HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



ties consider it safe to put seed into the 

 ground. 



At the North the first of March is quite 

 early enough to get the hotbed under way. 



I am aware that many young gardeners 

 have the impression that a hotbed is, in some 

 respects, a mysterious thing, and because of 

 this thej^ do not undertake to make one. Now 

 there is nothing simpler than a hotbed when 

 you come to a study of it. It is simply mak- 

 ing a place in which summer conditions can 

 be imitated by supplying it with stead}", 

 gentle heat, and in confining this heat within 

 an inclosure. The heat is generated by the 

 use of material which ferments, and the in- 

 closure is nothing but a combination of boards 

 and glass so arranged that the temperature 

 inside it can be regulated to suit the require- 

 ments of the plants you undertake to grow 

 in it. 



The heat-generating material is generally 

 fresh manure from the horse-stable, or a 

 mixture of that and coarse litter. 



Because the heat from rapid fermentation 

 is quite intense, at first the material from 

 which it is obtained should be prepared be- 

 fore the hotbed is brought into use. A quan- 

 tity of it should be spread on the site selected 



for the hotbed — which should be one that is 



69 



