306 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Cold frames are devices for growing plants early or harden- 

 ing them off for the field by making use of the heat of the 

 sun through glass without any foundation heating. They 

 regulate heat and moisture and protect plants from heavy 

 wind and dashing rain. The standard size of the cold frame 

 sash is three by six feet, and the length of the cold frame 

 will depend upon the number of sashes to be used. 



Make the frame six feet wide, eight inches high in front 

 and twelve inches high at the back, of either one-inch or two- 

 inch lumber. A lean-to cold frame on the outside of a build- 

 ing may be made by nailing a two-by-four piece of lumber 

 against the building and constructing the frame upon it. 

 Good garden soil will furnish the seed-bed for the plants to 

 be grown in the cold frame. 



For a permanent hotbed a pit about two feet in depth is 

 dug and, if it is desirable to make one so large, the length 

 may be six or nine feet, with a width of three feet the length 

 of a window sash to be used over it. The sides and ends of 

 the pit are supported by a lining of plank held by corner 

 posts. The plank frame should extend above the surface of 

 the ground eight inches at the front and twelve inches at the 

 back. The hotbed is heated by horse manure containing straw 

 bedding or one-third leaves. Prepare the manure by stacking 

 it in a compost heap, turn it over every three or four days 

 and restack. After three or four days more, mix it care- 

 fully and spread it evenly in the hotbed pit, about fifteen, 

 inches deep. Tramp down firmly. Scatter four or five inches 

 of good garden loam over the manure in the hotbed. Make 

 frames for the sash and place them over the hotbed; allow 

 it to heat up. Do not plant any seeds in it until the tem- 

 perature subsides to at least 90 degrees. 



Early lettuce, radishes, cabbages, tomatoes, eggplants, and 

 other vegetables may be sown thickly in rows four or six 

 inches apart in the hotbed, and under proper care the school 



