The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
357 
Hotbed Details 
Part II 
“Spotting.”— The third or fourth 
leaves will be made, and the plant 4 to 6 
in. high by Mar. 20, to he “spotted” in 
the cold frame. We use the same sash 
on the cold frame as on a hotbed, but we 
do not dig it out as deeply, nor put ma¬ 
nure in it—only about an 8 to 10 in. 
layer of rich light soil, compost generally, 
the soil and manure from last year’s hot¬ 
bed, well firmed down and smooth. It’s 
mighty awkward and tiresome to try to 
plant from boards laid across the frame, 
so we get right in the bed on our knees 
and “spot out” with our hands—they 
beat any trow T el ever ma.de for this worm. 
A fertilizer sack partly filled with shats 
or straw makes a good knee rest, and dry. 
We lay each sash off with our planting 
stick, eight or nine rows about 4 in. 
apart, and plant (spot) about 4 in. apart 
in the row; 90 to 120 or 130 plants to a 
sash is good, though they can be crowded 
so as to put 250 to 300 plants to a sash 
as some do. We settle the plant down 
to the first leaves and firm the earth 
tightly. The plants must not shoot up 
too fast, and they must be “hardened off” 
—all to be accomplished by the regulation 
of the sash. On many days the sash can 
be completely removed, but it all depends 
on the weather and your good judgment. 
Say by April 20 to 25 the plants should 
be ready for the field—each one a vigor¬ 
ous, bushy individual, about 12 to 14 in. 
tall, with, in some varieties, particularly 
Earliana, the crown set in nearly full 
blossom. But there is no big hurry. 
There are several weeks of grace if they 
are not quite ready by April 20, though 
they should certainly be completely set 
out by May 10 at the latest, as after the 
first the frost is safely gone. 
Varieties.—I. X. L., Earliana and 
Bonny Best are the leading early varie¬ 
ties, with Bonny Best in our opinion in¬ 
comparably the leader, although it is 
about 10 days later than the others. 
►Stone leads as the favorite late crop va¬ 
riety. We are firmly convinced that we 
get our best seed from Northern New 
York or New England, and w T e send for 
it yearly. It is a small cost at any 
price, as an ounce or two will make all 
the crop that one man can handle. 
Further Care. —We do not spray our 
plants for blight; never in the hotbeds or 
frames, and seldom after setting in the 
field, though it is recommended by ex¬ 
perts. Too much watering favors mod 
and wilt (bacteria and fungoid diseases) 
and must be guarded against. Some 
claim that whitewashing the inside of the 
frames will increase the heat by reflec¬ 
tion of 'the sunlight, a refinement that 
has been borrowed from English practice, 
and which we have not generally gone 
into. After the plants are out of the 
bed in the Spring it is usually neglected 
and grows up into a wilderness of weeds. 
The shats can be piled into it to smother 
them out, or better yet, a few plants of 
watermelons or cantaloupes, which with 
their spreading foliage and a little hoeing 
will accomplish the same result, and grow 
something desirable at the same time. 
Bedding Sweet Potatoes. —Here we 
bed sweet potato slips in a bed that is not 
exactly a hotbed or a cold frame, but a 
cross between the two. It is generally 
wider, 7 or 8 ft. or more, and only a thin 
layer of manure, 3 or 4 in., put in the 
bottom and covered with light soil and 
kept comparatively weft. It is not cus¬ 
tomary to use sash, but the cheapest of 
muslin, which in times back was white¬ 
washed, but is now generally painted 
with linseed oil. From this we have bor¬ 
rowed the idea of not using sash on our 
cold frames sometimes, but substitute 
this oiled cloth, which is cheaper but not 
as handy or efficient. It does very weil 
for sweet potatoes that do not require as 
much hand nursing as tomatoes. 
Careful Work. —Hotbed work is an 
art in itself, and the best way to grasp 
it is to apprentice yourself to some suc¬ 
cessful neighbor, as I have done. My 
teacher has had 40 years of experience, 
and I honestly believe has forgotten move 
about hotbeds than most of us will ever 
know. He is uniformly successful, and 
I have here outlined some of the essen¬ 
tials that he holds to. Philip w. wolle. 
Ala ry 1 and.v=== - — - - I j 
Grow Alfalfa — Start it this Spring! 
Here is the right seed for you—let us 
send you free booklet giving all the de¬ 
tails about Alfalfa and Sweet Clover . 
