HOT-BEDS, COLD FRAMES, AND WEATHER. 81 



resin, melted together, should be added, and the varnish 

 applied with a wide brush while warm. 



The following directions apply to the cold frame alone: 

 According to the nature and size of the seed, and the 

 character of the soil, the seeds are to be sown fiom one- 

 fourth of an inch to an inch deep in drills, three or four 

 inches apart across the bed, and more thinly at the back 

 and front, than near the middle of the bed. Each va- 

 riety should be sown in separate cold frames, or, when 

 not practicable, only such should be sown together, as 

 require about the same degree of heat to germinate, and 

 particularly such as demand the same management and 

 protection, until the plants are removed. Thus egg- 

 plants should not be sown in the same frame with to- 

 matoes, nor the latter with cabbages and cauliflowers, 

 while the latter two may go together with lettuce in the 

 same frame. If the weather is dry, and the soil sandy, a 

 watering after sowing may be required to germinate the 

 seed. 



In the subsequent management, it must be borne in 

 mind, that retardation for the production of stocky 

 plants, rather than acceleration of growth, is an object, 

 provided the seeds were sown sufficiently early. Damp- 

 ness and heat produce an elongated rather than a healthy 

 growth, and too much of either must be avoided. The 

 glass is to be used only as a means of protection against 

 the inclemency of the weather. In case of heavy rains, 

 the sash should be pushed down sufficiently to carry off 

 the water beyond the confines of the frame. During 

 severe freezing weather, particularly in clear nights, when 

 radiation is most active, the covering of glass alone will 

 sometimes be inadequate to protect even as hardy a plant 

 as cauliflower^ and some opaque covering upon the glass 

 becomes necessary. Mats, or light shutters of wood, are 

 best. Old pieces of carpet will answer the purpose. For 

 many years, I have used the leaves of our large palmetto 



