By Mr. George Mills. 



1 48 



them dry, which causes a fine steam to rise, and I think it 

 better than watering the mould, for if this latter practice is 

 often repeated in winter, when the sun's power is insufficient 

 to absorb the moisture, and the glasses can be but little open, 

 to allow the damp to pass off, the earth, in a few weeks, will 

 lose its vigour, and the roots of the plants will perish. Great 

 care should also be taken, at this season, not to injure the 

 roots by too much heat, which is not less detrimental than 

 too much moisture ; they can only be secured by keeping up 

 a regular warmth, just sufficient to expel the damp, which 

 arises in the night, from the fermenting dung. My usual 

 times of giving fresh air to the frames, and permitting the 

 foul to escape, in the winter months, (that is, from the middle 

 of November to the middle of February) is as follows : be- 

 tween eight and nine in the morning, I raise the lights, and 

 let the confined air pass off, shutting them again ; about ten 

 I give a little air ; at eleven more ; at one I lower the lights 

 a little, and between three and four, I close them entirely. 

 About two hours after the covering of hay has been put on, 

 I give a little air for the night, as before directed. Should 

 the weather be changeable, the lights must be raised or 

 lowered more or less, as circumstances may require; but 

 some air about the times of the day above mentioned, is ab- 

 solutely necessary to keep the plants in a free growing state. 



