132 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



the North bring all the skill and information that 

 is obtainable, to bear upon their work, while many of 

 the gardeners of the South still work in a haphazard 

 way, consequently we see more failures in the latter 

 locality than in the former. 



HOT-BEDS. 



For that portion of the South where severe winter 

 frosts occur, and where the temperature goes down to 

 10 to 14 F., it will be necessary to employ hot beds. 

 While it will be found profitable to use sash and glass, 

 tomatoes can be carried through a temperature of 14 

 F. by the use of protecting cloth, as described under 

 the head of hot-beds in the introduction. 



The soil of the hot-bed should be a sandy loam ; where 

 this is not obtainable, a soil may be prepared for the 

 purpose. Use about one half strong clay and one- 

 fourth coarse sand, fill in the remainder with vegeta- 

 ble mold. The soil should not contain clay enough to 

 allow it to bake, nor should there be enough sand to 

 allow the water to pass off rapidly and the top to be- 

 come dry during warm, windy days. If the soil will 

 hold water on its surface for an hour, we can be pretty 

 sure that it contains too much clay, and more sand 

 should be added. If undecomposed manure is used 

 as a source of heat it should be tramped in about 

 ten inches thick, and about three inches of the soil 

 placed on this. 



Steam is also used as a means of heating hot beds. 

 The pipes are usually laid lengthwise of the beds from 

 four to eight inches under the ground. Hot water 

 may be used in the same way as steam, and is safer in 

 the hands of ordinary help. Some vegetable growers 

 heat their hot beds with flues. While these work, well 

 in the hands of some people, they cannot be recom- 

 mended without reservation. While the primitive 



