FRAMES FOR BEDS 



85 



Hotbeds which are started in late winter or early spring may 

 continue their heat from the rotting manure long enough to- last 

 until the warm spring weather has come. The plants in the bed 

 may no longer need artificial bottom heat. 



Coldframes Compared with Hotbeds. — The chief difference 

 between a coldframe and a hotbed is the absence of bottom heat 

 in the coldframe. In many cases, however, the coldframe has no 

 glass but has in place of it a covering of muslin. 



The muslin cover of the bed may be stretched and tacked on 



Fig. 59. — Students of Hampton Institute working in hotbeds and coldframes. Methods 

 of ventilating are here shown. (U.S.D.A.) 



frames which are fastened in place by wooden buttons or may be 

 merely laid upon the bed. In many cases the muslin may be tacked 

 directly to the frame along the upper side. The other edge of the 

 cloth is tacked to a strip of wood or pole which serves as a roller. 

 To remove the cloth, the roller winds up the cloth as it is rolled 

 toward the upper side of the frame. The bed is quickly covered 

 by merely unrolling the cloth and letting the pole hang over the 

 lower side. 



Frames for Beds. — Sloping frames are not always constructed 

 for coldframes. Boards are placed on edge and nailed together 



