FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF HOT-BEDS. 61 



admit larger quantities. If the days are warm, say sixty 

 in the shade, in March or April, the sashes covering 

 Cabbage, Cauliflower or Lettuce plants may be stripped 

 entirely off, and also from Tomatoes in April and May 

 when the thermometer is at seventy degrees in the shade, 

 covering up at night, of course. 



COVERINGS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST FROST. To 

 cover up hot-bed sashes we use either light pine shutters or 

 straw mats. The shutters are made the exact size of the 

 sash. There is no necessity of their being more than 



Fig. 5. MAKING A STRAW-MAT. 



half an inch in thickness, as that is quite as effective in 

 keeping out the cold as two inches would be, and they 

 are much cheaper and more convenient to handle. Straw 

 mats are, however, by far the warmest covering, and in 

 hot-bed culture are almost indispensable. They are al- 

 ways made at home, during wet days or in stormy weather 

 in winter. The manner of making them is very simple, 

 and will readily be learned at the first attempt. The 



