164 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



these reasons, the horse manure is made less active by 

 considerable admixture of chaff or dried leaves or 

 other mollients. This mixture is placed on the surface 

 of the ground in a place protected from cold winds, and 

 is properly mixed and packed down into a compact, flat 

 pile, somewhat larger than the frame, which is placed 

 upon the top of it and the same material is drawn up 

 around the outside of the ends and sides of the frame. 

 Inside the frame the soil is placed just as described for 

 the hot-bed with a pit. This raised, instead of depressed, 

 hot-bed is easier to make and it has other advantages for 

 this climate. It is not likely to have its pit flooded and 

 the heat choked off by rain water just at the time when 

 its action is desired. It is also easier to prevent excessive 

 heat because it allows better opportunities for radiation. 

 But even with this the plants have to be very carefully 

 watched and air freely given or they will become leggy 

 and weak from too great forcing-heat. These local condi- 

 tions have also given rise to other modifications of hot-bed 

 arrangements which are excellent for this climate. 



A Horticultural Hot-box. Mr. Ira W. Adams, a Cali- 

 fornia vegetable grower of great ingenuity and insight, 

 has devised a sort of automatic arrangement which 

 changes from a hot-bed to a cold frame about the time the 

 plants are ready to go from forcing to hardening off. He 

 gives this description of it : 



"I take a dry-goods box, three or four feet long, two 

 feet wide, and two feet or more in depth. This is about as 

 small as it should be ; a much larger one can be used, if 

 necessary. Into this I put fresh horse manure, and straw 

 that has been used for bedding, and tramp it down occa- 

 sionally as solid as possible, until it is within four inches 

 from the top. Over this I scatter a little clean 'straw. I 

 then use small boxes, three inches deep, and fill them 

 nearly full with nicely-prepared soil, and, after sowing my 

 seed, place each box in the warm bed and cover each one 

 with a pane of glass, in order to retain moisture. It is 

 necessary to remove the glass occasionally, for the pur- 



