it is often almost necessary, to have a loose, sandy soil. 

 My soil is heavy and I have tried a great many things 

 to put it in good condition for this crop, but have never 

 been able to get perfectly satisfactory results. Fleavy 

 manuring and stirring the soil help considerably. Tur- 

 nip radishes will grow on most any soil, but long ones 

 need a loose, mellow soil and do not need so much 

 bottom heat as lettuce or turnip radishes. 



During March and April many of the sash in Mr. 

 Kinney's place are used for starting plants. Cabbage, 

 cauliflower, lettuce and early celery should be sown 

 about the first of March for the first early crop. It is 

 possible to raise fairly good plants by sowing thinly. 

 We prefer sowing in drills and giving the young plants 

 plenty of air, and when they have three or four true 

 leaves, set them in a bed, about two hundred to the sash. 



