58 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



March, 1909 



understand 'that he has since discontin- 

 ued it. I do not know why. I have 

 been delaying this letter hoping to see 

 him about the matter, but press of busi- 

 ness has prevented me so far. 



"A neighbor of my own some years 

 ago irrigated several acres of onions and 

 potatoes by damming a trout brook that 

 crossed his property and flooding the 

 patch. He got a large crop of very fine . 



onions, but it did not seem to agree 

 with the potatoes. We supposed it was 

 because the water was too cold. He 

 continued it for several years with prac- 

 tically the same results. Subsequent 

 tenants of the property have not used it. 

 These are the only cases that I know of 

 where it has been attempted systemati- 

 cally. 



"The general impression seems to be 



that it is 'no good.' My own opinion is 

 that very much depends on the nature 

 of the soil, particularly the sub-soil. If 

 that be open and porous and an abun- 

 dant supply of water easily obtainable 

 at small cost, all right. A small quantity 

 carelessly applied will, I think, do more 

 harm than good, and a large quantity 

 'ditto,' unless you have proper means 

 of removing the surplus." 



The Preparation and Care of Hotbeds 



OF whatever dimensions a garden 

 may be, whether the extensive one 

 of a market grower or the humble 

 back-yard of a horticultural enthusiast in 

 the town, the use of a hotbed is a neces- 

 sity. Its uses are a hundredfold — to raise 



BnOd a Hotbed Like This 



various sorts of flower and vegetable 

 seeds and the propagation of many 

 plants with all the modern equipages of 

 glass-houses and artificial heating, the 

 common old-fashioned hotbed is yet con- 

 sidered the best mode of seed raising, 

 the steady and moist temperature of sev- 

 eral weeks' duration, acting as the first 

 success to a high percentage of seed 

 germination. To the novice in garden- 

 ing, the making of a hotbed looks impos- 

 sible. Limited quarters, time, expense 

 and necessary knowledge mean with 

 many amateur gardeners "no hotbed." 



The finst days of March is generally 

 early enough to commence preparing a 

 hotbed to be ready for seeds by March 

 15th. It is early enough for tomato, cab- 

 bage, cauliflower, onion, and flower 

 seeds or whatever you purpose to grow. 

 The following simple directions are 

 offered for the benefit of beginners and 

 for those who have been unsuccessful. 



THE MATERIAL 



Hotbed material consists of good, 

 clean stable manure ; that is, straw and 

 horse droppings two or three months old. 

 It does not matter how new the material, 

 but old or wet and heavy material is 

 almost useless and wood clippings and 

 other rubbish which often is found in 

 manure is of similar value. 



The real worth of a hotbed is the 

 length of time that it will give off warmth 

 and that should be six to eight weeks. 

 Beds are built too often of no depth and 



A. V. Main, Pinehurst, Almonte, Ontario 



with the manure improperly mixed, re- 

 sulting in a sharp heat for a week, con- 

 sequently the seedlings damp off. The 

 failure does not end here for the seeds- 

 man is finally accused of selling worth- 

 less seeds. 



It is a good idea to have a lot of leaves 

 stored in the fall, to incorporate with 

 the manure, to give a more lasting heat. 

 Two good loads of manure will make a 

 fine, useful and handy bed, nine feet 

 square, adapted for a garden frame with 

 two lights or sashes. Always make the 

 bed twelve inches larger all around the 

 frame, whatever size it may be. The 

 glass repaired in old storm windows 

 make a substitute in hard times. 



MIXING THE MANURE 



Mix the manure well and often. Have 

 it under cover in an open shed if possi- 

 ble, but it is not necessary. With a fork 

 turn over the manure into a cone-shaped 

 heap. Every forkful must be well shaken 

 out and thrown on to the top of the heap, 

 where it will spread out when in a cone- 

 shape. When nearing the finish, clean 

 all the strawy material around the heap 

 and place in the centre with the small 

 manure over it. Turn the manure three 

 times, every alternate day, such as Tues- 

 day, Thursday, and Saturday. Insert a 

 stake into the heap ; by withdrawing it 

 occasionally, you can ascertain how it is 

 heating. Generally at the third turning, 

 it will commence to heat and throw off^ a 

 rank steam. Another turning will be nec- 

 essary on, say, Monday, purposely to re- 

 lieve this noxious steam, which is so 

 detrimental to tender seedlings. At the 

 eighth or ninth day, we can build our 

 beds. 



Select a sunny aspect sheltered from 

 the north and open to the south to catch 

 all the sun that is going at this date. 

 Two feet six inches is good depth and 

 convenient for working the frame, 

 although three feet gives longer satis- 

 faction if the manure is available. The 

 bed should be marked off with a stake at 

 each corner. Build the manure up in 

 thin layers and tramp it well with the 

 feet, finishing the job neatly, firmly and 

 level. Lift the frame on and put on the 

 lights, partially tilted up with a block of 

 wood to allow superfluous moisture to 



escape for a couple of days. A very 

 reliable guide when this moisture is not 

 harmful and the bed ready for seed sow- 

 ing, is when the drops of moisture are 

 quite clear and transparent. 



I have made no reference to sprinkling 

 the manure at the outset with water. At 

 this time of the year, if the manure is 

 obtained from a reliable place, it is suffi- 

 ciently moist, and experience teaches 

 that by adding water to dry, fusty 

 manure, results are not satisfactory. 



Sand or finely sifted soil makes a fine 

 level covering inside the frame. I am 

 not in favor of sowing seed in patches 

 or in lines on the top of a hotbed, unless 

 for lettuce or early vegetables that 

 will remain there until exhausted. All 

 flower seeds, tomatoes, melons, and so 

 forth, are best sown in pots or boxes, 

 and are thus convenient to transplant or 

 move as their growth demands. 



A secondary frame comes in useful, 

 where boxes of seedlings can be put, to 

 become hardy and to procure light, space 

 and air in more abundance, once they 

 have germinated in the proper hotbed. 

 In the middle of fav- 

 orable days, a little 

 air is advisable for 

 two or three hours. 



As the sun strength 

 ens, some shading 

 material is best put 

 on the sashes and at 

 night a covering is 

 also essentia! for 

 warmth and frost pro- 

 tection. Canvas or 

 sacking or old car- 

 pets would do. Makr 

 one to fit each sash 

 and nine inches 

 longer than the sash at each end. Take 

 a piece of wood and tack it on at each 

 end. This facilitates the work of rolling 

 it up when required. The piece hanging 

 over breaks the current of air when 

 applying ventilation. This material then 

 can be employed for mid-day sun, also 

 at night and there is no fear of wind 

 blowing it off. Judgment with ventila- 

 tion, using tepid water for the seedlings, 

 and applying it early in the day are 

 prominent factors of success. 



A Handy Device 



A simple venti- 

 lating block for 

 hotbeds may be 

 made by cutting a 

 piece of inch board 

 in this shape. By 

 its use air may be 

 admitted in any 

 quantity desired. 



