AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Fig. 1. 
Cheap and Effective Cold Graperies, Cold 
Frames, Hot-Beds, etc., for the Million. 
Very few people have any idea of tlie small 
cost and trouble of providing certain contriv¬ 
ances for facilitating the growth of grapes, va¬ 
rious fruits, early vegetables, etc., or of the con¬ 
venience and profitableness of these structures. 
Let us look into the matter a little. 
A Hot-Bed, in its simplest form, is a mass 
of fermenting manure placed on (or in) the 
ground and covered with soil, upon which are 
put various seeds and plants. A bank of earth, 
or a board box around the sides, and a common 
window sash of large size placed over the top 
to shut out frosts, and let in plenty of sun-light, 
complete the structure. With so simple and 
cheap an apparatus as this, every family may se¬ 
cure a supply of plants of various kinds, lettuce, 
cabbages, tomatoes, flowers, etc., to be trans¬ 
ferred to the open ground when danger of frost 
is past; and in this way, at the cost of very 
little time and money, the table may be sup¬ 
plied with garden vegetables in Spring and 
early Summer, long before anything can be ob¬ 
tained from open ground culture. The warmth 
given out to the soil by the gentle fermentation 
of the manure, acts like magic upon the plants 
growing above it. The whole operation is so 
simple that the most unsophisticated cultivator 
need have little fear of failure, and the advan¬ 
tages are so great that no one should fail to try 
it. At the cost of three or four dollars, a large 
sash frame specially fitted for the purpose may 
be procured of any sash maker. The box re¬ 
quired can be constructed by any one who can 
saw a rough board in two and nail it together 
at the corners. Hot-beds are specially adapted 
to February, March, or the first of April, ac¬ 
cording to the latitude, and we defer further re¬ 
marks to the appropriate season. 
Cold Frames are merely wooden boxes (or 
pits built of sods,) and supplied with movable 
glass covers. These afford' sufficient protection 
from cold, to promote the early growth of many 
kinds of vegetables and ornamental plants. By 
removing or partly removing the cover during 
warm days, the air within can be so regulated 
that many plants can be grown which it w r ould 
be next to impossible to cnitrate well in the 
open ground. Plants started m little earthen 
pots, or wooden boxes, can be set in these frames 
for protection at night and in cold frosty weath¬ 
er. By the use of such. frames we have this 
year had many plants in bloom by the time that 
other seed taken from the same lot, and sown in 
the open ground, had just begun to vegetate. 
Cold Graperies are merely Gold Frames of 
a larger size. In a cold grapery of moderate 
size and erected at small cost, may also be com¬ 
bined the ad vantages of a hot-bed, and a com¬ 
mon cold frame. Cold graperies are made of 
various sizes and forms, and, according to their 
architectural beauty and the area they cover, 
may cost all the way from $40 or $50 to $500 
or more. We propose here to describe a cheap 
simple form, one easily constructed and adapt¬ 
ed to the wants of the great mass of people in 
limited or straitened circumstances. And to all 
such let us say that the subject is worthy of 
study, for these structures are not merely luxu¬ 
ries or conveniences, but are a source of profit. 
Size.— This will depend entirely upon the 
means and the requirements of the owner. 
Fig. 1 shows a cross section, or end view, of a 
convenient form. The south wall, S, should be 
high enough above the ground to give about 4 
feet clear under the glass. The rear or north 
Avail, N, should be 7 to 8 feet high in the clear. 
The width of the house between these walls 
may be 10 to 12 feet; 10 feet is wide enough as 
a general thing. The length of the structure 
may be ten, twenty, or fifty feet, or more. 
The Walls.—T hese may be of wood, single 
or double boarded; or of brick; or of stone. 
The rear wall, A, may be the side of a house, 
barn, or other structure. In one of the most 
effective, and yet cheapest cold graperies ive 
have seen, the Avails were made entirely of sods 
cut out in square pieces and piled one upon 
another. In this case posts were driven down 
at the corners and along the sides, or rather they 
Avere set like fence posts, and plates and rafters 
were spiked or mortised upon the tops after 
saAving them off square. Sods were then piled 
up betAveen the posts and around them for the 
Avails. Such Avails are rather ornamental, for 
the sods may be kept green, if they come from 
strong soil. Salt meadow sods may also be used. 
