418 HOT BEDS. 
harrow in two-thirds of the fertilizer to be used; rake the 
bed perfectly level, 
then rake in the other 
third ; roll once, and 
another slight raking 
will fit the bed for 
sowing, after which 
it should be rolled 
down hard. If the 
soil is handled in dry- 
= ing weather, it should 
be done quickly, be- 
cause damp ground, 
if prepared and rolled 
down before drying, 
: will ‘set’ like mor- 
MAKING THE PLANT BED IN CONNECTICUT. tar, and remain damp 
: on the surface. 
Moisture and darkness are essential to the germination of 
the seed, and these conditions can be secured only by making 
the surface compact while damp. The disintegration of the 
deeper lumps, and the decomposition of fertilizers, will cause 
the surface to grow gradually softer. The effect of plowing 
is to break the ground into lumps, which lie upon each other, 
giving free admission to the air between them. Harrowing 
makes finer the lumps near the surface, and mixes the fertil- 
izer deeper than a rake can be used, The first raking is to. 
pulverize and level, so that rains will neither collect in ponds, 
nor run off, but penetrate the soil evenly. The second 
raking is to mix the fertilizer equally through the soil, to the. 
depth of an inch or less, and reduce the lumps to the size of 
peas, which is as fine as a medium loam can be made without 
danger of a tough crust. Too much working destroys the 
healthy grain of the soil, and reduces it to a paste, which the. 
roots of the tobacco plants can penetrate but slowly. 
_ “The bed should not be watered before nor after the. 
plants come up. The ground will be cold enough without 
any extra evaporation, and if the place is suitable for tobacco 
plants, and rightly fitted, the surface will be damp in the 
morning, even in very dry weather. If the plants need 
stimulating, sow on them a coat of Peruvian guano or super- 
phosphate at the commencement of a rain, regulating the 
uantity used by the amount of the water likely to fall. 
duvershositiats makes dark-colored, thick-leaved, stocky 
