30 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



The hotbed may be, as we have said, composed of 

 various materials, but in any case they should be pre- 

 pared some time before they are wanted for use. When 

 leaves are used they should be obtained in the fall, and 

 placed where they can be turned over several times dur- 

 ing the winter, and a proper degree of moisture retained ; 

 and other materials should be treated in the same way. 

 Hops may often be obtained from the breweries in a 

 state of fermentation, and then all that is required is to 

 immediately put them into a proper shape, and place 

 the frames over them. But such materials are compar- 

 atively little used, horse manure being equal, if not 

 superior, to any other for the purpose, especially when a 

 small quantity of leaves is mixed with it. It is not nec- 

 essary to describe the mode of preparing hotbeds with 

 other materials, as the process is similar with each. 

 The manure should be taken as fresh from the stable as 

 possible, thrown into heaps to ferment, and worked over 

 several times ; all large, coarse lumps broken into pieces, 

 and if it becomes dry, add water to keep it from becom- 

 ing burnt and musty. This working over is to cause 

 the fermentation to act upon all parts, and to give it an 

 even texture throughout. If leaves can be had, they 

 should be mixed with the manure when it is being 

 worked over. One-fourth to one-half the quantity may 

 be of leaves. 



If the ground is quite dry upon which the hotbed is 

 to be made (and such a situation is always preferable to 

 one that is wet), make an excavation one foot deep and 

 one foot larger than your hotbed frame ; then spread in 

 the manure and leaves in a layer about six inches thick, 

 and beat it down evenly with the fork, then put on 

 another layer and strike it down in the same way, and 

 so on until you have at least two feet in depth ; three 

 feet would be still better. By spreading the manure in 

 layers, and pressing each down separately, a more uni- 



