356 Glass 



ness and vigor. If, therefore, the hotbed is started so 

 early that the plants have to be " slowed up " and stunted 

 in order to hold them until the field is ready, very little 

 is gained. In the Northern States, cabbages and cauli- 

 flower may be started with profit about six weeks before 

 the field is expected to be ready; tomatoes, six to seven 

 weeks ; onions and beets, four to six weeks. 



In summer, after the frames are stripped, the old beds 

 may be used for the growing of various delicate crops, as 

 melons or half-hardy flowers. In this position, the plants 

 can be protected in autumn. As already suggested, the 

 pits should be cleaned in the fall and filled with litter, to 

 facilitate the work of making the new bed in the winter 

 or spring. 



Sowing seeds in the hotbed. 



Ordinarily the manure will heat very vigorously for a 

 few days after it is placed in the bed. A soil thermome- 

 ter should be thrust through the earth to the manure, and 

 the frame kept tightly closed with sash and covers. When 

 the temperature is passing below 90°, seeds of the warm 

 plants, like tomatoes, may be sown, and when it passes 

 below 80° or 70°, the seeds of cooler plants may be sown. 

 By the time the beds are ready for planting, the weed 

 seeds probably will have germinated. Loosen and aerate 

 the soil before sowing. Sow in rows four to six inches 

 apart. 



More and more, gardeners are coming to start all plants 

 in boxes or flats, for the plants can then be carted to the 

 field or put on the market with ease and with little loss. 

 The flats can also be shifted from one part of the frame 



