70 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



be used for warming hotbeds, mo matter how much greenhouse 

 construction or means of artificial heating may be cheapened, 

 but there are some situations where it may be more economical 

 and convenient to use a forcing bed or what is sometimes 

 called a fire hotbed. This closel»y resembles a hotbed in out- 

 ward appearance, but instead of being heated with manure a 



crops grow. Ten inch terra cotta or glazed drain tile is a cheap 

 material for the flue, or brick may be used for this purpose. 

 The furnace and the first eight or ten feet of the flue should be 

 made of common hard hrick and have a lining of fire brick set 

 in fire clay. If the pit is not over thirty feet long the fire box 

 should be at one end and the chimney at the other; but if much 

 longer it is better to have the chimney over the fire-box and to 

 run the tile to the end of the house and return back to the chim- 

 ney. This chimney should have dampers so arranged that when 

 kindling the fire a direct draft may be had Into it, and after 

 starting the fire the heat and smoke can then be forced to go 

 through the whole length of the pipe. This arrangement is de- 

 sirable on account of the difficulty in getting a draft through a 

 long, flat, cold flue. In laying such a flue, it should rise slightly 

 throughout its whole length from flrebox to chimney. The fur- 

 nace should vary in size according to whether coal or wood is to 

 be used for fuel. For wood the furnace should be 18 inches wide 

 and arched over the required length, generally 4i/^ feet, with cast 

 iron grate bars set in the walls. There should be an ash pit of 

 suitable size, and both it and the fire-box should have suitable 

 iron doors set in brick. The illustrations herewith show the gen- 

 eral arrangement of such a house. It is a good plan to build 

 a low shed for fuel on the end where the furnace is located. 



fine is used to take its 

 place, and it is warmed 

 by the smoke of wood, 

 coal or other fuel. In 

 this case a pit should 

 be excavated, fur- 

 nished with permanent 

 walls and a good 

 strong floor to support 

 the soil in which the 



