210 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Mar. 



This puts the material right where it can be 

 worked thoroughly into the soil, for the ben- 

 efit of the crops ; and it does not matter 

 whether we have rain or not for its success- 

 ful working. The " New Agriculture " has 

 not proved itself proof against two dry sea- 

 sons. When there is no rain, the reservoirs 

 get absolutely dry, and the ground dries up 

 worse right over them than on ground 

 drained with tile. Letting steam into them, 

 however, makes a steam hot-bed at very 

 little expense ; and we employ the exhaust 

 steam f rem our factory for this purpose every 

 spring, in getting early plants and vegeta- 

 bles. We are still at work with the '' New 

 Agriculture," and may still overcome some 

 of the difficulties. 



In Chapter VIII. 1 spoke of sifting the 

 soil for plant-gardens. Well, we have found 

 tlie sieve pictured at the close of that chapter 

 to be a decided labor-saving arrangement. 

 In many soils you can sift the whole surface 

 of the ground, placing the lumps and debris 

 below, cheaper than you can rake out the 

 lumps in the ordinary way with a garden- 

 rake ; and it is ever so much better, because, 

 when this ground has been once sifted it is 

 ever after free from sticks, stones, etc. This, 

 of course, applies to the earth for hot-beds, 

 or beds for raising plants. Where ground 

 is to be carefully worked over by hand, for 

 onions, we think the sieves will do it better 

 and quicker than rakes, especially where the 

 soil is of a peaty nature. The cold frame, 

 pictured in the fore part of Chapter X., still 

 gives excellent satisfaction. W^e get it full 

 of nice plants every winter, without hand- 

 ling the sash at all, only wlien we lift them 

 off to get the benefit of the warm rain. Open- 

 ing and closing the ends answersjustas well 

 as raising the sash. In the same chapter I 

 would modify my advice a little in regard to 

 a greenhouse for plants and vegetables. I 

 would also modify the directions somewhat 

 for raising celery-plants, in Chapter XL, as 

 well. 



OUR "annex" greenhouse. 



During the past two winters we have 

 been using an addition to our greenhouse, 

 which, for short, we term an " annex." This 

 was made by placing 32 common 8x6 sashes 

 about 4 feet above the surface of theground. 

 The sashes are supported by strips of pine 

 28 feet long and 2x6 inches. One of these 

 pine strips runs under the sash where one 

 laps on to the next. These string-pieces 

 are supported at the proper distance above 

 the ground by pieces of old refuse gas-pipe, 

 I inch in diameter. They were driven into 



the ground with a sledge to the proper dis- 

 tance, then the sticks were laid on the end 

 of the pipe. To keep it from rolling we 

 bored a hole into the stick so as to let the 

 pipe go in a couple of inches. We prefer the 

 gas-pipes to wooden stakes because they will 

 not rot, and also produce less shade in the 

 house than wooden posts. At the northern 

 end of the house is a door to open and close, 

 like the gable end of the cold frame men- 

 tioned in Chapter X. This allows us to get 

 all the ventilation we want, without moving 

 a sash at all. Well, now, for economy and 

 convenience these sash are placed about as 

 nearly level as ordinary hot-bed sash, or per- 

 haps nearer. In fact, they have just enough 

 fall for the water to run off. The only in- 

 convenience we found is from the drip ; but 

 even this does no harm, unless during very 

 heavy rains, when it washes the dirt from 

 the roots of little plants. Celery-plants seem 

 to be exactly suited with the drip ; and the 

 more drip, the better. They also grow 

 very well in partial shade. Well, with the 

 sash only 4 feet above the surface of the 

 ground, no one but a boy would be able to 

 stand upright. To remedy this, the ground 

 under the sash is divided off into beds, and 

 between the beds are narrow alleys for the 

 workmen. The alleys, or paths, are sunk 

 about H or 2 feet below the surface of the 

 beds. This gives us from 5i to 6 feet be- 

 tween the bottom of the path and the glass 

 overhead. If you are so fortunate as to be 

 an individual of moderate height, you can 

 move quite comfortably in this place ; hut 

 if you are a tall man, you will have to make 

 your paths deeper; but, remember, you will 

 need to get the surface of your beds as near 

 the glass as you can conveniently, without 

 too great expense. To our surprise, we 

 found these beds the handiest and easiest for 

 working among plants of any thing we have 

 ever tried. Every one of us has been aston- 

 islied to see with whatfacility we can trans- 

 plant celery, cabbage, tomato, etc., in our 

 "annex." We first make beds 2* or 3 feet 



BIRD'S BYE VIEW OF BEDS AND WALKS. 



