164 



KFM ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



HOT BED. 



For the Jfeic England Farmfr. 



For the benefit of new readers I will repeat 

 directions jriven some years since for the con- 

 struction of the hot-bed. The frames should 

 be made of good one and one-half inch stutl', 

 with iron loops as tenons, on the side pieces, 

 to pass through mortices in tlie end pieces, at 

 the corners ; and be fastened by inserting 

 wooden keys through the loops. Let the 

 fi'ont side of frame Ix' one, foot high, and the 

 rear side two feet, with ends sloping to match, 

 and rabbeted for the sash to slide on, over the 

 front side, shutting against tlie back level with 

 its toj). ]Make it of any desirable lengtii to 

 receive any number of sash, tiiree feet wide, 

 and the frame as wide as you desire the bed, 

 calculating from the size of glass used in the 

 sash. Cross bars will be needed for the sash 

 to rest and slide on, and cleats at the end, a 

 few inches abo\e the level of the bed, lor a 

 jilank to rest on ftir convenience in weeding, 

 &c. Good iirm well gla/ed sasli, for cover- 

 ing is needed. The frame is nuidc with close, 

 or battened joints, so us to exclude all cold. 



A somewhat protected location is seUnited 

 for the bed, well exposed to the sun during 

 the day. Dig a treiu'h ruiming east and west, 

 eighteen or twenty-four inches d(!ep, a foot 

 longer and wider than your frame ; lill this to 

 the -dejjth of two feet with fermenting ma- 

 nure, mixing in, as you build it u]), leaves to 

 insure the jirolonged heating. Let this bed 

 of heating material be evenly laid up to insure 

 eveness in settling, and compact it with the 

 ijack of the fork. On this set your frame, 

 driving stakes at the corners to hold in place, 

 and bank up around the outside with soil ; j)ut 

 on your sash and let it heat a day or two, and 

 then lill in six inches of your prepared sifted 



soil, spreading it evenly over the manure, in- 

 side tlie frame ; replace the sash and let it 

 heat till the heat begins to subside and has 

 fallen to about 80°, wlien you may sow your 

 seeds in rows from front to rear. I should 

 have said above the frame should face the 

 south. Sowing the seed before tlie heat has 

 reached its height and begun to subside is often 

 the reason of seed failing to come in the hot- 

 bed. 



The care of a hot-bed i*: only learned by 

 experience. Often a few moments neglect in 

 inid-day suffices to destroy all previous care 

 and fine prospects, or a cold night will kill the 

 young plants unless the bed is protected. 

 With ])roper care they are excellent to for- 

 ward many plants that may not be had in any 

 other way so eas.ly. W. IL White. 



South Windsor, Conn., 187 1. 



Fur the Xiw Kiirihiriil Farmpv. 

 TOP DRESSING vs. PIiOUGHING UN"- 

 DEK.-No. 2. 



It is a fact, undisputed so far as 1 know by 

 scientific or ])ractical men, that lands worn 

 out by long continued cultivation and light 

 manuring, may be jilanted with forest trees ; 

 or a spontaneous growth of wood may be al- 

 lowed to overspread them, and they will im- 

 ))rove in fertility ; at first slowly, but more 

 rapidly as the trees advance to maturity and 

 the animal croj) of leaves becom(\s greater. 

 'J'lie valleys and depressions that always 

 abound in every considerable tract, will re- 

 ceive more than their ])ortion of the yearly 

 croj) and improve more rajiidly than the eleva- 

 tions ; but every ])art will be found advancing 

 in richness and will a<;ain become "virgin soil." 



