1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



'13 



Hot Beds Their Preparations and 



Care. 

 IKxtracI of paper read by L. A. Cn.v»r before the 

 rotlaieotomie Counlu. loxni. Horliexillural Socirtu.] 



The construction of a hot-bed is merely 

 a simple box, made in any size desirable: it 

 should be two and one-half feet deep, and 

 the sashes should be three feet by si.\, and a 

 cross-bar at the edse of each sash for support. 

 The Manure. To be successful, you should 

 haul vour heating material, which consists of 

 fresh horse manure, early in the fall before the 

 (fround freezes, so that it may start to heat and 

 keep a warm place for later on and keep adding 

 fresh all the time. 



To make it successful it should l>e turned over 

 three or tour times Ixjf ore using for early beds. 

 Uy keeping your manure in this condition, you 

 can start your bed at most any time, and it gives 

 you the advantage of fine days, which is teces- 

 saryforagood bed. In handling manure on a 

 cold day it chills it so that it is liable to freeze 

 out in spots or altogether. Care should be taken 

 that the bed is evenly warm its whole length. 



The Soil. After tilling your beds with manure 

 to the top of the frame, place your sash thereon 

 until sufficiently warm, say from one to three 

 davs as the weather may require, then remove 

 sash and tramp manure solid, let it remain for 

 one day longer, then place from four to si.x 

 inches of soil over the entire bed. This soil 

 should be prepared in the fall and thrown 

 through a screen: by so doing it can begot at 

 very easily any time during the winter. For 

 general crops the soil should consist of sandy 

 loam with about one-fourth manure. When the 

 soil in beds becomes sufficiently thawed out and 

 warm, it may then be planted with Lettuce 

 taken from cold beds. 



Cold Frame Management. A cold frame is 

 simply a frame constructed the same as a hot bed 

 only not so deep, and the Lettuce seed is sown in 

 those beds from September 10th to the 30th in the 

 natural soil. As soon as severe frost approaches, 

 sashes are placed on those beds, only on cold 

 nights, or when there is a sudden change of tem- 

 perature. They are placed on them for the pur- 

 pose of what wf? term "hardening plants." The 

 plants are then hardened by degrees. When the 

 weather is mild the sashes are removed and the 

 plants protected only when extreme changes 

 come. By this treatment Lettuce plants can be 

 hardened so that they will stand 2.t or 30 degrees 

 of cold; in other words, the ground may freeze 

 from eighteen inches to two feet under the 

 plants and still not destroy them. After the cold 

 weather sets in the sash should be covered by 

 manure, the manure to remain on all winter. It 

 it should turn warm and your plants Ijegin to 

 get mouldy and wet, it is necessary to raise up 

 the sash and give them air: also, in thawiug out 

 in spring; the sash should be open when there is 

 warm air and closed when it gets colder, so as to 

 thaw the plants out by degrees. 



Planting in Hot-bed. By this process a large 

 amount of plant.s can be half-grown and they 

 can be got at most any time in the year. This 

 enables vou, therefore, to grow two or th-ee 

 crops inone hot-bed. Those plants should be 

 transplanted si.\ inches apart in the hot-beds. 

 Februarj- is the month in which Cabbage seed is 

 most generally sown. This is a very important 

 part of the business, as a great deal of the suc- 

 cess of the grower depends on the good quality 

 of his plants. Cabbage should be sown in boxes 

 in two inches of soil put on the manure oefore 

 putting the boxes in the bed, the boxes should 

 be raised to the heighth of two inches from the 

 soil; the soil should consist of halt sand and half 

 loam. By this method you prevent altogether 

 or partly so at least, a fungus that comes on 

 your plants at the surface of the ground, and 

 eats the bark off all the plants. Many of us have 

 labored under great difftcuUy to overcome this 

 fungus, but when it apiiears, the grower had 

 better throw away his plants, or all those that 

 are affected and sow new seed, as his results from 

 new seed will be a great deal better than from 

 the wire-rooted plants. 



Other Plants. Next come Tomato and Egg- 

 plants, which are sown about the 1.5th of March. 

