656 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 



dry hay or dried short grass, or rubbish of some kind that is 

 stored in summer for that purpose. As soon as the heat rises 

 inside of the frame, get some boihng water, and water the bed 

 regularly all over, which will not only purify it, but destroy 

 every living insect therein ; and in a very few days the bed 

 will be ready to receive the soil, which should be well pre- 

 pared, as stated above. I make it a rule to put a good ridge 

 through the centre of the frame at once, to the depth of 18 or 

 20 inches, taking care to make use of it in as rough a state as 

 possible. It must be understood that the dung, &c., with which 

 I make my beds is thoroughly worked and sweetened, and such 

 as some people would think of putting on the ground ; not de- 

 pending on any bottom heat from the bed, which, to me, has, for 

 some years, appeared quite unnatural, but relying wholly on the 

 linings for heat. These I find always work very regularly if 

 the dung, &c., is only well mixed before putting to the beds, 

 and then protected well with dry rubbish and feather-edged 

 boards, to keep the wet and winds off. Thatched hurdles, or 

 bundles of evergreen trimmings, placed round the linings, 

 protect them thoroughly. These beds work regularly and 

 kindly for a long time, by occasionally topping up with any dry 

 rubbish ; the heat penetrating through the frame similarly to 

 the sun shining on them, and the frames never getting troubled 

 with foul steam, damps, or burning, which the old strong-bed 

 system is always subject to. If the weather proves ever so bad, 

 it is always sweet and kind inside and out of the frame ; the 

 plants always dry, healthy, and free from canker and vermin. 

 It is nothing but unnatural usage that produces either : let the 

 weather be rough or smooth, you can always give some air 

 every day, which is most essential to the health and strength of 

 the plants. 



My own system is, never to grow but one plant to each light ; 

 never to water the plants over-head, but pour plenty of water, a 

 little warmed, out of the spout of the watering-pot, which passes 

 freely through the soil if used in a rough state, occasionally 

 giving them a good soaking of manure-water, and keeping them 

 thin of vine. They will thus continue to produce good fruit in 

 abundance for many months. I take care, when shutting down 

 the lights of an afternoon, to pour some warm water all round 

 the frames, which raises a nice genial steam, and is the means of 

 keeping down wood-lice and other vermin, which delight in 

 drought, foul smells, burned, fusty, bad-worked, fermenting 

 materials. 



When I hear a gardener complaining about being overrun 

 with wood-lice, I am perfectly satisfied it is through one of the 

 above causes and want of cleanliness. No man can produce 

 good cucumbers at an early season without some attention. 



