Hotbeds, Cold Frames and Flats 



the sun goes under a cloud, and the sash must be 

 adjusted to meet these deviations of temper- 

 ature ; often a moment's work in raising or lower- 

 ing the sash will spell success or failure in the 

 conduct of the bed. 



A pit or excavation in the ground for holding 

 a supply of fermenting manure to furnish heat 

 for the bed is the first step in the construction 

 of the hotbed; the size and depth of this will 

 depend somewhat upon the number of plants it 

 is desired to produce and upon the rigors of the 

 climate and the prevalence of late springs and 

 frosts. As a general thing, for the ordinary 

 home garden a bed three feet by twelve is suffi- 

 cient, but the added expense of a few additional 

 feet is so slight and the use of a bed so appeals 

 to one once one realizes its convenience, that it 

 is seldom a mistake to make it too large as, 

 aside from the sowing of seed, it may be used 

 for starting roots of bedding plants, cannas, 

 dahlias, begonias, tuberoses, caladiums ; the strik- 

 ing of cuttings and many garden operations that 

 have formerly been done in a bungling, cumber- 



15 



