those who are just embarking in the busi¬ 
ness. 
A cold-frame is a box, usually placed in a 
warm sheltered position, which is covered 
with glass to protect tlie plants from cold 
winds, coniine the heat and moisture, 
which would otherwise arise and be carried 
away by the atmosphere, and concentrate 
the sun's rays. Late in the season, say 
after the middle of April in this latitude, 
most plants will grow and thrive in a cold- 
frame, but for starting seeds earlier, in Feb¬ 
ruary or March sufficient heat is not devel¬ 
oped during the day to keep the bed from 
freezing during severe cold nights. To sup¬ 
ply this, some kind of bottom heat is pro¬ 
duced, and the cold-frame is then called a 
hot-bed. The heat which is evolved from 
fermenting stable manure is probably the 
cheapest and most readily obtained on 
most farms and hence is generally used for 
the purpose. Any person who has ever 
had the care of horse stables know that 
the fresh manure when thrown out in a 
heap will soon pegin to smoke like a volca¬ 
no and become very hot within. It would 
seem a very simple matter to draw this 
manure to the spot selected for a hot-bed 
and cover it with a few inches of good soil 
and make seeds grow rapidly by reason of 
the heat thus afforded, yet we have many 
times«seen men try in vain to make it heat at 
all just when and where they wish it to. 
Let it therefore be understood that a load of 
cold manure and litter spread down to a 
thickness of one to one and a half feet will 
be so slow in heating as to be of little, if 
any use, in forwarding early vegetables. 
We have seen more failures made in the 
construction of hot-beds which could be 
attributed to thoughtlessness right here 
than to any other cause. The manure 
must be made to heat in a high conical 
pile and alter it has become smoking hot 
it can be spread down to less than a foot in 
depth, and covered with soil, and will con¬ 
tinue to heat for several weeks, while if 
cold manure was spread in the same way 
it would perhaps never heat. Taking this 
as a fundamental principle, in building a 
hot-bed the first step is therefore to find a 
few bushels of hot manure and pile it up in 
a high conical pile, then gather all the ma¬ 
nure and litter within reach, either hot or 
cold, and fork it over in order to break the 
coarse lumps and place it upon the pile. 
If the material is dry pour a few pails of 
water on sufficient to dampen the whole, 
and continue to add manure, straw, leaves 
or litter of any sort, and water until you 
have about as many two horse wagon loads 
of material stacked up as you propose to 
use sashes, one load at least being required 
for each 3 by 6 foot sash. When the op¬ 
eration is finished let this mountain stand 
for about one week until it steams freely 
from the top. Don't get in a hurry and 
think you cannot wait a week for fear it 
will get too late, for if you spread it down 
too cold you will likely meet with several 
weeks delay where one would have been 
sufficient. Next select the situation for 
your bed. A load or two of straw may 
first be spread upon the ground, iq.on 
which, spread as evenly and finely as pos¬ 
sible the hot manure from your prepared 
volcano, forming it into the shape of your 
proposed bed and at least a foot larger each 
way than your frame. Supposing you are 
to use four sashes each 3x6 feet, you will 
take some sound hemlock boards twelve or 
fourteen inches wide and nail them togeth¬ 
er thus forming a box or frame six by 
twelve feet. In this case your manure 
should have been spread in a square at 
least seven by thirteen feet. Lay some 
strips across the bed to prevent the edges 
oi the frame from sinking into the manure, 
as there will be considerable weight when 
the glass is placed on. After placing the 
frame sprinkle well with water again and 
then cover inside the frame with about 
four inches of good, rich, loose, lively soil. 
Place the sashes on and leave it for a few 
days more until the ^oil has become warm. 
Then rake it down smoothly and sow your 
seeds in rows about three or four inches 
apart. It is very necessary to prepare some 
kind of mats to cover and protect the glass 
during cold nights which may come after 
the plants are well up even quite late in 
the season. Most gardeners make them of 
straw, but old carpets or blankets will 
answer a good purpose. For safety they 
should be put on every night so long as 
frost may be expected. The beds should be 
watched and the glasses raised and plants 
aired during warm sunny days, water 
given when needed and the plants removed 
to a new bed or cold-frame when about, 
four inches high. 
If all the above points-are heeded and. 
you do not produce an abundant supply of 
tine healthy plants please let us know 
where you fail. 
