Construction and Care of Hotbeds 
By IDA D. BENNETl' 
T he use of a well constructed and success¬ 
fully managed hotbed puts forward the 
garden season at least a month or six weeks. 
Indeed so well established is this principle that it is 
of general observance, not only by the commercial 
florist and gardener, but also by the amateur, who 
although he himself may not possess a greenhouse 
or hotbed or, indeed dream of such a luxury, still un¬ 
consciously utilizes another’s possession ol the con¬ 
venience when he purchases his tomato, cauliflower 
or cabbage plants of the florist, or peripatetic dealer 
of the sidewalk. Yet the hotbed is an easily acquired 
convenience. 
The particular form the construction of the hotbed 
shall assume will depend upon several things: the 
amount one wishes to expend upon it, the purpose for 
which it is intended, whether for permanent or tem¬ 
porary use, etc. If for uncertain tenure, as in a 
rented place, or one where one’s stay is uncertain, 
the plank frame will be found preferable. This may 
be made the full size of the pit or only a shallow frame 
of plank, extending only a foot or more below the 
surface of the earth, with the corner posts extending 
to the bottom of the pit to support it. The size will 
depend upon the character and size of the sash to be 
employed, whether florists’ sash or discarded window 
sash. It will usually be found more convenient if the 
bed is of a width that can be reached across easily. 
The frame should be about a foot above the ground 
in front and eighteen inches in the rear. This will 
give sufficient slant to shed water and will concen¬ 
trate the fulness of the sunshine on the glass. 
The proper location for the hotbed is on the south 
side of a building or wall where it will get the greatest 
amount of sunshine and be protected from cold winds. 
It should be convenient to the house as the hotbed 
requires constant and timely attention and should, 
therefore, not be placed where it cannot be reached 
promptly, at any and all hours. 
Having constructed the frame, a pit sufficiently 
larger than the frame to admit it should be dug about 
four feet deep. If the season is cold or the hotbed 
started very early it will be necessary to dig the pit a 
foot larger all around and fill in around the outside of 
frame with manure to preserve the inside temperature. 
The sash may be arranged to slide on the frame or 
may be hinged to the back of the frame; this is more 
convenient in handling, and there should be a 
notched stick attached to the side to hold the sash at 
any desired angle when open. Having constructed 
the pit and placed the sash in position, it only remains 
to put it in commission. 
For this fresh horse manure is required. Only that 
gathered over night should be used and that from 
young, grain-fed horses is best. This should be 
placed directly in the pits, packing it down suffi¬ 
ciently to fill the pit snugly flush with the top. If 
the manure is dry it may be watered with hot water 
and it should contain an equal hulk or at least half 
its weight of straw or leaves, the object of the pres¬ 
ence of leaves or litter is to provide fuel for the fire 
which the fermentation of the manure creates; with¬ 
out this the manure would heat quickly and as soon 
die out, while the presence of the straw or leaves 
produces a lasting heat that will carry the hotbed 
forward for two or more weeks, or until the seeds 
have germinated and gotten a start. 
After placing the manure, place the sash in position 
and wait for the mass to heat. This will, usually, be 
in about twenty-four hours. When the mass is 
thoroughly heated it should he tramped down evenly 
—this may best be done by laying a board on top 
and stamping heavily thereon. It should be made 
quite firm and as level as possible. 
Over this leveled manure, place a couple of Inches 
of old, well rotted manure made fine and smooth. 
This is to keep the tender roots of the young plants 
from working down into the rank manure below in 
search of food and being injured thereby. Over 
the old manure place four or five inches of good 
garden loam and leaf-mould well incorporated, and 
the surface inch of soil should be run through a coal 
ash sieve to free it from all roughage. 
The soil should be moist, not dry or wet, and the 
sash should be placed and the soil allowed to warm 
up before planting the seed. ^ 
Some judgment should be used in planting the 
seed. If more than one bed is used or partitions are 
inserted in one large bed, this will allow of the growing 
of plants requiring the same general treatment, by 
themselves. Do not attempt to grow such plants as 
cabbage and cauliflowers—^which love a cool tempera¬ 
ture—with heat-loving plants like tomatoes and 
peppers, but give them separate culture where their 
peculiarities can be indulged. 
Seeds that germinate at about the same time should 
be given the same sash where practicable and tall 
growing plants should not he planted in front of low 
ones. Each plat of seed should be separated from its 
neighbor by thin strips of wood and all should be 
carefully labeled with the name and date of sowing. 
Seed planted in the hotbed, having the protection 
of the frame, does not require as deep planting as 
seed sown in the open ground where it is exposed to 
changing temperatures, cold wind, rain and burn¬ 
ing sun. Some seed should be merely covered, while 
others like the ricinus may be covered with a half 
inch of earth. When all the seeds are sown, water 
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