about the tenth day after the manure and soil are 

 put in. 



It is really unnecessary for the amateur gardener 

 to sow the hotbed sooner than six weeks before the 

 end of frost time, for if it is sown earlier, the plants 

 grow so spindling before they can be set out that 

 they are really weakened in constitution and ruined 

 in figure. I sow every flower seed (perennial as well 

 as annual) I have room for, as I like to get ahead 

 of the calendar as much as possible. I'm allowed 

 only one-half of the bed for my flowers; the rest 

 goes for sensible things like tomatoes, peppers, 

 cauliflowers, cabbage and lettuce. 



On cold nights I throw an old piece of sailcloth 

 over the frames for additional protection. A mar- 

 ket gardener I know has made very fine comfortables 

 for his seedbed out of old crocus sacks stuffed four 

 inches thick with excelsior. His beds, however, need 

 more protection than mine, for he must stairt his 

 vegetable seed betimes in February or March. 



On warm, sunny days give the little plants an 

 air bath; even on any kind of day it is well to put 

 a small stone under one of the sashes for an hour's 

 ventilation. After the days become quite gentle in 

 late April it is still a wise precaution to put the 



143 



