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Show 333Thdr Care aid Cdfivatiorv feS? ...... . , . All These Vegetables Can Be Started In the Hot Bed. COMMON SENSE HOT BED . By JOSEPHINE. DE 'MARR. I At the very first stirring of the sap ;Pomo8 to most of us a longing to see Tnme Nature awake and go about her sp'Mng business. We eagerly look for the first signs of life In the maples and In the sheltered recesses of the woods nnder the dead leaves. When I feel the first hint of spring I start T&7 hot bed. The Illustration shows a hotbed frame which I fashioned fash-ioned out of an old glass cupboard, door some old boards, a saw, ham-oner ham-oner and nails. Critics rnny fnd .fault with It bat It has boen a Ucvlded success suc-cess and so I do not mind the .verdict of the critics.. Utility, not beauty, la my aim. - '; The glass cover had done duty as a, cupboard door for many years and when the house was remodeled It was consigned to the attic uniil It was pressed Into lt& present state of usefulness. use-fulness. . . ' The frame measures 22 Inches high at the back and slopes down the sides to the front to 12 Inches; the glass frame is fastened 4o th back with hinges.' Ai excavation was dug by the man. of the "house and the frame placed upon It The excavation is eight or ten lnchea , have sprouted. Sow such seeds as to-' I inatoes, cabbage, lettuce, peppers, etc., but be sure to reserve several rows I for your (lower seeds. J Make the rows run north and south. Water the bed with a sprinkler having a very fine nose. ' . The little seedlings are very, delicate and care must be taken not to bake, starve or chill them. Too much heat is worse than too little, therefore it Is necessary to air the hotbed by open-. open-. lng the frame when the sun shines and the weather Is warm. ' ' Water with a fine hose when the soil looks light in color and s dry to the touch. Thin out the plants If they ; stand too thickly In the row. J When the plants have attained two or three true leaves they must be ' transplanted Into a cold frame. This I made with the twin cupboard door, and contains no hentlr? material, and the frame put on the top of the ground. . ' The earth should be . banked all ( around the frame arid during cold days t and nights both the hot and cold frame were covered with bread shutters,, and carpet thrown on top for further protection. pro-tection. , . After the hotbed has been emptied into the cold frame It may be used to gTow another crop of seedlings. The hnthed In also a (rood nlace to start cuttings. Slip the cuttings, place thera In a dish containing sand which should be kept as wet as mud, and the slips will grow In a short time. deeper than the frame, and the frame j stands 12 Inches above the soil at the j back, and the front five Inches. A j stout stake was driven Into the four I corners of the frame to support It The bed is located south of the rem- j mer kitchen, a well-drained spot wfcero it will get the sun all day.' ' The earth Is banked around the frame and a ditch carries all the mr-face mr-face water away. In the meantime the heating material was prepared. This was horse-manure gathered from the stalls each day and put hi a cone- j shaped pile. j One-thtrd leaves were added to us- j slst the manure to "sweeten." Manure ; alone Is too dense and will not f er- ment properly unless leaves or straw i or some such litter is added. . j As soon as the pile looked larj;e enough to fill the frame It was allow-! d to ferment evenly. When the mass was moist and steaming It was put in-' to the hotbed. j It Is impossible to give any hard and fast rule In preparing manure for the hotbeds for so much depends upon the composition and texture of the manure ma-nure and the state of the weather. It Is safe to say, however, that the pile must be worked over several times and when it Is moist and warm It is ready for the frame. In the bottom of the excavation I always place a thin layer of cornstalks cut a foot long for protection against the cold earth. When the manure Is put in It nearly reaches the top of the soil : then It is well tamped and after tamping, It should reach within ten i jinches of the top of the frame in .front. In the vicinity of St. Louis, Mo., right Inches of thoroughly prepared manure will heat a spring hotbed. The bed is then covered with the glass rtrtor r.nd left to Itself for a few days. Then five Inches of fine, rich, well prepared soil Is added ; again the cover cov-er let down and the bed allowed to heat; a thermometer placed In It and when It registers 85 degrees the seeds are sown. The amateur will want to sow seeds when the bed Is entirely toe hot, but make haste slowly is a good policy In this case. Before sowing the seeds rake the soil to destroy the weed seeds which . 'ijiij ' r . 1 The Hot Bed Should Ba Made as Early at Possible. |