348 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



rial should be of litter or straw that has been used for bed- 

 ding. To allow fermentation to take place, the manure should 

 be piled for several days before using. In cold weather, wet- 

 ting the pile with hot water will has-ten fermentation. In 

 order to make fermentation uniform, the pile should be turned 

 occasionally and the hard lumps broken up. When the pile 

 is steaming uniformly throughout it is placed in the hotbed. 

 Fill in about nine inches of the manure and tramp down 

 firmly; then add a second nine inches and firm as before. 

 Now spread three or four inches of rich garden loam over 

 the manure and the bed is ready for the seed. 



Planting the seed and caring far the seedlings. Mark off 

 the seed-bed in rows across the short way, about four inches 

 apart. Drop the seed in the furrows about an inch apart, 

 cover with about a half inch of soil, and firm it well over 

 the seed. Other vegetables, such as cabbage, eggplant, sweet 

 potato, etc., may be planted in the hotbed. Cover the hotbed 

 with the window sash. See garden project for varieties. 



The soil should be watered every few days, and on bright, 

 warm days the sash should be raised to admit fresh air to 

 the seedlings. 



Preparation, of ground in the garden. The plot of ground 

 for the tomatoes may be plowed either in the fall or the 

 spring. It would be well, unless the ground is especially 

 rich, to turn under a layer of well-rotted stable manure on 

 the tomato plot. 



Harrow down the surface well and lay it off in rows four 

 feet apart. A mixture of steamed bone, dried blood, and 

 potassium sulphate is a good fertilizer. A shovelful of well- 



