THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 217 



In raising the hotbed crop care must be taken to lift 

 the sash during the warm part of bright days, and also 

 to water sufficiently. Watering should be done in the 

 morning on sunny days, otherwise the cooling may chill the 

 plants. If the temperature grows too high the sash must 

 be lifted, or the plants will be destroyed. 



Transplanting. When the time comes for transplant- 

 ing to the open soil care must be used or the change may 

 kill the tender plants or greatly check their growth. To 

 avoid thi-s hotbed plants are often transplanted to another 

 bed, called a cold-frame, covered with glass but not heated. 

 This is known as the "hardening off" process. Transplant- 

 ing almost any plant is of great advantage since it causes 

 the multiplication of many small roots which add to its 

 growth. 



Vegetables that require special treatment. The 

 larger and later varieties of peas grow so high that they 

 require support, so they will not spread out on the ground 

 and the pods rot. Where an abundance of brush is avail- 

 able, rods may be stuck in the ground for them to run on. 

 Woven chicken wire is an excellent substitute and takes 

 much less time. Lima beans also need poles. Because of 

 this, bush varieties are sometimes grown in their stead. 



Celery and French endive, as well as most head lettuce 

 varieties require bleaching to produce the best results. 

 To accomplish this, the plants are usually set at the bot- 

 tom of a trench which is gradually filled in as the plants 

 grow ; or the outer leaves may be folded up and tied around 

 the heart of the plant to shade it from the sun. At the end 

 of the season the rows may be hilled up so that the plants 

 are covered to the top. 



