24 MAKING OF A FLOWER GARDEN 



the same conditions of air and temperature. The home 

 hotbed, on the contrary, contains plants requiring a 

 wide variety of conditions, and partitions between the 

 more delicate and the robust, and small sashes, just 

 suited to their number, will facilitate caring for them. 



Concrete has one drawback — it is cold, and I have 

 noticed that the plants close to the frame do not do 

 as well as those farther from its chilling influence. 

 For this reason an interlining of boards, any waste 

 lumber about the place, will be of much assistance in 

 forwarding the growth of the plants. The lumber 

 does not need to be attached to the frame, just stood 

 in place around the inside of the pit. The manure 

 will support the boards sufficiently and it will not be 

 necessary for them to extend above the surface of the 

 soil. 



If a temporary, or an inexpensive permanent hot- 

 bed is desired it may be constructed from any waste 

 lumber at hand. In this case the pit should be dug 

 the required size and a frame constructed, using four 

 two-by-fours for the corners. The two in the rear 

 should be about six feet long, those for the front cor- 

 ners five. On these corner posts the boards for the 

 lining of the pit are nailed before lowering it into the 

 pit. The height above ground will be the same as the 

 concrete frame. A somewhat cheaper bed can be 

 made by extending the side and end boards only a 

 few inches below the surface of the ground, but this 