ALFALFA is the greatest money-maker of all the legumes. Yields 
.— . three good crops per acre—four tons per acre is common— 
some customers grow six tons or better. Alfalfa makes great feed. Makes 
fine hog or sheep pasture—produces quick gains at low cost. Seed a field of 
Alfalfa this spring — alone or with a nurse crop or on Winter Wheat like 
clover. Our 1924 Catalog gives full directions. Tells how inoculation helps 
get a sure catch—also other very important pointers. 
Q\X/E7l7’T , f y I Cl\Z171? It your land is not ready for Alfalfa or you want results 
•J VV M V L*il\ */j/ s year, plant Sweet Clover. Sown this Spring will 
make a fine growth this Fall. Next year, you can harvest two heavy crops of hay besides 
pasture in the Fall. Does well on land too poor for Alfalfa. Prepares land for Alfalfa. 
A great soil builder. 
“Northwest” Brand Alfalfa Seed — This 
Seed is grown in the extreme Northwest—close up to the 
North Rockies—where seasons are severe. Only strong, 
hardy plants can live in such a climate—the result is a 
hardy strain that stands winters well. Our stock was 
selected by an expert buyer who had instruction to get 
the best. He had to pay a trifle extra but the seed was 
worth it—clean, bright, strong and hardy. 
“Grimm” Alfalfa —Many folks prefer this strain 
—some mix it with our ‘ ‘Northwest’ ’ Brand. Our stock 
was inspected, sealed and certified genuine by officers of 
the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. 
W. F. Filkins, New York, writes: “We have a fine seeding of Alfalfa 
on a 20-acre wheat field—sown with wheat. Just think of it! I bought 
5 bus. Seed of you last Spring. Two of Grimm’sandthreeof the other 
and mixed it.” 
F/mlof_We have genuine Seed of the valuable White Blossom 
OU/Cct dOl/Cf variety. Biennial — lasts two years. Our stocks of 
Sweet Clover are new crop Northern grown—"scarified” by machinery. This 
process greatly aids germination—permits germ to get proper moisture. 
D _ J _Nothing can take the place of Red Clover in the rotation. 
M\fSU KslUUKT A good stand this summer means a good hay crop next year 
and a big corn crop the year after. Our “Extra” Brand is the best obtainable. 
Comes from Northern sections that 
make for hardiness. 
Tests average 99% pure. Germ¬ 
ination is almost perfect. You can 
prove this for yourself. The color, 
too, is right and the Seed 
plump and sound. Cleaned and 
recleaned. 
White Blossom Sweet Clover. 
A two-year plant. 
OA TS -F° r years, our buyers have 
_____ sought the best Seed Oats in 
the Northern sections where they reach per¬ 
fection. 
tt i 
Lancaster Sure Crop ’ * Seed Corn 
Shadeland Climax”- popu . 
lar “tree” variety—has been^>utyieldingother kinds. 
Our supply comes from the State of Washington- 
agricultural experts there have inspected, sealed and 
certified this stock as genuine. We have just a lim¬ 
ited supply of this immensely popular Oats. You 
must act quickly to reserve your Seed. 
“Improved White Russian” 
—a “side” or “horse-mane” type of Oats. A Penn¬ 
sylvania customer writes: “My ‘Improved White 
Russian Oats’ did admirably well—100 binder sheaves 
threshed out 9 1-4 bushels per hundred sheaves,while 
my iother Oats threshed only B to 6 bushels per 100 
sheaves.” Our stock comes from North Dakota- 
direct from the growers, who take extra precautions 
to maintain the true “White Russian” typo. Enough 
seed of this variety is always hard to get. Those 
who order early avoid a possible disappointment. 
Swedish Select— S& 
variety out-yielded others over a ten-year period. 
Yields well on high dry land where many varieties 
do not succeed. A first-class “tree” variety at a 
very moderate price. Send for free sample and 
judge for yourself. 
SEED CORN - _The best Seed Corn costs so little —only 
______.___ 35 to 40c an acre —that every farmer can 
afford to plant our Seed. 
“Lancaster County Sure Crop” around Corn 
for silage or husking. Produces heavy tonnage of fine silage with 
plenty of grain. Matures for husking well to the North. Makes great 
silage still farther North. “I planted 16 acres of your ‘Lancaster 
County Sure Crop Corn’ writes Ernest E. Van Duyna, New Jersey. 
“It is one of the finest 16 acres of corn ever grown in this section of 
Morris Co.” 
“White Cap Yellow Dent n -i^ e0 ^^ e ^°l 
winning corn, just the thing for the Corn Club boys—and older farmers as well 
—who want a corn to be proud of. A heavy-yielder of good solid ears. Ripens 
mid-season. 
