February, 1912 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS xi 
The Making and Management of Hotbeds and Coldframes 
By F. F. ROCKWELL 
OO many persons still labor under the 
misapprehension that one must employ 
the services of a professional gardener in 
order to get into the real niceties of gar- 
dening. As one of these “niceties” that have 
been neglected too often by the amateur 
gardener one might class the making and 
management of hotbeds and coldframes, 
especially the making and management of 
the latter. 
And yet without frames not only is the 
garden season unnecessarily shortened sev- 
eral months—months, not weeks, mind you 
—but the summer garden itself is inevitably 
handicapped. The hotbed, and even more 
so the coldframe, is an indispensable ad- 
junct to every efficient garden. And let me 
add, just as a passing but serious consid- 
eration, that with the price-tags one sees 
these days stuck in the green-grocer’s 
boxes and barrels, the efficient garden is 
not a thing to be overlooked, even if catnip 
may grow with the weeds in the border. 
It’s getting to be fully as much a necessity 
as a luxury. It pays a real cash return on 
the investment. 
One may manage his supplementary gar- 
den successfully without the assistance of 
a professional. In contrasting those per- 
sons who own small gardens and yet have 
their gardening done for them with those 
who garden for themselves one will find 
that the latter are those who get the most 
out of it. He who gets the benefit of his 
garden—either outdoors or under glass— 
only when he sits down to the table, is miss- 
ing all the best part of it. 
Even in the making of the frames you 
can, if you are a bit handy with tools, dis- 
pense with the services of a carpenter ; there 
is no complicated work to be done. If you 
have no spare time, probably the best way 
is to buy both “sash” and “frame-beds’”’ 
ready-made. The latter are shipped “knocked 
down” and come all ready for you to 
assemble and set up. Several firms are 
now making something of a specialty of 
supplying these. The prices, considering the 
quality of material and workmanship, are 
very reasonable. There certainly is no ex- 
cuse for any one whose “time” is so valu- 
able that he can’t afford enough of it to 
build his own frame, not to buy at least a 
three-sash frame “ready-made.” 
For the person, however, who has a little 
spare time and likes to use it in cash-saving 
ways, the building of his—or even of her— 
own frames offers a very agreeable task, 
not too difficult for the beginner. 
So far as the materials go, hotbeds and 
coldframes are alike. The difference be- 
tween the two is that the coldframe de- 
pends for its warmth upon receiving and 
holding the sun’s rays, the hotbed is sup- 
plied with artificial heat. This is furnished 
in practically all cases by fermenting horse 
manure. Steam and hot water pipes have 
been used, but without much success—the 
heat they supply is too variable. It will 
be seen, of course, that in the case of the 
hotbed, extra room must be allowed for 
the heating material. 
DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION 
The standard “sash” used as a covering 
for both coldframes and beds is three by 
six feet. They can be bought, glazed and 
painted, at from $2.50 to $3.50 each. If 
you are really pining for work, you can buy 
the frames and glaze them yourself, but on 
a few sashes you can’t save enough to pay 
for your time. There is now made also a 
sash with double glass, with an air space 
between. They have the disadvantage of 
being very heavy; but this is more than 
compensated for by the fact that this air 
cushion takes the place of covering with 
mats and shutters, so that they are very 
much warmer than the single glass. The 
latter are used, however, and probably will 
continue to be, for the greater part of gar- 
dening operations in the spring and early 
fall. 
The size of the frame to be constructed 
will depend, of course, upon the number of 
sash to be used. Three is a handy number 
for the home garden. Figured on that basis, 
the inside of the frame would be nine feet 
by six. It is best, however, to have your 
sash on hand before constructing your 
frame, in order that you may get all meas- 
urements exact. It is usual, for instance, to 
place between each two sashes a 2 by 4 
support laid flat and on a level with the 
edge of the frame, upon which is nailed a 
l1-inch by 2-inch strip, edge up. This serves 
as a support and guide in handling the sash. 
In estimating the length of the frame, those 
1-inch strips must be allowed for. ‘There 
would, of course, be two in a three-sash 
frame. 
The depth of the frame will depend on 
whether it is to be used as a hotbed or 
merely as a coldframe. In the former 
case it should be from two to three feet 
deep—preferably the latter. Half of this 
should be below the ground level. The back 
side of the frame should be about six inches 
higher than the front, to give the sash a 
pitch required to carry off rain and better 
to catch the sunlight. Where a simple cold- 
frame is required, the frame may be 18 
inches in front and 24 inches back. 
