1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



225 



i^+ 



HOT-BEDS FOB FAEMEES' GAEDIJNS. 



ARKET gardeners, com- 

 mercial florists and 

 amateurs understand 

 well the absolute ne- 

 cessity of hot-beds in 

 the economy of their 

 operations. But few 

 farmers are willing to 

 incur the expense which 

 they imagine is neces- 

 sary for their construc- 

 tion, or to afford the 

 time required for their 

 management. 

 Various plans have been suggested for the 

 construction of a cheap and simple hot-bed, 

 almost any of which will answer sufficiently 

 well for a garden large enough to supply a 

 common family with all the vegetables needed. 

 Every farmer may have at trifling cost a 

 few square feet covered with glass, to bring 

 forward at least some lettuce, tomatoes, cab- 

 bages, early cucumbers, and a few flowers for 

 his wife and daughters. 



October is the best time, perhaps, to pre- 

 pare a hot-bed, but if not done then, it may 

 be done successfully in March, or as early as 

 the frost will permit removing the soil. 



Sashes three feet wide, by five or six feet in 

 length are the most convenient. Three such 

 sashes will cover a bed sufiicient for most fam- 

 ilies. 



A frame nine feet long, and of a width cor- 

 responding to the length of the sash, may be 

 made of plank or inch boards. It should 

 be eighteen inches deep at the front and two 

 feet in the rear, and should be located on the 

 southern side of a wall, board fence, or some 

 building. Dig out a space as large as the 

 frame, eighteen inches deep. Fill this with the 

 ttrongest and best horse manure. Place it in 

 even layers and tread it down as you proceed. 

 This should be extended a distance of one foot 

 on the outside of the frame in order to keep 

 up a larger amount of heat. After a day or 

 two, cover the whole, inside and out, with 

 three or four inches of the best garden mould, 

 mixed with a little ashes and plaster. The 

 frame should be set about on a level with the 

 ground, and the filling come up within eight or 

 ten inches of the glass. Put on the glass and 

 let it remain until the bed has become warm 



by fermentation. The glass should be covered 

 at night to prevent the radiation of the heat. 

 When the soil is in a proper state, .sow the 

 seed in rows, at suitable distances. A portion 

 of the bed may be reserved for pots, which 

 should be imbedded in the soil to their rims. 

 When the seeds begin to sprout, sprinkle tbe 

 surface occasionally from the watering pot. 

 and in the middle of pleasant days, slide off 

 the glass so as to gi/e the plants air. 



It is important to attend to this, as growing 

 plants need a plentiful supply of fresh air. 

 After the plants have got well above the sur- 

 face, the sash should be lifted whenever the 

 sun is shining clear and warm, lest they be 

 scorched. Sometimes a few hours' neglect of 

 this precaution will greatly injure or entirely 

 ruin the tender plants. The fermenting ma- 

 nure will keep the soil warm at the bottom, 

 and the sun will warm the surface, and thus 

 the germinating seeds will find a warm soil, 

 and a warm air, which will bring them forward 

 two or three weeks earlier than they would 

 come in the open air. In this way, strong and 

 vigorous plants may be plentifally supplied, 

 which will be fit to tran.'^ plant about the time 

 seeds are usually sown in garden beds. 



When they have been transplanted, use 

 some slight cover to protect them from the 

 cold night air, and the wind, and if needful, 

 from the black flies and other insects, and you 

 will have nice tomatoes, cucumbers and cab- 

 bages that you will enjoy very much. 



This may seem a small matter to many far- 

 mers, and not worth the trouble, but if tried, 

 will be found one of those little things that 

 contribute to the pleasure of life, and that 

 keep us in a happy frame of mind. We shall 

 watch the growth of the plants, green and vigor- 

 ous, before anything around them shows itself 

 above the ground, with great interest. They 

 tell us of what is coming. They strengthen 

 our faith in the certainty of Nature's arrange- 

 ments, and encourage our hopes in the future. 



There is a satisfaction in getting our early 

 mess of peas, radishes or lettuce, that well re- 

 pays all the trouble it costs. Ten or fourteen 

 days may be gained even without use of glass, 

 by making a bed of fine, rich soil well filled 

 with warm compost, under the shade of a wall, 

 and covering it at night and on cold days with 

 boards or matting, and when the plants have 

 been transferred to the garden, by covermg 



