258 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 22 . 
vis to recommend the plants from which the flowers for 
exhibition are to be gathered to be planted in beds, four 
feet wide, and as long as the ground would allow; a 
round or fancy-shaped bed could not be so readily or 
conveniently sheltered. The kind of shelter we recom¬ 
mend is that formed with hoops, long rods, and lengths 
of oiled canvass; the garden mats might be used, but 
the shade they give is too much. In frosty weather, 
which sometimes occurs even so late as April, the mats 
might be used during the night with good effect, but 
during the day, to shelter from the sun or storms, the 
canvass is by far the best. The way to apply these 
shelters is as follows:—If wood edgings are used, pro¬ 
cure a sufficient number of iron staples, and drive them 
into the wood, about an inch-and-a-half from the top, 
at four feet apart, and exactly opposite to each other, 
leaving sufficient of each staple projecting to receive the 
ends of the hoops; then procure a sufficient number of 
strong stakes, either round or square, the latter is the 
best; sharpen one end, and saw the other off directly 
across; drive one in at each end, and exactly in the 
middle of the bed, Arm, leaving them out of the ground 
about two feet-and-a-half; then drive others in, at equal 
distances, down the centre, in a straight line with the 
two end ones; the distance between these need not be 
less than six feet. These stakes are to support a long 
rod, and this is to keep up the hoops a sufficient height 
above the plants when in bloom ; when this long rod is 
fixed in its place, nail it down securely to the row of 
stakes. The structure will then appear like a house 
with the rig-tree fixed, the rafters being wanting; these 
are to be formed with the hoops; the best kind are of 
hazel or ash rods. Cut them the right length, insert 
one end in the staple, and gradually bend it over the 
rig-tree, and thrust the other end iuto the corresponding 
staple on the opposite side; proceed, one by one, till the 
whole length of the bed is furnished with these rafters. 
Perhaps it will be found necessary to put in a nail at 
each end of each hoop, to keep it perfectly secure in its 
place; in such a case, the nail should be driven in an 
inch or two below the staple. The building has now 
advanced another step, and, to complete it, two more 
long rods will be necessary; place these at exactly an 
equal distance from the central rod and the ground, tie 
them with strong twine to each hoop. If the bed is 
very long, the rods need not be the entire length, but 
may be in two or three pieces, and tied together where 
they meet, allowing two or three inches to wrap over 
each other for that purpose. . The building is now ready 
to receive the roof of canvass; this should either be pro¬ 
cured ready made, of sufficient width to cover the bed 
from side to side, quite down to the edging, or it should 
be in two pieces, sewed together, the same width. This 
covering should be in lengths sufficiently handy, so as 
to be easily thrown off when not wanted. 
T. ArPLEBY. 
(To be continued.) 
FORCING CARROTS. 
For the next three months every contrivance that the 
managing gardener can adopt, will be required to 
“shelter,” or, it may be, “force” something or other 
iuto a condition which it could never have attained at 
that time without such aid. And the vegetable which 
forms the subject of our present essay, is one of those 
which require both the agencies mentioned above, “pro¬ 
tection and heat ” ; but, at the same time, its importance 
is seldom regarded of such paramount consequence as to 
entitle it to a frame and lights, except in places where 
these articles are plentiful, or it may be where young 
carrots are specially wanted very early in the season, 
as in our own case, where we have sown them some 
time ago. But as the great mass of cultivators are 
anxious to have this vegetable as early as they can, 
without being able to afford it “ glass,” we shall address 
ourselves to the task of assisting them with advice on 
the matter. 
Most writers on gardening recommend a quantity of 
this esculent to be sown on some dry border in the 
autumn, and there stand the winter, to bo drawn in 
spring when of the proper size; now, though we have 
adopted this plan for many years, we confess the produce 
so obtained can never be denominated young rarrots. 
In fact, we have known a tolerably good judge rather 
puzzled to know what kind of roots they were when 
deprived of their tops, as the long period of dull cold 
weather they remain in the ground so alters the character 
of the variety, that though it may have been of the 
best Early Horn, or Lony Surrey, breed, yet it becomes 
so blanched as more to resemble a parsnip than a carrot; 
and when the genial weather of spring does set in, it 
will be found that full nine-tenths of the crop run to 
seed at once, and become, of course, useless. This state 
of things we have experienced so often, that we only 
sow a few every year for the commonest purposes, and 
depend on our frames and other resources for the supply 
of useful roots required in spring. 
When, therefore, the amateur has a frame to spare 
for such a purpose, we need hardly go over the beaten 
track in advising him to make up a hotbed of well- 
tempered fermenting material, put in the requisite 
quantity of soil, and sow the seed—these matters are so 
well known as to be no longer necessary to name them; 
but when a sort of “ make shift ” has to be adopted, 
some little contrivance must be called into action. In 
the first place, we will suppose the amateur to have 
plenty of leaves, or it may be leaves and horse-dung 
mixed, or, if the latter alone, we will suppose it sweetened 
by frequent turnings, &c. We will also expect there to 
be some coarse, useless slabs, or deals, lying about, and 
a pole or two, with some light hurdles. A suitable 
place being fixed on for making up the bed, let that be 
done rather carefully, as it ought not to sink unevenly 
afterwards ; the quantity of carrots wanted will regulate 
its length, and the abundance or scarcity of heating 
material will, to a certain extent, do the same to its 
height. This done, arrange the slabs with their sawn 
sides out, nail them together at the corners, and if the 
sides be of great length and likely to get bulged out, a 
cross piece may be introduced with advantage, taking 
care in making it that it is something less than the 
hotbed it is to stand upon ; this done, drive a row of 
stakes down the centre of the bed, which they will easily 
do until they reach the ground : after cutting their tops 
even, say at two feet above the level of the slab frame, 
nail a straight pole along their tops. This is to act as 
a ridge against which to lean the shelters, and we 
strongly advise the inexperienced cultivator to have 
everything in that way prepared before he puts on the 
soil, and sows his seed. We usually thatch hurdles 
carefully, and let them lean against this centre rail or 
ridge, and make our beds the proper width to suit these 
hurdles; and as our beds run east and west, on coarse 
or cold days we leave the north one on all day. Some¬ 
thing, also, must be contrived to stop up the ends, 
which may remain stopped in the day time; a mat, 
folded so as to resemble a gable, makes no bad substitute 
for these necessary architectural auxiliaries. Some little 
tasto will be required to give the wliolo a snug appear- \ 
ance; and though we have no hopes of stopping the 
ingress of a certain portion of cold air, yet we advise the 
cracks and other openings to be as small and as few as 
possible. When all arrangement about the roof is i 
completed, put in the soil and sow the seed. The soil 
ought to be made porous by sand rather than by leaf- 
mould or dung; the latter ingredients being too apt to 
