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PRINCIPLES OF FARM PRACTICE 



AIR SPACE 



MANURE 



and cold frame will be profitable as well as interesting. Early 

 vegetables command a high market price, and those not 

 needed at home may readily be sold. 



Construction of hot bed and cold frames. A hot bed 

 consists of a pit, a frame, and a sash or glass cover. The 

 dimensions of the pit and frame will depend upon the size 

 of the sash to be used. The pit should be two feet deep, 

 and the frame on the north side twelve inches from the ground 



and on the south side, six 

 inches. The pit should 

 \ be filled with manure 

 which has begun to decom- 

 pose. On top of the man- 

 ure a six-inch layer of good 

 garden soil should be 

 placed. The object of the 

 manure is to produce heat 

 as it ferments or decom- 

 poses. After the hot bed 

 has been prepared in this 

 way it is ready for planting. When planting is done, the 

 bed should be kept moist and covered with glass. On warm 

 days, after the plants are up, the sash should be raised a few 

 inches on one side, but always let down before night. In 

 cold weather the plants should be protected further by cover- 

 ing the sash with a thick layer of straw or other covering so 

 as to retain the heat. 



A cold frame is just like the hot bed except for the pit and 

 manure. It is a protection for the plants that are later to be 

 removed to the garden. Plants cannot with safety be set 

 from the hot bed directly into the garden. The change from 

 warm to cool conditions is too sudden. By being transplanted 



Diagram of section of hot bed showing 

 method of construction. 



