TO MAKE A HOT-BED 



Hot-beds are of great importance and value in even 

 the smallest garden, not only for the growing of 

 cucumbers and melons and the raising of seeds which 

 require bottom heat for their germination, but also 

 for the production of early crops of lettuce, radishes, 

 carrots, and other choice vegetables. A good supply of 

 fresh stable manure is the essential. It must be fresh — 

 that is to say, it should not be more than a fortnight old. 

 If there is a difficulty in obtaining sufficient stable 

 manure, it may be mixed with about half its bulk of 

 beech or oak leaves, or even lawn mowings or garden 

 refuse. The manure is to be well forked over as soon 

 as it arrives, and any tangled masses shaken apart. It is 

 then to be thrown up into a conical heap, and moistened 

 with water. Leave it for four days, and then turn it 

 completely over again, forming another heap, which 

 should also be left for four days. During this time it 

 should be kept well trodden. At the end of this time 

 the manure will be in a fit condition for the making of 

 the bed. A situation having been chosen in a sunny 

 quarter, the manure is then to be spread in layers on a 

 piece of ground about a foot larger in each direction 

 than the frame which is to cover the bed. As each 

 layer is laid, it is to be well beaten with the fork before 

 the next layer is placed on it. Continue spreading the 

 manure till the back of the bed is about four feet in 

 height and the front about three feet. The whole is 

 to be beaten down firmly, and on this the frame is to be 

 placed. A stick about a yard long is then to be thrust 

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