1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
63 
Profits from Small Places. 
In January, we alluded to some of the methods 
by which, in thickly peopled districts, and in 
towns and villages, small tracts of land might be 
•endered profitable. The raising for sale of such 
plants as are usually transplanted, was hinted 
at as aconsiderable source of profit. Tomatoes, 
egg plants, peppers, early cabbages, cauliflow- 
ers, cucumbers and melons, will usu- 
ally meet with a ready sale, if produced 
under glass a little earlier than they 
can be raised in the open ground; 
while late cabbages, celery, asparagus 
roots, etc., may be raised without the' 
use of glass. Let one make a business 
of supplying good plants and he will 
soon find that the majority of his neigh- 
bors will prefer to buy plants to rais- 
ing them. Then, there are always a 
certain number of people who forgot to 
sow at the proper time, or who had 
" bad luck" with their seeds, who would 
be glad to make up for their neglect 
by purchase. The earliest plants are 
raised in hot-beds, but these are not 
absolutely necessary, as cold frames are 
more easily managed, and will bring 
forward man}' things sufficiently early. ^ 
For hot-beds or cold frames, sashes will 
be required in number according to 
the extent of the operations. The usual 
size is 3 x feet, but any other size may 
be made to answer. Beginners had 
better try a mild hot-bed, with a gentle 
heat to start the seeds. Choose a shel- 
tered place, facing the south, fix on the 
size of the bed for the number of sashes 
to be used, and make an excavation 
about two feet deep. Then drive down 
stakes and board up the sides of the 
pit, allowing the boards at the front to 
come 12 inches above the surface, while 
those at the rear are 18 inches above. 
Put cross-pieces 3 inches wide from 
front to rear, as far apart as the sashes 
require ; in the center of each cross- 
piece, nail a strip an inch square, run- 
ning the whole length ; this will serve 
as a guide for the sash to run against. 
Pill t lie trench with fermenting manure 
that has previously been turned over Several 
times, throwing it in gradually and beating it 
down firmly with the fork; cover it with Cinches 
of good light soil, and put on the sashes. The bed 
will soon become very hot, and when the ther- 
mometer shows that the heat is declining below 
100°, the seeds may be sown. Plants from warm 
countries, such as tomatoes, egg plants and pep- 
pers, need the hot-bed iTiore than do cabbages, 
etc. Tlie plants, as soon as up, require air during 
the middle of the day, and to be covered at 
night. Cold frames are far preferable for those 
who have had no experience with plants under 
glass. A frame like the above is used, but no 
excavation is needed. It is put over well pre- 
pared, light, rich soil, and the sashes kept on 
during the day ; shutters or mats are pttt over 
them at night, and when the soil, from receiving 
heat by day and being prevented from giving it 
off at night, has become well warmed, the seeds 
may be sown. After the plants are up, the beds 
will need daily care. Give air, by tilting the 
sash, or removing it altogether, according to the 
weather. Close the sash early in the afternoon, 
before the soil begins to cool, and cover the 
glass at night to retain the heat. Plants in 
frames will need thinning, weeding and water- 
ing. 'Watering should not be done with cold 
water, but it should always be brought to the 
temperature of the earth in the frames. Where 
means will allow, it is better to have extra 
frames into which the plants maybe transplant- 
ed when large enough, in order to give them 
room. Tomatoes in particular, are benefited 
by this treatment. Whenever the weather will 
allow, keep the glass off altogether, except at 
night. Cucumbers and melons may be planted 
V 
\Mv '£'•'■%;? 
BEITRRE CLAIROEAU. 
on inverted sods cut into pieces 3 inches square, 
and the plants be raised to a size that will ren- 
der them safe from the attacks of insects when 
they are put out. By the use of cold frames, 
plants may be had ready for sale two or three 
weeks earlier than if the seeds were sown in the 
open ground. The chief precautions are, to 
avoid burning the plants by keeping the sashes 
closed during the day, and to avoid chilling 
them by delaying the covering too late at night. 
The end of February is quite early enough to 
make hot-beds in the latitude of New York, and 
cold frames may be started in March. There 
are other things that may be profitably raised 
by the occupants of village and town lots that 
will be noticed another mouth. 
A Noble Pear— The Beurre Clairgeau. 
In a note on pears in January, it was re- 
marked that the most popular fruits were not 
those that had the highest rank with the pomol- 
ogist. The Beurro Clairgeau is one of those 
pears that, without ranking as " best," lias so 
many good qualities that when it becomes bet- 
ter known, it will doubtless bold a high place 
in popular estimation. Like many other valuable 
frtiits.this was a chance seedling, found at Nantes, 
France, about 1839, b}' Pierre Clairgeau, a gar- 
dener, by whose name the fruit is now known. 
The tree is a handsome one, a good grower, 
and a remarkably abundant bearer. It does not 
grow well upon Quince Stock, though there are 
reports of its success when double worked. 
The fruit is of large size, and what is an impor- 
tant quality, hangs well upon the tree. The 
form of the fruit is shown in the engraving', 
from which will be seen the peculiar 
insertion of the stem, which is very 
short in proportion to the size of the 
fruit, and the somewhat curved form of 
the pear. The skin is yellow, with 
green and brown dots, and upon the 
sunny side it is washed with Vermil- 
lion ; some specimens are more or less 
russeted. When well ripened and col- 
ored, no pear can make a finer show. 
The flesh is very white, fine, juicy, and 
melting, vinous, and with a delicate 
perfume. Pomologists differ in their 
views as to quality ; while those of 
France consider it of first quality, it 
does not rank with us as more than 
second rate. The fruit is generally 
above the medium size, and some ver} r 
large specimens have been grown. One 
received a prize at the Horticultural 
Society of Paris, that weighed one kilo- 
v gramme — or about two and a quarter 
Sk pounds. The fruit ripens in October, 
. }\ and will, with care, keep into December. 
The size and great beauty of this va- 
riety make it a valuable market fruit, 
while the excellent qualities of the 
tree commend it to the planter. 
Straw Covers for Hot-Beds and 
Cold Frames. 
Some covering for the sashes of a 
hot-bed or cold frame is absolutely 
necessary to prevent the loss of heat 
by radiation at night. Shutters, made 
of, light boards, and straw mats are 
most generally used. We have before 
described the manner of making straw 
mats, which are on many accounts the 
most convenient covering. We have 
used straw covers, or frames filled with 
straw, with much satisfaction, and though they 
are less conveniently stored away than are the 
mats, they are made with greater rapidity. 
For the frames, take three pieces of inch-board 
3 inches wide, and as long as the sash ; lay down 
two of these as far apart as the width of the 
sash, and the other one midway between the two; 
cross pieces, of half-inch stuff, 3 inches wide, 
are nailed on at each end, and similar pieces are 
nailed on between the end pieces at distances of 
a foot. Now turn the frame over and till it 
with straight straw regularly laid in, and nail a 
cross piece over the straw at each end. The straw 
is to be further secured by a tarred string over 
it, opposite the cross pieces, on the other side, 
fastening each piece of string securely by lacks 
or small nails. Sometimes the frames are made 
with wooden cross pieces above, instead of the 
strings, but this renders the frame heavier, and 
does not allow the water to run off so readily. 
Frames of this kind, when not in use, should 
be put under cover — taking care that they be 
thoroughly dried before they are put away. 
The covering and uncovering the beds is best 
done by two persons, as then tin 1 straw frames 
may be lifted ; shoving them wears the paint 
off the sashes ; this may be avoided by nail- 
ing strips upon the sashes to slido upon. 