Prize-winning “Shadeland Climax’ 
Catalog and Samples FREE 
Hoffman’s Farm Seed Book for 1924 describes 
and pictures all the Seeds mentioned here. Also 
Grass Seeds, Soy Beans, Canada Peas, and Maine- 
grown Seed Potatoes. If you keep hogs you’ll want 
to learn about our hog pasture mixture — makes 
more pork at less cost per pound. Good for sheep, 
too. This Book tells how to succeed with Alfalfa 
in the East—how to grow bigger crops of Clover, 
Soy Beans and other Legumes through inoculation. 
Money-back Guarantee 
and Freight-paid Offer 
are fully explained in our 1924 Catalog. Hoffman’s Seeds must 
please you, or you reedn’t keep them. 
Write today. Mention this paper and crops that interest you. 
We’ll send Samples FREE, besides the Book and latest Price List. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Inc. 
Box 15-B Landisville, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
n A mm I 36 Bulbs, S colors. $ 1 .00 
uLAUlULl 42 Fan cy. 10 color* . 3.00 
Guarari-tested to blossom. 
Colored Gladiolus Book, with cultural directions, FREE 
PIERCE BULB CO., Guaranteed Bulbs, Box 12, West Medway, Mass- 
Beauty, Bliss, Carman, Cobbler, 
Green Mt,Hebron, Hustler,Ohip, 
King, Rose, Russett. Other*.- 
C. FORD Fishers, N. Y. 
POTATOES 
Be Sure Your Clover is 
American Grown 
7and check upon these Field Seed Prices. 
RED CLOVER — Metcalf’s recleaned, 
medium, guaranteed American grown; 
per bu. of *»0-lb. $1 7.50 
ALSIKE— Metcalf’s recleaned; per bu. 
of 60-lb.. SI 2.00 
SWEET CLOVER— Metcalf’s Scarified 
White Blossom; per bu. of fi0-lb $1 1.50 
TIMOTHY —Metcalf’s recleaned; per 
bu. of 45 lb. $4.70 
Other Metcalf Specials: 
include Telephone, Alderman and TIioiiium Lax ton 
Pea*, Alberta Planter Oat* and recleaned Timothy 
and Alftike, iii>% Al»Ike. 
Bags free — freight prepaid on 250 lbs. 
Wr e today for free catalog illustrating the value, quality 
and service offered you in field seeds and farm supplies 
by the mail order department of the Metcalf stores. 
Your banker will gladly tell you about our responsibility 
B. F. Metcalf & Son, 202-204 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, N. Y. 
PROTECT Seed Potatoes 
TREAT WITH J.-J. CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE 
Obtainable throueh your Bureau or Agent. Trial 
box, making over 30 gals, solution, mailed for 75c. 
Write today. J. SCHANZENBACH CO.. Ine., 74 Cortlandt SI ,hew ».rk 
Gladioli—20 Varieties, all Different, SI 
var1e*l<-H ontw, tf t*,tight aepartUely wuultt eowt utaiiy.-j? 
times price asked. UK1.SKK IlltOS., Box Y, Dalton, N. V. 
DAHLIAS'RARE and UNIQUE 
the world’s choicest prize winning giants 
UNUSUAL OFFER : One dozen tubers, my selection from 
meritorious named varieties exclusively. $ 5.00 
Quantity limited ; please order promptly to 
avoid disappointment. I ask S3 00 deposit 
with order, balance C. O. D. Shipment at 
planting time. Cultural notes included. 
GORDON F. WAASER Specialist in Exhibition Dahlias 
1018-130th Street Richmond Hill, L. I., N. Y. 
THE BEAUTIFUL GLADIOLUS 
Send a dollar for 30 bulbs (will 
bloom this summer), including 
pink, white, scarlet, yellow, crimson, 
orange, rare purple, etc., with easy 
planting directions, postpaid. 
Send for free 20-page illustrated 
catalog of 125 magnificent varieties 
HOWARD M. GILLET. Gladiolus Specialist 
Box 253, New Lebanon, N. Y, 
r i a nini i dahlias 50 mix Blooming size bulbs. 
lll.MIJU/H Dollar, prepaid. Write for catalogue. 
W. H. T odd in Mnrehanlwllln. N. J. 
When you write advertisers mention 
The Rural New- Yorker and you ’ll get 
a quick reply and a “square deal. ” See 
guarantee editorial page. 