 I would adi-ise for them fresh manure right 

 from the barn, as the season is advancing then, 

 and it is not necessary to have heat for any great 

 length of time. Tomato and Egg-plants sprout 

 best in a temperature of BO degrees at night, and 

 75 to 100 degrees in day time. After Tomoto and 

 Cabbage plants come to a sufficient size to allow 

 transplanting, the Cabbage plants should be 



transplanted in a cold frame, and hardened off 

 so that when they are removed to the field the 

 change won't affect their growth. The plants 

 may be picked out to the distance of one and 

 one-halt inches to two inches apart. Cauliflower 

 requires the same treatment. Tomatoes. Egg 

 and all tender plants should l)c picked out into a 

 hot-bed with liottom heat, at a distance of four 

 inches apart. 



General Management All beds of Lettuce, 

 Radishes and Cabbage plants should lie aired 

 whenever an opportunity occurs, especially in 

 the early stage of the bed, as the heat is more in- 

 tense and the plants require more air, as the 

 change is great from a cold bed to a hot-bed. 

 The plants should be kept as cool as possible for 

 the first few days to start in. This gives your 

 plants a chance to get well rooted. The beds 

 may lie forced to extreme heat at the latter end 

 of the crop without injury to it. both for Lettuce 

 and Hadishes. 



Culture of Cyclarnens. 



{Abstract of a paper read by Mr. Walker at the Pajrton 

 Society's meeting, Rotbtcell, West Yorks.t 



I know from experience that the Cycla- 

 men, is not an easy plant to grow; it re- 

 quires strict attention from the seedling 

 stage onwards. 



Sowing Seed. Success will greatly depend upon 

 proper time of seed sowing, and this is as soon 

 as the seed is ripe— namely July, August and 

 September,thetwo former months being the ticst. 

 The seed may be sown as late as January, but 

 the results would not be so satisfactory. Sow in 

 pans in a compost of rough sandy loam and leaf 

 mould, well draining the pans, and not filling 

 them, adding halt an inch in depth to the mix- 

 ture finely sifted on the top. Press firmly and 

 water with a flne-rose pot, so that the whole is 

 moistened; when dry enough the seeds may be 

 sown on the surface and pressed in lightly in- 

 stead of spreading soil over them. Place a piece 

 of paper over the pan, also a square of glass, 

 until the seeds germinate,then remove the paper, 

 allowing the glass to remain. Shade from hot 

 sun until they form roots, and when this is ac 

 complished, graduaUy bring them to the light. 

 When the young plants are about an inch long 

 they should be pricked out into pans or boxes in 

 the same kind of compost as already recommend- 

 ed. Ventilation must be provided during the 

 early part of the day, and they should also be 

 slightly syringed two or three times daily. 



Care of Plants. When the weather becomes 

 colder remove them to a warm house, and 

 above all, place them as near the glass as pos- 

 sible. The temperature should be from 4.5° to .50° 

 where they may remain until the middle of April 

 or the beginning ot May. By that time it will 

 be necessary to plant them out in a bed facing 

 east, made of materials similar to a Cucumber 

 bed. or any half-spent manure wUl do, for it is 

 not necessary to have it hot. Cover the surface 

 with a compost ot loam and leaf mould to the 

 depth of about six inches, made firm, so that 

 when lifting time comes the plants will be taken 

 up with a good baU of roots. They may be plan- 

 ted in rows six inches apart, so that when they 

 begin to get crowded, e\eiy alternate row may 

 be lifted and transplanted as stated. It is neces- 

 sary that each plant should have ample room, 

 and at the same time take care that the corms be 

 well out ot the soil. 



The reason they are placed in an eastern posi- 

 tion is that in the early stage of growth, and 

 after being slightly dewed with a syringe, the 

 frame can be closed much earlier. It should be 

 understood that they require shading during hot 

 weather to prevent flagging, with slight ventila- 

 tion late at night. By this treatment they com- 

 mence flowering early, but it is necessary and 

 safer to remove all the flowers until the plants 

 are established. Green fly and red spider must 

 be kept in check, or they will injure both leaves 

 and flowers. 



