The Portland daily press., 1867-03-18

iuli wei 10 peices, mixing the long with the
snort. Let TINS heap stand till il farmonta
briskly; then turn and shake it with the ,.,.,.
piece-meal making a new heap of it near no
When this heap fermerts, IA it will steam in
few days, begin to make the bed by shaking
every fork full into the pit, suffering no lumps
to go in; and let the bed rise in all its parts
together as much as possible. Press the mass
down suantly with the fork as you proceed.
when it is thus filled to within nine inches
VI 'ne top OF the front part of the frame, level
~ on anu let stand a day for fermentation
commence Have ON hand the requisite
iS oi night, rich soil and on the ensu-
re 'ay ueposit this on the manure bed about
'N inches in depth. Put ON the sosb or sosb-
~ $50 80 'nehi remain on twenty-iour hours.
iheii TAKE them oil and stir the earth with
your hands, which are the only tools 70 ho
used thereafter in hot-bed
The earth should be level, not s,onipo lilo
the glass. Tie glass slopes in order 70 Met
the sun somewhat vertically, and to shed ,ho
rain. The dirt which vas taken out os ,ho
pit should be drawn up around the outside of
the frame, so that no water may lie near IL.
and the inside moisture may be retained.
The bed is now ready for seed.
iSolring seed in the hot-bed. Take off the
sashes or lights, and make little drills with
your finger from the back 20 the front OF the
bed, half or three fourths of an inch deep.
Make them equi-distant, parallel and straight.
Drop the seeds along the drill regularly and
pretty thick, as they are designed for trans
planting whilst small and young. Cover the
drills neatly, pressing the earth with a mar
row strip OF board upon the seeds Write the
names on little bits of shingle with n COM
mon lead pencil, and stick them down at The
END oil each row. Put on the lights. See
that they lit well; and "then (says Cobbett.l
look upon your Spring work as bapp,lv
begun" l 's-.
Management Of hot-beds. The main prin-
ciple is always to give as much air as the
plants will endure; taking advantage of every
mild DAG to remove the sashes and give the
soil air, even before the seeds begin to break
giOund. Give air to the bed every day, un-
less it be very cold The usual way of giving
air, is, by bits of board cut hike wedges broad
at one end. and coming to point at the 9TH
er. Each light is lifted up, either at the back
or front of the frame as the wind may be-, and
the wedge or tllter, as it is called, is put in to
hold the sash up. But If more air be wanted,
raise the lights higher, and on fine day take
them entirely off.
When the young plants show themselves,
they will soon tell you about air; for, if they
have not enough, they will grow up
ong-leeged, and will have small seed leaves:
and indeed, if too much deprived of air, thew
will droOp and die. Let them grow strong
rather than tai; short stems, broad seed
leaves, very green-they are the signs Of good
plants and of proper management "Remem-
Der, (says Cobbett again. out of thousand
failures in hot-bed culture. nine hundred and
ninety-nine arise from giving too little air."
Watering the hot-bed. When it is necessa-
ry to water, take oil tbesashes, one at tune,
and water with watering pot that that does
not porr out heavily; water just at sunset,
and then shut down the lights. The heat
will rise from the fermenting bed, and the
plants will grow prodigiously.
Projecting the hot-bed. Should high winds
or very sharp frosts set in, protect the bed
with straw or moss; and if cold northwest
wind, make a small skreen OF boards or BUSH
ss OF some sors. Russia mats, or old grass
bags, or ON old carpet should be kept to cover
the sashes with, in case of hail, snow or very
cold weather. Should these not be at hand,
use straw, hay or moss.
The bed should contain plants of lettuce,
peppersrass, radishes, tomatoes, cabbages, tur-
nips, peppers, cucumbers, melons, squashes,
andif you choose several sorts OF flowers, which
may be transplanted to the open ground, as
soon as the weather becomes suitable.
TRAM.