D. M. FERRY & GO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



be carefully and thoroughly done; unless this is done one 

 portion will heat quicker than the others, and the soU wiU 

 settle unevenly, making it impossible to raise good plants. 

 The proper depth of the bed will varj- -nith the climate, sea- 

 son, and the kind of plants to be raised. A shallow bed will 

 give a quick, sharp heat and soon subside; a deeper one, if 

 well made, will heat more moderately but contmue much 

 longer. For general purposes, a bed one and a-half to two 

 feet deep wUl be best. 



The bed completed, the frame and sash may be put on, and 

 fresh manure carefully packed around the outside to the 

 verv top (if the weather is at all severe, this outside banking 

 should be replenished as it settles;. The bed should then be 

 allowed to stand with the sash partially open for a day or 

 two to allow the steam and rank heat to 

 pass off. The earth should then be put 

 on and carefully leveled. Care should 

 be taken that the soil is dry and friable. 

 If wet or frozen soil must be iLsed, it 

 should be placed in small piles until 

 well dried out before spreading. The 

 heat at first will be quite violent, fre- 

 quently rising to 120 degrees, but it soon 

 subsides, and lohen it recedes to 90 de- 

 grees the seed may be planted. The 

 importance of using drj- soil and allow- 

 ing the first rank heat to pass off is 

 very great. Every season thousands of 

 hot-beds fail of good results from these 

 causes, and seedsmen are blamed for 

 failure resulting from over heat or wet, 

 soggy soil. 



>ianage:vient of the bed. 



—The essentials for success are a steady, 

 uniform degree of heat and moisture; 

 keeping the soil at all times a few de- 

 grees warmer than the air. and the 

 careful "'hardening off"' (by exposure 

 to the air and diminishing the supply 

 of water; . of the plants before trans- 

 planting into the open air. Sim- 

 ple as these seem to be there 

 are many difficulties in the way of securing them, 

 prominent among which are overheating the air under a 

 bright sun. Without experience one would scarcely believe 

 how quickly the temperature inside of a well built hot-bed 

 will rise to 90 or 10*3 degrees upon a still, sunny day, even 

 when the temperature outside is far below freezing, or how 

 quickly the temperature will fall to that outside, if upon a 

 windy, cloudy day the sa.sh is left open ever so little: besides, 

 such 'a rush of cold air driven over the plants is far more 

 injurious than the same temperature when the air is still. 

 Again, a bed will go several da3-s without watering when kept 

 closed during cloudy weather, but will dry up in an hour 

 when open on a sunny day. The details of management, how- 

 ever, must be learned by experience, but may easilj' be 

 acquired by one who gives the matter careful attention, 

 keeping constantly in mind the essentials given above. 



some common brand of cotton cloth. The cloth may be 

 unbleached, and should be stretched over and securely tacked 

 to the frames. Coating the cloth with oil, as is sometimes 

 recommended, we find is of no advantage, but we have found 

 the Plant Bed Cloth prepared by the National Waterproofing 

 Fiber Co., of New York, to be superior to ordinary cloth for 

 this piu-pose. 



SHADES.— In the South it is frequently desirable to shade 

 beds of seedlings. This can best be done by shades made as 

 follows: Mak'e light frames the length of the width of 

 your bed and four feet wide; to these tack common lath so 

 as to leave from one to three inches between them. Support 

 them about eight inches above the plants by tacking the 

 frames to short stakes or securing them by easUy removed 



Putting up Seeds 



Packages. 





pins. They are more effective if the beds are so placed that 

 the lath will rtm north and south. 



TKAXSPtANTING.— In transplanting, the main points 

 to be regarded are, care in taking up the pfants so as to avoid 

 injury to the roots, planting firmly so as to enable the plant 

 to take a secure hold of the soil, reducing the top to pre%-ent 

 evaporation, and shading to prevent the hot sun from wither- 

 ing and blighting the leaves. In transplanting from a hot- 

 bed, harden the plants by letting them get quite dry a day or 

 two before, but give an abundance of water a few hours 

 before they are taken out. It is most apt to be successful if 

 done just at evening, or immediately before or during the 

 first part of a rain, about the worst time being just after a 

 rain, when the ground being wet it is impossible to suflBci- 

 ently press it about the plant without its baking hard. If 

 water is used at all, it should be used freely and the wet sur- 

 face immediately covered with dry soil. 



WATERING.— The best time to water plants is at sun- 

 rise or just at evening. Water may be given to the roots at 

 any time, but should never be sprinkled over the leaves in 

 the hot sun. for it will make them blister and cover them 

 with brown spots wherever it touches. If watering a plant 

 has been commenced, keep on until the necessitj- ceases, or 

 more injury than good will result from it: one copious water- 

 ing is better than a little and often. The use of the hoe 

 should always follow the watering pot as soon as the groimd 

 becomes sufficiently dry. 



'-^^ i 



Wrapping Boxes. 



A COL,D FRAME is a simple construction of boards for 

 wintering Cabbage, Lettuce, C^atiliflower, Brocoli, etc., for 

 planting out early in the spring. 



Select a dry. southern exposure: form a frame from four 

 to six feet wide and as long as required. The back should be 

 fourteen and the front six inches high, with a cross tie every 

 three feet. Seeds of the above named vegetables, sown in 

 open border early in September, will be readj' to plant in 

 cold frames about the last of October. The soil should be 

 well prepared and smoothly raked before planting. Admit 

 air freely on pleasant days, but keep close in severe weather. 



These frames are particularly useful in the South, and may 

 be covered more cheaply with cloth shades than by sash. 

 The shades are made as follows: Make ligrht but 'strong 

 wooden frames to fit over the bed. and of a witlth to receive 







Making Paper Bags. 



