90 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



and the depth depends on the kind of plants to be 

 started. For lettuce, about six or eight inches of 

 soil ; and for radishes, eight to twelve inciies. 



A bed with 20 sashes is long enough for con- 

 venience, on account of crossing over. The fol- 

 lowing rough sketch, made wilh the printer's ma- 

 terials, represents a bed with four sashes. The 

 large lines represent the sash, the smaller ones the 

 small bars between the sash frames. 



In severe, cold weather it is necessary to cover 

 liot beds with straw mats ; and yet in the coldest 

 weather the beds must be generally opened a little 

 daily to let off the foul air, and sometimes to allow 

 the superfluous heat to escape. The greatest dan- 

 ger is from too much heat, especially when there 

 is a hot sun and the beds fresh ; with the heat 

 from below and from above, the plants are liable to 

 be killed suddenly for want of air. 



In beds for winter use, it is necessary to put hot 

 manure down on the outside of the frames of the 

 hot bed, else it will become comparatively cool, 

 near the sides. 



The digging of the pit, and the fdling in of ma- 

 nure and the soil on it, should be so regulated that 

 when the whole is completed, the glass in front 

 will be about four inches above the soil ; and the 

 surface earth in the hot bed should have a gentle 

 inclination to the front. If the glass is placed high- 

 er, there will be less heat, and a deficiency in front, 

 which is the cooler part. 



We are informed that Mr. Cephas Brackett, of 

 Brighton, manufactures .sashes for hot beds; or 

 furnishes the sash glazed. The usual price of sash, 

 of the dimensions we have given, is 80 cents each. 

 The cost of glass is from $1,50 to $6 for 100 square 

 feet, according to quality. Tolerably thin glass an- 

 swers well with care, and it is light to handle. 



TIME FOR TOP DRESSING GRASS 

 LANDS. 



Mr. James IIowcs, Dennis, inquires whether it 

 is best to draw and spread manure on mowing lands 

 in spring or fliU. A great deal has been said and 

 written on this subject, and as different practices have 

 resulted from different opinions, numerous experi- 

 ments have been made. 



The question seems pretty well settled, that the 

 fall is the best time for top dressing grass lands. 

 The manure should be applied so late that there 



will be but little heat to induce fermentation and 

 carry off the fertilizing gases. The manure being 

 applied in the fall, it becomes fine and well decom- 

 posed by the frost and storms, without much loss, 

 as the season is cool, and it soon becomes available 

 to the plants, and is not liable to waste from the 

 hot sun late in spring and summer. 



But in applying manure in the spring, it frequent- 

 ly becomes late before the land is firm enough to 

 admit of carting the dressing-, and the most .suitable 

 season for the preparation of the manure, after ap- 

 plied, to render it available to the crop, is passed 

 before it can be applied in the spring, and before 

 the manure becomes well decomposed, we have 

 hot sun and lack of rain, and much of the fertiliz- 

 ing properties are wasted on the air, or the manure 

 becomes dry and hard, and so remains through the 

 summer. 



A few farmers have contended that the best mode 

 of application is to haul the manure on the land 

 late in the fall, and drop it in small heaps, and 

 spread it as early in the spring as it can be done. 

 The object is to prevent waste by washing. We 

 have practised this mode with good success, on 

 rather wet lands, where sometimes from heavy 

 rains the water would flow over the land, and in 

 receding would carry off the manure in solution, 

 if not in a body. Whether it is desirable to pursue 

 this course on laiuls not liable to wash or to be 

 overflowed, we cannot tell, but we offer the subject 

 for consideration. 



In England, after the experience of ages, it is 

 determined that the best season for top dressing 

 grass lands, is immediately after the crop of hay is 

 taken off: but that is a country of more rain and 

 less hot sun than our own. We have known sea- 

 sons here of frequent rain, and less sunshine than 

 usual after haying, and manure that was applied 

 immediately after the crop was removed was soon 

 protected by a luxuriant second crop of grass; and 

 in such seasons, this period of applying manure has 

 proved to be the best. 



CELERY. 



We are requested to quote the prices of celery. 

 We would reply that there is but very little of this 

 article sold in this market, and the prices are tran- 

 sient, varying every few days. It would be like 

 quoting the prices of cucumbers, melons, and other 

 transient vegetables and fruit. If we collect the 

 prices one day, and send them to our subscribers 

 the next, the prices would be verv liable to rise or 

 fall 50 per cent, before they could bring their pro- 

 duce to the market. 



^' A new building material has lately been 

 introduced into Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It is a 

 brick fifteen by thirty inches, so made as to promise 

 almost equal durability of stone, at one-third the 

 cost. 



