4 
" AT 
« 
Figure 8. 
whole s?ctio i, F.g. 5, is mxt covered with flat 
stones, and the cracks filled with mortar or ce¬ 
ment, on which the soil, B, rests. The main flue 
is not shown as it should be in Fig. 5, but it is 
to run directly through or under the walls A,A, 
from furnace to chimney. When finished in 
this manner you have a solid bed which will not 
rot out, and need not be disturbed for years. 
We have never had to get up nights to fix the 
fire even in the coldest wtather. In very severe 
or windy evenings we keep up a hotter fire than 
usual for an hour or two, shut the sashes close 
and obtain sufficient beat to carry it safely 
through the night. 
Fig 4, represents the simplest manner of con¬ 
structing the furnace. It is best built of brick, 
though if smooth even stones are at hand and 
brick not attainable, the stones might be made 
to answer. The height of the furnace is about 
two feet, ten inches of this being below the grate 
bars for an ash pit, and fourteen inches above 
for the fireplace. The width is twelve inches. 
The grate bars are each cast separately, and are 
each about thirty inches long, which forms the 
depth ol'the furnace from front to rear. Eight 
of these bars are required, each occupying a 
space of one and a half inches. They may be 
obtained at any foundry. Immediately back of 
the furnace there should be a rise of six inches 
to prevent ashes and cinders from being drawn 
up into the flues. The chimney may be made 
of fuur one inch boards each ten or twelve inches 
wide nailed together in the form of a square box. 
The height will depend upon the number of feet 
oi rise in the bed and strength of the draught, 
I hese minor items can only be ascertained by 
trial I he whole plan may be changed in de¬ 
tail to suit circumstances. In every instance in 
which I have known of their construction they 
have worked better than was anticipated by 
the builders. 
In Fig. 4, the furnace is shown with no door 
or covering on the top. A suitable door and 
frame may readily be found belonging to some 
cast off oven or cooking stove. This should be 
on hand before laying the brick so that bearings 
or hangings for it may be laid in the wall. 
The top may be covered with a piece of sheet 
or plate iron, and that with a bed of soil, but as 
warm water will be continually needed for 
watering the plants it will be well to place a 
large pan or kettle such as maple sugar makers 
use, over the furnace and keep it filled with 
water. 
Straw mats or shutters may be used on these 
fire beds the same as on manure beds, but as 
the beat may be regulated at will their use is 
not essential. 
These fire beds are also well adapted for the 
business of sprouting sweet potatoes, and finely 
rooted slips or plants may be produced in them. 
I think it requires a little more time to develop 
a plant of a given size than a manure bed, as 
the soil does ‘not become so warm. But the 
plants grow slowly, are shorter and more stocky, 