The best materials to use, if you want 
something lasting and substantial, is 2 x 12- 
inch plank of chestnut, or cypress. A 
cheaper frame may be made by using 1-inch 
boards, with 2 x 4-inch studding for posts, 
and % x 1-inch battens for covering cracks. 
Concrete is also used in making frames, 
and gives the ideal results. The initial cost 
is more, but the frame is practically ever- 
lasting and is water and animal proof. Such 
a frame must be constructed with forms and 
a good rich mixture, in the regular way. If 
you contemplate building a concrete frame, 
get the assistance of someone familiar with 
the working of it. 
PREPARING THE MATERIALS 
The preparation of the soil for a cold- 
frame is very simple. The ground inside 
of it, or over which it is to be placed, is 
dug up and well enriched with rotted man- 
ure. Where the frame is permanent, the 
protection of a heavy coating of manure is 
often given in the fall, and the sash left 
on, so that work may be begun earlier in 
the spring. 
For the hotbed the matter is not so 
simple. Where the hotbed is already built, 
manure is put in to a depth of 18 to 24 
inches (the latter depth seldom required), 
and well trod down. This should be cov- 
ered with about 6 inches of good garden 
soil, thoroughly fined. When a thermom- 
eter indicates that the heat in the frame has 
receded to 70°, planting may be done. 
Where, however, one has not a frame 
ready, and the ground is frozen solid, the 
only thing to do is to build the hotbed on 
the manure, and in this case the manure 
should be put in a heat three or four feet 
deep, level, and extending at least a foot 
beyond the frame in every direction—for 
instance, for a 6 x 9 frame, the pile should 
ne) oe all siege 
In either case, the manure should be that 
of grain-fed horses fresh from the stables. 
This material should be procured several 
We wish to draw your 
attention to a few of our 
Novelties and Specialties 
aameeor 1912-— 
And would ask you to include 
them in your order for Early 
Seeds. 
Cauliflower — Rickards Bros. 
Ball of Snow; the earliest and 
best in cultivation. Per packet, 
50 cents. 
Lettuce—Rickards Bros. New 
Head; early and makes fine 
large heads. Per packet, 10 
cents; 0z., 35 cents. 
Tomato—Rickards Bros. Extra 
Early; very early and fruit of 
excellent quality. Per packet, 
10 cents; oz., 35 cents. 
Our new Catalog for 1912 is 
now ready and if you have not 
as yet received a copy send us 
a postal and we will mail you 
one free. 
Hridgeman’s Seed 
GAarebouse 
ESTABLISHED 1824 
RICKARDS BROS., Props. 
High Grade 
Seeds, Bulbs, Plants, Etc. 
37 EAST 19TH STREET 
Near Broadway NEW YORK 
Telephone, 4235 Gramercy 
SHEEP MANURE 
Dried and pulverized. No waste and no 
weeds Best fertilizer for lawns—gardens— 
trees—shrubs—vegetables and fruit. 
00 Large barrel, freight prepaid East of 
0 Missouri River—Cash with order. 
Write for interesting booklet and quantity 
prices. 
THE PULVERIZED MANURE CO. 
21 Union Stock Yards Chicago, Ill. 
Have a Beautiful Lawn 
and Attractive Home Surroundings 
Flowering trees require but little space in the yard or on 
thelawn and are always the admiration of passers-by. 
Among the best are the Aralias, Ash, Catalpa, Japan 
Cherry, Cornus, Crabs, Horse Chestnut, Judas, Koel- 
reutaria, Magnolias, Thorns, Tulip Trees, etc. These, 
in connection with groups of Shrubbery, Roses, Grasses 
and Hardy Herbaceous Plants, make a beautiful 
lawn and attractive, homelike surroundings. They 
can be had 
at a nomi- 
nalcost, 
within the 
reach of 
everyone. 
We carry 
everything 
for the Gar- 
den, Lawn, 
Park and 
Orchard. 
58 years of 
fair dealing 
has put us to the front. 1,200 acres, 47 greenhouses. 
Two Big Books Sent FREE—Write now for General 
Catalog No.2, 168 pages, or for Fruit and Ornamental 
Tree Catalog No.1, 112 pages. Both free. TRY US. 
We guarantee satisfaction. (40) 
The Storrs & Harrison Company 
Box 790 Painesville, Ohio 
