HOIV TO MAKE A HOTBED. 



on the microbes that exist in the manure. We usually 

 do the same thing in fermenting cider. But if we take 

 the scum that is thrown up by forming cider and mix it 

 with new sweet cider, fermentation will proceed much 

 more rapidly. In making buckwheat-cakes weadd yeast 

 to the batter, but if any of the fermented batter is left 

 and fresh flour and water are stirred up with it the new 

 batter will ferment. The fermented batter contains 

 thousands of these little plants that we call yeast, and 

 these, mixed with new batter, start to grow and decom- 

 pose the flour, forming carbonic acid gas, which makes 

 the cakes light. Heat is produced by the process in 

 proportion to the amount of carbon consumed. The 

 same is true of our hotbed. As yet we have no separate 

 yeast. We must get it from fermenting manure. Wher- 

 ever you see in a heap of manure a little thatis hot, you 

 may be sure that there are hundreds of these yeast- 

 plants in active growth . If the manure is very cold they 

 will not start to grow of themselves. Like other plants 

 they require a certain amount of heat, moisture and food. 

 But if you can get them started to grow, they create their 

 own heat and grow rapidly, spreading out in all direc- 

 tions. If the manure gets too dry or too hot, growth 

 ceases. This is called "fire-fang." The better the 

 horses are fed and the more urine there is mixed with 

 the solids, the more readily will the manure ferment. 

 This is because it contains more nitrogen. We can make 

 the manure rich in nitrogen, and consequently make it 

 ferment better by mixing with it hen-manure, blood, 

 fish-scrap, or any other animal matter. 



Our own plan is to draw the manure and make a heap 

 four or five feet from where the hotbed is to be. We 

 draw the manure two or three weeks before we wish to 

 start the hotbed ; but if the manure is already fermenting 

 nicely, a less time, say a week or ten days, is needed. 

 In such a case it is an easy matter to make a good hotbed. 

 All that is needed when making the heap (not the bed) 

 is to take a little pains in breaking up the manure and 

 mixing the warm, fermenting parts all through the heap. 

 It is these parts that contain the yeast. If the manure 

 has been outdoors, it will probably be moist enough. 

 If not, and it is dry, you must wet it. Get the water 

 fresh from the well and do not use water containing ice 

 or snow. The former will probably be about 55° which 

 the latter may be 33°, and must be warmed by the fer- 

 menting manure before the yeast-plant will grow rapidly. 

 It is not easy to convey an idea of how moist the manure 

 should be. It should not contain as much water as it 

 will hold without leaching. This should exclude the air 

 and check fermentation. But it may be almost up to 

 the saturating point. 



If the manure is cold, with more or less of it frozen, 

 when drawn to the heap, it will be some time before the 

 yeast-plants can commence to grow. If a little ferment- 

 ing manure can be found, use this to start the fire. If 

 you have some hen-manure, make it moist with warm 

 water and put it in a barrel in a warm place and it will 

 start to ferment in a few days and will soon give you the 

 required yeast. Take this yeast and mix it with the 



manure in the heap. If the horse-manure is very cold 

 or frozen, you should not mix much manure with the 

 fermenting hen-dung, or you may check the growth of the 

 yeast-plant or put out the fire. Proceed as you would 

 in making a fire with wet or frozen wood. You use 

 plenty of kindling to start a little of the wood, and as it 

 burns add more and more till you get a good fire started, 

 and then it is not difficult to make the wet wood burn. In 

 making the heap of manure it is desirable to keep out the 

 cold, or more correctly to keep in the heat generated by 

 fermentation. The less the manure is exposed the better. 

 The best form is a cube ; the common form and the 

 worst is a cone. The average man will simply throw 

 the manure on the top of the heap. If the heap is long 

 he will make it like the roof of a house. If round, he 

 will make it, or rather let it make itself, like a big 

 cock of hay intended to shed water. A sharp frost will 

 freeze the manure on the top and sides. The heap 

 should be square on the sides and flat on top. We 

 usually make them five feet high, and welcome a warm 

 rain that will moisten the heap. If the heap ferments 

 only in the center it may be well to turn over the manure 

 before making the hotbed. But in our experience this 

 is rarely if ever necessary. 



The hotbed should be from eighteen inches to two 

 feet longer and wider than the frame. The point of 

 most importance in making the hotbed is to shake out 

 and break the manure, so that the parts that are fer- 

 menting shall be thoroughly mixed with those that are 

 not. These warm parts contain the growing yeast-plants, 

 and our object is to give them a chance to penetrate into 

 every part and particle of the manure in the bed, and thus 

 create a steady, uniform and continuous heat. Much of 

 the success of the hotbed will depend on the thorough- 

 ness with which this work is done. We want a steady 

 bottom heat, and this is the best of all methods of get- 

 ting it. In a carelessly made hotbed the heat is apt to 

 be too great in the center of the bed. This is because 

 the yeast is not evenly distributed. If the manure is 

 quite warm when put in the bed, it should be trodden down 

 firm ; not merely on top, but every layer should be trod 

 down while the bed is being made. The center of the 

 bed should be trodden down more than the sides. The 

 treading retards fermentation. The heat will not be so 

 strong, but the bed will last longer. The soil for the 

 hotbed should have been prepared in advance, and it 

 is now too late to talk about it. It is not necessary to 

 get specially rich soil. We want a soil that will not bake 

 on the surface or become hard from the necessary water- 

 ing. A loose soil that the young roots can easily pene- 

 trate is desirable. We have had excellent results for 

 several years from a mixture of garden, sandy soil and 

 dried and sifted moss, in about equal parts by measure. 

 We work into this soil and moss two tablespoonfuls of 

 superphosphate and three or four handfuls of wood-ashes 

 to each sash. Work it well into the soil with a hoe, not 

 merely on top, but in all parts down to the manure. 

 The moss has several advantages. It makes the soil 

 very light and porous. It will hold water like a sponge. 



