784 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. L 



SPECIAL DEPARTMENT FOE A. I. ROOT, AND HIS 

 FRIENDS WHO LIKE TO RAISE CROPS. 



Although the woathcr is almost like summer, 

 it behooves us to think of the frost that is sure 

 to come sooner or later. Two weeks ago we 

 feared we should not gi't any tonuitoes for can- 

 ning; but at this date, Sept. 23, our tomatoes 

 are ripening as rapidly as I ever knew them to, 

 and our canners aiv, at work full blast. Cucum- 

 ber pickles are growing so rapidly that, before 

 I knew it. the boys had several bushels too 

 large for pickles, and they were cutting them 

 open and feeding them to the chickens. They 

 told me they had offered them for 2.5 cts. a 

 hundred, but they could not sell them all. and 

 there was not any use in picking them. These 

 are from seeds that were planted about the 

 middle of July. At one time we thought we 

 should not get a pickle: but hej^ we are with 

 our market overstocked. Some way I rather 

 enjoy taking risks in ])lanting late; for when 

 we have beautiful mild weather without frosts 

 it is such fun to get a crop when the croakers 

 said I was wasting my time. Talking about 

 pickles and cucumbers reminds me that a friend* 

 who visited us a short time ago made the re- 

 mark that he had sold sixty dolliirs' worth of 

 cucumbers from three hot-beds each 30 feet long. 



WHAT SHALL V\'E DO WITH OUR SASHES WHEN 

 OUR HOT-BEDS ARE UNCOVERED ? 



And this biings to mind a problem that has 

 been before me for some time. I presume by 

 far the larger part of us who make gardens will 

 have to depend upon hot-beds and cold-frames 

 rather than greenhouses; and even where we 

 have greenhottses, the movable sash often plays 

 a very prominent part in our work. We have 

 now six large beds, fi'om ICKJ to 1.50 feet long, 

 arranged to hold sash. There are plank walks 

 each side of the beds, so that even in muddy 

 weather two men — one on each side of the bed 

 —can strip off the sash very rapidly. Now 

 comes the question. "Where shall we put 

 them?" Last spring we piled them up in a 

 heap, one on top of the other; but during a big 

 wind, some way the top sash on the piles per- 

 haps three feet high were blown off' and carried 

 some distance, of course being ruined. Where 

 the piles were not more than two feet high, or, 

 say. as high as the boards to the hot-bed. the 

 wind did not disturb them. Well, where shall 

 we have these piles of sash? If the hot-beds 

 are not very long, we can easily pile them up 

 at each end. The friend mentioned above had 

 his three beds each 30 feet long. As the ortho- 

 dox dimensions of movable sash seem to be (i 

 feet long by 3 feet 4 inches wide, it would take 

 about nine sash to covei' a 30-foot bed. To 

 make the number even, suppose we say 10 sash 

 for a bed 33 feet long. This would let the sash 

 lap over the ends of the beds so as to make all 

 tight. In sti'ipping off tlu^ sash, live of them 

 would be cai'ried to one end and the other five 

 to the other end; and the men who move the 

 sash would have to cany the center ones only 

 16 feet each way. A couple of good stout fel- 

 lows would pile the sash light up. and finally 

 take the whole five in a heap, and set therii 

 down at the end of the bed. Perhaps cutting 

 our beds up into lengths of 33 feet each is wast- 

 ing considerable ground, (^specially where land 

 is high and expensive, as it frequently is where 

 hot-beds are worked. In that case a l)(>d can 

 be made to hold 12 sash, 14, or even 20, provid- 

 ing it is better to carry tlu^ sash a little further 

 than to have so much waste room in order to 

 make a place to pile them up. 



One reason why I have gone over this is be- 

 caiise I should like to have our readers who are 



* Emery Ransom, Ainboy, O. 



using hot-beds and cold-frames say what length 

 they would choose for each bed, and also to 

 tell us where they are in the habit of placing 

 the sash when oft' from the beds. It is very 

 handy to have a few light shuttei's made just 

 the size of th(> sash. These can be placed over 

 the sash in very severe weather, to protect cu- 

 cumbers and tender things: and when the sash 

 are oft' and piled up, a shutter on the top of each 

 pile of sashes protects them from hail, stones 

 thrown by children, base balls, and last, but 

 not least, big dogs. Another thing: Every lit- 

 tle while our small boys, when they want to 

 get across the beds, will walk on the soft earth. 

 The temptation to do this is much greater 

 when the beds are long. Now, the openings 

 cut through the lieds in order to get a place to 

 pile the sash should also give room enough for 

 one to get through, say leaving a path a foot 

 wide between the sash and the next bed. If we 

 make our beds 33 feet long we shall have ten 

 sash in a pile. If they are made of two- inch 

 lumber th(»y will be less than two feet high, 

 even with a shutter on top. To protect them 

 from dampness I should prefer to have the bot- 

 tom one raised three or four inches fi'om the 

 ground. When arranged in this way the part 

 of the garden devoted to hot-beds and cold- 

 frames may look tidy, neat, and attractive, 

 whether the sash are either oft' or on the beds; 

 and I confess than hot-beds and cold-frames 

 often present any thing but a tidy and pleasant 

 appearance to passersby. 



r 



ARRANGEMENT OF HOT-BEDS. WITH PLACES 

 TO PILE UP THE SASH. 



Let the diagram above represent four hot- 

 beds 33 feet long. At each end of the beds the 

 locality of the piles of sash is shown. If it 

 takes ten sash to cover each bed. there will be 

 a pile of live sash at the outside ends, while th(> 

 two middle piles will have ten sash each, five 

 from the bed on the right hand, and five from 

 the bed on the left hand. The walks should 

 be either plank, cinders, gravel, or some mate- 

 rial easy to walk on while carrying heavy bur- 

 dens. This is important, because the sash fre- 

 quently need to be moved during a rainy time, 

 and sometimes when the paths are full of slush 

 and snow, especially to get the best results 

 from hai'dy vegetables. The width of the walk 

 can b(^ ai'ranged according to the expense of 

 the ground. We find 16 inches a very comfort- 

 able width to work. On the diagram we figured 

 only 12 inches at the sides of the piles of sash 

 in the center. In regard to damage from wind, 

 I have never had a sash blown oft' when the 

 whole bed was covered entire. If, however, 

 the sash were tilted or spread so the wind gets 

 under, they are apt to be moved. In very se- 

 vere weather the paths may be filled with 

 coarse stra\\- and manure as an additional pro- 

 tection against frost. I hardly need add, that 

 we must have perfect drainage for our beds as 

 well as for our paths. The manure for hot-beds 

 costs too much money to permit its good quali- 

 ties to be washed out by rain or standing water. 

 After the plants have had rain enough we often 

 put on the sash to keep off the surplus. Whei-e 

 every thing is arranged so as to work handy, 

 I think this ari'angement will be cheaper than 

 any form of machinery. In fact, I wish our 

 greenhouse could be covered and uncovered as 

 cheaply and quickly as our hot-beds with the 

 arrangement above. There is a drawback 



