Hand -boxes 



71 



away, and heavy rain occurring" when the glass is off 

 will fill the hill w^ith water and drown the plant. 

 However, it can be used to very good advantage in 

 cases in which the gardener can give it close attention. 



A forcing -hill is sometimes made by digging a hole 

 in the ground and planting the seeds in the bottom 

 of it, placing the pane of glass upon a slight ridge or 

 mound which is made on the surface of the ground. 

 This method is less desirable than the other, because 

 the seeds are placed in the poorest and coldest soil, and 

 the hole is yerj likely 

 to fill with water in the 

 earh^ days of spring. 



An excellent type 

 of forcing -hill is made 

 by the use of the hand-, 

 box, as shown in Fig. 

 22. This is a rectan- 

 gular box, without top 



, . . ■ Fig. 22. Hand-box. 



or bottom, and a pane 



of glass is slipped into a groove at the top. The earth 

 is banked slightly about the box, in order to hold it 

 against winds and to prevent the water from running 

 into it. If these boxes are made of good lumber and 

 painted, they will last for many years. Any size of 

 glass may be used, but a 10 x 12 pane is as good as 

 any for general purposes. 



After the plants are thoroughly established in these 

 forcing -hills, and the w^eather is settled, the protection 

 is wholly removed, and the plants grow normally in 

 the open. Forcing -hills are not well adapted to large- 



