IS'tl 



GLEANINGS IN UEE CULTURE. 



i37 



If we could always work our Medina soil at just 

 the right time after a rain, we could dispense 

 with very much of the hard work connected 

 with keeping crops clean. Yes. we have had 

 much trouble in having the wheel to our wheel- 

 barrow clog up after a rain, especially where 

 the load comes close to the wheel, as it ought to 

 do: and we shall be very much obliged to you 

 for a sample of your wheel-cleanei-. By th<' 

 way, friend C. if you have tlie machineiy for 

 making the?e things (and who else can do it 

 better and cheaper?) you slniuld nu\ke them 

 and offer them at a low i)rice by mail. It will 

 be a great deal cheapei- for most of us to buy 

 them of some one who makes a business of 

 making them, rather than to try to whittle 

 ihem out ourselves. If you put them at a low 

 figure we will give you a free notice of them.] 



THE BELMONT STKAWBEKKV. 



Two years ago a neighbor wanted to swap 

 some choice strawberries, and among them 

 were SOBelmonts. I very soon noticed that this 

 plant on our soil made better growth, and pre- 

 sented a handsomer and brighter foliage, than 

 any other. I began searching the catalogues to 

 see what they said about it: but I did not find 

 very much in its praise, except from the intro- 

 ducer, several years ago. The experiment sta- 

 tion said it did not 

 fruit evenly. Part 

 of a row would 

 give a good crop, 

 a n d a n o t h e r 

 scarcely any. I 

 judged from this 

 that probably it 

 wanted a very rich 

 soil. But the plant 

 was such an ex- 

 ceedingly fi n e 

 grower, and so 

 liamlsome in aj)- 

 pearance. that I 

 planted out two 

 ong rows at a ven- 

 ture. Well, it has 

 not borne as much 

 fruit, perhaps, as 

 the four I have se- 

 lected : but the ber- 

 ries we did get 

 were so very hand- 

 some, and of such 

 excellent Havor, 

 THE BELMONT. that I \\as Very 



much inclined to fall in love with the Belmont. 

 Then its odd shape — the very sight of it is sug- 

 gestive of '■ continued sweetness long drawn 

 out.'" or of a great drop of nectar ready to fall 

 if you don't catch it in your mouth. We are 

 giving it another trial on a larger scale: and if 

 they bear fruit even fairly. I think I shall put 

 the Belmont among my chosen few. The 

 beautiful cut was kindly loaned me by our 

 good friend and veteran strawberry -grower. Mr. 

 John Little, of Granton. Ontario. 



COLD-FRAMES ANT) HOT-BEDS. 



Perhaps you would think it a little funny if 

 all my inventing and speculating on green- 

 houses that can be made •• outdoors " whenever 

 desired, should finally come back to the old- 

 fashioned cold - framc^ or hot - bed. A great 

 many of the plans I figured out would woik 

 nicely, only they cost too much money: and 

 then expensive machinery is always in the way 

 when you do not need it. The ])resent result of 

 all my studying seems to be that the cheapest 

 machinery in the present state of our knowl- 

 edge, for moving sash, is two men — one at each 



end of tlie sash. While I dictate this, my e.ve 

 rests lovingly on a hot-bed 1,50 feet long, just 

 across the street. We have some beautiful 

 light strong sash, :5 feet 4 inches wide, 6 feet' 

 long, and nuide of I'V lumber. The 8x13 glass, 

 instead of lieing la])pi'd. have their ends butted 

 together, and all the joints made tight with the 

 l)utty-hull) and sand. I am not yet satisfied 

 with a plac(> to juit the sash when it is not 

 wanted over the |)lants. What we are doing 

 just now — in fact, what we have just done this 

 morning, is to pile u]j the sash five high, right 

 on tiie bed. To do this, the men simply have 

 to take two sash and lay them on the top 

 of a third one: then put two sash from tlie 

 other side on th(» same pile. This is very 

 little work, and four-fifths of the bed is 

 uncovered. The next titue the sash are han- 

 dled we will shift them so as to put the pile in 

 a new i)lace every time. When we want the 

 idants to catch an Ai)ril shower, as soon as the 

 bed is thoroughly wet we shift the ])iles of sash. 



CROSS-SECTION VIEW OF OUR NEW 150-FOOT HOT- 

 BED. 

 Explanation.— A is the sash ; B, soil ; C, manure: D. chestnut 

 strip: E. sui face of the ground: F. plank to walk on: G. 1-ineh 

 sewer-pipe, which should be shown under middle of bed. 



To enable the workmen to work easily during 

 wet muddy weather we have two planks for a 

 walk, on each side of the bed. The north side 

 is 8 inches higher than the south: and on an 

 average the sash stand two feet from the 

 ground. The planks for the sides are nailed to 

 short cedar posts five feet apart: and the in- 

 side, next to the dirt, is covered with tarred pa- 

 per to keep out frost. On the north side the 

 cedar posts are sawed oflF square, and a 2x6 

 Norway plank nailed flat on the top of these 

 posts. This piece covers (5 inches of the ground 

 inside of the cold-franu\ so the plants on the 

 north side will have •> inches for the roots to go 

 over and under the six-inch piece. When 

 handling the sash it is very convenient to be 

 able to get the ends of your fingers under the 

 sash to lift it up. To do this, each end rests on 

 a strip of pine one each square. With this ar- 

 rangement for getting under the ends, and the 

 planks to walk on, two smart boys will uncover 

 a 1.50-foot lied very (juickly. The two walls are 

 prevented from spreading by strips of chestnut, 

 nailed from one cedar post to the opposite one. 

 These strips, to be out of the way for spading, 

 are about 18 or more inches below the surface 

 of the bed: and as there is no other connection 

 between the two sides, we can. if we choose, 

 put a horse and cultivator right into the bed. 

 when the sash are out of the way. so as.to fine 

 it up thoroughly, nuich cheaper than it can be 

 done by hand. About 18 inches of manure is 

 put in the bed. and from four to six inches of 

 dirt on top. lam now ready to tell you of an- 

 otlier feature of my new hobby. 



USING EXHAUST STEAM TO WARM UP HOT- 

 BEDS. GREENHOUSES. ETC. 



For some years I have been feeling uneasy 

 whenever I see steam puffing out into the open 



