108 GARDEXIXG FOR PROFIT. 



about twice or thrice its thickness of soil, but this should 

 always be followed up by having the soil pressed closely 

 down. In our market gardens here we invariably tread or 

 have t*he ground rolled ; or in frames or hot-beds, where 

 the roller cannot be used, we pat the soil down evenly with 

 a spade after sowing. This may not be of so much con- 

 sequence in early spring, when the atmosphere is moist, 

 but as the season advances, it is of great importance. 

 Another advantage in rolling after seed sowing is, that it 

 leaves the surface smooth and level, thereby greatly 

 lessening the labor of hoeing. Instead of adopting the 

 questionable practice of soaking seeds, preparatory to 

 sowing in dry, hot weather, we prefer first, if very dry, 

 to thoroughly saturate the bed with water, and after it 

 has dried enough, so that it can be raked without clog- 

 ging, sow the seed. It is much better to do this than 

 to water the soil after the seed has been sown, as it has 

 a tendency in most soils to cause the surface to bake. 



Although directions for sowing in hot-beds have been 

 already fully given in the Chapter on " Formation and 

 Management of Hot-beds," and also under the head of 

 "Spring-raising of Cabbage, Cauliflower and Lettuce," 

 yet at the risk of some repetition I again refer to it here. 



SOWING IN HOT-BEDS. After the hot-bed has been 

 formed say the first week in March let soil of the kind 

 recommended be placed on it six inches deep, into which 

 plunge a thermometer three or four inches, and when the 

 temperature recedes to seventy-five or eighty degrees, you 

 may then sow, giving air in mild weather as soon as the 

 seeds begin to vegetate, covering up warmly at night with 

 straw mats. But many that may read this never saw a 

 hot-bed, and are perhaps never likely to have one ; to 

 such I would say that there is an excellent substitute on 

 hand in most dwellings, in the kitchen or basement win- 

 dows, facing South or East, inside of which is a temper- 

 ature usually not far from that required for the vegeta- 



