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HOTBEDS 



A HOTBED is simply a boarded-up garden covered 

 ** with glass. In it one may grow certain crops to 

 maturity out of season and hasten the maturity of other 

 crops requiring a long season, by affording them an early 

 start. A hotbed consists of a subframe which extends 

 from fifteen to eighteen inches beneath the soil, depending 

 on the climate. On top of this rests the frame proper, gen- 

 erally about eighteen inches high in back, twelve inches in 

 front, sloping toward south. This is covered with a glass 

 sash which keeps in the heat. A single-sash hotbed of stand- 

 ard size measures three feet wide by six feet long; larger 

 ones should be constructed in multiples of three feet wide. 

 There are several methods by which the soil may be 

 heated in a hotbed. The most general custom is to use 

 fermenting manure. This is piled up outdoors, in heaps 

 four to five feet square, and high. It soon begins to 

 steam, when it should be turned over. This is repeated 

 until the pile is thoroughly and uniformly heated. This 



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