The treatment given may tie continued until 

 September, when lifting and potting wUl be 

 necessary. This should be done with care using 

 no larger pots than are absolutely necessary to 

 get the roots into, as they do not make much 

 root either before potting or after. Keep them 

 well up in the pots to avoid water standing on 

 the corms, for it allowed to be left in that state 

 some will damp cff. When potted place them in 

 a cold frame, keep them near the glass, shade 

 from hot sun for a few days, frequently syring- 

 ing, and on dewy nights the light can be drawn 

 off. When thoy are established in these pots the 

 lights are drawn oft in bright sunny weather and 



the plants syringed several times a day, and by 

 so diiing they never flag. Close the frames about 

 three o'clock in the afternoon, and open them 

 about six or seven o'clock, according to the 

 weather. By this time the plants will commence 

 throwing up a few flowers, which will be found 

 useful. As the weather t)ecomes too cold for 

 them to remain in the frame remove them to 

 any suitable house at command with a temper- 

 ature of from 4.i° to .50°. Avoid damp atmos- 

 phere : plenty of air must be admitted when the 

 weather permits, and a little fire heat can be 

 given with care. The leaves and flower stems 

 are liable to damp near the corms, and when 

 such is the case a little sulphur placed upon the 

 affected parts will prevent its progress. When 

 the flowei-s are wanted for use they should be 

 pulled out. not cut, as the pieces left (if cut) de- 

 cay and affect those remaining. I have large 

 plants grown in this way, which commence 

 flowering early in November and continue until 

 May. I also find that the early-sown plants 

 flower longer and later, producing more and 

 better flowers. Old corms are not worth the 

 trouble of growing, for they come into bloom so 

 late and they are not nearly so productive as 

 young ones. 



Influence of Locality on Fruits. 



\E.rtrnctfrom paper read by J. J. Thoiiuis, at a recent 

 meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Agricul- 

 tural Science,] 



Many pomologists believe that varieties 

 of fruit raised in our own localities are bet- 

 ter suited to this country than those from 

 foreign lands Hence, to obtain such varie- 

 ties as are of the highest character for en- 

 durance and excellence, we must select 

 those originating in America. 



The Apple. Some f ruits.particularly the Apple, 

 after fully developing, are largely controlled in 

 character by soil and climate. Of the .337 Apple 

 varieties named in the last catalogue of the 

 American Pomologieal Society, but a small num- 

 ber succeeded well in all the States The most 

 popular Winter Apples at the North become 

 summer and autumn fruits in the South, and are 

 ot little value there, and the best sorts in the 

 East are unsuited to the soil and climate of the 

 West. The few which succeeded best in all local- 

 ities are those lipeningin summer and autumn, 

 the summer in the North being long enough to 

 give full maturity, though later than in the 

 South. As an example. Early Harvest is es- 

 teemed as a valuable fruit in 3B States and Red 

 Astrachan in 37, while the Baldwin, the most 

 popular Apple at the North and East is recom- 

 mended in only 20 States and from almost none 

 at the South and West. 



On the other hand, Ben Davis,the most popular 

 western variety, is confined almost wholly to the 

 western and southwestern portion of the Union, 

 and is only recommended in Si States. Yet to 

 prove that the locality of origin has little to do 

 with the fitness of a fruit in any place, it is only 

 necessary to state that over halt of the Apples 

 most highly valued at the West,especially among 

 summer and autumn sorts, were brought from 

 the East. The natural fitness of the soil, cUmate 

 and other influences of the United States for the 

 growth of the apple has been such that innumer- 

 able orchards have been planU-d, and in the 

 course of a century or more many new varieties 

 have been originated, hence most of our cultiva- 

 ted sorts are American. 



The Pear. This is least influenced by external 

 causes. Some of our finest varieties are of Euro- 

 pean origin.and a larger number of these foreign - 

 ers are adapted to this country than native sorts. 

 Bartlett and Angouleme.from Europe,are exten 

 sively successful as the native Lawrence and 

 Seckel. Of 117 varieties named in the catalogue 

 above mentioned, «7 are of native origin. Seven- 

 teen.at least.oftheforeigners are among the most 

 valuable and excellent sorts. It seems, indeed, 

 to be a sufficient answer to those who would con- 

 fine themselves to natives, to name the Bartleit 

 Pear, which is now by far the most popular mar 

 ket sort in America. It has been known in Eng- 

 land more than a century as William Bonch- 

 retren. The Anjou is a French Pear, and Mar- 

 shall P Wilder has said that it he were confined 

 to a single variety, he would select Anjou as best 

 of all, while Charles Downing selected the Bosc, 

 another French Pear, as the most valuable varie- 

 ty These facts, and the principles which they 

 estabUsh, are thus briefly given that cultivators 

 may enjoy the widest resources for selecting and 

 testing fruits. 



