THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 209 
HoTBEDS 
A temporary hotbed. A temporary hotbed may be made 
by placing a frame covered with sashes on a heap of 
manure (which should be from grain-fed horses) mixed 
with one third leaves or straw bedding. Prepare the 
manure by stacking it in a compact heap. Turn it over 
after three or four days and restack; put what was on 
the outside of the heap on the inside. After three or 
four days more, mix it carefully and spread it evenly in 
a heap about fifteen inches deep, eight feet wide, and 
as long as required for the number of sashes you intend 
to use. Tramp down hard and set on the frame. After 
placing, scatter three or four inches of good garden loam 
over the area inclosed by the frame. Place the sash in 
position and allow the bed to heat up. Do not plant any 
seeds in it until the temperature begins to subside, which 
will be about three days after the sashes are put in place. 
Plant after the temperature has fallen to 90 degrees. 
Permanent hotbeds. Fora permanent hotbed where ma- 
nure is to supply the heat, a pit that is about two and 
one-half feet in depth is dug. The sides and ends are 
supported by a lining of plank held up by posts, or by 
a nine-inch brick wall. The plank frame or the brick- 
work of the pit should be extended above the surface of 
the ground eight inches at the front and twenty inches 
at the back. Prepare the manure as for the temporary 
hotbed, and tramp it as it is being put into the pit, filling 
in with six inches of the best garden soil. 
