HOTBEDS AND COLDFRAMES 23 



cheaper and easier to furnish heat by fuel in the 

 furnace than by manure in the hotbed. The air of 

 the hotbed is liable to become very damp, as well as 

 too hot, and these two conditions may cause serious 

 trouble by the "damping off" of plants. When the 

 weather is cold and the winds severe, it is difficult 

 properly to ventilate hotbeds without chilling the 

 plants. All of the points are in favor of the green- 

 house. 



GLASS POINTS 



A hotbed, after the heat is spent, can be used as a cold- 

 frame, if desired. 



The outside of the hotbed frame should be banked with 

 manure. This helps to keep in the heat. 



A properly made hotbed is good for six or seven or 

 sometimes eight weeks; the heat gradually declines. 



If the hotbed manure is loose and fluffy after being 

 trodden, there is too much straw in it; if it packs soggy and 

 solid under the foot, there is too little straw. It should feel 

 springy when trodden, but should not swell up quickly in a 

 loose mass when released from pressure. 



The coldframe is used for: i. Growing some of the 

 vegetables and flowers late in the fall, such as lettuce, rad- 

 ishes, violets, etc. 2. Receiving plants which have been 

 started earlier in hotbeds and forcing houses, to harden them 

 for outdoor planting. 3. Wintering hardy plants, such as 

 cabbage and lettuce and all plants which can be sown in the 

 fall. 4. Growing lettuce, radishes, celery plants for late 

 setting, or anything which is planted or needed later than 

 hotbed stuff. 



"With thirty-six sash for coldframes, and a small green- 

 house 16x24, we raised 18,000 cabbage plants, 5,000 tomato 

 plants, some eggplants, peppers and lettuce plants, and 20,000 

 sweet potato sprouts," writes H. S. Weber, of Pennsylvania. 

 "We found a ready market for the plants; cabbage at $5 per 

 thousand, tomatoes at $10 per thousand and sweet potatoes 

 at $2 per thousand. The eggplant and peppers sold at fifteen 

 cents per dozen. In addition to the foregoing, we raised 

 enough for our own use." 



