The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



and should be scheduled to be got into the 

 gi'ound as soon as they are fit ; if this is done they 

 will not suffer from over crowding nor will it be 

 necessary to transplant ; though this is always an 

 advantage with certain plants. If to the hotbed 

 is added the convenience of a cold frame to which 

 the cabbage and cauliflower can be transplanted 

 as soon as they show rough leaves it will be a de- 

 cided advantage and the room thus secured in the 

 hotbed can be used to transplant tomatoes, pep- 

 pers and the like, thus giving better rooted, stock- 

 ier plants. 



Fresh horse manure is used for heating the bed 

 and must be procured from stables where a num- 

 ber of horses are kept that sufficient may be ob- 

 tained at one time. It is not necessary for the 

 small hotbed to pile the manure and turn it over 

 two or three times before putting it mto the pit; 

 much time and labor is saved by putting it at once 

 in the pit, tramping it down as filled in until 

 it is within five or six inches of the level of the 

 ground outside. Care must be taken that it is 

 tramped down evenly, especially in the corners, 



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