III. AND GREEN-HOUSES. 



plants : thus is the hot-bed made : these are the general 

 instructions for the making of hot-beds, which are to be 

 of different heights, of different strength, and managed 

 subsequently in a different manner, according with the 

 nature of the different plants to be cultivated in them, 

 and according to the season of the year, when the sow- 

 ing, planting, and cultivation is to take place. Cucum- 

 bers and melons, are, in England, the principal things for 

 the rearing of which hot-beds are usually made : there 

 are, however, several other things which are forced for- 

 ward by the means of hot-beds ; and, in the treating of 

 cucumbers and melons, and of those other sorts of garden 

 plants which are raised in hot-beds, I shall, under the 

 names of these several plants, in the alphabetical list, 

 give direction for the management of the hot-beds in 

 which they are placed. A hot-bed for the purpose of 

 getting early radishes, is a very different thing from 

 a hot-bed adapted to the raising of melons and cu- 

 cumbers j and, therefore, no general directions for the 

 management of the beds can be complete: the heat 

 which is absolutely necessary to bring cucumbers to per- 

 fection, would totally destroy radish plants, or, at least, 

 prevent them from ever producing a radish fit to be 

 eaten -, but, as to the manner of making beds, it is the 

 same in all cases ; and of that manner, I think I have 

 here given directions sufficient for any person, even 

 though he had never seen a hot-bed in his life. I will 

 just add, that the quantity of materials may be augmented 

 by using a great plenty of straw as litter, instead of 

 being sparing of straw ; and that, if you have the mak- 

 ing of hot-beds in your eye, it is good, during the fall 

 and the early part of the winter, while the materials are 



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