Show ON rs c md I 1 their meir care and oud aw L 1144 3 10 A all these vegetables can be started in the hot bed COMMON SENSE HOT BED by JOSEPHINE DE MARR at the very first stirring of the sap comes to most of us a longing to see nature awake and go about her business we eagerly look tor for the first aligns of life in the maples nd in tha sheltered recesses ot of the under the dead leaves IN hen I 1 feel the first bint hint of spring I 1 start my hot bed the illustration shows a hotbed frame which I 1 fa fashioned h out of an old gluss cupboard door soar bonie some old boards a saw hammer and nails critics may find fault with it but it baa has been a decided sui put esi e si and so I 1 do not mind the verdict of the critics utility not beauty Is 1 tny my aim alm the glass cover d done duty as a cupboard door for many years and when ihen the home house was remodeled it was coL COLS collind glied to the attic until it was nas preyed into its present state of usefulness ful ness tue glie etame measures 22 inches high nt at the back and elopes slopes down the hideg to in the front to 12 inches the glass ernne Is fastened to the back with nith hinges an excavation was dug by tho man of the house and the frame upon it the excavation Is 1 eight or ten inches att alper pcr than the frame and the frame stands 12 inches above the soil at tho the back and the front five inches A stout stake was driven into the four corners comers nt of the frame to support it the bed Is locast d south ot of the summer kitchen awell a wl spot where it will get the sun nil all day the earth Is banned around frame and a ditch carries oil all the surface water away in the meantime the heating material was vas prepared tills was horse manure gathered from the stalls each day and put in a cono shaped pile one third leaves were added to as no slat tat the manure to sweeten manure alone Is too dene and will not ferment properly unless leaves or straw or some euch such litter Is added As soon as the pile looked large enough to fill the braive it was allowed to ferment evenly when the mass was moist and steaming it was mas put into the hotbed it Is Impo impossible 0 ito o ge gt e any liard bard and fast rule in preparing manure for the hotbeds for so much depends upon the composition and texture af f the manure and the state of the werther it la Is safe to say howe hower vr pt that the pile most must be worked over reveral times and when it Is moist aari warm it Is reedy ready for tho the frame in the bottom of the excavation I 1 always place a thin layer of comm cornstalks talks cut a foot ion long for protection against the cold earth ahen alwn the manure la Is pul put in it nearly reaches the top of the roll poll ten it la Is well tar tarred ped and after tamping lumping it should reach within ten inches of the top of the frame la in front in the vicinity of st louie louis mo eight inches of 0 thoroughly prepared manure will heat a spring hotbed the bod Is then covered with the glass door and to itself for a few daya lays then five inches of 0 fine rich well prepared soil moll Is I 1 addla aguin the cover let down and the bed allowed to heat a them thermometer ometer placed tu in it and when nhen it registers 83 85 degrees the seeds are eown town the amateur will want tant to sow seeds bhea the ted led Is entirely too hot hold but make haste slowly la Is a good policy in this case before bowing the seeds rake the loll 1011 to destroy the weed scoda which have sprouted sow such seeds as to matoes dit toes cabbage lettuce eie etc but be sure to reserve several rows ronis for bour our lowar seeds make the rows run north and south water the bed with a sprinkler havluy u t very fine nose the little seedlings are very delicate and care mu rout mut t I 1 ie e token taken not to hake bake starve or chill them too much heat la Is worse than too little therefore it Is necessary to nir air the hotbed by opening the frame wt wn the sun shines and the weather ie to n i arm water with a fine hose hoge x when hen tile soil looks light in color and la Is dry to the touch thin ot the plants it if they stand too thickly in the row when the plants hava have attained two or three twe U ue leases lemes they must be transplanted luto a cold franc traine this I 1 made with the twin cupboard cup boad door and c contains i no heaters material find the frame put 4 the top 0 of the ground the earth should be banked all around the frame and during cold davs days and nights both the hot and cold frame were covered with broad shutters and carpet thrown on top for further pro lection after he the hotbed has been emptied into the cold com frame it may bo be used to grow another crop of seedlings the hotbed 1 Is I s alao 1 a good place to start stat cuttings slip the cuttings cutting place them in a dish containing sand which hibb should be kept as N wet et as mud and tbt slips will grow in a S short time SWEET PEAS FOR FIVE MONTHS by LIMA R ROSE it if you plan to have FN pet peas nex year plant them so that you will be ible lible to enjoy their beauties for at least five months dig a trench as long aa wanted and 18 inches to two tio feet deep and nt the bottom put a layer of old manure cover with oll poll that las los been made fairly rich with old rotten manura manuro down the center run two furrows inches deep and ten inches wide fill with well rotted manure or leaf mold and mir mix with the surrounding soil do this early in february make blake two trencher tren chei again five inches deep and eight inches apart and in these sow the seed two tire inches apart and cover with soil about one inch and irm it wal little by little us as the peas pens grow fill 1111 Q up the trench when the peas are four fout inches high provide chicken wire trellises or brush for them to climb on on account of 0 f the wire getting pretty hot in the strong sunshine s ano people fird they have better with the brush brash the fallowing precautions will nill procure a long flowering nering flo season duy buy the best beat seed you can procure each year got the seed planted as early as aj possible dont try to work wet eoll soil or heavy eoll soil wait until the earth Is fl ill to a bo be worked dont hill bill an annl dont trench give level cultivation mulch with lawn clippings or cut straw water thoroughly anon non the eoll soil Is to dry and springe every few days to rout insects above all cut the blooms every day ony with a pair of shear shears and dont pinch or pull the vines it ims its s t reter a firm soil generously enriched with rotten manure or leaf mold while fallen leaves make a good compost heap they do not improve the soil until they are decayed do not dig them into the soil this fall I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 the hot bed should be made as eyrly au possible |