D. M. FERRY & CO’S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 7 
HOT-BEDS. 
For early vegetables, some provision for starting certain plants earlier than can be done in the open air is necessary; for 
this purpose nothing is better than a good hot-bed, and its construction is so simple and the expense so light that every garden 
should have one. A hot-bed proper not only protects the plants from the cold, but supplies bottom heat. By this term the 
gardener means that the soil is constantly kept several degrees warmer than the air above, that being the condition so far as 
heat is concerned, which is most favorable for rapid and vigorous growth. It is evident that to produce this we must in some 
way apply our heat below the surface, and it is usually done by making a compact pile of some fermenting material and coy- 
ering it with the earth in which the plants are to grow. 
HEATING MATERIAL.~— The best heating material that is easily available is fresh horse manure, containing a liberal 
quantity of bedding, which may be straw, shavings, or best of all, leaves. Such manure, if thrown into a loose pile, will heat 
violently and unevenly and will soon become cold. What is wanted in the hot-bed is a steady and moderate but lasting heat. 
To secure this, the manure should be forked over and watered if it is at all dry, then thrown into a loose pile, which should 
remain undisturbed for a few days, and then be forked over again, piled and allowed to heat a second time, when after a few 
days more it will be ready for use. The object of this repeated forking over and piling is to get the whole mass into a uniform 
degree of fermentation. 
SASH.—Gardeners commonly use sash made especially for hot-beds and glazed with small lights cut from odds and ends 
and so furnished at very low rates. Such sash can usually be procured in any of our large cities, and cost much less than if 
made to order. For garden use, however, we much prefer a small size that can be easily handled, and the use of larger and 
better glass. We would recommend that the sash be three by five feet, and that the glass be not less than 10x 14, laid with 
not more than one-quarter inch lap. In giving the order to one unaccustomed to the work, it would be well to state what 
they are to be used for, and that they need to be made like skylight sash. 
THE FRAME.—This may be made of sound one-inch lumber, the back twelve to fourteen inches high, the front ten to 
twelve. It should be well fitted to the sash so as to leave as little opening as possible and yet allow the sash to be easily slid 
up and down, even when the frame is quite wet. 
THE SOIL.—This should be light, rich, friable. Any considerable amount of clay in it is very objectionable. If possi- 
ble, it should be quite dry and unfrozen when put into the bed; for this reason it is much better to prepare it the fall before 
and cover the pile with enough coarse manure or straw to keep out frost. 
MAKING THE BED.—This requires careful attention. as future success depends largely upon the manner in which 
this work is done. Having cleared away all snow and ice, build a rectangular bed one foot larger each way than the frame to 
be used, carefully shaking out and spreading each forkful, and repeatedly treading down the manure so as to make the bed as 
uniform as possible in solidity, composition and moisture; unless this is done one portion will heat quicker than the others, 
and the soil will settle unevenly, making it impossible to raise good plants. The proper depth of the bed will vary with the 
climate, season, 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 continue much longer. For general purposes, a bed one and a-half to two 
feet deep will be best. 
The bed completed, the frame and sash may be put on, and fresh manure carefully packed around the outside to the very 
top Gif 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 used, it 
should be placed in small piles until well dried out before spreading. The heat at first will be quite violent, frequently rising 
to 120 degrees, but it soon subsides, and when it recedes to 90 degrees the seed may be planted. The importance of using dry 
soil and allowing 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. 
MANAGEMENT OF THE BED.—The essentials for success are a steady, uniform degree of heat and moisture; 
keeping the soil at all times a few degrees warmer than the air. and the careful “ hardening off’ (by exposure to the air and 
diminishing the suppty of water) of the plants before transplanting into the open air. Simple 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 100 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 sash 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 days without water- 
ing when kept closed during cloudy weather, but will dry up in an hour when open on a sunny day. The details of manage- 
ment, however, must be learned by experience, but may easily be acquired by one who gives the matter careful attention, 
keeping constantly in mind the essentials given above. 
A COLD FRAME isa simple construction of boards for wintering Cabbage, Lettuce, Cauliflower, 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 ready 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 all 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 light but strong wooden frames to fit over the bed. and of a width to receive some com- 
mon 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 U. 8. Waterproofing Fiber Co., of New York, to be superior to ordinary cloth for this purpose. 
SHADES.—In the South it is frequently desirable to shade beds of seedlings. This can best be done by shades made‘as 
follows: Make 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 
ae or securing them by easily removed pins. They are more effective if the beds are so placed that the lath will run north 
and south. . 
_ , TRANSPLANTING.—In transplanting, the main points to be regarded are, care in taking up the plants 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 prevent 
evaporation, and shading to prevent the hot sun from withering 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 sufficiently press it about the 
pint SNORE its baking hard. If water is used at all, it should be used freely and the wet surface immediately covered with 
ry soil. 
_ WATERING.—The best time to water plants is at sunrise 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 necessity ceases, or more injury than 
good will result from it; one copious watering is better than a little and often. The use of the hoe should always follow the 
watering pot as soon as the ground becomes sufficiently dry. 