They may require some care to renew portions 
which fail, but they are comparatively durable. 
(Walls of forts built of this material in Revolu¬ 
tionary times, are still standing.) The enclosed 
space seems even better adapted to plants, than 
when surrounded by brick or stone Avails. Good 
strong posts firmly set at the corners, and at 
needed intervals along the sides, furnish abund¬ 
ant support to the roof. 
Tiie Glass Covering.—T his consists essen¬ 
tially of long sashes made with strong frames, 
and running up from the front to the rear Avail, 
as shoAvn in fig. 2. A top view of one of these 
sashes is shown in fig. 3. The length will de¬ 
pend upon the width of the house, and the width 
and size of the glass, the strength of the sash, 
etc. There may be four, five, or six panes of 
glass in Avidth running up and doAvn the roof 
in each sash. Generally the narrower the sever¬ 
al sashes the more convenient are they for hand¬ 
ling. If 6x8 glass be used, five panes Avould 
cover 30 inches, and 10 inches more for the 
frame and string pieces Avould make a sash 40 
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Fig. 3. 
inches wide, which is a convenient width, though 
they Avould not be very unwieldy Avith another 
tier of glass, or the use of glass an inch wider. 
The sash frame , should be made of strong 2-inch 
stuff, the top and bottom pieces provided Avith 
tenons at the ends to 
fit into mortises in 
the side pieces. The 
top piece may be, 
say 6 inches wide to 
lay upon the upper 
plate. The bottom 
piece should be, say 
8 inches wide, to ex¬ 
tend over the lower 
plate and shed off 
water. The side 
strips may be 2$ to 
3 inches wide, and 
grooved along the 
inside upper corners 
for the glass to lie 
in. Fig. 5 sIioavs an 
end vieAV. The mid¬ 
dle strips or string pieces need to be someAvliat 
strong, say 1| or 2 inches Avide, and the two up¬ 
per corners grooved for the glass. Fig. G gives 
an end view. The glass is laid 
in the frame thus made, begin¬ 
ning at the bottom, and lap¬ 
ping, say 4 inch upon the next 
piece, in the manner of laying 
shingles, so as to carry off 
water. The glass is first held 
in place by brads or bits of tin, 
and then secured with putty. 
As the lapping of the glass pre- 
Fig. 4. vents its lying down firmly in its 
groove, the putty should be put 
on soft, or better, bed the glass in putty, so that it 
will work around the edge, to fill up the space 
under the glass. The glass may be common 
windoAV glass, but should be measurably free 
from lenses, (oA r al or round imperfections,) Avliich 
Avould concentrate the light upon points, and 
burn the plants at these points. If clear glass 
be used, a screen of cloth (sheeting), or a coat of 
AvhiteAvash will be needed to obstruct the free 
passage of the hot sun’s rays. Corrugated or 
ground glass made expressly for the 
purpose is now to be obtained cheap¬ 
ly. A cap from the upper plate or ridge ~~^T 
pole should project over the sashes to 
throw the Avater on to them from the top. 
A gutter for catching the water from the sash¬ 
es, as shown in fig. 1, is a desideratum. Thi3 
water may be carried to the drain, or it may be 
conducted into a cistern or into hogsheads Avith- 
in the building, and thus save bringing in Avater 
from elsewhere to use on the plants. An iron 
rod, (R, fig. 3,) is passed through the sash to 
give additional strength. 
Rafters are needed between the several sashes. 
These should be of strong scantling, say 4x5, 
or better, 4x6 inches. They are to be cut in the 
form shown by fig. 4. The under corners of the 
rafters are rounded off'as shown in fig. 4, so that 
the light may pass in freely around them. The 
little pins or staples projecting from the sides 
are for holding up the sashes, as described below. 
The sashes are liejd in place by a variety of 
contrivances, such as ropes and pulleys, 
etc. It is necessary to have them easily 
j 7 j, r (i moved up and doAvn, and held at differ¬ 
ent points, so as to let in more or less air 
as needed by the state of the weather. One of 
the simplest methods is, to fasten little hooks 
