HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



or fence that will protect it on the north 

 from cold winds. Some persons prefer to 

 make an excavation a foot or more in depth 

 for the reception of the heating material, 

 but this is not a matter of much importance. 

 As a general thing it will not be possible to 

 do this in a satisfactory manner while there is 

 frost in the ground, as there will be at the 

 North until after the first of March. 



When the first stages of fermentation are 

 over, set the hotbed frame in place, and fill 

 in with five or six inches of very fine, rich 

 soil. This is what your seed is to be planted 

 in. 



The young gardener will be surprised at 

 the amount of heat contained in an inclosure 

 like the one described. It will be very simi- 

 lar to the weather conditions of early or 

 middle May out of doors. In it plants will 

 grow healthily and vigorously, provided they 

 are given plenty of fresh air. This is a mat- 

 ter of the greatest importance. Unless your 

 seedlings are aired daily, if the weather is 

 pleasant, they will miake a rapid but weak 

 growth, and when the time comes to put them 

 in the cold-frame or the open ground — pro- 

 vided they are alive then — they will be so 

 lacking in vitality that the change will be 

 pretty sure to put an end to them. On every 

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