10 



in boxes, some weeks may be gained in their growth. Flats 

 may be easily made of old tobacco or starch or soap boxes, 

 cutting them down to an inside depth of about 23^ inches. 

 With good medium loam, with care not to water either too 

 little or too much, and with either thinning or transplanting 

 when the plants have four true leaves, good plants may be 

 raised. Cabbage, cauliflower, squash, eggplant and still other 

 plants may thus be raised in considerable numbers in very 

 small space. Cucumber, squash, marrows and melons should 

 be raised in individual holders, such as strawberry baskets, as 

 they transplant poorly. 



Equally simple is the aid which can be given to plants in 

 the open garden, to protect from the cold. Small boxes, having 

 neither bottom nor top, can be set over single plants; with a 

 pane of glass to each, removed when the sun is very hot, the 

 boxes become tiny cold-frames. In default of glass, or with 

 boxes too large for the use of single panes, cheesecloth may be 

 used; or this may be tacked over a melon crate or peach basket. 

 This latter kind of protection, which need never be removed 

 until the plants are crowded, is particularly valuable over hills 

 of cucumber or squash or melon, as it keeps away insect pests. 

 Similarly, cabbage or cauliflower plants raised in a small frame 

 over which cheesecloth is tacked cannot be attacked by the 

 maggot until they are ready to transplant. 



The step beyond such home-made devices is the attainment 

 of a cold-frame. One may be made to fit such old sash as may 

 be at hand; or it may be bought for the standard 3 by 6 foot 

 sash. These sashes, with overlapping panes to shed water, may 

 be bought in all quantities; but it will pay to have them of 

 cypress, strongly put together. Double-glassed sashes are be- 

 coming popular. A four-sash frame, partitioned into two sec- 

 tions, for hardy and for tender plants, will provide early plants 

 for a garden of considerable size, and ought to be enough for 

 a large family. 



The management of a cold-frame is very simple. The seed is 

 sown in rows 3 to 6 inches apart, and the plants are thinned, 

 watered and transplanted until large enough to set out in the 

 garden. Care must be given to ventilation in frosty weather, 

 both to keep the plants from burning in the sun and to keep 



