126 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1917 



ten by fifteen inches and of four hundred and 

 forty watt capacity, #15.00 each, #45.00; one 

 hundred feet of feed cable at 25c. per 

 foot, #25.00; and #10.00 for the installation 

 of the plant. The cost would be consider- 

 ably lessened, proportionately, on larger 

 sized frames and somewhat increased on 

 smaller units. 



To raise the temperature fifty degrees in a 

 frame of the size mentioned above will require 

 about one hundred and ten volts or thirteen 

 hundred and twenty watts, a consumption of 

 approximately one and one third kilowatts 

 per hour. The cost per kilowatt varies to such 

 an extent that it will be necessary to strike an 

 average of say ten cents which is rather high 

 but will do for the purpose of comparison. 

 Using the heat from six o'clock in the evening 

 until six o'clock the following morning will 

 consume sixteen kilowatts at a cost of #1.60. 

 If the amount of heat required is less than 

 fifty degrees the cost will be proportionately 

 lower. 



Let us assume that it will be necessary to 

 raise the temperature the maximum, or 50 for 

 twenty nights during the time the frames are in 

 service, or the current consump- 

 tion would be the same for a 35 

 temperature for thirty nights. 

 In either case the cost will be 

 about the same, #32.00 for ' 

 electric current for the season. 

 To be on the safe side let us 

 assume that we will need the 

 heat for twice the periods men- 

 tioned above. The cost for the 

 season will be #64.00 for op- 

 erating expenses — but that is 

 an extravagant margin, and would not be 

 reached. 



Taking this high figure, however, compare 

 the cost of electricity with the expense of 

 manure as the heating medium for the hotbed. 

 In order to obtain the amount of heat neces- 

 sary there should be three feet of manure in 

 the pit or a total of thirty-four cubic yards. 

 At #1.50 per cubic yard, a very low estimate, 

 it will cost #5 1. 00 to fill the frame with manure. 

 After the heat is expended the manure will 

 have to be carted away and this will be an 

 additional expense. Keeping in mind the 

 fact that manure is getting more and more ex- 

 pensive and electricity cheaper and cheaper 

 there is no great difference in the cost of the 

 two mediums. 



There is no doubt as to the practicability 



of making use of electricity to heat hotbeds, 

 and in fact, it is more desirable than stable 

 manure. With hotbeds heated by manure 

 we often find soft, spindly plants, caused by 

 intense heat when it is not required and it is a 

 well-known fact that more 

 plants are destroyed in a hot- 

 bed by too much heat than 



IS" 



■p 



.in 



"FRONT ELtvATIOl 



Gridiron 



Detail of electric heater installa- 

 tion for frames 



are killed by cold. In 



using electricity as the 



heating 



i 



4 — I 



SlCT 



Section of frame 



ION AtbT 



at the line AB below 



medium 

 the tem- 

 perature 



can be regulated according 

 to conditions; the three 

 heaters referred to above 

 will distribute the heat 

 equally and by increasing or 

 decreasing the power no one 

 unit is entirely cut out but 

 the heating power in each 

 is simply increased or decreased as desired. 



Old Time Disadvantages 



ONE of the chief disadvantages of the old 

 fashioned hotbed is the excessively 

 moisture laden atmosphere caused by the de- 

 composition of the manure. For this decom- 

 position the manure must contain moisture and 

 this moisture must evaporate. There is only 

 one way that it can find its way to the air and 

 this is through the hotbed. This means that 

 the moisture is continually rising and carrying 

 with it the fumes of ammonia which are not 

 directly advantageous to the growth of the 

 plants. When the frames are closed the glass 

 is at once coated with moisture which excludes 

 the light and causes the plants to get soft 

 and spindly. 



Other Plans That Economize 



OFTEN it is desirable to use frames in 

 the fall for the storage of certain plants 

 until they are used or disposed of in some 

 other manner and here again the electrically 

 heated frame will serve as we have no heat to 

 apply, no preparations to make. Simply a 

 turn of a switch and the frame is ready! 



There is no danger attached to the elec- 

 trically heated frame. The heat is rarely 

 used when any one is working around the 

 frame and even then it would be almost im- 

 possible to get at a point where one might get 

 a serious shock although one might get a 

 burn by coming in contact with the heaters. 

 In order to avoid this danger a cheap guard 

 of some kind can be placed over them. 



A frame properly fitted out should last a life 

 time. No particular care is necessary and 

 there are no expensive items of up keep. The 

 '//'"'W cost of installation plus the cost of operation 

 will doubtless deter many from trying the 

 experiment but I venture to prophesy that 

 eventually the electrically heated hotbed 

 will be popular, especially on places that 

 generate their own current. These places 

 always have a surplus of power at night 

 when the heat in a hotbed is most required. 

 When hotbeds can be located near the house, 



garage or greenhouse electric heating would 

 not be economical as in such a case it would 

 be far more practical to install a small main 

 from the heating unit in the building. It is 

 only where the frames are more or less iso- 

 lated that electricity is to be recommended. 



Using Fresh Vegetables Wisely 



|~*HE housewife's desire to manifest her 

 patriotism by food conservation may 

 be expressed in her willingness to revise, not 

 alone her meal plans but her culinary practices 

 as well. Accordingly she will cook all vege- 

 tables in the skins, regardless of how they may 

 be finally prepared for the table. Steaming 

 will in large measure replace boiling when she 

 realizes that the loss of mineral salts by boil- 

 ing is from three to five times as great as when 

 vegetables are cooked by steaming. She will 

 not be tempted to live out of the tin can be- 

 cause of its convenience. Rather will she re- 

 gard the canned vegetables as a supplementary 

 or emergency form. It may be called to mind 

 that out of about thirty common vegetables 

 twenty are stored in the fresh state. 



T" 



T>L AN . 



■1 



49- r 



Standard ]C ,5/^.sh Mot E>fci3 TuAMt 



rrr 



fc» C A%L.-B.^ > 



GRIDIRON 



r E. l_^=-V/0<. T 1 O N OT -R-EAT*. **LL. 



tztzzzzzzzzzz:zzzzzzzzzzzzz"zz-zzzz-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz^zzzzzzzz± 



Plans for equipment of frames for heating by electricity. It is a convenient method where no regular heating plant exists 





