1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



289 



\^t ^tQttMt anb Jlotoa gartr^n. 



management of the Hot-Bed. 



Bt W. H. W., IIartford, Conn. 



Ed. Pomologist and Gardener :— The hotbed 

 being formed, as heretofore directed, the next step 

 is sowing the seed. Inexperienced gardeners are 

 apt to hurry the seed in too soon, and thus malie a 

 failure. If you will lest the bed with the ther- 

 mometer, after the sash has been on a day or more, 

 you will And it will indicate 100 degrees or therea- 

 bouts ; this is too hot for most vegetable seed, and 

 will destroy vitality. In about three days the heat 

 will have subsided to about 90 degrees, when it will 

 answer to prepare for sowing the seed, and there 

 will be no danger of failure to germinate from too 

 great heat. In our directions, last month, I think I 

 directed to place the sash on, and let the heat rise 

 and begin to subside before putting on the prepar- 

 ed soil ; this soil should have been prepared in the 

 fall previous, and placed under circumstances con- 

 venient to obtain when wanted, and not be in a frozen 

 state ; it should be rich or made so by mixing one- 

 third well rotted fine miinure with it when prepar- 

 ing in the fall. The mere sowing of the seed is as 

 the fancy dictates, yet the more handsomely it is 

 done, the better it is done generally ; the hand- 

 somer the thing the more highly it is prized and 

 the more care it receives, although in reality the 

 beauty may not add to its intrinsic value. Re- 

 move the sash and make little drills from back to 

 front of the bed, of depth corresponding to size of 

 seed, about five times the diameter of the seed, and 

 about one inch apart^recollect the hot-bed is not 

 to mature plants in, only to start and forward, usu- 

 ally; these drills should be straight and equidis- 

 tant; drop j'our seeds along these drills, twenty to 

 thirty to the inch, better too many than not enough, 

 label each row and different varieties and cover care- 

 fully, compressing the soil over them, and you ate 

 ready to put on the sash again. Our work has now 

 but fairly begun, for the bed must have constant 

 attention till the plants are all removed. The soil 

 must never be allowed to get dry or be kept too 

 wet, and the plants must always have as much air 

 as they will endure, while they must be protected 

 from cold and inclement weather. The tempera- 

 ture should not be allowed to fall below 55 

 degrees, nor go higher than 80 to 85 degrees at any 



time— covering the bed with mats nights, shading 

 and ventilating during sunny, hot days. In giving 

 air the sash are raised, either at the back or front, 

 on wedges, so as to adjust them at different heights, 

 or they may be slid down from the top ; sometimes 

 it will be necessary to remove them entiix'ly when 

 the plants obtain size, during mid-day. Often a few 

 moments of neglect between 9 o'clock in the morn- 

 ing and 3 in the afternoon will scorch and destroy 

 the plants. Watering should be done after the sun 

 has passed the meridian — tw^o or three o'clock — 

 from a fine rose watering-pot, with tepid or warm 

 water, soft rain water is best always. As soon as 

 the plants come up fairly, thin them to four to an 

 inch, stirring the soil a little, and keep clean of 

 weeds ; and at all times, do not allow the sash to be 

 off too long at a time while the plants are small 

 and tender; give air as they will endure it, to 

 cause them to grow strong, hardy and green ; air is 

 the life of the plant. In about a month from the 

 time of planting the seed, the plants will entirely 

 cover the bed, and begin to be somewhat drawn ; 

 you must now have a cold bed, or nearly spent hot- 

 bed, and remove the plants into it, setting them 

 four inches apart each way ; water them lightly 

 and shade for three or four days, and also cover to 

 protect them nights. In these beds the plants must 

 be hardened off' as fast as they will bear so as to be 

 ready to transplant into the open ground as soon 

 as the weather will admit and the plants will en- 

 dure it. Recollect constant, carefnl attention is 

 required to succeed with the hot-bed. 



Culture of Bulbs. 



The treatment of bulbs is simple and the re- 

 sults so satisfactory that it seems exceeding strange 

 that they are not far more generally cultivated. 

 Not in one garden in a thousand, even those of some 

 pretentions, do we see a dozen good Tulips, and 

 those who invest a dollar or two in good hardy 

 Bulbs are pretty sure to eclipse all their neighbors. 

 Some care and skill are often required to cause 

 flower seed to germinate, but with a little care in 

 fitting the soil, and in obtaining sound Bulbs of 

 fine varieties, the most gratifying results are almost 

 certain with hardy Bulbs. The lack of attention 

 to the culture of Bulbs is partly from a mistaken 



