CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



mats on cold and frosty nights; glass radiates 

 heat very rapidly after the sun goes down, and 

 should, for that reason, in the early days of spring, 

 be covered while yet it retains the heat. Whatever 

 covering is used should be brought down well over 

 the sides of the beds, and in windy weather should 

 be held in place with racks or strips of wood. Shut- 

 ters or some waterproof covering is necessary over 

 the rugs in wet weather, as wet rugs or frozen 

 ones do not exclude cold, and for this reason should 

 be kept dry. 



As the weather grows warmer and the plants 

 increase in size, more air and sun should be given 

 and the sash may be partially raised throughout 

 the warmer part of the day. If the sun is hot, 

 newspapers should be placed over the sash or the 

 glass whitewashed. Later the sash may be removed 

 during the heat of the day and replaced with lath 

 screens, and as the season for removing the plants 

 to the open ground approaches, these, too, may 

 be dispensed with and the plants given full ex- 

 posure to harden them off and make the plants 

 grow more stocky. 



Where there is room for it, much benefit will be 

 derived from transplanting the plants, when they 



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