14 THE KITCHEN GARDEN. [Jan, 
sit a necessary quantity of proper earth, under some cover as above, 
either the beginning of winter, or at least a fortnight, or three or 
four weeks previous to making the hot-bed, in order to have it in the 
dry, mellow state above mentioned, ready for immediate use when 
wanted. 
Three or four days after the bed is made, prepare to earth it; 
previously observing, if it has settled unequally, to take off the frame 
and glasses, and level any inequalities; make the surface smooth, 
put on the frame again, and then lay therein as much of the above- 
mentioned earth as will cover the whole top surface of the bed, about 
three or four inches thick, then fill two, three, or more middling 
smallish garden-pots with more of the aforesaid rich earth, place 
them within the frame on the hot-bed, put on the glass or glasses, 
and continue them till the earth in the pots is warm; and when that 
is effected, sow the seeds in the pots, both of cucumbers and me- 
lons, each separately, more or less in each pot, according to the 
quantity of plants required; but generally considerably more of cu- 
cumbers than of melons at this season, covering in the seeds near 
half an inch deep with the same earth. 
This done, place the pots towards the middle of the bed, plunging 
the bottom part a little into the earth, drawing some of the same up 
round each pot at the same time; or in two or three days after, may 
sow a few seeds in the earth of the bed, to have a chance both ways; 
but by sowing in pots, if the beds should heat too violently, as is 
sometimes unavoidably the case, the pots can be readily drawn up 
more or less, out of danger of burning the earth, Sec. therein; and 
thus, the sowing in pots in a new made hot-bed in full heat may 
prove of greater advantage than sowing in the earth of the bed, with 
regard to more probable safety from burning. 
After sowing the seeds, put on the lights or glasses close; but 
when the steam from the heat of the bed rises copiously, give it vent 
by raising one corner of the upper ends of the lights, half an inch 
or an inch, which is also necessary in order to prevent any burning 
tendency from the great heat of the bed in its early state. 
Continue now to cover the glasses of the hot-bed every evening, 
about an hour before sun-setting if mild weather, but earlier in pro- 
portion to its severity, with garden mats; and uncover them every 
morning, not sooner than between eight and nine o'clock, at this 
season; and observe, in covering up in the evening, that as the bed 
will at first have a strong heat and steam within the frame, it may 
be adviseable to cover only a single mat thick for the first three or 
four nights, as a thicker covering in the early state of the bed might 
be apt to occasion a too violent internal heat and steam of a burn- 
ing nature; but as the great heat decreases, augment the covering, 
being careful not to suffer the ends of the mats to hang down con- 
siderably below the frame, over the sides of the bed, except in severe 
weather, -which would drawn up a hurtful strong steam from the 
dung, as well as confine the steam and heat too much, and keep the 
bed too stiflingly close from the external air, which would weaken 
the germination or sprouting of the seed, and the plants would come 
up weak and of a sickly yellowish hue: observe, therefore, these 
