2o6 How to Make a Flower Garden 



will rest. The portion aboveground should be one foot in front and eighteen 

 inches at the back, with the sides tapering. 



If cement or brick is used, a box frame of two-inch plank should be bolted 

 on (bolts set in the cement), and strong cross-bars run across where the sash 

 meet. An inch strip may be nailed on these bars to divide the sash. If this 

 is done, the width the strips occupy should be figured in the measurements. 

 Cypress is the most lasting wood to use. 



Mats made of burlaps, straw, or fiber, obtainable at the stores, are 

 advisable to use during cold nights. Light wooden shutters further retain 

 the heat and keep the mats dry during stormy weather. Banking up 

 against the frame with coal-ashes or loam is commendable. 



Temporary hotbeds are made by first preparing the manure as described 

 elsewhere and spreading it out on the ground two or more feet deep and fully 

 two feet wider all around than the frame to be used. On this set a frame 

 one foot high in front and eighteen inches at the back and bank manure 

 around it. Or have another frame one foot wider all around, which place 

 outside, and fill the space between with manure. 



The preparation of manure for a hotbed is a matter of great practical 

 importance. The result aimed at is a slow, moist, enduring heat. This 

 condition is secured only by the proper manipulation of the manure before 

 it is placed in the frame. Often fresh manure that comes from a boxed 

 structure is quite hot when received, and it is sometimes used at once, but 

 the result is a quick, violent heat, rankly charged with ammonia, that soon 

 burns itself out, and ceases to act while the weather is still cold. 



Fresh horse manure is the best possible kind to use, and should have a 

 good deal of rough, stable-soaked straw or litter in it. If this is lacking, 

 litter or forest leaves may be added. 



When it is received, shake it up most thoroughly, if it is naturally moist, 

 and place it in a pile to heat. Protecting from rain or snow by covering 

 with boards or piling under cover is beneficial, but not necessary. If the 

 manure is dry and not inclined to heat, moisten it with hot water, which will 

 soon start it. 



Let it stand three or four days, then turn again, placing what was outside 

 in the interior, thoroughly shaking each forkful, and pile up again. Let it 

 remain a few days until thoroughly heated through, when it is ready to be 

 placed in the frame. 



Here it should be distributed evenly, and eventually be packed down 



