A LITTLE PLACE IN THE COUNTRY. 



FIRST DAYS OF iHgO IN THE GARDEN STARTING THE HOT-BEDS SOWING THE SEEDS PROTECTION- 

 WATERING METHODS WITH THE DIFFERENT VEGETABLES OUT-DOOR WORK IMPLEMENTS. 



Scventli Paper. 



ITH the beginning of Febru- 

 ary we commence to look for 

 signs of returning spring here 

 in the middle latitudes. Dur- 

 ing the months when snow and 

 ice have kept the secrets of the 

 soil locked up, we have waitedi 

 with what patience we might' 

 and planned against the com- 

 ing of this time. Now, on these first bright days, 

 when we can see the effect of the sun's warmth 

 upon the earth, we are anxious to be out and at work. 

 But the frost is not out of the ground yet, or if it 

 is, has left behind a moist and sticky condition that 

 prohibits as yet any horticultural efforts. Under 

 such circumstances we turn naturally to the hot- 

 beds, of which we made the frames last month, and 

 here shall find an escape for all of our superfluous 

 energy. Before the harvest can be reaped the seed 

 must be sown, and before the seed is sown the bed 

 must be prepared. The initial work with the hot- 

 bed this month is to secure just the right sort of 

 manure and put it in the bed properly. If horses 

 enough are not kept upon the place to furnish the 

 requisite amount of fresh manure, it will be best to 

 arrange with a livery stable to have the product 

 saved for a few days before it it is wanted. It 

 should be saved under cover, and not piled so that 

 it will heat. If left for more than a few days, it 

 will be best to inspect it personally, and if found to 

 be heating turn the pile over with a fork. When a 

 sufficient amount has accumulated, choose a warm 

 day, when you can work out of doors without dis- 

 comfort, and begin operations. If, as suggested in 

 a previous paper, the bed was filled with refuse in 

 the fall, throw this out, so that it may be used for 

 additional protection about the frame, leaving a 

 layer of only a couple of inches at the bottom to 

 keep the fresh manure from the cold ground. Now 

 throw in the manure, packing it down constantly 

 until it is a foot deep, level, well packed in the 

 corners and along the edges, and as solid as it can 

 be made. Upon this fill in soil to a further depth of 

 six inches. Too much care cannot be used in se- 

 curing this to have it of proper quality and free 



from weed seeds. If it was not secured and stored 

 under cover in some available place last fall, trouble 

 may now be experienced in getting just what is 

 wanted. The soil should be a rich loam. Clay is 

 difficult to keep in proper mechanical condition in 

 the hot-bed. It must be dry enough to handle well^ 

 a difficult condition to secure at this season, when 

 the surface freezes at night and thaws during the 

 day, and must not come from weedy ground, as the 

 weeds will start ahead of the seeds and make much 

 extra work. The best place to secure the right soil 

 is in the woods. Go into the fence corners, or into 

 the hollows, where the leaves blew knee deep in the 

 autumn. Rake the now decaying leaves aside, and 

 you will find beds of fine black soil, which has been 

 protected by its covering from freezing, and which 

 by the same protection has been kept free from 

 weeds. 



After the dirt has been put in the bed, rake off 

 smoothly, but leaving the surface inclined a little 

 toward the front, put the sash on tight, and leave it 

 for a couple of days for the first violent heating to 

 subside. Then sow the seed (this first bed should 

 be used for lettuce) in drills eight inches apart. 

 The drills may be easily made by pressing a lath 

 down edgewise in the soil, and covered by laying 

 the same implement flat and pressing it down again 

 above the drill. The seed must be sown more 

 thickly than we expect it to remain, as some will not 

 germinate, and some plants may be wanted for 

 transplanting in the open ground. Lettuce seed is 

 very fine, and it is difficult to sow just right. Aim 

 to have about three seeds to the inch of drill. If 

 they all germinate they can be thinned out easily 

 as soon as the shoots appear above ground. 



After the seeds are started, if the bed has been 

 well prepared, and frame and sash are tight, the 

 beginner may have some difficulty in regulating the 

 heat. The trouble will be, not in keeping up a suf- 

 ficient amount of heat, but in keeping the bed from 

 getting too hot at times and in maintaining an even 

 temperature. Too much heat will produce a quick, 

 slender growth, which will be difficult to develop 

 into a good plant, and which will be more suscept- 

 ible to injury than a stockier plantlet would be. 



