HOTBEDS AND COLDFRAMES 



21 



they are simply built on top of the ground and no 

 manure is used, heat being furnished by the rays of 

 the sun. 



Sash for Hotbeds and Coldframes. — It is more 

 convenient to use sash which are not very large, 

 continues R. L. Watts. We have in use four hun- 

 dred 3x6 foot sash, and wc believe a larger size 

 would be of no advantage, but rather a disadvantage. 

 Our preference for thickness is one and three- 

 eighths inches. The best material is cypress or cedar. 

 If quite a number of sash are to be used, it is more 

 economical to do the glazing at home. Pamt the 

 sash before glazing, using 

 a liberal supply of oil in 

 the white lead. After the 

 paint is dry, the glazing 

 may be begun. It is best 

 to procure single-strength 

 A glass rather than cheap- 

 er grades. There should the hotbed should be shel- 

 be three runs of 10x12 tered from cold winds by 



. , . . WALL, FENCE OR WINDBREAK 



glass, each run requirmg 



six panes, or eighteen panes per sash. Overlap the 

 panes about one-fourth inch. Secure the glass at 

 each lap by the smallest-sized glazing points. After 

 driving in the points, apply putty or mastica. x\fter 

 this hardens, paint the sash again. 



Fire Hotbeds. — In some sections nearly all the 

 market gardeners use fire hotbeds, says E. R. Jin- 

 nette. It is neither difficult nor expensive to make 

 a fire bed. The bed is warmed by two flues extend- 

 ing from the fire-box or furnace. Iii clay soils the 

 flues are often simply trenches cut in the soil six or 

 eight inches deep, the width of a spade at the bottom 

 and eight or ten inches at the top. They are covered 



