586 THE PLEASURE, OR [Dec, 
A hot-bed must be prepared, as for early seedling cucumbers, 
and a good frame and glass-light, set thereon, with five or six 
inches of fine earth, laid all over the bed, to keep down the steam. 
Provide a box, or boxes about five or six inches deep, with several 
holes on the bottom, fill it with compost, and gently shake and 
strike it against the ground, till the earth settles a little; make the 
surface perfectly smooth and even, and sow the seed with the utmost 
regularity; then sift through a fine wired seive, a little compost or 
willow mould upon it, sufficient only, to just cover the seed, and 
place the box in the frame on the surface of the bed; the glass 
must be set on immediately and the bed so managed as to pre- 
serve a moderate and equal degree of warmth, both day and night, 
but must be occasionally opened, or the light raised up at the higher 
end, to admit fresh air, and to suffer the exhalations from the bed to 
pass away, which is a very essential point. 
The earth must always be kept moderately moist, both before 
and after the plants appear, but never wet; the best method of 
watering it, is by means of a hard clothes-brush, dipped into soft 
water, which has had its chill taken of, by standing for some time 
in the sun, or in the frame; the hair side being quickly turned 
upwards, and the hand rubbed briskly over it, will cause the water 
to fly off in particles almost as fine as dew; a sufficient watering 
may in this manner be given in a few minutes. If it is found im- 
possible to preserve a due heat in the first bed, till the seed has 
all vegetated, it will be proper to prepare a second, into which to re- 
move the box; but if there are cucumber frames, &c. at work, the 
box may be removed into any of them that supports a good tempe- 
rate heat. 
At the expiration of four or five weeks, if well managed, the 
young plants will have all made their appearance; it then becomes 
necessary to give them, very gradually, more air, in order to harden 
and render them fit, in due time, for an entire exposure to it. In 
the month of March the plants if forward, should be fully exposed 
to the open air, for a few hours in the middle of mild days, when the 
sun is not too powerful, but particularly to light warm rains. As 
to their subsequeut treatment, see the Flower-Garden for April and 
the months following. 
If you are apprehensive of the young seedlings being attacked by 
snails, &c. which they are very subject to, place a hair band round 
the box, when you sow the seed, as directed in page 160. 
Polyanthus seed and seedlings, are to be treated exactly in the 
same manner as those of Auricula. 
Cyclamen seeds, of every kind, may be sown in boxes, during 
any of the autumn or winter months, even to the middle of February, 
but when kept out of ground much later, most of them will not 
vegetate till the spring following; they may be treated generally 
as directed in page 417", observing always to protect them from 
frost. The Cyclamen indicum, being a hot-house plant, its seed 
must be treated accordingly: this species differs from the others, in 
not having the divisions of the corolla or flower reflexed, or turned 
back, but hanging down, and in the whole corolla being much larger, 
