PLANTING 
95 
The simple routine necessary in caring for a cold frame is 
easily followed. The slanting sash should be lifted a little 
while each day to secure ventilation. A thermometer hung 
inside the frame registers the temperature, which will be kept 
always near summer heat. This gentle warmth is furnished 
by the decomposition of the manure that has been mixed 
with the soil, as well as by the sun’s rays, which pass through 
the glass but are prevented by the glass from radiating. 
One year’s success with a cold frame tempts a gardener to 
try a hotbed. This is not so difficult a matter as a beginner 
might suppose. A little skill, to be sure, is required to con- 
trol the heat, which in this case is furnished by fresh stable 
manure. In the fall the gardener mixes the manure with 
straw, piling it in a dry place to let it ferment. Later he 
forks it over several times. When he starts his hotbed, he 
spreads this dressing so that it will partly fill a shallow pit 
somewhat larger in area than the wooden frame, packing it 
down hard and spreading on more until it has reached a 
depth of two feet. He then sets down the rectangular frame, 
forcing the sides into the dressing until it stands firm. Within 
the frame, which is built at least a foot higher at the back 
than at the front, to give a good slant to the glass, he places 
a layer of dry leaves or straw. The reason is obviously to 
separate from the dressing the layer next above it, which is 
to consist of rich soil. This soil is now spread on layer by 
layer. It will be at least six inches thick, so that the seeds 
will not be in danger of touching the hot manure. The ther- 
mometer, we will suppose, has been pushed down a little way 
into the soil as a telltale. This must be constantly consulted, 
for it is necessary to know the amount of heat that is being 
generated. The temperature before planting begins should 
be steady, ranging between sixty and eighty degrees Fahren- 
heit. If it runs higher, some safety-valve holes must be made 
