Hotbeds, Cold Frames and Flats 



or it will settle unevenly and cause the soil to sink 

 in places. The earth may be placed on at once 

 if the manure is steaming when put in the pit. 

 Good, mellow loam, containing a portion of 

 humus or leaf mould is the best hotbed soil and 

 it should be fine and free from all roughage of 

 sticks and stones and hard lumps of soil. Put- 

 ting the top inch or two through a sand screen is 

 a good practice as this gives a fine soil suitable 

 for the finer seeds. 



Usually the bed will be in condition for sow- 

 ing in twenty-four hours, if the manure is 

 heating well — ^and this can be ascertained by 

 thrusting a fork down into the bed and leaving 

 it a few moments, withdrawing and feeling of 

 the tines, when the temperature can be quite 

 accurately gauged — or a thermometer may be 

 forced down through the soil upon the manure for 

 a test. From four to five inches of soil will be 

 sufficient if the season is late — slightly more if 

 the season is early and the plants likely to remain 

 long in the beds, and it must be leveled off as 

 flat as possible so that in watering the water will 



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