262 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
inch hardwood to nail the corners to. This corner piece 
should not extend quite to the bottom, but leave an inch or 
two of the frame to mortise into the concrete. ‘This. forms 
a perfectly air and water tight joint. The back of the frame 
should be eighteen inches, the front twenty-five inches high. 
8—A Few Favorite Books Should Always Be on Hand 
Perpendicular strips of wood one and one-fourth inches apart 
should be nailed to the front and back of the frame at the 
juncture of each pair of sash, to receive the partitions of inch 
stuff which converts the one long bed into a series of indi- 
vidual beds, whose temperatures may be maintained accord- 
ing to the requirements of the plants they contain. 
The size of the frame will, of course, depend on the sash 
used. It is often—espe- 
cially when remodeling a 
house—found convenient to 
utilize old window sash. 
These answer admirably, 
and are a more convenient 
shape for the home hotbed 
than the regular  florist’s 
sash. 
In removing the earth 
from the beds in the spring 
and replacing the heating 
material, sash and partitions 
may all be removed and the 
work much simplified. 
The season for putting 
the hotbed in commission 
will vary in different locali- 
ties, but two months, or 
even six weeks, before time 
for planting out in the open 
ground will be quite early 
enough, as the hotbeds must 
occupy a warm, sunny posi- 
tion, as the south side of a 
building, wall or fence. The 
plants are apt to suffer if 
kept too long in confined 
quarters, and should be timed to go into the ground as soon 
as all danger of frost is past. 
In starting the hotbeds, fresh manure, that has been gath- 
ered overnight and not allowed to heat, must be used. This 
must be mixed with a liberal quantity of litter, straw or 
leaves, thrown into a pile and allowed to heat, or—and this 
April, 1906 
is the simpler way—placed directly in the pit, filling it loosely 
to the top and placing the sash to retain the heat. If the 
manure is fresh, fermentation will begin almost at once, and 
when the temperature has reached a hundred or more, and 
has penetrated the whole mass, it may be trampled down 
evenly, wet with hot water if dry, and covered with 
an inch or two of old, well rotted manure. Over 
this place about four inches of fine, sifted fibrous 
loam and leaf mold, well mixed. This soil should 
be moist, not wet or dry, and made as smooth and 
fine as possible. Seeds requiring much heat, as 
tomatoes, peppers and the like, should not be 
planted with such plants as cabbage and cauli- 
flower, which need a lower temperature, but be 
grown by themselves or with plants requiring the 
same general conditions. 
Seeds that require the same time to germinate 
should be planted together for convenience in ven- 
tilation, light and so forth. It is well to inform 
oneself as to the period of germination of the seeds 
to be sown. Certain seeds germinate in from three 
to five days, others requiring as many weeks. A 
useful list will be found in such works as The 
Flower Garden. 
Seeds having the protection of the hotbed do not 
need deep planting. Fine seeds, like nicotianas, 
may be simply scattered over the surface of the 
soil and pressed into the earth with a bit of board. 
Larger seeds may be sown in drills and covered 
their diameter with soil, but the soil must in all cases be 
pressed firmly over them, that the tiny rootlets may come at 
once into contact with, and take hold upon, the nourishment 
in the soil. Label carefully each row or plot of seeds; divide 
from adjoining plots with narrow strips of wood extending 
somewhat above the ground; water carefully with a rubber 
sprinkler or very fine rose; cover with a newspaper and close 
el, 
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PIDO)A PID BE th a 
77] 
9—Antique English Bedstead with Canopy and Curtains 
the sash. Plant tall growing varieties against the back of the 
bed, lower growths in front. Watch the hotbed closely, that 
it is neither chilled by a fall of temperature when the sash is 
open or burned by a hot sun on a closed sash; protect with 
rugs on cold nights and stormy days. Water lightly at night 
or on stormy days, more freely mornings and on sunny days. 
