IX 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



IN order to have vegetables early in the 

 season it will be necessary to give them 

 a start some weeks before the ground is in 

 proper condition for the reception of seed. 

 Sometimes this is done by sowing the seed in 

 pots and boxes in the living-room, as ad- 

 vised in Chapter VI^ but here conditions are 

 not very favorable to healthy growth, un- 

 less great care is taken to follow the direc- 

 tions given in the chapter mentioned, and 

 even then success does not always attend 

 our efforts. 



In order to give our plants the early start 

 that thej^ must have if we want vegetables 

 at a time when most gardeners are getting 

 the garden ready for planting, we must 

 make use of the hotbed. If this is done we 

 can gain from six weeks to two months in 

 time, and have lettuce and radishes before 

 our neighbors who are without hotbed facili- 



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