OXE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 529 



and by admitting air will prevent damage 

 from mold. The top of the air-tunnel 

 should be protected by a roof to keep 

 out rain. 



HOGS, Time to KilL — In fattening 

 swine, so far as money profit is concerned, 

 the farmer will realize the greatest net gain 

 by slaughtering his hogs at the age of 

 eight to ten months. With the smaller 

 breeds and thrifty pigs he can get a weight 

 of 250 to 300 pounds; while, as com- 

 monly managed, the additional eight 

 months add only about 100 pounds ; and 

 experience has shown that it costs but a 

 trifle more to grow and fatten a weaned 

 spring pig to ten months old, than to fatten, 

 a ten months' store hog from July to De- 

 cember; under favorable circumstances it 

 may cost less, and the net profit be in fa- 

 vor of the pigs. 



HOT-BEDS, to Make.— They should 

 be in a warm position, fully exposed to 

 the sun, facing the east or south, and 

 sheltered by a fence or hedge on the 

 west or north. The soil should, if possi- 

 ble, be light and dry, as in this case the 

 bed can be sunk a foot or more in the 

 ground ; but if damp or cold, it should 

 be built upon the surface. 



Manure fresh from the stable is best. 

 This should be thrown over and thor- 

 oughly shaken up with a fork, making it 

 into a conical heap. In this state it 

 should be allowed to remain four or five 

 days, at the end of which time it should 

 be turned over, shaking it up as before. 

 At the end of another three or four days, 

 it will be ready to make up the bed. Lay 

 out the ground six inches larger than the 

 frame, and put down a stake at each 

 corner. The frame may be of any size; 

 but the most convenient is nine by three 

 feet, which will make three lights, three by 

 six feet, the ordinary size, which can 

 always be had ready made. Proceed to 

 build up the bed to the height of two 

 and a half or three feet, making it rather 

 firm, and watering if the manure is dry. 

 When the bed is finished, put on the 

 lights, and let it stand and settle and ex- 

 haust the violent heat. In a day or two 

 add three or four inches of light, sandy 

 loam, spreading it evenly over the bed. 

 If the seeds are sown in the soil of the 

 bed, two or three inches should be added; 



but, if in pots, no addition will be 

 necessary. 



The pots being ready, and sown with 

 the various seeds, should be put into the 

 frame shading them during the day, and 

 regulating the temperature by tilting the 

 lights at the back, both night and day, 

 and covering at night with mats. Plunge 

 the pots in the soil, and, with proper 

 care, the seeds will soon be above the 

 soil. A thermometer placed in the bed 

 will be the safest guide to the inexperi- 

 enced. It should not rise above 85 

 degrees in the day, nor sink below 60 de- 

 grees at night. As the heat declines,, 

 linings of fresh manure should be applied 

 around the outside of the bed; but, 

 ordinarily, for seed this is not necessary. 



The length or number of the frames is 

 immaterial; but they should be nine to 

 twelve inches deep at the front, and fif- 

 teen to eighteen inches at the back. This 

 will give a good slope to ' carry off the 

 rain. Cold frames are simply the hot-bed 

 frame set upon a warm spot of ground, 

 covering it at night to keep in the warmth 

 accumulated during the day. 



IRRIGATION.— By judicious flooding 

 the yield of grass land may be doubled ; 

 but by flooding at improper seasons the 

 grass may be destroyed. Water should 

 not be permitted to lie on grass more 

 than two days at a time, nor more than 

 two inches in depth, and not at all during 

 the winter. If the land is to be seeded 

 the coming spring, the water may be 

 turned on at sundown as soon as the 

 grass has become well started, and during 

 the dry spells weekly, or bi-weekly if rains 

 occur. It should never be turned on 

 while the soil is heated during the day- 

 time. When the grass has well covered: 

 the ground and it is nearly ready for cut- 

 ting, no water should be given for two> 

 weeks before the hay is made. When* 

 that is done, watering should be repeated 

 as before until another cutting is ready- 

 No water should be given for a month 

 previous to the winter, as it is very injuri- 

 ous during the frosts. The aftermath 

 should be permitted to die down on the 

 meadow on the approach of winter, as a 

 protection to the roots from frost. Under 

 such treatment four tons of hay has been 

 gathered from one acre. Such a meadow 

 would be improved also by underdraining; 

 with the irrigation. 



